Bill Boudreau, Jim Jandik, and SPEC
12-28-2013, 09:54 AM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Bill Boudreau, Jim Jandik, and SPEC
I just wanted to share my experience with ZR51 Performance in Arizona as well as with Jim Jandik and SPEC.
I found my LT4 from a car collector in Oklahoma who, in turn, found it on a Chevy dealer lot in Atlanta where the original owner had just traded it in.
I'm pretty sure he thought it was going to go up in value as he had it in temperature/humidity controlled storage with a contract for it to be cleaned and vacuumed twice a month. So you can imagine the condition of this car.
When I bought it he told me something that sounded odd for a car with so few miles. The Chevy dealership had put a new clutch in it. He did not know why (The dealership refused to confirm this when I contacted them as I wasn't their original purchaser.).
Anyway, two things happened after I bought the car, both posted here. One was that I was getting this low RPM noise out of 4th gear which I thought was engine knocking. Second, I got clutch chatter and the other members here responded to that by putting me in touch with Jim Jandick who is like the god of C4 bellhousings.
Inevitably, the clutch had to be pulled to see what was going on and it was toast. The Chevy dealership had installed a new (SPEC) clutch just as the seller claimed PLUS a SPEC SMF. In installing it, the Chevy boys gooped too much lube on it, contaminated the clutch, and hence the chatter.
Although I paid for the job to be done, I was in direct E mail contact with Jim Jandik and this guy is freaking GOOD. Unfortunately, the trani shop I had doing the work immediately cut Jim Jandik out of the loop, threatening to take it off the rack if he was included (I was to send Jim pictures of what was found.). Jim blamed me for him being cut out but, regardless of who was at fault, he is one helluva good guy. You can't go wrong by him. He provided the throwout bearing (the last one in Germany) as well as the slave cylinder (Which he built himself.) for the job.
Meanwhile, the local transmission shop had not only discovered the new SPEC clutch (ruined by a mechanic with too much lube) but also found a SPEC SMF. It was this SMF that was the source of the noise I was hearing at low RPM. Without a DMF, I was getting bearing noise (And Jim Jandik was waiting to find out what type of flywheel was found in there, SMF or DMF. This guy was ahead of the shop all the way.).
Having already guessed the clutch was toast, I had ordered a SPEC clutch and extra mass SMF before it was torn down. So all the parts were right there (Thanks to Jim) when the verdict was given. The previous SMF was "blued" with a hotspot so it's now a boat anchor. The toasted clutch appears to be SPEC Stage 1 and I replaced it with SPEC Stage 2 (In case I did any engine improvements later). In hindsight, Stage 3 is probably the better choice.
To make a long story short, I shipped the trani to Bill Boudreau at ZF51 Performance and had him blueprint, port and polish it as well as add a short throw linkage and a reverse lockout. Once again, the local trani shop objected and tried to cut him out. This time they didn't get their way.
Bill paid the shipping both ways and it was done in about a week.
I guarantee you the local shop did nothing but badmouth Bill at every opportunity. They claimed he was an idiot because they didn't like the way the trani was packed for shipping and invited me to come down and look at it. And I did. And the first thing I looked at was the input spline and there wasn't a mark on it. So they admitted it wasn't damaged BUT it could have been. Then they argued the short shift linkage was
USED and Bill did admit he used some slightly used parts in it. Bill also billed me for the trani oil which was to be included with the shipped trani but none was included so, once again, Bill was declared a fraud by the local shop. They didn't stop there. They said they found NO EVIDENCE the trani had been opened and claimed Bill never did the work even though Bill had riveted a plate to the trani with his name on it and his own serial number (#299) for the work performed. And they still weren't done hacking him up. I told the shop they had to re-install the trani to Bill's .04" specs in order to avoid trani howl. They claimed Bill set those specs so that, if they didn't meet them, and the trani howled, that it was their fault.
"Well! Yeah!" I told them. "That's EXACTLY what he means!"
So they do the work and I get a call. The shop owner has driven it and it howls. They admit they did not meet Bill's specs. I tell them I ain't paying the bill until they do meet his specs.
A week goes by and no calls from them (I figure they've got their file out to meet Bills specs and the results pretty much demo that to be the case.). Finally, after I call them twice (after another week) they say I can get the car on 12/24.
I refused to pick up the car until Bill Boudreau told me to. I figured if I wrote the shop a check and they handed me the keys, there'd be a race - me to find a howl and them to cash my check.
On 12/26 Bill called the shop and went over their work in detail and then called me and said I could pick up the car.
So I did. And, of course, they're bitching about Bill again. This time they're saying, in the four times they talked to Bill, they never got the same number of hours out of him that he actually worked on my trani. All four of Bill's replies were within 2.5 hours of each other (And I wasn't paying Bill by the hour anyway. He bid $ 700 for the job regardless of the hours it took.). So why he should keep track of his hours is anybody's guess.
After I got Bill's call to go ahead and pick up the car I then called the shop. They gave me 1.5 hours to pick up the car or I had to wait another week to get it as the owner would be out of town. So, obviously, I hauled *** to get it.
They're not ready when I arrive and I find the employees all have a nickname for me - "Prepper" due to something about "billets". What's a billet?
The actual word was "bullet" and I was called "Prepper" as short for "Doomsday Prepper" because of all the ammunition they found in the car (It was 22 ammo for a party). So these guys are quick to judge.
So I get the car back and there's a slight howl if you let the clutch out with the shifter in neutral. Both the shop and Bill gave the same explanation. It's the oil weight. Changing to the BMW 15-65 oil will solve that.
So after listening to this shop pitch crappola at Bill endlessly, who was right?
I put the car in 4th gear at low RPM and there was no noise. Bill had put the bearing shims in. The shop was wrong about Bill (Bill gave me a two year unlimited mileage warranty on his work which he's going to extend because I used Jim Jandik.).
I'll now add three things about the shop that did the work. You will recall the shop called me and reported a "howl". This was after a test drive in which they drove the car to the next town. This was when I first refused to take the car.
When I actually came by (well over a week later) to get the car, they had taken it for a second test drive (meaning they had now realigned the trani according to Bill's specs and were testing the result). I am now told the shop owner took his daughter to school in it. He was doing 80 mph in a school zone when he hit a speed bump, causing the LT4 dash plate to fly out and the odometer to change from "miles per hour" to "kilometers per hour" (I did not even know it would do that.) and his daughter to claim (in front of me), how I had the coolest car she'd ever been in her life.
The shop owner also admitted (You will recall I had 1.5 hours to pick up the car) that if I hadn't picked it up by then, that he had planned to drive it to Las Vegas for a vacation t here (Which he is now on) and that's why I either picked it up in 1.5 hours or waited another week even though the shop was still open that week (run by his employees).
The reader has undoubtedly concluded that the shop I was dealing with was a bunch of crooks (When I did get the car back it had half a tank of gas left in it and I had to add 12 gallons) and the owner is a convicted felon. But regardless of all this crappola, they do PERFECT WORK. Ignoring the "speed bump" issue and the "half a tank of gas" story and they did everything above and beyond the call of duty. Everything they do works PERFECT. I checked them out for 6 months while communicating with Jim Jandik on who to let do the job.
My conclusion was that the shop owner didn't trust anybody but himself for anything. Therefore he cut Jim Jandik (Who now hates me) out of the clutch job and he tried to cut Bill Boudreau out of the trani work. Being a crook himself (convicted felon) he simply assumed Jim and Bill were too.
He's so convinced Bill never opened my transmission that he has offered me a free oil change in the expectation of finding METAL in the oil.
I took him up on his offer.
I admit this is a long post in a technical section without a single technical word. It's about PARTS and LABOR. It was because of the importance of PARTS that I went to Jim Jandik. It was because of the importance of LABOR that I selected Bill and my local trani shop. Some of us are not mechanics.
And now we get to SPEC. After approximately 1000 miles the SPEC Stage 2 clutch was working worse rather than better. So I contacted SPEC who replied "SNAFU" (Situation Normal, All ****ed Up). Not trusting that answer, I had the clutch inspected. It has two oddly (and differently) colored egg sized/shaped spots on it. My conclusion from this is that the SPEC clutch surface is uneven resulting in discoloration of the high spots.
I wish no one else this situation and a Happy New Year!
I found my LT4 from a car collector in Oklahoma who, in turn, found it on a Chevy dealer lot in Atlanta where the original owner had just traded it in.
I'm pretty sure he thought it was going to go up in value as he had it in temperature/humidity controlled storage with a contract for it to be cleaned and vacuumed twice a month. So you can imagine the condition of this car.
When I bought it he told me something that sounded odd for a car with so few miles. The Chevy dealership had put a new clutch in it. He did not know why (The dealership refused to confirm this when I contacted them as I wasn't their original purchaser.).
Anyway, two things happened after I bought the car, both posted here. One was that I was getting this low RPM noise out of 4th gear which I thought was engine knocking. Second, I got clutch chatter and the other members here responded to that by putting me in touch with Jim Jandick who is like the god of C4 bellhousings.
Inevitably, the clutch had to be pulled to see what was going on and it was toast. The Chevy dealership had installed a new (SPEC) clutch just as the seller claimed PLUS a SPEC SMF. In installing it, the Chevy boys gooped too much lube on it, contaminated the clutch, and hence the chatter.
Although I paid for the job to be done, I was in direct E mail contact with Jim Jandik and this guy is freaking GOOD. Unfortunately, the trani shop I had doing the work immediately cut Jim Jandik out of the loop, threatening to take it off the rack if he was included (I was to send Jim pictures of what was found.). Jim blamed me for him being cut out but, regardless of who was at fault, he is one helluva good guy. You can't go wrong by him. He provided the throwout bearing (the last one in Germany) as well as the slave cylinder (Which he built himself.) for the job.
Meanwhile, the local transmission shop had not only discovered the new SPEC clutch (ruined by a mechanic with too much lube) but also found a SPEC SMF. It was this SMF that was the source of the noise I was hearing at low RPM. Without a DMF, I was getting bearing noise (And Jim Jandik was waiting to find out what type of flywheel was found in there, SMF or DMF. This guy was ahead of the shop all the way.).
Having already guessed the clutch was toast, I had ordered a SPEC clutch and extra mass SMF before it was torn down. So all the parts were right there (Thanks to Jim) when the verdict was given. The previous SMF was "blued" with a hotspot so it's now a boat anchor. The toasted clutch appears to be SPEC Stage 1 and I replaced it with SPEC Stage 2 (In case I did any engine improvements later). In hindsight, Stage 3 is probably the better choice.
To make a long story short, I shipped the trani to Bill Boudreau at ZF51 Performance and had him blueprint, port and polish it as well as add a short throw linkage and a reverse lockout. Once again, the local trani shop objected and tried to cut him out. This time they didn't get their way.
Bill paid the shipping both ways and it was done in about a week.
I guarantee you the local shop did nothing but badmouth Bill at every opportunity. They claimed he was an idiot because they didn't like the way the trani was packed for shipping and invited me to come down and look at it. And I did. And the first thing I looked at was the input spline and there wasn't a mark on it. So they admitted it wasn't damaged BUT it could have been. Then they argued the short shift linkage was
USED and Bill did admit he used some slightly used parts in it. Bill also billed me for the trani oil which was to be included with the shipped trani but none was included so, once again, Bill was declared a fraud by the local shop. They didn't stop there. They said they found NO EVIDENCE the trani had been opened and claimed Bill never did the work even though Bill had riveted a plate to the trani with his name on it and his own serial number (#299) for the work performed. And they still weren't done hacking him up. I told the shop they had to re-install the trani to Bill's .04" specs in order to avoid trani howl. They claimed Bill set those specs so that, if they didn't meet them, and the trani howled, that it was their fault.
"Well! Yeah!" I told them. "That's EXACTLY what he means!"
So they do the work and I get a call. The shop owner has driven it and it howls. They admit they did not meet Bill's specs. I tell them I ain't paying the bill until they do meet his specs.
A week goes by and no calls from them (I figure they've got their file out to meet Bills specs and the results pretty much demo that to be the case.). Finally, after I call them twice (after another week) they say I can get the car on 12/24.
I refused to pick up the car until Bill Boudreau told me to. I figured if I wrote the shop a check and they handed me the keys, there'd be a race - me to find a howl and them to cash my check.
On 12/26 Bill called the shop and went over their work in detail and then called me and said I could pick up the car.
So I did. And, of course, they're bitching about Bill again. This time they're saying, in the four times they talked to Bill, they never got the same number of hours out of him that he actually worked on my trani. All four of Bill's replies were within 2.5 hours of each other (And I wasn't paying Bill by the hour anyway. He bid $ 700 for the job regardless of the hours it took.). So why he should keep track of his hours is anybody's guess.
After I got Bill's call to go ahead and pick up the car I then called the shop. They gave me 1.5 hours to pick up the car or I had to wait another week to get it as the owner would be out of town. So, obviously, I hauled *** to get it.
They're not ready when I arrive and I find the employees all have a nickname for me - "Prepper" due to something about "billets". What's a billet?
The actual word was "bullet" and I was called "Prepper" as short for "Doomsday Prepper" because of all the ammunition they found in the car (It was 22 ammo for a party). So these guys are quick to judge.
So I get the car back and there's a slight howl if you let the clutch out with the shifter in neutral. Both the shop and Bill gave the same explanation. It's the oil weight. Changing to the BMW 15-65 oil will solve that.
So after listening to this shop pitch crappola at Bill endlessly, who was right?
I put the car in 4th gear at low RPM and there was no noise. Bill had put the bearing shims in. The shop was wrong about Bill (Bill gave me a two year unlimited mileage warranty on his work which he's going to extend because I used Jim Jandik.).
I'll now add three things about the shop that did the work. You will recall the shop called me and reported a "howl". This was after a test drive in which they drove the car to the next town. This was when I first refused to take the car.
When I actually came by (well over a week later) to get the car, they had taken it for a second test drive (meaning they had now realigned the trani according to Bill's specs and were testing the result). I am now told the shop owner took his daughter to school in it. He was doing 80 mph in a school zone when he hit a speed bump, causing the LT4 dash plate to fly out and the odometer to change from "miles per hour" to "kilometers per hour" (I did not even know it would do that.) and his daughter to claim (in front of me), how I had the coolest car she'd ever been in her life.
The shop owner also admitted (You will recall I had 1.5 hours to pick up the car) that if I hadn't picked it up by then, that he had planned to drive it to Las Vegas for a vacation t here (Which he is now on) and that's why I either picked it up in 1.5 hours or waited another week even though the shop was still open that week (run by his employees).
The reader has undoubtedly concluded that the shop I was dealing with was a bunch of crooks (When I did get the car back it had half a tank of gas left in it and I had to add 12 gallons) and the owner is a convicted felon. But regardless of all this crappola, they do PERFECT WORK. Ignoring the "speed bump" issue and the "half a tank of gas" story and they did everything above and beyond the call of duty. Everything they do works PERFECT. I checked them out for 6 months while communicating with Jim Jandik on who to let do the job.
My conclusion was that the shop owner didn't trust anybody but himself for anything. Therefore he cut Jim Jandik (Who now hates me) out of the clutch job and he tried to cut Bill Boudreau out of the trani work. Being a crook himself (convicted felon) he simply assumed Jim and Bill were too.
He's so convinced Bill never opened my transmission that he has offered me a free oil change in the expectation of finding METAL in the oil.
I took him up on his offer.
I admit this is a long post in a technical section without a single technical word. It's about PARTS and LABOR. It was because of the importance of PARTS that I went to Jim Jandik. It was because of the importance of LABOR that I selected Bill and my local trani shop. Some of us are not mechanics.
And now we get to SPEC. After approximately 1000 miles the SPEC Stage 2 clutch was working worse rather than better. So I contacted SPEC who replied "SNAFU" (Situation Normal, All ****ed Up). Not trusting that answer, I had the clutch inspected. It has two oddly (and differently) colored egg sized/shaped spots on it. My conclusion from this is that the SPEC clutch surface is uneven resulting in discoloration of the high spots.
I wish no one else this situation and a Happy New Year!
12-28-2013, 10:10 AM
#2
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St. Jude Donor '05
When you get into aggressive clutches you can expect some grabbiness/chatter etc. Maaaybe in the beginning.
Bill knows his stuff. I should have sent him my T56 but couldnt in time. Next round when I break it again lol.
Owner of my old Z got wise and drove clear out there while they worked on it 2 days straight drove it home. Getting ready for a 2nd trip he will treat you and your car right.
Did you get the puck style clutch or?
Give it awhile to wear in see how it acts.
Bill knows his stuff. I should have sent him my T56 but couldnt in time. Next round when I break it again lol.
Owner of my old Z got wise and drove clear out there while they worked on it 2 days straight drove it home. Getting ready for a 2nd trip he will treat you and your car right.
Did you get the puck style clutch or?
Give it awhile to wear in see how it acts.
12-28-2013, 10:41 AM
#3
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Wow what a mess. This is always a problem when you have too many hands involved on a project . Not trying to add to an obvious problem , but why the hell didn't you just take it to the tranny expert to begin with ? Who the hell is the transmission shop so we know to stay the hell away from there?
I wish you the best of luck as a mechanic let me just say this find someone that you can trust to work on your car. It is less of a head ache on both ends . No one likes to go behind someone else's work !
I wish you the best of luck as a mechanic let me just say this find someone that you can trust to work on your car. It is less of a head ache on both ends . No one likes to go behind someone else's work !
12-28-2013, 02:01 PM
#4
Racer
If there was a question about Bill's work the shop should of asked for the build report. According to his site ZFdoc.com he provides this with all of his builds. With the report and warranty I'd be happy with the trans.
Hopefully the shop warranties their labor. If the shop installs faulty parts you have to question their attention to detail. I understand parts may be defective, but when a shop does a job they should back up their work as should the manufacture. If the shop wasn't knowledgeable about the ZF6 I'd expect they would take the advice of Bill and Jim and let you know what the relationship will be and who's responsible if anything happens.
Sorry it didn't work so well.
I would like to add that my personal experience with Bill and Jim has been nothing but positive. I've never dealt directly with SPEC, but are using their stage 3 puck style clutch disk on a 500HP plus engine and haven't had any issues.
I hope your trans holds up and you continue to enjoy the C4 experience.
Hopefully the shop warranties their labor. If the shop installs faulty parts you have to question their attention to detail. I understand parts may be defective, but when a shop does a job they should back up their work as should the manufacture. If the shop wasn't knowledgeable about the ZF6 I'd expect they would take the advice of Bill and Jim and let you know what the relationship will be and who's responsible if anything happens.
Sorry it didn't work so well.
I would like to add that my personal experience with Bill and Jim has been nothing but positive. I've never dealt directly with SPEC, but are using their stage 3 puck style clutch disk on a 500HP plus engine and haven't had any issues.
I hope your trans holds up and you continue to enjoy the C4 experience.
12-29-2013, 01:06 AM
#5
Melting Slicks
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You live in Washington State. My question, and I am just curious as to why, you took your car to an Arizona shop for clutch work when Tom Wong is in Vancouver, Wa? I assume there was a good reason.
12-29-2013, 01:27 AM
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If there was a question about Bill's work the shop should of asked for the build report. According to his site ZFdoc.com he provides this with all of his builds. With the report and warranty I'd be happy with the trans.
Hopefully the shop warranties their labor. If the shop installs faulty parts you have to question their attention to detail. I understand parts may be defective, but when a shop does a job they should back up their work as should the manufacture. If the shop wasn't knowledgeable about the ZF6 I'd expect they would take the advice of Bill and Jim and let you know what the relationship will be and who's responsible if anything happens.
Sorry it didn't work so well.
I would like to add that my personal experience with Bill and Jim has been nothing but positive. I've never dealt directly with SPEC, but are using their stage 3 puck style clutch disk on a 500HP plus engine and haven't had any issues.
I hope your trans holds up and you continue to enjoy the C4 experience.
Hopefully the shop warranties their labor. If the shop installs faulty parts you have to question their attention to detail. I understand parts may be defective, but when a shop does a job they should back up their work as should the manufacture. If the shop wasn't knowledgeable about the ZF6 I'd expect they would take the advice of Bill and Jim and let you know what the relationship will be and who's responsible if anything happens.
Sorry it didn't work so well.
I would like to add that my personal experience with Bill and Jim has been nothing but positive. I've never dealt directly with SPEC, but are using their stage 3 puck style clutch disk on a 500HP plus engine and haven't had any issues.
I hope your trans holds up and you continue to enjoy the C4 experience.
12-30-2013, 10:07 PM
#7
Race Director
Wow.
I dont even know where to begin....
Jim Jandik : My go-to for clutch hydraulic parts, and odd-ball new old stock parts that he might have a lead on.
Bill Bordeau: I go to him when I need some specific advice/ work for the internals of the ZF-6 (not the clutch, but rather whats inside the trans unit).
SPEC: They are my go to for the clutch and pressure plate. I am using a SPEC stage 3+ behind my 550 rwhp supercharged lt1. That said, I have my flywheel/clutch balanced together at a reputable akron, ohio machine shop. I do not trust them selling me a 'balanced' assembly. Other than that, I am happy with their stage 3+ product.
Labor: I do it all myself and trust no one else. No one else cares the way I do.
I dont even know where to begin....
Jim Jandik : My go-to for clutch hydraulic parts, and odd-ball new old stock parts that he might have a lead on.
Bill Bordeau: I go to him when I need some specific advice/ work for the internals of the ZF-6 (not the clutch, but rather whats inside the trans unit).
SPEC: They are my go to for the clutch and pressure plate. I am using a SPEC stage 3+ behind my 550 rwhp supercharged lt1. That said, I have my flywheel/clutch balanced together at a reputable akron, ohio machine shop. I do not trust them selling me a 'balanced' assembly. Other than that, I am happy with their stage 3+ product.
Labor: I do it all myself and trust no one else. No one else cares the way I do.
12-30-2013, 11:07 PM
#8
Safety Car
wow.. like posted above.. this is why I try and do ALL of my own work. Ill be pulling the trans soon for a carolina stg2 and light flywheel. If I scew up its my own time and my own fault. Cant beat that. 
Dont think I know who Jim Jandik is.. does he operate a business? Is he the guy I should go to for a slave?
Dont think I know who Jim Jandik is.. does he operate a business? Is he the guy I should go to for a slave?
01-02-2014, 12:47 PM
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St. Jude Donor '05
Think Jim takes old stock ones and redoes them so they last longer that was my take anyway
01-02-2014, 04:25 PM
#11
Race Director
Jim bought most/all NOS clutch parts a few years ago. Slaves (and masters) probably are the only thing left -- if at all.
Both Jim and Bill have the ability to rebuild slave cylinders. Last time I checked (2011?), I think rebuilding ran about $65. The both [Bill/Jim] were of the opinion that the original DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel slaves were the better option -- even if rebuilt.
Normally, people don't have time to remove, ship, rebuild, reship, and re-install a part. But, it's an option for people wanting to keep one in spare -- which I've considered. I have a DOM unit that failed and need rebuilding.
I'm running an O'Reilly's cast unit that's lasted for 1.5 years now. It's already outlasted the DOM unit I'd purchased from Ecklers in the early 2000's. (At the time, I didn't know it would be worth saving the dead OEM slave. Still not convinced -- since feedback on the O'Reilly's units seem O.K.)
As for knowing SMFW conversions, both guys would know the required specs.
Both Jim and Bill have the ability to rebuild slave cylinders. Last time I checked (2011?), I think rebuilding ran about $65. The both [Bill/Jim] were of the opinion that the original DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel slaves were the better option -- even if rebuilt.
Normally, people don't have time to remove, ship, rebuild, reship, and re-install a part. But, it's an option for people wanting to keep one in spare -- which I've considered. I have a DOM unit that failed and need rebuilding.
I'm running an O'Reilly's cast unit that's lasted for 1.5 years now. It's already outlasted the DOM unit I'd purchased from Ecklers in the early 2000's. (At the time, I didn't know it would be worth saving the dead OEM slave. Still not convinced -- since feedback on the O'Reilly's units seem O.K.)
As for knowing SMFW conversions, both guys would know the required specs.
Last edited by GREGGPENN; 01-02-2014 at 04:39 PM.
01-02-2014, 06:30 PM
#12
Burning Brakes
Strange, I was stationed in WA and now live in Oklahoma... and have had recent dealings with all except the shop you have reported.
I can say, hands down no questions asked, both Bill and Jim are more than trustworthy.
I can also comment on the SPEC flywheel and clutch. I have both the aluminum SMFW and stage 2+ in my C4. There was some chatter on mine. Hopefully you had yours balanced to the old flywheel. I had mine balanced and they didnt lock-tite down the weight screws... the weight went flying and smashed into my block, cracking it. This obviously sucked. 6 months later, I blew up my ZF.
So lesson learned, check the wights and friction surface nuts and bolts. Make sure it is balanced. Go easy on it for a little while till it breaks in. I am sitting round 480-500hp and the stage 2+ hasnt slipped once. No high spots or any real noticeable chatter.
I can say, hands down no questions asked, both Bill and Jim are more than trustworthy.
I can also comment on the SPEC flywheel and clutch. I have both the aluminum SMFW and stage 2+ in my C4. There was some chatter on mine. Hopefully you had yours balanced to the old flywheel. I had mine balanced and they didnt lock-tite down the weight screws... the weight went flying and smashed into my block, cracking it. This obviously sucked. 6 months later, I blew up my ZF.
So lesson learned, check the wights and friction surface nuts and bolts. Make sure it is balanced. Go easy on it for a little while till it breaks in. I am sitting round 480-500hp and the stage 2+ hasnt slipped once. No high spots or any real noticeable chatter.