TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:08 pm

Could it be that there just wasn't enough people buying enough bug pack, or any vw after market parts for that matter, To support the business and manufacturing and empi bought the last dieing breath of marketing value left in their name.

I wouldn't be surprised if they just threw the whole thing away and that it didn't cost much to buy anyway. With the cost of manufacturing and business these days I don't see how Bugpack could make much $. See he's keeping the urethane business . Simpler , easy , profitable.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:42 pm

vwracerdave wrote: I guess I'm done with VW's
LOL!

Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:29 pm

They probably sold out because they are getting old and need to retire. They are keeping the urethane business because it covers far more then just VW. They make suspension bushings for many types of cars and trucks.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:02 pm

tattooed_pariah wrote: I can't be the only one who experienced the quality rollercoasters...

some years Empi had great quality, some years garbage, I had the same luck with bugpack.

Same here.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:26 pm

45 years is a good run.

They been out of stock of the oversize king pins and mr.clutch for a decade.
I think they made some other useful items but my minds going blank

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:34 pm

First of all I would like to say the following statement is my opinion.

I am the importer of Genuine VW Products into the U.S. I work behind the scene supplying these two companies as well as many others.

EMPI and Scat are the bottom feeders of this industry. They are liars and cheats.

They only care about profits and will steal from your mother if nessasary to meet their goals.

BugPack at least had morals and values.

I will be posting news of defective cases Scat is marketing in the near future.

Thanks,

There is still hope for this industry, unfortunately the light just got a little dimmer.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:52 pm

thanks for that post. ^^^^ i know it to be true.

This sucks BAD. bugpack had some of the best cranks and rods left in the industry.

SIGH

Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:25 pm

For me its been hit or miss with Bugpack, Scat, and Empi. Lately I've only bought small odds and ends from these companies, But I've been pleased with my Bugpack kafer bar and Empi rear sway bar, my Bugpack pulley is pretty cool too. For internal engine parts I usually use CB.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:48 pm

I personally am in Glenn's camp. I AVOID anything EMPI makes, PERIOD.
Everything I've ever bought (and failed to ask who made it) that came from EMPI was garbage.

I agree with some of the posters who state EMPI is a BIG supplier of many parts for air cooled VW's. It just a shame they don't give a crap about quality or fitment. They are only focused on $ volume of the garbage they sell.

There are thankfully other companies making and selling most of the same parts that EMPI sells. I continue to go and support them or find NOS, or genuine used.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:58 pm

No skin off my back. I rarely use empi, and never have used bugpack anything. About the only thing empi or otherwise I own is my cheapo stinger exhaust and a few odd and end tools like oil pump pullers, I just hate to see where parts suppliers will be headed in the next 45 years during my life.

Bret

Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:14 pm

There are so many things I can quote here. But instead I'm just going to say it.

We are a wholesaler for EMPI, SCAT, CB, Bug Pack and a few others like IAP.

The comment about EMPI & Scat being bottom feeders of the industry strikes me as completely wrong.
What happens is there is so LITTLE mark up in this industry. What there trying to do is make it so that this sport is still affordable. 20-30% markup is the highest we get to ever mark up these items.
There quality is more than acceptable. What there doing is beating up the guys for the best price. That way they can keep there prices down.
This keeps our wholesale prices down, and the bottom line for the customers down.

As far as who has the best quality. Cranks perfect example. I have a EMPI crank in almost all my performance engines we build in house. I've had to replace 3 customers cranks this past year that had CB cranks that snapped in half with EMPI cranks. We've had an EMPI 69 c/w crank in our 1914 turbo buggy for 12 years now. We have a top end $2000 Scat crank in our race car that has already had to be cut 1ce & replaced 1ce in the time we have our EMPI 4140 $200 crank.

This again isn't to beat anyone up. This is to point out it don't matter the brand it's about working with your suppliers and finding what is the best on the market at the time. Knowing all the ins and outs of each and what has to be done. Suppliers like myself unlike most on Ebay or Amazon are using the product & selling it. We know what's the better and cost effective.

As far as the China vs Brazilian. I have more problems with Brazilian parts than Chinese. As far as EMPI having crap and not caring that's an outright lie. You have to go back to your supplier of the part to get your refund not EMPI. EMPI unlike Scat is not a retailer. There a wholesaler. If your supplier won't stand behind there product is crap. EMPI takes back anything and if there are any problems all the wholesaler has to do is pick up the phone there is a couple guys over at EMPI that I talk to all the time if I'm having issues with an EMPI item or have a suggestion. Normally on there next product purchased it's fixed. Being a supplier for years I can see where the items have changed. However if they don't know there is a problem they don't know.

As far as Bug Pack. As many have stated they never stocked anything. All there items that they were known for perfect example there Super Flow heads. You couldn't ever get. So what was the point of having them if you were never going to stock anything.

I really pulled away from Bug Pack about 3 years ago for the most part because even then we couldn't ever get anything. I would put a $4000 order in which was suppose to have free freight. My customers were putting parts in on the order and they would ship me half the order a week late and never bother to tell me the items were out of stock. Then after I would have the order they would bill me for the freight because the order was under freight min. Not my fault theres because of the out of stock problem.

I believe EMPI actually had some compassion for Bug Pack. They could have just simply copied there items like they did with AC's brake kits, CNC's pedal assemblies, Engle's cams. However they didn't they bought Bug Pack and keeping the branding. That means there intention is to do something with this as a sub company. It will bring the Bug Pack parts into stock and onto the market.

I'm not one to ever post to stir up anything. I just want people to realize there are flaws in ever company and there are things we on the wholesale side know about. The key is to pick up the phone, and get the parts you need for your application so that way you have someone on the other end to offer there support and knowledge of this industry.

I say I'm thankful for this purchase. There are so many items I would love to be using from Bug Pack that were never stocked. Now they will be available. As the post from EMPI states they purchased all the tooling and etc from Bug Pack so there going to make those products.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:15 pm

Guys get a grip........ Bugpack and EMPI buy product from same Chinese wholesaler.... Personally I never had any real problems with EMPI that I did not have with Bugpack.... Now all the same problems are in one house (label).... Only the Stigma of EMPI remains.....

Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:36 pm

Eh, I never really liked too many BugPack products anyway. EMPI makes some good products. Their stigma will last a long time. How does that saying go? One customer that has a bad experience does way more damage than X amount of good customers...

Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:47 pm

empi tin and "bling" parts are crap for sure, and the suckers that fall for them via the pretty adverts are just that suckers. but many of their "hard parts", from engine internals, to brakes and suspension parts are pretty good though sometimes require some massaging to get it installed and functional, but this is pretty much true of most aftermarket parts available these days.

I was recently involved in a conversation with a "big name" engine builder with the initials of GB who said he recently went through 3 sets of CB disk brake kits because of fitment issues. Ive read and heard and experienced fitment issues and quality issues from just about every aftermarket parts maker/supplier from CB, to berg, to scat to airkewld etc, the list goes on. everyone has crap and has produced parts to fit a budget. the competent builders and hobbiests out there know how to resolve the little issues in order to make everything fit and function. guys who slap together a short block or long block without having done any sorta of measuring or blueprinting are usually the ones who experience premature failures - regardless of who's parts were used to assemble it.

bugpack has had some good parts over the years, rockers, rods, and cranks, heater box header systems just to name a few. if the merging of these two companies leads to even better available aftermarket parts then im all for it. there of course will still be the bling garbage, but educated enthusiasts will know better. i have lost count how many times i have tried to explain to people that aftermarket fan shrouds are absolute crap, they wont cool as effective as the stock doghouse set up, these people just act like im weird. hey its your motor, if you wanna tear into it ever 20k miles thats on you, i'll just be doing my valve jobs and bottom end rebuilds at much much later in the life of my motor.

I am cautiously optimistic to see how this all plays out. empi has in recent times made some series efforts to get certain things they make/sell better. things like their weber knockoffs, their premium line of standard headers, some of the newer "retro" series accessories (bus side steps come to mind here), roofracks etc. they will still cater to suckers, of that i have no doubt in my mind, but looking deeper there have been some excellent progress toward the better, and with luck we will see this trend continue. after all, the acvw market is likely empi's bread and butter, so it is in their best interest in order to survive to produce parts that are worth buying. the dark days of crap empi are ending/over for the most part, as long as you don't act the sucker and purchase their "bling" junk.

Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:44 pm

Of the newer Chinese produced cranks I think I´ve seen broken ones from about every importer there is (Of the larger at least) Once you pass 220 hp (N/A) and use them, with slicks etc. you are on thin ice. (Turbo cars are different, and will hold up to more due to them not being quite as powerfull at take off) Scat billet seems to be good up to about 280 hp. Havent seen the limit on flange cranks. It has been a loong time since I used one of those.

T

Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:52 am

i wish the would work on there 34 pict carb a little more i heard those suck bad don't even try to buy them. i just have to dig out old og ones and rebuild them. the bling stuff sucks and people with rail buggies fall for them every time and the chrome doesn't last a year and already rusty.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:02 am

galencurrington wrote: i wish the would work on there 34 pict carb a little more i heard those suck bad don't even try to buy them.

This BRAND NEW EMPI 34-3 was on a bus I bought last year. It had a major off idle hesitation on it. This slop in the video shows why. The carb was removed from the bus.

What's amazing to me is that EMPI spends the $ to tool up and copy parts. Yet, they can't spend the extra time to get the tooling correct nor do any quality control to insure the tooling is correct and the parts fit or work. EMPI tin is terrible too. I bought some sled tins from CIP-1. I failed to see who made them. They came in the EMPI package. They fit horrible and I spent a lot of time trimming and bending to make them fit. I've since sourced OE sled tins and stripped and painted them. I know they will fit.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:14 am

galencurrington wrote: i wish the would work on there 34 pict carb a little more i heard those suck bad don't even try to buy them. i just have to dig out old og ones and rebuild them. the bling stuff sucks and people with rail buggies fall for them every time and the chrome doesn't last a year and already rusty.

The 34 pict carbs run better than most on the current market. Have you seen some of the other carbs on the market? And actually EMPI just has gone over them and are already on the shelf.

The chrome does last. Unfortunately chrome itself does rust when it's left in the elements and to rust. Heck we did a resto on our 61 about 10 years ago which is garage kept barely driven and the chrome bumpers, headlight rings, and etc are rusting. They were NOS German. This is a car that has more wax than paint. It's about taking care of your products.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:02 am

left_coast*9 wrote: Glenn wrote: It means that empi will just package their usual crap with the bugpack name.
^^Coming from a guy who put an Art Traen motor in a fat chick.
Not all there stuff is crap Glenn.

Art was a dealer for EMPI. I was there when Glenn's engine was built. There's EMPI parts in it, make no mistake. But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing at all.

Not everything EMPI made was poor quality. When Mr. Bug bought out EMPI the quality did go down quite a bit (and is where the reputation stems from), but in the last 10 years or so it has improved quite a bit. There's a lot of decent product out there right now.

And lets not forget, consumers dictate the quality level. If the majority only buy the cheapest they can find, that's what's going to be made.

"I shopped between a Fast Fab part and an Empi part. I bought the Empi part because it was a lot cheaper. But man, this Empi part isn't as nice as Fast Fab's part, Empi sucks!"

That gets old.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:04 am

Crap there gos another quality engine parts supplier,I hope bug poop dosent effup empi too bad.hopefully they will just drop the bugpoop parts and or tech guys that dont have a clue and just want to blame somebody else for parts made rong...Or possibly they could improve the bug-poop parts and possibility have a CS dept at least half as good as empi has. better parts,better people,better pizza. yes bp had a few parts that are good I found at least 3 that were what they should of been....or close to it.oops make that 6 I have 3 sets of valve covers that look good...but are extreamly heavy,and shalow...so... back down to 3..or 4, or is this more april fools and there still poop