I'd like to start off by saying that this post is in no way meant to talk down towards or even insinuate that ETS is anything but a great company. They've been very helpful with this entire purchase, polite, knowledgeable and even gave me a little discount (I spent $7000 that day with them) so it saved me some money. I also admire what they build and have done/can do with any car.

With that said..

I received my intercooler kit from them a few days ago. This is the first one I've bought from them, it also happens to be my first anodized intercooler. My previous kit was from AMS and showed up perfect, which maybe part of the reason my eyebrows raised when I saw this.

I spoke with one of their employees and he informed me that this is "normal" for anodizing an intercooler and that it's caused by the brazing. But to be honest I've seen them sell blemished anodized intercoolers that IMO looked better than this?

I know I'm very very picky about my car, as with everything in life. I like my s**t perfect, that's just the way I am. So I'm not sure if I'm going overboard here but I don't feel like this is "normal"? The back doesn't look like this? Everyone I cruise with that has one doesn't look like this?

I noticed when I pulled it out of the box that the intercooler piping had almost pushed through the card board and dented the intercooler in two spots, again they are little but like I said I'm very picky and I spent a decent chunk of coin on this.

Quite a few fins are bent, which I understand can probably happen during the whole anodizing process or maybe even shipping, but to me it's not what I expected from them.

So without trying to sound like I don't love the company and just want to complain, I'm not 100% happy with this purchase and it doesn't seem "normal" to me. I'm just not sure how to go about telling them without looking like I don't appreciate the help they've given me already.

What do YOU think about it? Here's some pictures:

 

Here are some of them:

 

Here's a few more:

 

Have you tried talking to Michael already before you aired your dirty laundry?

 

I'm not sure what the problem is? Is it poor finishing? Perhaps it was the wrong choice of color. A good solution might be to return the intercooler to ETS & have it re-anodized.
I'm considering getting an ETS FMIC black anodized with a white stencil (if such option is available).
Since you've owned an AMS FMIC before, I wonder what are the main differences between both kits, performance wise?

 

i don't know why ppl choose stencils at all.sooner or later it i will fade from salt,sun,heat,road debris etc and will look like crap.Op i see couple of dents but i wouldn't worry about it.but if you are perfectionist then need to contact them.it might be shipping damage not ets fault.

 

I've looked through the pics twice now, on my phone, but I fail to see the issue?

Maybe I'm getting old.

 

^^^ this-- don't see the issue, a couple of bent fins-- and I do mean a couple---get a small screw driver or a comb and straighten them---they move like stiff aluminum foil. I get the" I like perfect" but your going to do more damage putting it on then you see in your pics--- just a thought. Good luck

 

i think you should ditch your comment about tax

 

I'm pretty new here, who's Michael? I had originally called and talked to an employee of theirs that I had ordered the kit from as I didn't want to post this because they had been so helpful during the process of ordering and I don't want tarnish their rep or make them look bad.

That's when I got the "normal" comment.. So I sat on that for a few days and looked up hundreds of pictures online to see if it was "normal". Unfortunately I didn't see anything that looked like this, I did see a few that had the brazing blemishes that he had mentioned but nothing like the issue I have here.

This post wasn't intended to be "dirty laundry", it's meant to get opinions on if this is actually "normal". If it is I'll just bite the bullet on this one and never buy another anodized intercooler again. But everything I've seen points to this not being normal, so I'd like to get some opinions before I press the issue with them. I don't want to ask for reanodizing if it is in fact "normal".. I personally really like ETS, they've always had good products and great service, so I want to make sure it's not just my need for perfection that leads me to ask for a recoat, I genuinely want to make sure this is in fact not normal.

 

You're right, I took pictures of were the intercooler piping had actually almost pushed through the taped on cardboard on the front of the intercooler itself. So I don't believe it was put in the box that way. If that was all it was I wouldn't have had a second thought about it. But there's eneven anodizing throughout the whole face of it, in spots it almost looks like bare metal, which is why I am here. To get some further input on how blemished you guys think it is, not to debate whether you like stencils or not. :P

This is not to start drama or do anything else than ask for solid information on the normalcy of this intercooler from someone with more experience than me. I don't want to make anyone look bad nor do i want to cause them any loss by having to recoat unless I am in fact right and this isn't normal. I can see how one or two would get out there, they do mass volume, I'm sure it's easy to have happen.

 

I don't see an issue, but I am fairly function over fashion (not to say all u care about is fashion, just that you're more of a perfectionist than I am). I would contact ets if the anodizing and fins aren't up to you're specs, they may be willing to fix the issue for a small charge if not free, but I can almost garauntee the damage to the fins is all from shipping, when I had my ets intercooler it was extremely well packaged but shipping companies are still extremely rough on packages. If ets is not willing to fix the anodizing then u may have to have it done locally that way u get the perfection u desire from the finish.

 

From what I see in those pics it just looks like some bent fins and a scratch on the finish. After a little while of driving the car around Im sure the intercooler will have collected more bent fins from road debris anyhow. I don't think that would even be noticeable once its on the car. If its not leaking through there I wouldn't worry about it, unless you are building some sort of show car. If its bothering you that much, grab a small pick and carefully straighten out the fins back until your satisfied and call it a day.

 

So the unevenness of the anodizing on the core is normal? You guys see what I'm talking about right? The "wavy-ness" on the core between the fins? That's where most of the issue is.. That's normal?

 

If you're really concerned about it. Pressure check it. That will tell you if there is an issue. It looks pretty normal to me. Plus this is something that sits in front of your car and exposed to everything. They take quite the beating.