The answer is NO.
. Despite some impressions to the contrary, Ground Control does not have 8 men standing around cooking lasagna and cleaning their hoses while waiting for an order to come in.
. If a person, perhaps even a recent threadstarter, calls at 4:45 on Friday afternoon and places an order for specific spring rate, specific geometry, specific Koni damping (preadjusted and dynoed) THERE ARE NO FIREMEN to slide down a pole into the shop and start welding.
. As of this writing, 325+ people have read about horrible service at Ground Control.
. The facts are that a completely CUSTOM built M3 suspension was welded, sandblasted, painted, allowed to --dry--, assembled, preadjusted, wrapped in bubble wrap, emailed tracking number, notes put on shocks, instructions included, setup sheet included, invoice mailed and sent out on a brown UPS truck in *FOUR WORKING DAYS.*
. Yes, sometimes people make mistakes. Obviously UPS delivered the package before US Mail delivered the invoice. So a mailman may have made a mistake. Someone who worked here made a mistake and did not include bumpstops that were not itemized because they were free (as in no money paid for them).
. In my opinion, this level of service is actually ACCEPTABLE.
. If a person disagrees, they may, as others have mentioned, buy an H&R kit and have a pre-sealed box leave the next day. The part number is 29936-1, and fits all e36 M3. Fits US and European, fits 2 door and 4 door, fits street car and race car, don't need to adjust damping, don't need to modify geometry, don't even need to fret over what spring rate. You won't even need to worry about rear bump stops because you can go buy them from the dealer. ....................But don't forget to order wheel spacers!
Signed: Jay Morris, GC owner, defending 4 guys who work real hard every day.

Wow....

I have had nothing to do with the other thread but I've had my "moments" with GC "stuff".

That said, I think that GC makes quite possibly the best affordable suspension system available for our cars. I also understand the rigors of being essentially a one man front office. And after following the other thread a bit, it seems like GC is just a victim of its own deserved success.

This is also the time of year when all of the race teams are bombarding their vendors for information, product and assistance.

Cut GC some slack. I don't think there is a problem here guys. And if *I* would say that, who wouldn't believe it? :)

Jay,

Nobody is disputing the quality of your products and the customized solutions you provide.

The issue at hand (at least in my case) is simple. Do not try to muddy the waters with a long post that states the obvious.

The facts are as follows:

Week1:

I ordered a setup on a Friday that you assured me would be there by the following Friday. It wasn't. The package shipped the day it was to have arrived and came the following Tuesday. Although I was disappointed, I was ok with this.

Week2:

When the package arrived, all of the necessary contents were not included. I called you the following day. You promised that I would have parts by Friday. Again, I did not. End of story. Well, not really.

Week3:

As of today, I still don't have parts, and you seem UNWILLING to even let me know if they have indeed shipped. If they have, why not just provide a tracking number??

For you to insinuate that because the bumpstops were 'free' that I shouldn't be upset that they haven't arrived is absurd. These pieces are part of the shortened rear shock setup and thus are included in the kit.

If a custom suspension kit takes 3 weeks to complete and delivery, tell people that up front.

Bottom line: Don't create expectations that you either can't or won't live up to.

Not-so-patiently waiting with GC parts on my livingroom floor,

Jeff

Oh, I almost forgot. The invoice I received yesterday was postmarked a day after we spoke the second time - 2 days after the parts arrived. Suspect...

Jay, I just received the bumpstops Overnight Letter.

I look forward to using your products, and as I've said several times before, I appreciate the time and effort that goes into them. That said, I was frustrated by the lack of response when I had a problem.

I believe that I represented the situation fairly and factually, and I do not hold grudges.

I say, with all sincerity and absolutely no malicious intent, that I hope you get some of the bugs worked out of your system. You have reputation for great products, but it seems growing pains are settling in.

If you come away from this viewing me as a presumptuous jackass who doesn't understand the world of custom parts, so be it. But if you are honest about what happened, you should realize I had a legitimate beef. Glad I have my bumpstops and will get to use the product now.

Jeff

Originally posted by jsp98m3
Cut GC some slack. I don't think there is a problem here guys. And if *I* would say that, who wouldn't believe it? :)
Jim, So you and Jay have made up? :clap:

Also, I have to put in a good word for GC here. Everybody should know that they are great to work with and have great products. Just remember that success brews some "good" problems and as a result, they are sometimes very busy. I am very happy with my suspension, camber plates, RSM's, RTAB inserts, and hmmm... what else do I have from them?

GC rocks. But everyone knows I think that.

On my drive in today, around a decreasing radius downhill left-hander, I laid waste to yet another Supra Turbo, all with one hand on the wheel and a latte in the other. ;) Thanks to GC's expert advice on setup and hardware.

(hey, I take what I can get, cause I ain't gonna catch a supra in a straight line)

M3inSC,

I can't say we made up. There are a couple of things at play here.

First, I am fair to a fault and I never cheat or steal. So whatever I may or may not think about where the design of GC RSMs came from has nothing at all to do with my admiration for their coilovers. Nice stuff.

Second, I am reminded more and more every day that the sense of ethics I have seems to be an aberration. So since *I* seem to be the only one who appreciates rigid, puritanical honesty and honor, I will allow that I am abnormal. But we all knew that anyway.

Therefore, whatever GC did or didn't do is cool with me. They aren't taking any food off my table. So there.

Q. Why in the hell would anyone mail an invoice AFTER a customer asked for it?
A. Because the customer asked for it.


Conspiracy theorists can examine the document in question for clues. An original invoice would also have been used as a check list and will have items crossed off on the left edge. There will perhaps be other cryptic markings on it, such as email address, reminders for certain directions etc. A copy, which could have been mailed just be sure the customer was satisfied (for 37 cents) will not have such markings.

Thanks, Jay
PS Sorry, I forgot about MLK day when I said you would get your parts on Friday 14. Just like riding your bike all the way to school and finding out theres no school.

Has nothing to do with conspiracy theories. Simply an example that shows you either didn't know what was going on at your business or chose to fudge an explanation.

I received no invoice with my initial package. You told me this was normal, and that it was SENT regular mail for security reasons. Fine. The invoice I received was sent the day after this conversation (i.e. it was laying around and been forgotten till I asked about it). Cause and effect.

Why do you have such a hard time being honest about the situation? Had you overnighted the bumpstops to me from square-one, I would never have made a single post, and you wouldn't be on your heels scratching for excuses.

And yes, I did think about the holiday after we got off the phone the first time - that's why I wasn't as surprised to receive the first shipment late. My displeasure was the result of cumulative difficulties with the transaction. Your 'PS' shows you've missed that point completely.

I've tried to be fair and tolerant with you, but you seem to want to make subtle jabs in your posts. To the other enthusiasts, the story speaks for itself.

I'm done with this,

Jeff
Respecter of Character

Originally posted by PSU///M3
I've tried to be fair and tolerant with you, but you seem to want to make subtle jabs in your posts. To the other enthusiasts, the story speaks for itself.

The story does speak for itself, PSU. We all agree that you are, as you stated in a previous post, "a presumptuous jackass".

Now why don't you give it a friggen rest and quit crying?

Let's not join in and make this worse than it is.

The story ends where it ends and people can read into either side what they want without the usual piling on. A lesson I personally relearn everyday :)

Fair enough? I'm not going to close this thread in hopes that if there is anything more substantive to talk about that it will be done with cool heads.

Carry on.

Here's my experience with Ground Control:
Called them after ordering my TC Kline Trackline Suspension. Ordered their Street/School RSMs. I can't remember the exact name of the person that talked to me - Pete maybe? - very polite and professional. Gave me a tracking number.

I checked the tracking # the next day or the day after, and it didn't work. Concerned, I called back. They checked it - wasn't showing up for them either. Apparently UPS was sending tracking #s to a wrong e-mail address or something, and they promised to call me back after figuring out they couldn't 'see' my order either. Sure enough, 20 minutes later I got a phone call with a correct tracking # that I checked while on the phone (whoever called me had no problem with staying on the line while I did this).

A few days later I received the RSMs in the mail in one or two (can't remember, I got a bunch of boxes - struts/shocks/springs - that week) very well packaged boxes. The RSMs were very well protected, the instructions were simple to use, and a bonus - I love the product.

Thanks for such an awesome experience, I recommend Ground Control anytime someone asks about my suspension setup.

Jay,

How do you suggest I put these bumpstops on over the welded piece on the shock shaft? Am I misunderstanding where they go in the assembly? Doesn't the bumpstop need to be below that piece? :dunno

http://members.roadfly.com/psum3/Bumpstop1.jpg



http://members.roadfly.com/psum3/Bumpstop2.jpg

Jeff

Originally posted by TheBestCow
Here's my experience with Ground Control:
Called them after ordering my TC Kline Trackline Suspension. Ordered their Street/School RSMs. I can't remember the exact name of the person that talked to me - Pete maybe? - very polite and professional. Gave me a tracking number.
Hi Kevin!
Pete works for TCKline! Ground Control doesn't sell TCKline products!

Originally posted by M3inSC
Hi Kevin!
Pete works for TCKline! Ground Control doesn't sell TCKline products!

Hmmm... well I know I called GC myself... maybe it was TC Kline that was having a tracking # problem... either way I got my RSMs in a timely manner and they were professional :D

Hmmm. Defeaning silence on the possible problem?

What's the answer here guys? I don't have this suspension so I can't be of any help but I hate to see a stampede to jump on one bandwagon and silence on helping out.

For those with this system, what's the story here?

Originally posted by jsp98m3
Hmmm. Defeaning silence on the possible problem?

What's the answer here guys? I don't have this suspension so I can't be of any help but I hate to see a stampede to jump on one bandwagon and silence on helping out.

For those with this system, what's the story here?
Well, I have a GC suspension, but I have Koni DA's and not the SA's and I don't have that problem so I can't help. But I would take a wild guess and suggest that the solution is to cut the bump stop vertically to get it around the shaft! :dunno

Also, FWIW, GC's customer support is by phone, not through this board, so PSU needs to be calling them. He seems to have a unique problem so he probably needs to take it offline. And he doesn't have to talk to Jay. He can talk to Dale or Tony. They can both help him.

If you look at the first pic the bumpstop is cut vertically, just force it ovr the shaft. Thats how the rears worked for me.

M3Racer,

That is a mold mark and not a slice. They bumpstops are solid. Also, it seems that slicing it vertically would compromise the integrity of the bumpstop, but maybe it needs to be cut.

Jeff

Deafening silence? Huh, this is the first time I checked this thread since PSU's post. For some reason, I no longer get email notices when people post. . . PSU PM'd me for help.

Now, to the issue at hand, as a general rule, slicing the bumpstops to fit on a damper shaft is not an issue at all. It'll work just fine. Stock rear bumpstops on Konis come sliced, and my entire rear bumpstop stack (about 3") is sliced.

However. . . those bumpstops and shafts look nothing like my setup. Are those front? Rear? If rear, I assume that the upper shock housing was removed to expose the shaft? The housings on my rear dampers are metal and are fixed to the shaft. My bumpstops were cut into 1/2" lengths, sliced and jammed b/t the space created between the top shock housing (metal covering) and the shock body.

Jeff,

The only thing I removed was the RSM from the top of the shaft. I have the shortened externally adjustable rears. The shock body (yellow portion) is intact and is out of the frame of the picture to the left. As for whether or not they are the right ones, I'm relying on the experts for that.

If cutting the bumpstops is standard, then that's what I will do. It just seemed odd to me, and I was worried that, under compression, they could squeeze off completely if they had a cut the whole way down the side.

Jeff

Oh, you have the new fangled rear ext adjustable shocks. . I have the old school, full travel rears.

I'd confirm with Jay, Tony or Dale, but mine are 'split'.

Oh, so yours have an upper metal cover? I was wondering about mine, since they came with no dust cover. Should I be using a plastic one, or does Koni make a piece for this that I don't have?

Jeff

Originally posted by frayed
GC rocks. But everyone knows I think that.

On my drive in today, around a decreasing radius downhill left-hander, I laid waste to yet another Supra Turbo, all with one hand on the wheel and a latte in the other. ;) Thanks to GC's expert advice on setup and hardware.

(hey, I take what I can get, cause I ain't gonna catch a supra in a straight line)

I agreed with Frayedy...bought my GC kit in December during the busy holiday season. I spoke to Tony and Carl at length about my set up. Placed my order on Thur afternoon, called back to see if I can add some stuffs to the order on Fri and found that it was SHIPPED already:D . Everything arrived without damage from UPS, which was a big surprise. Lots of bubble wraps which definitely helped.

Jeff...you wasted a Supra Turbo? I was trying to catch up to a Ferrari F355 couple of weeks ago. Should have bait him to some twisties where I have a chance :)

Jeff, no, it's just my particular rear shocks that have metal covers. Other models, such as yours, have plastic. Don't sweat it.

Tony, even well driven, high hp Supras cannot escape the underdog on the track or canyon roads. Gotta love it when a 600 rwhp car cannot shake you. ;) One of the guys here in Austin who works at ProTech has a monster; unlike most of the protech-crowd, he actually takes his car to the track (ie, road course, not drag strip). He had hp, I had handling. He couldn't shake me, nor me him, lap after lap. Our cars are monster slayers on a road course. No shit. :D

Cool, so I can just buy Koni dust covers. Mine didn't come with any.

Jeff

Originally posted by frayed
Deafening silence? Huh, this is the first time I checked this thread since PSU's post. For some reason, I no longer get email notices when people post. . .
Its the new software upgrade designed to keep moderators in the dark! :biglaughb