Forced Performance FP68HTA turbo - broken - horror story

For sale, my 10 minute old Forced Performance FP68HTA turbo. In the effort to give the potential purchaser a full and frank description of the item, here is the story leading up to its demise :- After discussion with Forced Performance technical department I was recommended to use the FP68HTA turbo on my Mitsubishi Evo 3 rally car. After specifically mentioning that it was going to be run with a 34mm restrictor and asking directly if I should go for the FP68HTA or a standard turbo rebuilt (with which I had had some reasonable success) they recommended the FP68HTA. The turbo was installed and mapped by one of the UK's foremost Evo tuners and actually won the group during its first (sprint) event. But the joy was short-lived. At the very next event the turbo exploded spectacularly. Having been ran for a total of less than 10 minutes. And so the pain started. Returning the turbo to Forced Performance for inspection I received a very aggressive phone call from the owner, blaming me for putting a restrictor on the turbo and accusing us of wiring the wastegate shut (Forced Performance mistaking the FIA scrutineer's tag for a botch fix - noone in their right mind would wire a wastegate shut). Furthermore, he told me that NONE of their turbos are meant for restrictored use and that this immediately removes any of their liability. None of which is mentioned on their site or at any point in during the conversations leading up to the sale. Upon pointing out that I had been recommended on no less than three occasions by their technical department to use this turbo in direct response to running on a restrictored engine I was told that, and I quote :- From this point on, anything our technical sales department has told you is null and void in this conversation. Upon providing the actual wastegate map used to Forced Performance and offering independent verification of the setup of the turbo and of the fact it was a sealed tag (not the insanity of a wired shut wastegate - seriously, come on guys!) I was sent packing - over $1600US out of pocket (not including mapping, the potential loss of a championship, zero help, nothing). So, offered up for sale, are the remnants of the briefly group winning, 10 minute old, aggressively marketed, totally unsupported FP68HTA. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Copied in below are the conversations leading up to the purchase... From: 'Graeme' Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 8:52 PMTo: sales@forcedperformance.netSubject: Group A - TD05 vs FP 68HTA Hi Guys, Hoping you can help with some advice. About to order a turbo from you for our Group A Evo III. In Group A, we have to run with a 34mm restrictor. We had good results in the past (won Rally Barbados Group A) with a ported and clipped standard E3 turbo. So, I'm looking for advice on whether to order another one of those, or, to order the FP68HTA (I assume it's a straight fit on a standard manifold?). The questions I have though :- - Does the FP68HTA fit straight onto the standard manifold - Does the FP68HTA use a normal cartridge (we run ALS and the standard E3 cartridge holds up reasonably well) - Would a 34mm restrictor negate the point of going to the FP68HTA? - What would shipping cost (FedEx/UPS) be? Cheers!Graeme. In which I specifically ask about the 34mm restrictor. The response from Forced Performance was :- From: Mr. An*** P**** [mailto:An***@forcedperformance.net]Sent: 17 October 2011 12:15To: g******@f************co.ukSubject: Group A - TD05 vs FP 68HTA The 68hta is an Evo 3 with our HTA compressor wheel, so i would go with the 68hta in my opinion. Shipping is $250.00 US Mr. An*** P****Sales TechAIM: an***p****972-984-1800 ext. #117www.forcedperformance.net At no point is it mentioned in this, or further, discussions that the turbo is not suitable for running a restrictor, in fact, I am told by Forced Performance that lots of rally cars are running them with great success. On October 20th, I again raise the question of the restrictor and again no mention of the turbo being unsuitable is given :- From: 'Graeme Finlayson' Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2011 8:50 AMTo: An***@forcedperformance.netSubject: RE: Group A - TD05 vs FP 68HTA Hi Aniel, Many thanks, that's what I had read in forums but had a UK supplier offering a 360 degree bearing upgrade??? Anyways, nearly there now! J (Hopefully) final question - what is the difference in spool like between the TD 05 (ported/clipped) and the FP 68HTA - I ask, as we run restrictored (34mm) engines and spool is key. From: Mr. An*** P**** [mailto:An***@forcedperformance.net]Sent: 20 October 2011 09:56To: Graeme FinlaysonSubject: RE: Group A - TD05 vs FP 68HTA Our 68hta spools just as fast as a regular Evo 3 16g Mr. An*** P****Sales TechAIM: an***p****972-984-1800 ext. #117www.forcedperformance.net As you can see, no mention at all of any unsuitability, in fact, quite the opposite. After the turbo failure, an aggressive phone call from Forced Performance followed, blaming the restrictor for the failure, absolving any responsibility and endeavouring to place any technical advice supplied by Forced Performance pre-sale as null and void. Many emails later, trying to accuse me of wiring shut a wastegate (even though we have a wastegate map, a three-port solenoid all controlled through GEMs management mapped by one of the foremost mappers in the UK and the turbo still has an FIA scrutineer's seal tag on it) still no progress. As such, here is the expensive paper-weight that has likely cost me a championship. Enjoy!