Ken Englesman & DPS. My experience.

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1badb2

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Obviously I broke the rules by making another screen name, and I fully expect this one to be banned soon after posting this.... but I feel that it is important that I post this here as well.... as I am single handedly responsible for Kens recent "success" in the IDI world again. I know that he is/was getting several people from this forum buying from him, based on my "cheerleading" if you will... and my success.

I am making this thread because although several were weary of Ken........... Ken turned out to be much more dirty than was originally proven....

Most of you already know the story of me joining OB in the fall of 2010, I am an abrasive person.... and although have since toned down, I can understand why I joined the Band here....

I then went over to PSN, also which story is well known.... what is not known is my personal encounters with Ken, behind the scenes. The point of this thread is not only to give factual information to deter people from using Ken........ its also to help give an explanation as to why my build didn't quite live up to the hype.

My experience of being ripped was a little different than what most experienced here, aside from my friend, Ryan Eklund...

When I started my build I called Ken and told him I needed something more than the turbo cal. He told me he had been working on a DB4 hybrid pump, to supply 150-180cc's of fuel. I told him to put me on the list, and a few months later I got my pump.

As everyone knows my pump failed at just 1,000 miles. The cam pin broke, and Ken blamed my fuel regulator, which I have no doubt helped with it... but he didn't tell me the whole story.

Fast forward 6,000 miles and 2 weeks ago... cam pin breaks again. I call Ken and tell him I'm pulling the pump apart so I can have the rotor EDM'd... he freaked out, threatened me with no warranty, and when I told him that was fine, could tell that he was just trying to prevent me from seeing the "secrets" in the pump.

I get all the machine work done, box the pump up, and send it to Ken on June 7th..... I called him to let him know it was on the way. During this conversation I asked him what was up with 6.9performances pump. He told me that those "Pennsylvania Clowns" ****ed with one of the fuel screws, messing up the calibration and that he wasn't going to pay the $350 to have it recalibrated.

I was confused as to why he would pay to do the work himself, when he told me that he was outsourcing it because he was too busy to do it. The next morning on my way to work, it just didn't sit right with me.... a high performance diesel shop, is going to send a 1 of 3 custom pump, to some other shop to calibrate for him....

I started doing some digging around, calling shops in his area, state wide, and then out of state until I finally found the creator of my DB4. Turns out he is also the creator of the turbo-cal and has never heard of Ken's crappy customer service, or shady dealings... go figure :rolleyes:

Him and I talk for nearly an hour, and in this conversation I find out a bunch of different things. First, he told Ken the cam pin was the weak point before the pump was ever built, and Ken decided to ignore it. Second, my pump was never 150cc's, and he never told Ken that. The DB4 project pumps were 120cc's @ 1400rpm max output..... Which brought me to my next question.... the other guys here paid nearly $1800, which was $800 more than me for an EDM'd pump putting out 180cc's.... Ken specifically told me these numbers. The pump builder just kind of chuckled and said... no, all 3 pumps are identical to each other.

I call Ken that following Monday to confirm he got the pump, he said he did and would tear into it that week.... I waited till Wednesday, called back.... over, and over, and over till he quit screening and BJ finally answered..... I said "Hey BJ, whats the status on my pump?"... he tells me Ken has it on the bench, but that's it. I said "really all I want to know is when it is going to make it over to "insert pump builders name"...... the phone went silent...

We had a long conversation, and explained I didn't really care that Ken was middle manning, what I cared about is that he lied so much... he was so worried about keeping this pump a secret that he lost his best customer, and his customer service sucks.... I recommended he go take some business ethics classes.... BJ and I went back and forth, he sympathized for me, and I told him that they had 48 hours to provide me a tracking number for the pump being sent to the builder, or being sent to me. He told me he would get it sent to the builder next day. I thanked him for being professional about it, and told him it was too bad it had to end this way, but I cannot work with a liar.

Friday rolls around, builder calls me, he has pump, but apparently Ken didn't agree with BJ. He tried telling the builder he had no rights to work directly with me, and that he had no proof the pump that was sent was mine... I tried calling Ken, but like the ***** he is, refused to take my call, and hung up on me when I called from another number....

I sent this email to him:

Ken, it has come to my attention that after sending my pump to the builder as I had asked, you then had a conversation with him, demanding that he not work on my pump via my instructions, and that he send the pump back to you. I informed him today that under no circumstance is he to release the pump to you. I know that you removed the pump from the original packaging to hide my address, but you left my receipt from the EDM shop in there, which has my name and card information on it. I also have a voice mail from Kerry (sp?) acknowledging that she sent my pump off, as well as pictures of the pump, its internals, the EDM'd rotor, and the serial tag.

There is no disputing that this pump is mine. I am releasing you from all liability tied to the pump and demanding that you not touch my pump, or any of its parts. I am terminating any all business relationship that I had with you and the pump's modifications are at my discretion and the discretion of any other person I choose. I have given "insert shop name here" my pump, and I am now working directly with them on the development of it. Machine work will be performed by who I choose.

I cc'd the builder in this email as well, so he will receive a copy for his records.

Justin Wheeler


I get a call from the builder about 45 minutes later telling me Ken called, pissed off, and gave up... the builder also informed Ken that he would no longer build pumps for him now that his true nature had been brought to light, and he didn't want to risk bad publicity on his shop, due to Ken.

That being said, I now have a direct relationship with this shop for the development of these pumps, and we have a relationship with a local to us shop.... so the quest for more fuel and higher performance IDI's is nowhere near over.... it is just beginning now that I've got Ken out of the way.

Looks to me like 6.9performance is probably going to have a little beef here as well.... he paid $1800 for a 180cc pump, and got a $1,000 120cc pump..... He is the one that REALLY got ripped....

Just to make a few things clear, that seemed to of been still unclear at the other forums.

1. Ken does build his "stage 1" injectors. Probably the reason for such hit and miss quality. Some get good sets, others get leaky... crappy sets.
2. Ken does NOT, and has never built the Turbo-Cal pumps...or any pumps for that matter. In addition, the builder has never had a pump come back, or heard of issues from Ken.
 

FordGuy100

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Mods, I ask we let this post slide for financial sake of many future would be buyers of DPS.

I for one was getting excited seeing Ken's customer service rebounding, and new products being produced. I'm sorry for Justin to have to go through all of this, but I guess it will just concrete our DPS views. I would say buyer beware with Ken, although it seems like his turbo cal pumps and injectors aren't nearly as bad as in the yester-years, I would caution those we were looking at buying from him.
 

flareside_thun

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That takes some balls Justin but you obviously deem it pertinent information to others into the sickness of IDI tweaks. Hopefully they'll let you chill awhile so we can see if there's anything else to pan out with this situation.
 

1badb2

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I would especially be buyer beware of his pumps now since his builder dumped him over this ordeal. There is no telling what Ken is going to do now......

What pissed me off the most was thinking about the months I spent doing research, cramming numbers, on the phone with Racin', and on the phone with Ken.... wondering what the hell I did wrong in my setup, as to why I only made 300/600 instead of my expected 400/750...... The time spent on the phone with Ken ranting and trying to figure out whats wrong, and him running me in circles, when he knew EXACTLY what the reason for my low numbers was..... You can have all of the supporting modifications in the world, but if you don't have the fuel, you can't make the power.

I even just dropped $1,100 on a new charger because I was convinced it had to be part of the problem....

My engine made exactly what type of power I would expect from 120cc's of fuel....
 

Devon Harley

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Balls? For what saying ken has bad stuff? Alot of people here knew that and don't say much about it cause there better than that. How about I'm sorry Ob for callin all you guys a bunch of redneck trailer trash clown posse if I remember right. When I read that I was baffled you don't say rude shxt like that I don't care who's said what first. Anyways thanks for letting us know and hopefully you stay here so we can watch you finish your build. Your new paint looks nice as well.
 

The Warden

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I am an abrasive person.... and although have since toned down, I can understand why I joined the Band here....
I'm pretty sure that I'm well on the record as being one of the people who took great exception to the attitude previously demonstrated, shed no tears at your original banning, and frankly am sick and tired of all the OB vs PSN drama. With that said, I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to write and post about this experience with Ken and for including it even on a site where you were at least previously unwelcome. Frankly, yes, I think that takes guts, and is worthy of admiration.

I actually bought a pyro from Ken in 2006 and had a good experience, although I've always been wary of his fuel system parts. After reading your post, I will be sure to never even think about doing business with him again.

Balls? For what saying ken has bad stuff? Alot of people here knew that and don't say much about it cause there better than that.
With all due respect, his post goes far beyond that. It's been an established fact for quite a while that Ken's parts have been hit-and-miss in quality and his customer service has left quite a bit to be desired. However, this is the first I've heard of Ken actually trying to deceive his customers, and IMHO that's something that needs to be broadcast as far and wide as possible. And, given Justin's status on this site, IMHO yes, it took some balls for him to come in here and post it...and I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I thank him for doing so.
 
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towcat

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Unfortunately, I have to ban Justin again. I do appreciate him being honest about his experience with Ken, but if he is allowed to stay with another account and post, there will be others soon to follow. OB cannot keep banned members from setting up a new account even though it's forbidden to do so, I've allowed them to stay once they have been discovered as long as the account holder didn't post. Don't get me wrong in not noticing that Justin broke his silence for "cause" but he is also aware of the penalty of doing so. I will let the post stand, it has much factual information and unfortunately reaffirms much of others experiences.
 

Devon Harley

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Thanks warden and with respect back you were called that as well. All he did was admit his problem with ken. Thanks for posting it honestly. I heard somthing had went went wrong with the db4 and shared it with a few senior members and did not care to post about it as we all had thought that and knew it on our inside. All the post states is the bad about ken and why. Which I do not care as I knew for myself. It takes real balls to admit he said wrong and said mean things not admit his pump was a lie and not what is was supposed to be. As other senior members knew that from there knowledge of these idi trucks we all love. Mel Russ Gary Ron Darrin all help out and provide for our trucks the BEST high quality stuff for our trucks money can buy. Ken's products are not up to par with anything Mel has came up with and never will be. Mel has had an idi since they came out and I'm gonna stick with tried and true no bs products and that's just the way it is. He is ahead of very many and I consider him the best. Iv'e never heard a bad thing about Mel product either only people bashing at psn cause there jelous and want to steal his brain to get the head start and run from there Mel has new stuff comin out that will out perform the last. So keep trying everyone no harm in that but old school know how is gonna out run our new generation as we don't have the time go go back in time and learn as long as he has. Sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings I tend to stay out of drama I've listened to both side and never cared to make a fuss build what you can then show it off makin a fuss about all this has spoiled it for everyone. I have and as others have enjoyed watching Justin's build there's to much bs and people should just set back and watch time tells the tail.
 
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rjjp

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I have new found respect for Justin for coming here and "warning" us... It shows an amount of character that I honestly did not expect based off some of his posts here in the past, thank you. ;Sweet

Unfortunately, I have to ban Justin again. I do appreciate him being honest about his experience with Ken, but if he is allowed to stay with another account and post, there will be others soon to follow. OB cannot keep banned members from setting up a new account even though it's forbidden to do so, I've allowed them to stay once they have been discovered as long as the account holder didn't post. Don't get me wrong in not noticing that Justin broke his silence for "cause" but he is also aware of the penalty of doing so. I will let the post stand, it has much factual information and unfortunately reaffirms much of others experiences.

But I do understand what our mods must do, and why they must.
 

91idi

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The "original" never got any post from me. I do believe you deserve this, I am glade you have come back (even if it was very short) to help us. I wish things had been different before so we could have enjoyed watching and learning about idi performance. It is rare that someone throws that much money at one of these engines just because. I am sorry you got screwed the way you did. I would like to see your ban get lifted but there is a very poor chance of that. I wish all the best to you. Its sad because even Judas was forgiven and you didn't do anything that bad.
 

wmoguy

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Man this stinks! Justin put crazy money and time into his build with certain fuel expectations that play a valuable role in his setup. Only to find this???

Funny, literally tonight I was thinking I should call and order a backup pump to just have in hand. I'm thinking no more dps pump for me! Maybe I'll see if my local shop can build me a spare that's a bit hopped up.
 
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