Buying An Ed Curtis Cam

[mikestang63]

I've used Ed in the past. He gets busy durng race season. Yes, he wants you to fill out the engine slip and prepay. Took me about 3 weeks to get my cam. That's because he gets a lot of tire kickers that want him to recommend stuff for free. One thing with Ed is he doesn' do things half assed and that means he doesn't recommend or use cheap parts. He is a ' do it once and do it right the first time" guy. Yeah you will probably spend a little more money going with his cam, springs, timing chain, etc. but they are all top quality parts that work well. He's always responded to me in the past but I've not used him in a few years. Would I use him again- absolutely. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mustang5L5]

On the website, it pretty much states to not fill out the form or expect questions answered until you've actually purchased the custom cam and paid for it, otherwise you are just kicking tires and getting info to use towards someone else's product. Reminds me of mom and pop type stores where people come in for advice and opinions and then leave and go buy it online elsewhere. When someone's knowledge has value, I wouldn't hold it against them to want to make sure they get paid for it.

I've never heard a bad thing about his work. All top notch, high quality stuff and to be honest he's probably established a good enough reputation that he can pick/choose how he wants to respond in many cases.

I've filled out his tech sheet but have yet to make a purchase. Really, for my use the only question I have is whether it's worth it for me to get a custom cam or just get an OTS cam and call it a day.

 

[Bullitt347]

IDK...I filled out the form, sent it in and got no response at all. I e-mailed and asked if he had any questions about my build...feel free to call/text/e mail and I would gladly fill in any gaps if necessary. I never once asked for ANY information from him about what he thought, just let me know what else is needed. Crickets. Lots and lots of crickets. I was not "kicking tires". I have spent more on my engine than most people spend on the entire car, so $ is not the issue. He had/has the link to my build thread so he can see everything involved in the build....Crickets. He obviously has zero interest in starting a conversation. I would gladly pre-pay with zero input from him on the build, but that is not good enough I guess. I will never know as I was talking to a wall, and walls dont talk back. ​

 

[RangerJoe]

Like I said before, my FTI cam performs as expected. But, the whole non communication until I get paid bit is a little hard to swallow when you are trying to make an educated decision with your hard earned money. Even after I paid, he left several questions unanswered. I even went as far as numbering my questions so he could systematically answer them. I didn't get answers to all of them.

No complaints on the product, but most of us ordering cams are do it yourself type people and want some insight on the decision making process. In all honesty, I bet my cam can't be too custom. How many 331, AFR, systemax headed street strip cars are out there? Lol.

The man obviously knows what he is doing and has made a great name for himself, but I have seen a few of these threads pop up around the web over the last year or so. As business grows he is probably going to have to adapt to meet customer expectations, other wise he may end up ruining his good name.

Joe

 

[revhead347]

Bottom line is you can't grind a cam without customer input. You can't prepay for a camshaft with an expectation of how you want it to run and never be able to tell the grinder how you want it to run. Everyone wants something different out of their engine. Some people are still running vacuum power brakes, some people want it to be able to cruise at 1500rpms, some don't care what it does N/A as long as it runs well on nitrous, some want their car to be balls out between 5000 and 6800rpms on the track and don't care how it runs otherwise. If you sent Ed money, never spent 2 minutes telling him how you wanted the engine to run, and got the cam you wanted, then you just got lucky. It's no reflection of his business practices. There are a couple of guys on here that got great cams from him, but there are also a handful on this website that said his cam ran like dog, never got a regrind from him, and had to buy another cam elsewhere. He's not that busy during race season when he has time to post 9 different articles about how Obama is somehow an atheist and a satan worshipper on Hardcore during business hours. I ran my transmission shop for years. One out of every ten people that call you actually end up paying you for service; that's just part of the business. That doesn't mean you don't pick up the phone and be as courteous as you can be.

Kurt

 

[FastDriver]

there are also a handful on this website that said his cam ran like dog

Where is that coming from?

 

[EDC]

Just got this thread sent to me as it appears the liberal snowflakes are whining about how I conduct business...

On any give day, I'll send out 50+ Emails responses for people asking about working with them on a project. Starting at about 5am every day and going as far as I can without slowing down the shop schedule. Check the time stamp on some of these responses and you'd know that. Now, if you can't respond with accurate information on the Tech Form and I have to do the research on "your" project, well folks, that response gets pushed to the back of the line.

Here's how a successful business works for those who never took "Business 101" in school.

Wholesale accounts and dealers get priority. These are the people who are the most consistent income generators in order for a business to keep the doors open.

Retail customers who have placed orders. These people have put their hard earned money up to purchase a product. Whether repairing a set of blown up cylinder heads, porting an intake manifold, a custom camshaft or even a simple spring kit. They paid up front and get their orders completed as quickly as humanly possible.

Email quotes are the next item on the list. They take the longest and provide the most problems as you can clearly see. Some people believe they deserve the same priority as those who have placed an order. Sorry, that's a false assumption. There is no cash flow created when sending out a two page quote. The income is generated when an order is placed. It's called the "real world" of business.

As for the "no phone call" policy, if you don't like it, stop complaining about it and go elsewhere. It's noted on the web site and been known for decades that calls are limited to dealers and manufacturers. It's nothing new. If you want to obtain cam specs or detailed information on a valve spring package without purchasing, there is a "consultation fee" listed on the website. Go for it. My time is not free nor is it unlimited.

Now... Kurt... have you seen the information required on the FTI Tech Form? You allude that the pertinent details are not included. Bull dung. Compare my tech form with any other combination developer and see who asks for more data on a project. The only other vendor I know of with a similar form actually admitted he stole mine and just changed the contact info for his own use. Plagiarism is the greatest form of flattery.

Also Kurt, if you have examples of the customers who had problems with a combination I have built for them, please list them by name. Bet there's more to the story than your accusations. Far be it for you to tell both sides of a story when you have an obvious agenda.

Got to go folks... I have orders to complete and ship out before we shut down for some well deserved vacation time...

 

[General karthief]

I personally thank you for your response, I know when time allowed you would chime in. I also run a business although I am semi retired now, my clients wish I was still working their accounts, reputation is everything in life, you just keep on keep'n on as I know you will.

 

[68keyblr]

My experience with Ed was purely positive and 100% through email. Once you order with Ed, you will get top notch service and after sale care. He has helped me with several issues that had nothing to do with him for free. I once asked Ed about a warranty - his response was "I'm your warranty" and he was right. He has always been there for me to answer questions once you actually place an order and send the money in. The top end kit he sold me produced ridiculous numbers on the dyno and greatly exceeded expectations.

 

[HotFox]

I feel exactly the way you do . I have huge respect for him . But when it came to him not answering me two different times it was time to look else where . Nick @84Ttop put me on to Freezy . From the minute I spoke to him it was like talking to someone I was friends with for 5 years . We spoke for a day or two through text until he finally got all my Info and ground me a cam . On top of that being he's local to me his customer service and support isnsecond to none . He's helped me at the track numerous times and also will text or take interest in your car to help with progression in anyway he can . Just my experience though .

Bottom line is you can't grind a cam without customer input. You can't prepay for a camshaft with an expectation of how you want it to run and never be able to tell the grinder how you want it to run. Everyone wants something different out of their engine. Some people are still running vacuum power brakes, some people want it to be able to cruise at 1500rpms, some don't care what it does N/A as long as it runs well on nitrous, some want their car to be balls out between 5000 and 6800rpms on the track and don't care how it runs otherwise. If you sent Ed money, never spent 2 minutes telling him how you wanted the engine to run, and got the cam you wanted, then you just got lucky. It's no reflection of his business practices. There are a couple of guys on here that got great cams from him, but there are also a handful on this website that said his cam ran like dog, never got a regrind from him, and had to buy another cam elsewhere. He's not that busy during race season when he has time to post 9 different articles about how Obama is somehow an atheist and a satan worshipper on Hardcore during business hours. I ran my transmission shop for years. One out of every ten people that call you actually end up paying you for service; that's just part of the business. That doesn't mean you don't pick up the phone and be as courteous as you can be.

Kurt

See that is where Ed exceeded my expectations. I wrote all the specs out. Then wrote a full paragraph telling him this is a street car I was willing to sacrifice top end to have it driveable on the street. He provided that and then some this car will pull down to 1000rpm in 5th gear with a 4.56:1 and pull power to 7500rpm. I did not want a chug- chug car that was little to no street manors. And has went 11.11@125 in the quarter, 470rwhp.

 

[cleanLX]

^^yep, that is why he has that section at the end of the form.
All you have to do is take the time to tell/type him exactly what you want.

I've never bought anything from him, yet, he's always responded to my correspondence... not always immediately of course, but certainly timely, at least IMO.

 

[95opal]

Ive had Ed grind two cams for two different builds... Nothing but good things with both transactions. Tire kickers and info seekers always have issues otherwise there isnt another guy I would trust.

 

[John Vincent]

Subscribing for the list of unhappy customers Kurt is going to supply.

 

[revhead347]

As for the "no phone call" policy, if you don't like it, stop complaining about it and go elsewhere. It's noted on the web site and been known for decades that calls are limited to dealers and manufacturers. It's nothing new. If you want to obtain cam specs or detailed information on a valve spring package without purchasing, there is a "consultation fee" listed on the website. Go for it. My time is not free nor is it unlimited.


Also Kurt, if you have examples of the customers who had problems with a combination I have built for them, please list them by name. Bet there's more to the story than your accusations. Far be it for you to tell both sides of a story when you have an obvious agenda.

Unbelievable. Here's a business tip. When someone is critical of your business. Try a response like "How do you think I could try and serve my customers better?" or "What could I have done differently to make this deal go better?" There are no wholesale or dealer accounts on this forum, you have to convince people who are working on their own stuff with their own hard earned cash. I admit that my patience for poor response times has grown thin because of where I live. I just called a tree guy last week, said he call me back that night; still haven't heard from him. I've been waiting 3 years for a quote on some concrete work from two different businesses.

I don't have a problem with the email only policy, Tmoss has an email only policy. He answers in a timely manner, and gets stuff in and out quick. ProLine is in my neck of the woods. Been there a few times, gotten quotes the same day, and my business is completely irrelevant to their bottom line. That's probably how they got to be the biggest name in drag racing. I've been doing this for 20 years, and only run into a handful of bad deals. My only agenda is to pass on my experiences to others so they don't waste effort when I've already wasted it for them.

When I contact a cam guy first with all the info in the first email, then ship everything down to the engine shop, all the machine work gets completed, and the machinest is calling me every day because he needs a cam to test fit so he can get this stuff back out, and the cam guy can't hammer out a response to an email in that period of time, there's a problem. We moved on, and he had a custom ground Comp Cam delivered 4 days later. And there it is, probably why Comp Cams is the biggest name in performance camshafts.

Now if you want to find the names of those dissatisfied with your product, check your inbox; I bet they are in there. Or you can arduously search through this forum and find them. It's your business, and your reputation. You decide what you want to do with it.

Kurt

 

[FastDriver]

This is how he makes a living and his reputation is excellent. Bad form to call a well regarded professional out without personal experience, invoke a reference to dissastisfied customers who you won't actually name, and then shame him when he defends himself.

 

[EDC]

This is how he makes a living and his reputation is excellent. Bad form to call a well regarded professional out without personal experience, invoke a reference to dissastisfied customers who you won't actually name, and then shame him when he defends himself.

No biggie.... I needed a good laugh to start off 2018 and "Kurt" definitely provided it.

Thirty five years in the performance business and looking like it's going even stronger for 2018 so taking business advice from an internet troll like "Kurt" just ain't going to happen.

Thanks to everyone in this hobby who have actually worked with me to improve their projects. You have to understand there are those petty attention whores who are envious and jealous of your accomplishments and feel the need to put their insecurities out there for public consumption.

Happy New Year and mo' powa' for all!

 

[General karthief]

On that note I would like to lock this before, well, like noobz says 'nothing to see here, next thread'.

 

[Noobz347]

I would ad this though, probably not necessary:

I spent many years in the employ of the Military. It's tough at times but when involved in business dealings with the civilian community it was our way or the highway. Companies had to accept that in order to do business with us even if it meant changing their business practices. As a result, there were business that would just not do deals with the government.

It wasn't because they didn't want the money or had an axe to grind. It was because it was not possible to do what they do to the level of competency that they expect from themselves, in order to produce the product that was being asked for at the quality level they expect from themselves.


Well, now I work on the other side. I build flight simulators and sometimes those simulators are for government agencies. There are jobs that we will not take because their required processes cause additional problems to the creation of the system itself.

The point is that everyone likes to concentrate on just the needs of the customer. The manufacturer also has needs. Some of those needs are a DIRECT REFLECTION of the end item and become nonnegotiable.

I would imagine that in 35 years of doing business that there are portions of the process that are critical in order to guarantee the item.


I trust the Original Poster got his answers before this was closed?