In October of 2008, my vehicle was sent to Code3Performance in the care of Brandon Smith with a Code3 s/c pulley and intake that I had purchased in August of 2008 directly through Code3's website.

The original agreement and intent of sending my vehicle to Code3 was to provide my C32 for new product development and as a test bed for a twin turbo set-up. Six weeks into the project, Brandon chose not to move fwd with the aforementioned b/c of unchartered waters, expenses, and lead time to complete the project.

At this stage it was agreed upon by both parties, that the vehicle would be used for a dual pulley set-up - involving various combinations of Code3 s/c pullies and LET 181/185mm crank pullies. The vehicle would also be outfitted by the full gamut of Code3 cooling accessories, including: a Johnson IC pump, Code3 HE, Code3 Reservoir, and the infamous Code3 s/c intercooler.
Furthermore, Brandon had decided to send the blower to Stigmeier to be ported and polished; an alcohol injection kit was installed, as well as a one off intake, and 30 shot nitrous was installed on the vehicle. Larger injectors were installed on the car, as Brandon believed that fuel was a major constraint of the equation that needed to be addressed.

Countless hours of gratuitous dyno tuning from LET (approx. 30 hours) ensued - A BIG THANK YOU TO JERRY AND WAYNE to try to make the BIG power gains that Brandon was hoping for.

Twelve weeks after sending my car off to Code3, New Years eve, the car was returned to its origin. The car remained in my possession for a little under one week, when it started to demonstrate signs of performance issues.
Brandon picked up the car, and drove it back to Code3's HQ in Santa Barbara where it remained for another two weeks.

End results: the stock s/c pulley and injectors were returned to stock; a 185mm LET crank pulley was installed; and a JERRY tune complemented the package.

Immediately after receiving my car back, the vehicle started to experience bucking issues under acceleration. At first, the vehicle would act up at a certain RPM/Tq range, and since then, the problem has become consistently worse.

I immediately informed Brandon of the issues I was experiencing to no avail, assistance, or direction whatsoever.

To compound the aggravation, Brandon Smith has yet to return the following list of assets which have been removed from the vehicle and for which I have paid for:
+C3P s/c pulley
+Powder Coated Intake
+OEM s/c intercooler
+OEM s/c plaque (was removed by Brandon without permission )

I am paraphrasing the last communication via email that I have received from Brandon on Feb 25, 2009:

Good morning Lawrence,

I am picking up pulleys either tomorrow or Monday.
Intake was damaged by the powdercoater. They paid for a new piece, which I just purchased. I just need to get it cut and welded again...

Stock IC and badge are sitting here, just need to send them your way.

Thanks,

Brandon Smith
Owner, Code3 Performance
brandon@code3performance.com
www.code3performance.com
Office (805)265-6765
Fax (805)265-6767

After 3 months of countless documented emails and phone calls to Code3Performance owner Brandon Smith in regards to unreturned assets, I am writing this thread to forewarn any prospective clients of the absolute lack of response, performance, follow through and duress that I have experienced.

I have recently sent my vehicle to the care of Vadim at VRP in Costa Mesa, CA to problem solve the performance issues that I have experienced since the vehicle was returned from Brandon at Code3.

Some $6k later at VRP (a combination of performance headers, exhaust, throttle body, intakes, tuning...), and the replacement of the Code3 s/c intercooler with a new stock MB IC and map sensor have rendered the vehicle a beast again.

Vadim at VRP states the Code3 s/c intercooler to be the cause of the "bucking" which the vehicle was experiencing. Boost leak, and lack of air flow are the precursors.

Oh, I almost forgot, apparently "the s/c was never ported and polished either", states Vadim at VRP. Either Brandon took my "ported s/c" and placed it on his own vehicle, or the s/c was never ported and polished.

Brandon, I am sick and tired of being ridiculed by your inability to communicate in a professional manner, your ill promises, and lies!
Let the truth be known to everyone!

Please return my parts immediately!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. As an SRT-6 owner also looking to improve performance I am bewildered by the lack of response to your post. Certainly Code3 is a major contributer to our performance but not above criticism. Is this politics or has everyone gone deaf and dumb?

 

Yeah men, it is a shame, and bad point for code 3, but how I understand the problem was in C32/SRT6 Intercooler is that right?, I just want to order Performance Supercharger Pulley, Code Three Performance Belt Wrap Kit and C32 Intercooler Reservoir,

I do not live in the USA so that maneger will not able break my car down all information I want to know is, do you think I can get a problem with itemes shown above?

 

if you search the words code3 in either forum unfortuntely you will see a ton of posts lately about issues with quality and delivery.

 

And.....Once again another reason I would never deal with C3!! Sorry for your misfortune and I really hope you get everything situated, but we all appreciate the post and the heads up! Thank you!

 

Thanks to all for your support.

The original thread can be found here

I don't want anyone else to get screwed the way that I have

In traditional Code3 style there is no response or phone call

 

Rasim, I would check out www.eurocharged.com. They will take care of anything you need. Jake (lougn14) can help you with whatever you want to do. Where are you located?

P.S. Sorry to semi-thread jack Airfrcd.

Good luck with getting your parts back.

 

i would have purchased stuff from Rob @ NeedsWings, thanks for the info...................

 

i am in the republic of Azerbaijan. and i have been talking with Jake, look what he whrites me.

"There is no refound on code3 items"

;(

 

Needswings, TVT & EuroCharged have all been really solid on this forum.

Rasim - do you have a base/limited or SRT?
TVT seems to have the best mods for base/limited; NW & EC seem to focus more on the SRT's.

 

i have sold my SRT-6, now have C32 AMG

 

This is the difference between true professionalism and being "buddies with a guy I met on a forum".
Have you ever heard the saying "if it sounds to good to be true..."?
Also, How many people would you have turned it over to before you bought a set a wrenchs an got your own hands dirty?

 

Your post is somewhat confusing - are you saying that you bought C3P parts through LET/EC (a C3P vendor), and now cannot obtain a refund if you wish to cancel the order?

Apologies if I misunderstood.

 

no, i have not ordered anything from code3, but i asked them in advance, and he told me if i buy code3 items from them then will not be satisfied with quality of product i will not be refound and even item will *** be changed. That is what i am saying about

 

We will no longer be reselling code3 stuff, and cannot warrenty any of their products for workmenship etc... Also on that note, Internet brands reports that code3 is no longer a sponsored vendor on mbworld...

yikes?

 

Jake,

As always - thank you for keeping the forums informed.

As for MBW... who knows, maybe C3P wasn't making enough profit through the site to justify the sponsorship dues. I will say, I feel bad for how things have developed there - they have some really interesting and unique products. That said, repeated QC issues, coupled with allegedly nonexistent customer service, can be a killer...

 

Sounds like the desperate death throws of a biz to me that is juggling poorly.

 

I find this depressing. I have just installed my Code 3 aluminum pulley and while I can't know the long term reliability, so far I'm a fan of it. It's true the backing plate was out of round by ..... more than an acceptable margin. But it seems to be working without issues and has mated with the clutch. (16.5 PSI and no slipping) It seems to me the desire to better a good product met with disaster. A real shame. Who knows, maybe this is just a pause and they will get back on the right track in the future. I for one would like to see it happen.

Les

 

So, you have installed code 3 pulley does it work with out any problems and really gives that 20+ hp?

 

It's installed, it works fine. If the weather permits I'll go to the track today but right now its raining. I have no idea how much horsepower its worth. From my data log I can report it gives 2 extra pounds of boost.

Les