Background:
After I made a post in which I pointed out that Equilibrium Tuning was making questionable claims about a product they sell, members of the business began making false accusations about me.
In a recent post, I addressed one false claim that relates to the adequacy of the flow bench that I use for flow testing. Evidence presented in that post proved that EQT owner, Ed Susman, had made false statements about the flow bench.
Note: The accusations EQT personnel have made have no relation to addressing their advertising claims. Indications are that the EQT personnel engaged in defamation as a distraction from addressing the claims the business made.
Ed Susman is the owner of Equilibrium Tuning INC., a business that sells aftermarket automotive products and services to consumers.
Topic Overview:
Readers of this site have probably noticed that making conclusions about how aftermarket parts perform based on data is a central theme of the posts I make.
The frequency at which I ask other enthusiasts for “data” to support their conclusions led one fellow enthusiast to create this meme in 2021 after I asked somebody about data that they might have. Humorous and true, I display it on my Fact Check Kickoff page.
Over the past few years of owning my GTI, I have compiled quite a bit of data when logging the car. A search of my hard drive for the datalog1.csv file, which is the default data log file name generated by the Cobb Accessport when logging data, turns up over 400 separate data files.
In addition to recording a lot of data, I also have operated with a smorgasbord of different parts on my GTI. Summarizing just the intercooler configurations in the table below shows thirty (30) different intercooler setups have been logged while making 465 third gear pulls to record Intake Air Temperature (IAT) data.
Logging as much data on the car as I do has led me to acquire a range of sensors and dataloggers to supplement what is already on the vehicle. These consist of:
- (5) Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) sensors
- (1) K-Type thermocouple
- (1) In-line Infrared (IR) sensor
- (1) Handheld Thermal Camera
- (4) Manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensors
- (2) Differential pressure sensors
- (2) DATAQ Data Acquisition and Logger systems
Although I do a LOT of testing with my GTI, there are instances where I will leverage work done by others to fill in gaps. When the do88 intercooler first was released I posted results from an owner who was using the intercooler with a hybrid turbocharger. Later I saw some good information posted about the Burger Motorsport intercooler and was able to analyze its performance. Most recently I’ve done some evaluations of intake data other people have supplied.
Because of the breadth of the test results that have been published on this site, and the duration, stretching back to 2018, it was a surprise to see Equilibrium Tuning’s owner stating to people on social media that I “ignore the real world data“.
It defies logic that a person, even with rudimentary reading comprehension and cognitive function, would conclude that I ignore “real world” data.
Accusation Examples:
Some of Ed Susman’s statements are shown here:
This comment is full of irony.
Ed starts by referencing the email that I sent his business asking about evidence supporting the claims they made for their intakes. As Ed states, he ignored my questions:
The irony is that Ed Susman claims to the public that I refuse to consider data, in the same paragraph in which he states that he ignored my request for evidence. It is mindboggling that anyone would say such contradictory things, in consecutive sentences, but there it is.
Ed also claims to have previously provided contradictory evidence that was ignored, without providing any proof to support this claim. When a person is unfettered from providing evidence, they can claim to have accomplished anything.
Ed goes on to repeat the same accusation to different people:
Evidence review:
Is there any evidence to support Ed Susman’s accusation that I “ignore the real world data“?
[Bear with me. I understand this is subsidizing stupidity, it is being done for the sake of completeness.]
The logical source for this evidence is Equilibrium Tuning and the owner, Ed Susman, since they made the accusation.
The business was contacted on September 10, 2023, requesting the business to present evidence it has to support the accusation that Ed Susman published on social media. This email is shown below:
The company failed to respond.
The silence from the business on this topic is a significant departure from Ed Susman’s conduct when he first made the accusation repeatedly to consumers. At the time that Ed made his baseless accusation, he failed to provide any evidence to support his accusation.
There is no evidence that supports this accusation.
Conclusion:
One would have to be brainless to look through the content on this site and arrive at the conclusion that the author “ignores the real-world data“.
Ed Susman’s claim that I “ignore the real-world data” is false.
Trends that have emerged in analyzing the words and actions of personnel at Equilibrium Tuning are; repeatedly making accusations with no evidence to support them, that are disparaging of others, and failing to respond when requests are made to substantiate the baseless accusations.
Implications:
The previous post analyzing EQT’s false claims introduced the question about what ethical obligations a business has, and the business owner specifically when it comes to communicating information to consumers.
The evidence presented in this post, and previous ones, should give consumers pause for thought. Consider that for a business owner, what you do echoes who you are and what your company stands for.
I’m surprised more people haven’t called Ed out. But to be honest he’s one of many.
I don’t agree that the actions by EQT are common amongst aftermarket vendors. In my interaction with aftermarket vendors over the past twenty years EQT is uniquely noteworthy in unfavorable ways.
And to think, all of this could have been avoided by simply rewording their advertising to not say blaze is the best intake. Instead they have a tantrum and nuke any respect and good will many of us previous EQT customers had for the company. I find it hard to even recommend someone use their CGK, when it’s currently the ONLY product I know of that addresses the annoying ground set up on these cars. Why
Rewording of that ad, more realistic in the first place, responding to my questions, lots of opportunities to go down a different path. What my individual interaction is revealing though is more systemic and significant issues than just the wording in an advertisement.