BEWARE!! dealing with CalOffroad

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

OK its a shame to see all the badmouthing going on. I am from CalOffroad and we do specialise in many top of the line kits for Prados FJs Hilux Nissan etc and we focus heavily on quality and customer service.
And we have some of the best quality springs shocks and struts that money can buy.

We have offered you your money back on many occasions and we are currently in the process of custom building your front struts to the length you requested. As we also mentioned we dont normaly run this length as it will cause other issues but as you requested that is what we will do.

we have many coils in the range and they do vary in rates and free heights. Please be aware that purchasing Bilstein and CalOffroad products are absolute top of the line and are developed by some very experienced engineers. We develope the Bilstein technology and have tested with the Toyota TRD engineers in Germany to make the lengths and ride suited for our Australian conditions.

We have many customers that email us with great stories on how good there ride is. If there are any issues or answers you need just drop us an email or give us a call

Regards


Cal Goodman
0264564100

I think Gavin has been in contact. Maybe you should chase it up & sort it out? Just saying....... Now that its public, my 2 cents.

If simply telling someone they can have there money back and to send everything back when there is an issue is how we deal with things then none of us would get very far would we??
The springs you sent me clearly werent suitable and the advertised "Long Travel" Struts sent were exactly the same length as the stock struts so how could they possible be a viable long term solution for a 3" lift??

I don't really have an issue with any of this, hence why I have not wanted to opt to send it all back - that simply isnt a good outcome for iether of us...

My problem is how this has all been handled by the people I have been deeling with at your shop.... In the early days I was being given blatent miss information about where things were at in terms of getting to me - ie: "they will be packed and sent to you tomorrow" and then three days later "we just got them on the bench".....
And trying to convince me I have the right springs when they are clearly not right and so compressed on the strut that the top three coils are topped out thereby loosing any benefit of them being progressive (didnt ask for or order progressive, i realise this would have been a bonus so it is unfortunate that they were'nt suitable) to getting told on a number of occassions that there is no such thing as different rates in coils they only come in different heights as if I am some sort of idiot.

BTW - I sent the struts back on Friday but have not recieved any notification that you have recieved them. Can someone please do this? I did email and phone but did'nt get a responce nor did I get through on the phone.

I am still looking very much forward to getting this setup working - I have been saving up for it not to mention convincing my wife to get it for over four years so to say this whole process is destroying me at the moment would be an understatement.

I parted with my money to you guys on the 27th of January, it is now the 03rd of March and my pride and joy is sitting in the garage on jack stands.

I have tried reaching out to you - even sending a PM to you on FaceBook to contact me and when I am able to get through on your phones I get told you are not there and they will get you to call me.

Sure there is still time to get this story turned around, no doubt and hopeful of this.
Sorting this out on an open forum is hardly a good way to deal with your customers, you have my number mate and I am a paying customer who is simply trying to get a good outcome out of this. Why not just give me a call?

Actually now that I remember, and even after getting to told to email as phone can get busy... there was one case where i got told my issue is that I am emailing and then different people are dealing with the emails, hence the confusion..... WHO's fault is that, mine???? I think not.

You got my number...

I can hear where you are coming from.

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Well, it's all out in the open now, isn't it?

crliin, you have a customer. A customer who remains more interested in your product than you can imagine given the service he has received.

The best course of action at this point is to bury this little disaster by bending over backwards and delivering your customer exactly what he wants ASAP.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

We develope the Bilstein technology and have tested with the Toyota TRD engineers in Germany to make the lengths and ride suited for our Australian conditions.

I am really interested in hearing more about this process. How do you test in Germany for AU conditions?

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Offered his money back some time ago? Makes all the comments about going to vcat and fair trading seem a little dumb hey

Why is that? I'd be taking them to VCAT for having to pay for multiple return shipping of an item that wasn't supplied as described.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Always three sides to every story, his / theirs and somewhere in between - the truth.
Offered his money back some time ago? Makes all the comments about going to vcat and fair trading seem a little dumb hey

We not just talking about your standard 4 shocks and 4 springs here.... So simply stripping it all out and sending it back is easier said than done...
And since the offer made over the phone to send everything back was hardly a freindly one I was fearfull of copping not only easily $200+ to send it all back but also as per the website a 20% re-stock charge.
Including the time I have already needed to send things back I could be up for close to $800 and end up with nothing...

What I ordered:
- Front Struts
- Front Springs
- Rear Shocks
- Rear Springs
- Diff Drop
- Adjustable Rear Panhard Rod - (very nice the way its adjust's BTW - can do it without rmoval)
- AirBag Spacers (told them I had Blue airbags - they sent poliair spacers - then tried to bullshit me that poliair make blue airbags)
- Front Swaybar relocation Plate
- Rear Extended SwayBar Links
- Front Upper Control Arms
- Brake Portional Valve relocation Bracket (I ordered this so accept the that fact and will shelf it but apparently my car doesnt even have one so didnt need this.. but would have been nice if when ordering it the guys would have known to say "hey dude, you car doesnt even have one of those so you wont need this).
- New top hats for the struts.

[Fred63 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fred63]

Cal,

sort it out.
your only as good as your last customers review / experience.

And this site is very public and frequented by heaps of Prado owners.
Take a hit and make the man a happy customer.
Also interested, tested in Germany for our conditions.
An autobahn doesn't really compare...
my 2 bobs worth

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

We develope the Bilstein technology and have tested with the Toyota TRD engineers in Germany to make the lengths and ride suited for our Australian conditions.

So you've developed Bilstein technology? I believe you sell Bilstein technology!

...lengths suited for Australian conditions? Can you please explain to everyone on this forum why you run a 555mm length strut at a 3" lift, which gives you a ridiculous 20mm of droop?

Best

Mark

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

So you've developed Bilstein technology? I believe you sell Bilstein technology!

...lengths suited for Australian conditions? Can you please explain to everyone on this forum why you run a 555mm length strut at a 3" lift, which gives you a ridiculous 20mm of droop?

Best

Mark

And while you are explaining things, can you explain the problems caused by a 575mm strut with a 3" lift?

The Superior Engineering 3" struts are 574mm open................... Just sayin!

Cheers Andrew

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

And while you are explaining things, can you explain the problems caused by a 575mm strut with a 3" lift?

The Superior Engineering 3" struts are 574mm open................... Just sayin!

Cheers Andrew

Not arguing!

You might know, but the answer is c/v joint premature wear, likely damage if used offroad.
Also upper ball joint binding.
Wheel alignment.

You would need diff drop - which means you loose your clearance again, so why for.......
Also Aftermarket uca's.

That's why we stick with a good 2" lift on prados. Right?

Edit: The o.p has the required stuff so for him no probs!!! So your point is taken.
Not sure what to do with the brake adjuster twits.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

This is a 3" lift kit, UCA'S were part of the deal, which solves most those issues. At 575 I doubt CV binding would be an issue.

There is no reason you can't do a 3 or 4 inch lift on a Prado, it just costs more.

Cheers Andrew

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

This is a 3" lift kit, UCA'S were part of the deal, which solves most those issues. At 575 I doubt CV binding would be an issue.

There is no reason you can't do a 3 or 4 inch lift on a Prado, it just costs more.

Cheers Andrew

Roger!

Even less than 575mm, upper ball joint binding can occur, also UCA getting jammed in the coil. You can be lucky.
Even less than 575mm, HUGE angles on c/v brings the risk of them breaking to extreme!! Without that diff drop.
It's a question of when not if. Well it's ok if you don't take it out & play, lots of peeps out there doing it for looks.

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey all,

For those interested, it appears the CV binding open length on the 150 series is slightly longer than the 120 series, start reading on p8/p9;

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-Bilsten/page8

I can feel my rotors on my 120 start getting very hard to rotate at 578mm open length. Zerosecta measured somewhere in the 580-590mm range, but has yet to have some more data from other 150 drivers to verify the figure.

I would say there's no problem running a 575mm strut on a 150 series. I'd be getting slightly antsy about 575mm on a 120.

At full droop, I only have a 1 degree improvement in my CV angles with a diff drop in (amts 20mm), so the diff drop does nothing for the CV at full droop, it's really only there to improve the angle at ride height.

As AJ has said, after market UCA's solve the upper ball joint binding problem. However, the SPC arms with first generation boots always end up binding on the coils, and the boots break. The smaller second gen boots get around this problem.

...the thing I'm more concerned about is the lower ball joint. Also, my CV boot is already very close to binding at 570mm.

Running a 3" lift can sacrifice a lot of articulation, even with a 575mm strut. You will struggle to get 70mm of droop.

Running a 555mm strut at a 3" lift is mechanical madness, you'll end up with less than 30mm of droop, and your fancy pants Bilstein struts will be dead from top-outs in no time.

Best

Mark

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Don't forget about the Department against Transport and Insewerants.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Not arguing!
You might know, but the answer is c/v joint premature wear, likely damage if used offroad.
Also upper ball joint binding.
Wheel alignment.
You would need diff drop - which means you loose your clearance again, so why for.......
Also Aftermarket uca's.
That's why we stick with a good 2" lift on prados. Right?
Edit: The o.p has the required stuff so for him no probs!!! So your point is taken.
Not sure what to do with the brake adjuster twits.

Yip - Got all those things from Cal :-) actually in my list of things above I forgot about the diff drop kit and rear Adjustable panhard rod that also came

[clarkie383 Member Find all posts View Profile Close clarkie383]

How this problem is solved will say a lot about customer service.
waiting.......