Sun Performance OUT OF BUSINESS!!

[papromike]

Woah, got some weird news today..


Sun Performance, has closed its doors.. for good.... apparently

went belly up, not sure why, but sure is fast news...

Anybody hear why??

[BlueJeeper]

I don't know why. But that sure makes sense now, given I ordered something from them through a drop shipper a while back, and cancelled the order last week after Sun dragged their feet for 5 weeks.

[Robert J. Yates]

on board air blows is why - couldn't sell enough quick airs

[Croaker]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
on board air blows is why - couldn't sell enough quick airs

Ooooof....

[KJP98TJ]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
on board air blows is why - couldn't sell enough quick airs

LOL

[Rockjeep]

I bet the Viva air pump put them out of business, Its a better pump.
Kory

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Rockjeep
I bet the Viva air pump put them out of business, Its a better pump.
Kory

Is that Viva or Viair?

[LeadFoot]

I liked their YJ mirror relocators but the powercoating on them sucked! That is my only expeirence with them.

[Rockjeep]

viair.

[MJR]

I just got them on the phone Mikey. You should check first.

[papromike]

e-mail received from one of their suppliers..

Yes, it's official, Sun Performance is no longer although there are rumors that they will re-open with new management but again those are only "rumors".


Maybe you caught a guy there that was doing inventory... but as of last month they are NO-LONGER...

Or it is possible it was the quickest buy out and turn around in History

[mrblaine]

Just curious why this is so important instead of an equally or more important business like ORGS no longer being around?

[MJR]

Originally posted by papromike
Yes, it's official, Sun Performance is no longer although there are rumors that they will re-open with new management but again those are only "rumors".

They have reopened with a management change. I called for someone about Staun's and they said they had them in stock today.

[MJR]

Originally posted by mrblaine
Just curious why this is so important instead of an equally or more important business like ORGS no longer being around?

When are you opening a shop?

[papromike]

ORGS will be re-opening by next week according to RON..



Kinda weird that they closed down also....


I think Ron said he may be re-opening in the Corona Arean, but no for sure...


major bummer... I agree Blaine, that the ORGS closure is alot more concerning than the Sun Performance...

[cbassett]

Hadn't heard of ORGS going under, but did see the Team Purple rig for sale on p4x4, and wondered what that was all about.

[Paradiddle]

Originally posted by cbassett
Hadn't heard of ORGS going under, but did see the Team Purple rig for sale on p4x4, and wondered what that was all about.

Now that is interesting. I stopped by there before our last JV Rookie run and Ron was loading the last of the shelves and tools and such into a big trailer.

He said he was moving to the Corona area, but personnally I have my doubts about him coming back.

Can't believe his rig is for sale!

Jeff

[Jerry Bransford]

I was doing "walking around schmoozing with the vendors" duty today at 4WP's Truckfest when I stopped by K&N's booth to add my .02 worth on their problem with fine dust getting through. I explained it took the addition of both their Outerwear pre-filter and an oiled foam Unifilter on top of my K&N to get its filtration back to a level I was happy with.

K&N's lead engineer took my question after the first marketing dweeb pleaded ignorance of any problem with fine dust. He grinned and agreed that fine dust was a problem for their filter, him personally having been in the desert offroad racing biz for 15 years. He explained that fine dust absorbed the filter's oil and depleted it, drying the filter out of its oil which then allows silica/fine dust to pass through. He also explained that adding a K&N Outerwears prefilter by itself exacerbated the problem by trapping dirt between the filter and Outewears, with the flapping Outerwares helping to grind the big chunks down between it and the filter small enough that they could pass through the filter. Interesting! He agreed that my addition of the Unifilter on top of the Outerwares cured that problem, to which I agreed.

Anyway, he said K&N is 60-90 days away from announcing a special new filter with a two layer pre-filter, kind of like mine... an Outerwear-like fabric with a foam outer layer to keep the Outerware snugged up against the K&N. There may be a specially designed K&N to go with it too.

He also advised that the biggest problem users of the K&N have is they don't let the filter dry at least 12 hours after washing it. The cotton fabric has to be thoroughly dry before the oil can be sprayed into it. Bing bing bing!! I'm guilty of not waiting long enough and have seen the oil drip out mixed with water. He said the water fills up the spaces in the cotton material so the filter oil can't be absorbed properly. So if you have one, let it dry totally before oiling it.

So we weren't imagining the dust problem, and he laughingly semi-agreed with the 'Automatic Silica Injection System' (full credit to Fred for that phrase! ) for those of us who wheel in desert conditions.

Anyway... we have a new K&N filter or pre-filter coming that should help with the dust that the K&N doesn't cope with now. OR of course you can always re-install the OE filter box!

[StealthTJ]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
<SNIP>
So we weren't imagining the dust problem, and he laughingly semi-agreed with the 'Automatic Silica Injection System' (full credit to Fred for that phrase! ) for those of us who wheel in desert conditions.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that it was Blaine that first uttered those famous words, or at least the first time that I saw them





Fred

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
I was doing "walking around schmoozing with the vendors" duty today at 4WP's Truckfest when I stopped by K&N's booth to add my .02 worth on their problem with fine dust getting through. I explained it took the addition of both their Outerwear pre-filter and an oiled foam Unifilter on top of my K&N to get its filtration back to a level I was happy with.

K&N's lead engineer took my question after the first marketing dweeb pleaded ignorance of any problem with fine dust. He grinned and agreed that fine dust was a problem for their filter, him personally having been in the desert offroad racing biz for 15 years. He explained that fine dust absorbed the filter's oil and depleted it, drying the filter out of its oil which then allows silica/fine dust to pass through. He also explained that adding a K&N Outerwears prefilter by itself exacerbated the problem by trapping dirt between the filter and Outewears, with the flapping Outerwares helping to grind the big chunks down between it and the filter small enough that they could pass through the filter. Interesting! He agreed that my addition of the Unifilter on top of the Outerwares cured that problem, to which I agreed.

Anyway, he said K&N is 60-90 days away from announcing a special new filter with a two layer pre-filter, kind of like mine... an Outerwear-like fabric with a foam outer layer to keep the Outerware snugged up against the K&N. There may be a specially designed K&N to go with it too.

He also advised that the biggest problem users of the K&N have is they don't let the filter dry at least 12 hours after washing it. The cotton fabric has to be thoroughly dry before the oil can be sprayed into it. Bing bing bing!! I'm guilty of not waiting long enough and have seen the oil drip out mixed with water. He said the water fills up the spaces in the cotton material so the filter oil can't be absorbed properly. So if you have one, let it dry totally before oiling it.

So we weren't imagining the dust problem, and he laughingly semi-agreed with the 'Automatic Silica Injection System' (full credit to Fred for that phrase! ) for those of us who wheel in desert conditions.

Anyway... we have a new K&N filter or pre-filter coming that should help with the dust that the K&N doesn't cope with now. OR of course you can always re-install the OE filter box!

Jerry, I don't know why you need an engineer to tell you something that wiping your finger across the inside of your air tube will also convince you of.

That has been the most irritating part of the filter discussions, in that folks think you have a vendetta against a product that clearly fails at it's intended function. That is poor engineering at it's worst. Abject failure of this degree should be punished somehow and were it not for their marketing department, it would be.

I will still never forget the look on Don's face after he informed me that his latest mod was a drop-in K&N. Mind you he only had one trip to JV on it and I handed him an 8 mm nutdriver, had him yank the air tube at the TB and look inside it. You have never seen a new K&N hit the trash can so fast.

I actually took mine back to 4WPH and the ensuing hilarity followed-

Me- I want my money back on this filter, it doesn't filter.

them-We only take back new in the box parts that aren't used.

Me- What about defective parts?

them- We take those back.

Me- Well, how do you think I found out it was defective? It doesn't filter. That makes it a failure at it's intended purpose.

them- Let me get a manager.

Me- good!

Mgr- What's the problem?

I explained the problem, told them it didn't filter and got my money back. A filter that don't filter is a failure.

As far as adding two filters to the K&N, why not just shape 50 cents worth of chicken wire in the same shape and add the outerwear and save 40 bucks? I don't buy filters to modify them, that's why I bought a jeep.

[TObject]

K&N lead engineer laughs when confronted about their filter dust problems.

[MJR]

So this is a surprise? How do you think a filter lets more air in? By not filtering as good, simple.

[Jerry Bransford]

Wow, I'm sorry this was such a sensitive subject for you guys. Nevermind, I should have never posted what I found out from K&N.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
Wow, I'm sorry this was such a sensitive subject for you guys. Nevermind, I should have never posted what I found out from K&N.

It's not a sensitive subject Jerry, it's that K&N has been ripping off jeepers that play in the dust for years with filters that don't.

They have even been called by folks in the past and their tech dept has stated that what we found with the dirt in the air tube was somehow our fault.

They even tried to tell me that I needed to run heavy grease to seal the edges of the filter in the air box. WTF? The factory filter doesn't leak around the edges, why should theirs?

No sensitivity, it's just that they have been peddling snake oil for so long and denying it, that it's pathetic for them to now admit it.

They always say they are the best, if that's true, why modify or improve it?

[Robert J. Yates]

lol blaine - i never thought of taking mine back

as for the comment about running the stock airbox - I can't see doing otherwise. I have avery nice napa gold filter sitting in it that appears to do a fine job and the stock box not only protects against water ingestion, it also draws in the coolest air available under the hood.

[Jerry Bransford]

Let me say this then... K&N admitted their filter passes fine dust and semi-announced a new prefilter is in development to rectify it. The fact that they are coming out with a new prefilter is self-evident that are aware of the problem. For those of us who wheel in dusty conditions and can't easily switch back to the OE air box, it's a good thing. They've owned up to the problem, which is also a good thing. It's not like I've been a K&N promoter, on the contrary... I've been one of the most anti-K&N people out there.

For some reason I don't understand, I must have been wrong to post that K&N is finally coming out with a more effective prefilter for those of us that wheel in desert conditions, but I sure can't figure out why this is a bad thing. I don't understand some ways of thinking and this is one of them... or perhaps it's just the need some have to take something positive and turn it into a negative. I see that a lot here, a lot more than there used to be too. I'm sorry I ever mentioned the whole bleeping subject.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
Let me say this then... K&N admitted their filter passes fine dust and semi-announced a new prefilter is in development to rectify it. The fact that they are coming out with a new prefilter is self-evident that are aware of the problem. For those of us who wheel in dusty conditions and can't easily switch back to the OE air box, it's a good thing. They've owned up to the problem, which is also a good thing. It's not like I've been a K&N promoter, on the contrary... I've been one of the most anti-K&N people out there.

For some reason I don't understand, I must have been wrong to post that K&N is finally coming out with a more effective prefilter for those of us that wheel in desert conditions, but I sure can't figure out why this is a bad thing. I don't understand some ways of thinking and this is one of them... or perhaps it's just the need some have to take something positive and turn it into a negative. I see that a lot here, a lot more than there used to be too. I'm sorry I ever mentioned the whole bleeping subject.

Jerry, you are taking this personally and it's not directed at you unless you have started working for K&N. Even then, it's not personal. It's the myriad of discussions I've been in whereby folks try and convince me that the dust I've wiped out of my air tube and cleaned off the back of my TB butterfly doesn't exist.

You need to back up a bit and check who you're directing your positive vs. negative remarks to. I have no need to do as you're suggesting and as far as I can tell, the only attitude that's changed is yours. Self admitted by the way.

I'd also caution you if you have something personal to paint me with, keep the brush strokes as narrow as possible so as to not paint the whole board with it.

I'd also suggest that if you have a problem, spit it out and not beat around the bush.


Yes, what you say K&N is doing, is a good thing, but how do they plan on paying back the folks who bought their hype in years past and sucked tons of dirt into their motors? Just to be clear, if you again defend them, you are taking it personal, it's a purely rhetorical question.

[TDW]

Not sure how we went from ORGS to K&N but I thought that I read in one of the mags recently that ORGS was aquired by another company. I looked and could not find it but figured I would just throw fuel on the rumor fire. I'm bored.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by TDW
Not sure how we went from ORGS to K&N but I thought that I read in one of the mags recently that ORGS was aquired by another company. I looked and could not find it but figured I would just throw fuel on the rumor fire. I'm bored.

Mark Hinkley split the original ORGS into two seperate entities. ORGS the store and ORGSMFG. the wholesale manufacturing business.

All that was done about when Ron Schneider purchased ORGS the store. Hinkley continued his manufacturing at ORGSMFG. until he sold it to his buddies at JKS.

That's about as accurate as I can figure it out.

[TDW]

Originally posted by mrblaine
Mark Hinkley split the original ORGS into two seperate entities. ORGS the store and ORGSMFG. the wholesale manufacturing business.

All that was done about when Ron Schneider purchased ORGS the store. Hinkley continued his manufacturing at ORGSMFG. until he sold it to his buddies at JKS.

That's about as accurate as I can figure it out.

Thanks for clearing that up Blaine. The sale to JKS is what I remembered reading. I didn't realize there was the store and manufacturing side doing business separately.