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Bad experience with W-Body Store Fenderwell Intake

H

hunttom

New member
Just wanted to post this so that anyone considering doing business with the W-Body could be aware.
If you are considering the FWI for a Pontiac GTP 1997-2003 or buying any other part from these guys that you could possibly want to return without a hassle then don’t do it.
My experience was that I bought a fenderwell intake Kit for a 1998 GTP, the kit arrived OK but it does not fit these cars; it may be fine for other 3800’s but on a 1998 GTP there is just not enough clearance in the fenderwell for it to work. I tried a bunch of different approaches and couldn’t get the thing to fit.
I then tried contacting the W-Body store but got no response. I figured I'd been scammed. I next had the idea that if I cut about 2 inches off of the tube and put a flexible elbow on the end that maybe I could get it to work. No luck.
After that I went to paypal and then directly to the manufacturer. Then the W-body store surfaced and asked if they could help. I told them the story but by then I had already cut the tube. I don’t think they would have taken it back anyway. Tried to work it out with them but they would do nothing for me; no offer of any kind, a polite “tough luck” was all I was given. OK, maybe I shouldn’t have cut the tube but still, they marketed and sold a kit that didn’t fit. It wasn’t like I was trying to get it to fit on a Mustang. I wouldn’t have cut it if it fit. Bottom line is that they sold a kit that didn’t fit my car and in the end did nothing to make it right. Now I’ve spent a total of $235.03 on this and have nothing but a bunch of irritating e-mails to show for it.
Buyers beware, once they have your money you are on your own so you better hope it fits/works because if it doesn’t all you can expect to hear is:
1. Nothing
2. Gee, we’ve sold hundreds of these and never had a problem, you are the only one that has ever said it doesn’t fit.
3. Sorry, but not sorry enough to make it right.
 


im guessing the coolant bottle.

i do agree there customer service could be improved but ive never had a problem with any products from them.
 


The problem with the clearance is not the coolant bottle, the issue is that there is a "seam" of sorts where the lower fender connects to the upper fender and there is no way to get that seam out of the way, there is a problem with the fender support brace too but I cut that out of the way. The bigger issue is the clearance that this "seam" creates. The tube looks great and goes into the fender well without any problems but there is no way to actually put a filter on it once in there because of this clearance problem.

I wish it was the coolant bottle, that would have made things a lot easier.
 
you guys do realize that wbodystore is like two guys selling parts out of their garage right? they are not a big vendor and never will be. if youre patient and willing to deal with it, do they sell good parts? sure do.

hunttom said:
The problem with the clearance is not the coolant bottle, the issue is that there is a "seam" of sorts where the lower fender connects to the upper fender and there is no way to get that seam out of the way, there is a problem with the fender support brace too but I cut that out of the way. The bigger issue is the clearance that this "seam" creates. The tube looks great and goes into the fender well without any problems but there is no way to actually put a filter on it once in there because of this clearance problem.

I wish it was the coolant bottle, that would have made things a lot easier.
Click to expand...

thank god youre a handy person and realize that you need to cut up the fender to actually run a FENDERWELL intake. FWI are for noobs anyway, they dont make any more power (probably less).
 
Alright, i will end this thread right here. W-Body Store's "intake" IS NOT their intake, it is JMB's Fender Well Intake.

And upon research, you will find on JMB AND W-Body Store's website it says

"Fits 3.8 N/A or Supercharged 1998-2004 Buick Regal, 1997-2003 Grand prix (Requires inner fender brace removal), and 2000-2004 Chevy Impala" ~JMBperformance.com

"Installation Notes - Please note that cutting of the inner fender brace is necessary on W bodies which makes this one of the more difficult intakes to install. Please email us if you have problems with the install and cut/ modified intakes can not be warranted under any circumstances." ~WbodyStore.com

With that said, I OWN A JMB INTAKE. Was i upset at it? Very, but i did a lot of research before i bought it and knew what i was getting in to.

You are correct, and sorry if I am coming off very strong, it doesn't fit. But it clearly states it is very difficult to install. Me and my father cut, and cut, and CUT, on the inner fender bracing, and still were a bit off. The tube should have required NO cutting at all, the only thing that required modification was your inner fender, not the product.

With that said, I did cut the fender well block off plate down for a perfect clean, and flush install. Did the install suck? You bet, took me and my dad almost 4 hours, but the looks are second to none. I own a 1998 GTP just like you, so you can't say my setup is any different, and just to confirm to everyone else, the coolant bottle is NO where near hitting the intake setup.

It took some modification, but nothing that couldn't take some time, planning, and patience. Here's exactly what needed to be removed...

crap.jpg


To make this hole...

hole.jpg




/thread
 
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I did cut the fender brace but there is another obsticale in the way. Where the lower fender connects to the upper fender there is a seam of sorts that gets in the way, attempting to bend or cut this out of the way risks alerting or bending the fender in such a way that will make a real difference to the outside/exterior and I drew the line there but I did read and was aware that the brace was something that needed to be cut and I was willing to do that and in fact did. It still didn't fit.

Now, maybe I'm an idiot for not scouring the internet for an install on a 98 GTP, fair enough but I expect that if you are going to sell a part as a fit for these cars, I expect it to fit. This one doesn't; it is not as if it "needs modification" to fit or the "installation is a challenge" but possible. It doesn't fit. I'm not an internet merchant as a business but I have sold hunderds of things over the years on eBay and I just think that what they do with this kit is wrong... they sell it as a fit and it is not and then when asked about it they don't respond for a while and then when they do they say "Gee, never had this problem before" as if I'm just making it up that it doesn't fit.

There are two points to be made here: (1)The JMB Fenderwell intake does not fit the 1997 to 2003 GTP, (2) if you buy something from WBS and have fit issues don't expect help or to be treated fairly.
 


Bio248 said:
FWI are for noobs anyway, they dont make any more power (probably less).
Click to expand...

I agree, I wasn't expecting any power from the intake... my plan, based on some reading that I have done, is to ultimately move to a smaller pulley and a tweaked PCM but from what I can gather the air intake and exhaust need to be modified first.
 
i have a TDC N* intake and that thing is huge! it fits in just the right way and took some frustration to get in there. i ended up putting the cone on in the fender and tighting it down. taking the wheel off the car and removing the inner fender well can help so you can see whats going on. but if the TDC intake fits yours should definitely fit. make sure you have the tube in the right way.
 
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