Hi! From Singapore

[shintozig]

Hi!
I'm writing from Singapore and I drive a Defender 90 TD5.

I have been looking around on the internet to find ways to juice up the turbo diesel engine for the last 2-3 years. Besides ECU remapping, I was intrigued by a US online vendor, Next Level Performance, who claimed its unit can do wonders for a turbo diesel despite my repeated clarifications. So I paid the unit via paypal, and guess what - it doesn't work at all!!

As a reasonable person, I e-mailed them for clarifications, including e-mailing the wiring diagram over 3 times, but they play "mouse-and-cat" game and not answering the question. This dragged on for more than 6 months now (You can't say I'm not patient) and there is still no solution in sight.

First, they promised a refund, BUT now they changed their mind - "trade in or ask for store credits"!!!! And hinting to me that if I don't make up my mind soon they will treat my future e-mails as "spams". BUT the other 2 units under their brand don't work for turbo diesel as well!!

My lesson - NEVER TRUST AND BUY ANYTHING FROM A US WEBSITE THAT PROMISED GADGETS FOR DEFENDER TURBO DIESEL ENGINE!!!

Besides going to good business practice bureau to complain, any suggestion from the LR community in the US? How to do you handle this issue?

[XtremeMarine]

On the link you posted, I don't see an application for the td5. Only for us spec vehicles. ??? Also, I would most definitely agree with you that you do not purchase anything from an american company for a british truck, especially one that is not NAS. There are so many reputable dealers in the UK with products for 200tdi, 300tdi, and td5. Looking through just last months LRM magazine there is over a dozen vendors with proper mods for your vehicle. All people that work on diesel land rovers daily, and some whom are land rover only companies.

Welcome to the site, and welcome to the insanity of rover ownership.

[stolenheron]

welcome. that sucks about those parts. i wouldn't trust a US company with turbo diesel technology in a foreign car. We DON'T have diesels like that in the US, except on rare occasions. That chip they sell is a joke.

not to beat on a dead horse, but you really should have done your research into british companies for power gains. there are all sorts of upgrades for more power on defenders, discos and other rovers with turbo diesel motors offered in europe and the UK. Intercooler, turbo, chip, piping, boost controller upgrades are all availible by multiple companies over the in the UK at all levels of price, quality, and power levels

pics of the D90?

[shintozig]

Guys,
Really appreciate your speedy reply. To cut the long story short...YES!! I did my research and had bought some units from Paddock (UK), Safari (Australia) for my Defender over the years with "happy" experience. In addition, some LR members back home have also related "good" experience" to me when they purchased LR parts from ebay in the US as well..so I decided to give this "untrustworthy" Next Level Racing company (without knowing what I was getting into in the 1st place) a go when they advertised their piggyback units and claimed to have worked for LR models.
So I e-mailed them about my concerns - my Defender is not the NAS model, but a British made Turbo Diesel (TD5), and they said ""Sure! No problem. We have the unit to fit TD5 too!" AND I became one of the many online suckers...I was sucked into it as the piggyback unit, Tri-Phase, cost much less than a ECU remapping!
Anyway, back home we have LROS (Land Rover Owners Singapore), and one of the proudest things we have done this far was to form a convoy of about 30-36 Defenders to deliver relief items and medical supplies to Krabi and other costal town in Thailand during the Tsunami relief mission in 2004/2005. We drove from Singapore to Thailand in 3 convoys of 10-12 vehicles each with fully loaded supplies - leaving on Dec 26, 28 and 30 to avoid traffic jam. It was a fantastic bonding experience for many of us ....spending New Year eve driving across boarders. It's also a very difficult time for us that the convoy leader of convoy 1 was killed in a road accident on Jan 1, 2005 - his Defender overturned!
I hope to "chat" further here!! I would like to post some photos..BUT the "insert image" button requires URL....and I have not posted any LR photos on internet yet. So may be next time?
Thanx guys!

[XtremeMarine]

Great to see you guys use your defenders for such good causes. Hope to have you here for a while. Sorry about this experience, but I am sure it has taught you a great lesson.

BTW; Man, I love that avatar. Where did you find it? That's just awesome.

[shintozig]

X-marine, yeap!!Learned my lesson...still gonna complain to "Better Business Bureau" just to make a statement!! My avatar is in fact a sticker I designed with the help of a designer friend based on my love for scuba diving and off-roading. Hence, off-road diving....with a snorkel above the water line!! BUT have not been doing both for awhile...if you like the sticker (about 6 inch all sides) more than happy to send you a couple - just PM me your address!

[XtremeMarine]

Shintozig; As a PADI DiveMaster, I completely get where you would design that. That's awesome. And as an owner of a Yellow DII, with a mantec snorkel; I think they would look awesome on the truck, so I would appreciate that.

[shintozig]

X-Marine: Don't tell me your call sign is "yellow sub"??? Like in "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles?? My D90 is black now..BUT was thinking of painting it yellow. I have customized/installed 4 round windows by the side ( I decided not to use the standard LR windows) ...and with a snorkel....and a "shark fin" (tail fin from my discarded wind surfing board), many people in fact did ask me if my D90 can go under water???? I always told them just about 10-12 m beneath the water. Ha!Ha! Well, as said, just "private message" (PM) me your address, and I 'm happy and honored to see the "off-diving" sticker on your Landie!

[XtremeMarine]

LMAO! No, His call sign is Tonka. As in the tonka trucks I played with as a child. Whem my mother first saw photos of the truck I bought, she said it looked like a fullsize tonka truck, and the name stuck. But the first time I sunk it up to the door handles, my buddy and I did start singing "yellow submarine", while we waited for a tow. LOL!

[shintozig]

Hi! stolenheron, Just uploaded some photos in the photo gallery " 2004/5 Tsunami Relief Mission by LROS". My D90 is the black one on the beach - next to a white D90! That was 3 years ago - much has been done to my D90 since. Hope to upload later to showcase my submarine-like "Sharkie"! !! Have a fun weekend folks!