So this guy BenSTi who seems to be on the ‘lets find a reason to hate JHM because they have fanboys’ team has been popping up quite a lot on Audizine and quattroworld lately moaning about his many businesses and products that he plans to sell. First it was endlinks…then it was intake systems…and now he’s selling exhausts apparently
I guess that’s a good reason to try to slam JHM whenever you can…since they’re the only company on earth selling a full exhaust that is optimal for the RS4. I guess it’s always a great business model too, to just straight rip-off the guys on top. In the marketing world, this is a popular technique…announce a product that doesn’t exist so that you can perhaps stall people from buying your competitor’s products. Knowing that JHM is getting back into full swing with the RS4 exhaust this month, I can understand Ben’s rush to announce his new venture.
Anyway, this is all fine. Good luck to him and his exhaust business and intake etc.
A few months ago Ben blew his RS4 motor. In the past 2 weeks, while getting together his exhaust/intake tuning company, he has decided that his JHM beta file is the reason for his motor to have blown. He has posted this on 2 different forums, trying to scare people away from JHM. Here’s the most recent one…
What he didn’t mention is that Ben bought this car used with 50,000 miles on it, and the motor blew within a couple of months of that. Why he chose to omit that fact, you can deduce for yourself. It’s pretty odd to blame the tune for scoring a single cylinder …and why he chose to ignore the possibility that he bought a car with a pre-existing condition is a bit suspicious.
SO…the forums are going to decide…do they take Ben’s theory over JHM’s tuning ability? Remember this is JHM…whose tuner is called upon regularly by other tuning companies from small shops to large Audi tuners to Audi race teams. Whose tuner works at and tunes for one of the largest car companies on earth. That’s who doesn’t know how to tune? That’s who just got the AFR wrong and blew Ben’s motor by pushing the car to the limit? That doesn’t really add up.
Now let’s look at Ben Stiegerwald and see if there are any other possible reasons his motor blew.
http://forums.quattroworld.com/rs4b7/msgs/67622.phtml
[QUOTE=BenSTi]Funny
I ended up in my RS4 after suing Subaru and getting them to buy back my 2008 STi. Went through 4 motors in 10 months(3 stock). STi has motor problems, Evo has transfer case issues, RS4 has carbon issues. The cheapest to repair, by a long shot, is the RS4.
The STi and Evo are awesome cars, but in terms of interior/exterior quality (non-mechanical) absolute garbage compared to a RS4.
Mine has burned less than 1/4qt in the couple thousand miles on the new motor. It got broken in hard, has perfect compression, leak down, and burns no oil. That is compared to the Subaru which burned 8.1Qts/1000 miles according to Subaru’s own oil consumption test.
[/quote]
So…you blew 4 motors in 10 months on your Subaru. Then you got an Audi and within 3 months you blew that motor. Hmm. I think i already know where I’m leaning. I mean maybe you’re just really unlucky? I mean that’s totally normal, to blow 4 motors (sorry, 5) in a one year period. Happens to all my buddies who take good care of their cars. Oh wait, no, it happens to almost NOBODY ON EARTH. You have to be trying your best to blow 5 motors in a year.
But let’s get some more facts out there. Maybe you’ve changed in the 6 months that have passed since you were a motor blowing 18 year old. Maybe you are more responsible now?
Nope.
[QUOTE=BEN STi]I going to call a lawyer on monday and see what can be done about this. My friend told me that my best bet may be to counter sue them for harassment. Since I have gotten the car ~3months, I have gotten pulled over 5 times by this cop, and countless other times by other cops and only recieved front plate tickets which I had the paperwork to back up showing that I had no front plate and had a DMV appt to get them. I have never been accused of any moving violation (got warned for reckless with approx speed of 30 in a 35), only front plate tickets.
[/quote]
So…you’ve been pulled over well over 5 times (countless times you said) in 3 months. And we’re supposed to believe you’re not driving like a total fucking idiot? lol. Also just for the record, cops don’t give reckless driving charges to people who go 30 in a 35. I mean you probably never speed right?
Oops. Nope.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/sakimano/BENSTITobiasTicket.jpg
WOW! Either this next one’s a photoshop and it’s parked with the parking brake on and you were hoping to impress someone…or your brake sensor was triggered and you were going 190ish with worn brakes. Not sure which is worse.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/sakimano/BenSTi200withtheparkingbrakeon.jpg
I guess you made it up. I mean nobody would go 190+ MPH on public roads right?
Oops. Nope.
http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=93939&start=15#p480633
[QUOTE=BenSTi]Despite all calculations and fancy math you want to do, I have had my car to 192 on the speedometer which was 188 on the GPS. Flat road, near sea level, cold, 91 Octane, JHM tune, Milltek Exhaust, Piggy Downpipes, LWFW, Lightweigth rotors.
[/quote]
Let’s see if all you’ve got was a history of ‘only front plate tickets’…
Oops. nope. You don’t need to bailed out of jail in March 2011 for front plate tickets.
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb469/lulz101/Benjamin%20Tobias%20Steigerwald/bennybail.jpg
Now, let’s see if you’re ‘nice’ to your RS4, or if you abuse the fuck out of it just like you did to your Subarus…
Oops. Nope.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/sakimano/Engientemp277fahrenheit.jpg
I guess that could have just been a track day. Well, as long as you are smart about it and take good care of the car, right? No other reasons could have caused trouble with your motor, right?
Oops. Nope. Same date even…canyon runs while low on coolant. Nice! How’s the oil?
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/sakimano/LowCoolant.jpg
I guess the JHM tune caused a coolant leak…and caused you to not notice it till you were an inch below the minimum. While running the car to 270+ fahrenheit. And 190 mph on the highway. Was that all JHM’s fault too?
WOW! This is really starting to make a ton of sense Ben. Is this how you ‘broke in’ the 3 replacement motors that Subaru gave you??? I mean hell yeah, everyone does that…pushes their engine to 200 rpm past redline over and over and over for 30 miles, repeatedly. That’s pretty standard stuff right? I mean that’s only going to take you about oh I don’t know…20 minutes of absolutely relentless engine abuse. Yeah, you know what you’re doing. I mean you’re 18 after all…you know everything right?
So you see, we have a pattern of absolutely MORONIC adolescent behaviour ranging from a one year period in which Ben STi blew 4 Subaru motors (was that JHM’s fault too?) and then the RS4 motor blowing. He followed this up with abuse of the RS4 and just all around idiocy that really doesn’t leave anyone thinking he is a guy with all of his ducks in a row. I mean you can make the odd post here and there that look somewhat civilized, but when people see this pattern (all pulled from Ben’s own posts on forums and his public flickr page) I hope they see the other half of Ben STi.
Now we have to decide…is the most reputable Audi tuner anywhere suddenly likely to have forgotten how to tune motors to the point he caused Ben’s to score a cylinder? Or is there a chance that his 50,000 mile old car had the problem brewing when he bought it? Or maybe, just maybe, is there a chance that Ben’s history may be the problem? I think it’s pretty easy once I read all of the facts.