itsuki

Wish I never had to write this post, but I've been scammed by Tuning Developments and wanted to warn others about my experience. And digging a bit deeper, I'm one of many. I wanted to upgrade my exhaust manifold, and seeing the positive reviews on here about their NA Tuning Pack, I decided to go for it and have them send the parts to me since I live outside the UK. TL;DR: I pay for the parts, never receive them and Tuning Developments and Mike become impossible to contact. Long version: I paid for my order in November for Black Friday. After not hearing back from them, I followed up a few weeks after and was told by Mike "I'm afraid it looks like the courier have lost it! I've got Ryan our fabricator making another manifold for you at the moment and we'll get that shipped off ASAP for you." At this point I mistakenly took their word for it, and again after no news wrote to follow up the first week of January. Was told the manifold was being finished and would ship next week. After that week had passed and still no reply, I chased again and was told he was packaging up that day and it would be sent. That was the last time I heard from Mike. From that point onwards he stopped replying to my emails, and if you call Tuning Developments you get an automatic message saying they're at limited capacity and to contact them through email. And then when you go to email them, another automatic reply saying the same thing: "We are currently operating under a limited capacity and will return your email as quickly as possible." I had become suspicious but kept giving them the benefit of the doubt because of the positive experiences I had read about, but obviously this was the last straw. Having a look at their Google reviews and filtering by newest, it's clear this has become a frequent practice for them over the last few months: I have nothing to gain by doing this and feel like an absolute idiot, but at least I figured I'd try to warn people against this shitty experience.

Just wanted to give one last update that finally, after four months and a lot of chasing, I was refunded for my purchase. Best of luck to the other members who are waiting for parts or a refund.

I was waiting for the situation to be resolved to give an update, but given how people have started chipping in again I thought I'd share how things are going on my side: Mike finally replied and told me the manifold was on it's way, but wasn't able to give a delivery company or tracking number the multiple times I asked, let alone an expected date of arrival. After some back and forth I asked Mike for a refund, and to his credit he accepted and told me he would make a bank transfer the following day. That was 2 weeks ago, I still haven't gotten my money back and have sent 3 emails that received no reply. So yeah, not great.

That's fair, it was actually those positive experiences I'd read about that made my chose them, there's no denying that. I understand shipping being a nightmare in these times, but in that case you're able to give a tracking number and a delivery provider to be able to sort it out. I asked them twice about this, got no response. Like @BRZ-123 says, I suspect covid has put them in a tough financial spot, as the negative reviews and experiences seem to have started in the last 5 months or so. I'm sympathetic to that and completely understand, and like the shipping, I'd have no problems if they were transparent about it. The problem is they seem to have chosen the route of taking non local customers' money and disappearing, rather than being accountable, explaining their situation and offering a refund or another solution. That's what I can't accept.

First post but I've been lurking in the shadows for a while I'm trying to maintain the playfulness of the stock HPs but for an 18 inch 225/40 tyre size, and also improving the HPs twitchiness in the wet. Doing some research I think Primacy 4s are my best option, but wanted to know if anyone had had any experience with them. Or if you can think of any similar alternatives, I've seen Yokohama V105s mentioned but I understand those are quite a bit grippier. Any insight would be much appreciated, thanks!

Good to know! Just got the car a few months ago so planning to do a few track days next year if COVID allows it - although it'll be mostly spirited mountain road driving, I'm lucky to live close to some fun twisties! Wheels are gonna be 18x7.5 XXR 530s, really like the look and doesn't deviate too far from stock specs and character. Waiting for Black Friday to hopefully get a good deal on wheels and tyres, fingers crossed 🤞

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'm sold! Plus I see V105s are available in 215/40-18, so that's a nice plus for a bit more movement under the car