UPR product failures after 500 miles

[JEREMYUPR]

Hello,

I received an email regarding this thread this morning and I decided to clear up some of the confusion.

1. Our billet and suspension items are made in Florida, which is in the USA. Nothing billet or suspension is or ever will be made overseas. But I suppose the computer you are on is made in China and thats ok??

2. You do get what you pay for, and it is sad when companies over charge for their items. We would be glad to share how much aluminum goes into a smog or a/c eliminator kit, how much machine time, and you be the judge on who in this industry gouges.

3. The customer that started the post contacted me yesterday morning, and was disappointed in his product. I immediately went to our warehouse and did indeed find an issue. The bolt that travels through the center on the smog/a/c kit is supposed to be a very snug fit. Well it was not. I took measurements on 5 kits. The issue is not our machining, it was the bolt itself. It seems as if the shank of the bolt is inconsistent with our original drawings/measurements. The sleeve that the bolt travels through is a "constant", and it is unfortunate that we will get the brunt of this post due to a bolt manufacturers tolerance issue.

4. UPR's resolve has always been to do whatever it takes to solve the problem. We are in contact with the customer and we should have new hardware for him shortly.

5. Anyone on this forum is more than welcome to visit our facility in Florida. I would be glad to show our quality control, our welding facilities, whatever it takes to get this CHINA idea out of the equation. We only use the highest quality aluminum from the same supplier as many other "mustang companies".
Furthermore all oof our chrome moly comes from a company that also supplies oem people you might know--JOHN FORCE RACING and TONY SCHUMACHER! If it stands up to their abuse, it should be more than enough for us slow cars.

My direct email is [email protected], I am available 24 hours a day!

Sincerely,

Jeremy Martorella

 

[BK_CAULEY]

Well whats the excuse for stealing other peoples ideas?

 

[S&B]

Thanks for posting and maning up Jeremy.

You did talk a bit about how your prodcuts are not from china, but never discussed any products that you sell that are reverse engineered or ( copied ). People have whats call R&D time involved in these products and there price has to cover that. When someone copies or stocks their stores with copied items they are doing bad business.

 

[JEREMYUPR]

I do appreciate the interest as to your reference to our copying of product. This is an argument I can make, however I am not sure there will be a winner.

You call it copying, and yes you are entitled to that. We call it helping the customer. I will use a certain part as an example.

We watched as another company produced a billet rear end cover for an 8.8. They charged $499 for the product. Was this a copy of all of the companies that already produced this out of cast aluminum--somewhat. The idea was to cover and strengthen the rear. The design or appearance was not the same, although it still performed the same function. We took 3 cast covers and found the good and the bad on all of them. We then did a prototype out of billet based on these 3 cast covers. Ours looks nothing like the other billet one, however we were amazed at how many they sold at $499 when they purchase the material from the same suppliers as we do--our price was $299. Yes both companies used someone else's idea on how to cover and support the rear end, however we did not gouge our customers.

When it was time for me to re-do the k member kit years back I purchase every companies kit that I could think of. All of them were installed on my 40k 1993 mustang gt. We found some good and some bad on all. We decided to use the best features of some and add to that. We also have huge buying power for the material, therefore we pass the discount along to our customers.

Fire back just keep it fair and "PG"

 

[90lxcoupe]

nobody ever mentions how UPR supports alot of race cars and events too...

 

[JEREMYUPR]

I second that!

Since I/we are racers, we have always given back to the racers.
I can brag that we are without a doubt the company that spends the most money and time with our racers.

 

[Noobz347]

Question for Jeremy:

What's YOUR (not UPRs) opinion on the quality difference between the two items below.

View attachment 198212

I think that the point that many are trying make here (and one that continually comes to my mind when I think UPR or Granatelli) is that you create your own reputation.

If I talk to folks about MM, it often comes up in conversation about their being a bit spendy (granted, you shop there, you spend some $$) but bullet proof. Start a conversation about UPR and it ends up as this thread does. Who's responsible for that? The customers who continually break parts? If so... why doesn't MM have that reputation? I'm sure that MM parts have broken before but at what comparative rate? (rhetorical)

You can pretty much do business however you like and still make money. Any schlub thumbing through a magazine can find an ad with a decent looking price on it and grab for the telephone. A crowd like this can be more discerning. Here your success rate isn't based on how much was spent on the part... it's based on what is took to break that beeoch!

So which reputation would you like to build? What steps are you taking to change the one you currently possess?

 

[Shaolin Crane]

I second that!

Since I/we are racers, we have always given back to the racers.
I can brag that we are without a doubt the company that spends the most money and time with our racers.

I hope you dont believe that, I've never seen UPR at a road course event

 

[BK_CAULEY]

Whats your defense on this??

This didnt take long.....UPR sucks=

 

[90lxcoupe]

If I talk to folks about MM, it often comes up in conversation about their being a bit spendy (granted, you shop there, you spend some $$) but bullet proof. Start a conversation about UPR and it ends up as this thread does. Who's responsible for that? The customers who continually break parts? If so... why doesn't MM have that reputation? I'm sure that MM parts have broken before but at what comparative rate? (rhetorical)

WHERE ALL ALL THESE BROKEN K-MEMBERS EVERONE TALKS ABOUT?

You cant compare a MM k-member to a UPR, the MM one is designed for a road race car, the UPR is for a street strip car. An apple will never taste like an orange.

The only complaints i had about my UPR k-member was that there wasnt two holes on the motor plates to locate the motor mounts and it looks to me like they fixed that problem in the picture you showed. Ive had my k-member for a few years, jacked the car up on the center of it more than a couple hundered times if i had to guess and i had it off the car a couple months ago and everything(with the exception or road grime and marks from my jack), it looks the same as it did when i got it.

 

[Shaolin Crane]

WHERE ALL ALL THESE BROKEN K-MEMBERS EVERONE TALKS ABOUT?

You cant compare a MM k-member to a UPR, the MM one is designed for a road race car, the UPR is for a street strip car. An apple will never taste like an orange.

The only complaints i had about my UPR k-member was that there wasnt two holes on the motor plates to locate the motor mounts and it looks to me like they fixed that problem in the picture you showed. Ive had my k-member for a few years, jacked the car up on the center of it more than a couple hundered times if i had to guess and i had it off the car a couple months ago and everything(with the exception or road grime and marks from my jack), it looks the same as it did when i got it.

So the k-member from MM that keeps the wheel position the same isnt a street strip k-member? What about a UPR k-member, ive never seen them mention akerman geometry, anti drive, etc All things that are important in a street car, maybe if it was a dedicated drag car, but those arent things you can just shrug off.

UPR what kind of engineers do you have developing your products, what kind of testing do you go through on your products.

For the record i have seen UPR k-members crack at the welds on the bottom portion of it, it was replaced then the owener had it gusseted. Seems this its ok to be cheap if we replace it for free thing, can be dangerous. Doesnt seem MM, griggs, Agent 47, JME none of these companies have these kind of problems. And they will replace anything no questions asked, no "proof" needed.

 

[90lxcoupe]

If you put a MM k-member on your street strip car your not too smart. Im saying that MM stuff is made to handle(i didnt mean it cant be used on a street car), the UPR stuff is good in a drar race application. I dont care if my car cant turn, its got VW bug tires on the front with no swaybar... why would someone like me buy the MM k-member

 

[Shaolin Crane]

If you put a MM k-member on your street strip car your not too smart. Im saying that MM stuff is made to handle(i didnt mean it cant be used on a street car), the UPR stuff is good in a drar race application. I dont care if my car cant turn, its got VW bug tires on the front with no swaybar... why would someone like me buy the MM k-member

What makes the MM K member a handling only k-member? Many racers run MM k-members on their cars, and going with a k-member that is overall more robust than UPR, has the proper akerman and anti dive geometry, and can boogie the 1320 while still offering the ride needed while on the street, pizza cutters or not.
What makes the MM k-member a bad idea for strip applications?

 

[90lxcoupe]

What makes the MM k-member a bad idea for strip applications?

Price and weight.

And my front tires and missing swaybar are the limiting factor on how my car handles on the street not the k-member.

 

[Noobz347]

Primarily, what I'm interested in is quality vs. quality. If the UPR piece (not just k-members but any part), is niche specific then how does the quality of that piece compare to the quality of a counterpart, even if it fills a different niche. It's not apples to oranges... they're both k-members and both need to be designed to handle the stresses for their intended purpose.

MM and Griggs for instance, are very specific in their descriptions of what their particular part is good for. In many cases, there are different version of the same part specifically for an application (i.e. LCAs for street, drag, rated HP or torque). Even the bushings are application and activity specific.

 

[srtthis]

I second that!

Since I/we are racers, we have always given back to the racers.
I can brag that we are without a doubt the company that spends the most money and time with our racers.

thats the damn truth! i see you guys at every normal sized to large event i go to. and thats a few a year between NMRA ford fever and import vs domestics. hell we have 2 (even though one got a little burnt up when we pushed the rod out the block) tire covers from you guys at ford fever 2 years ago... you guys are good in my book... anyone who puts in the money and time into the grass roots racing does...

 

[Shaolin Crane]

Price and weight.

And my front tires and missing swaybar are the limiting factor on how my car handles on the street not the k-member.

I agree the tires and missing swaybar is gonna make it handle like chit, but that doesnt make the k member a road racing only k-member.

The price you pay for MM is the guarantee that i will NOT fail under any circumstances, find me a place where MM has come under fire for inferior products. UPR can lay claim to using the best parts blah blah, but we've all held the products from what ive seen, shoddy welds, improper weld penetration, and that typical "cheap" feeling when you hold it. Not to mention they dont design or R&D their own stuff, rather just steal it from other companies, and rely on those companies testing for their products to last cause they stole it.

 

[90lxcoupe]

they're both k-members and both need to be designed to handle the stresses for their intended purpose.

The UPR does "handle the stresses for their intended purpose." If they were as bad as you and other say then the google search i did earlier would have shown the many failures that have happened. If i had a k-member that just broke, for no good reason, i would definitly share those findings with everyone else. So where are the pictures of them broken? Im looking, and i cant find any.

In many cases, there are different version of the same part specifically for an application (i.e. LCAs for street, drag, rated HP or torque). Even the bushings are application and activity specific.

UPR also does this with there rear suspension.


This.
http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5102110&postcount=5

 

[srtthis]

I agree the tires and missing swaybar is gonna make it handle like chit, but that doesnt make the k member a road racing only k-member.

The price you pay for MM is the guarantee that i will NOT fail under any circumstances, find me a place where MM has come under fire for inferior products. UPR can lay claim to using the best parts blah blah, but we've all held the products from what ive seen, shoddy welds, improper weld penetration, and that typical "cheap" feeling when you hold it. Not to mention they dont design or R&D their own stuff, rather just steal it from other companies, and rely on those companies testing for their products to last cause they stole it.

dont agree with that at all... i will get pictures of my control arms when i get home. they are very well built very nice welds. they dont feel cheap at all.

 

[srtthis]

UPR also does this with there rear suspension.


This.
Yellow Bullet Forums - View Single Post - UPR's K-Member kits

know ryan hecox personaly and knowing if there was something better out there for his application he would run it... and ive seen that car smack the front end a few times... if it holds up to him it will hold up for anything i do with it!