Update 2012- (the short version): It has been brought to our attention that certain 600 Microsprint racers sponsored by some of our competitors have been put on a commission based program to where they make money, or save money with their engine builder- if they can convince you to go to them with your engine work. It has got to where it is a very crowded business and there is a lot of "back-scratching" going on- so beware of advice from some of these guy's. Please take it on your own to learn the facts. Call or email us if we can help sort through the "smoke". Racers beware! Who really is on your side? Now we all know there is a lot of "B.S." going around any racetrack, or any time racers get together. …Doesn't it seem you can ask 10 people at the track for advice and you get 11 different answers? I really want you to think about something: I would like for you to realize that if someone recommends FTZ pipes, carbs or motors to you, that this person probably has your best interest in mind. Please understand that because we hand build, or hand modify most everything we offer and put many extra hours in our stuff, that we are not in a position where we can give big discounts to "dealers" or chassis builders, or any other type of wholesaler. In other words, if a dealer, or chassis guy recommends our stuff- they usually do not stand to profit by doing so. If they do recommend us, they are simply wanting you to have the best power products on your machine- and that makes everyone look better. These same guys could probably recommend another brand of parts and make more money off the deal. A few years ago there was 12 to 14 chassis shops recommending our motors for their cars. Recently, there are a lot of engine or injection shops out there that try to "get in bed" with the chassis shops or certain racers by giving away stuff or offering big discounts, because they know that the chassis guy is the first interface with a new racing customer, who will often follow their advice. That or the chassis shop have taken on the engine sales themselves, instead of leaving it to a dedicated race engine shop that specializes in only that. I was recently made aware that some racers are actually given several hundred dollars in sales commissions for refering customers to certain injection vendors. I guess that is not against the law, but we have always prefered to let the quality of our work sell itself. And then there is the case where another racer, or some guy at the track will talk our stuff down- that we are too expensive- or something similarly bad. (It is really a stretch if they say that our stuff is not fast-or not reliable. The record proves that wrong, obviously). It usually boils down to either this guy is trying to sell you something himself, or perhaps he just does not like the idea of having to race against you, if you have our stuff. So please beware of people's motives. And take time to form your own opinion. And don't buy this crap that "all you need is" a stock motor to run up front- I have heard that for 15 years and it hasn't came true yet. If a stock motor wins it is because the fast guys weren't there, or they messed up- PERIOD. I will never understand why somebody would do all the work and spent all the money it takes to race- and then come up short on the motor program. Anyway, if you decide you would want to be the hammer- rather than the nail, then give us a call, and we can talk about what you need for your program to be first class. Now let's talk about prices- and pricing. For any business to survive, some profit has to be generated. In today's brick & mortar business world overhead and expenses can be astronomical. We have always tried to keep prices to a minimum, and not recommend any mods or parts that don't offer a good "bang for the buck". It is no secret we are located in a crappy little building with no frills. But we have a much larger crew than most race engine shops, and we have worked hard to make that an advantage in efficiency. In other words my best guys aren't washing parts and scraping gaskets- they are doing the complicated stuff. This keeps prices down. This is our clear advantage over the shade tree guy that is working out of his house, packing his own boxes, talking on the phone, and all the rest himself. One point that does aggravate me is that with every motor that comes through here, we spend tons of extra time on, going the extra mile so to speak, by putting our "twist" on things. This doesn't happen quickly, and we often spend several extra hours on a job for not much more than the same amount some other shop may charge for just bolting one together. The fact of the matter is, the lawn equipment shop next door makes a much better hourly rate than we do fixing mowers, weed eaters and the like. But what we do, we do for love of racing, and the desire to be the best in our sport. All our estimates have all parts and labor items shown line by line. if another shop gives you one with lump you are likely getting re-used parts, etc. We see that more and more. We have even put together a Level-1 R6 "Base" motor for $4495 and it is combined in a "Car Kit" for under $5995. This is aimed at the guy that wants a FTZ built motor, but might need to add some the other options later. We will even stack this "base" package against any other shop's motors offered size for size. I feel that comparing what other engine shops do to their motors, to all the extra tweaks that we put into them, it is these other engine shops that are actually overcharging racers. I know that is a bold statement- but I truly believe it to be true, and I have 26 years of experience selling and building engines this stuff to base that on. When I first started in business someone very wise gave me this advise: There is always going to be someone trying to sell less - for less.... Just keep up the quality, charge what you have to to do that, and everything will work out. I also believe we can offer you a 5-10hp edge on any other motor out there. I really don't understand why someone would go to all the work and spend all the money it takes to travel and race, and not have have the fastest bullet in their gun- just to save a couple of thousand dollars- when that much could be easily won, or at least saved by getting away from the mid pack "slammers". . ....Just keep that in mind next time you pull up to the track gate! Contact us for an actual quotation that we will gladly show you where every penny you will spend with us goes. Thanks for reading this! Jon Fitzpatrick If you are not running an FTZ motor, then you are not as fast as you could be!

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