Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - Torque RT700 - DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid

RJasonKlein · 03-29-2017, 09:02 PM

I spoke to Gene Mahan, the owner of Prospeed Motorsport, and I have some information that will be helpful to the forum and can shed some light on what exactly happened with Torque RT700. Gene was a business partner with Michael Wachholz and together they created the Torque RT700 brand and marketed the product. Gene's role was primarily as a financial backer, while Michael was responsible for sales, marketing, and running the business day-to-day. According to Gene, he became aware that Michael was not acting ethically, was marketing the product with fraudulent claims, and was failing to fulfill customer orders, and he decided to terminate his financial involvement in the business. Michael then seized their inventory of 45 cases of brake fluid and claimed that it never existed or had already been sold. It appears that at this point he continued to take customer and distributor money, but failed to fulfill a substantial number of orders. Police reports were filed and there's currently an arrest warrant for Michael Wachholz in the state of Colorado, and it's suspected that he's fled the state. Crazy story, huh?

Gene told me that neither Torque, Inc. or Prospeed Motorsport manufacture the product, but that it's made under contract by a third party and that RT700 and RS683 are, in fact, the same exact fluid - although Prospeed Motorsport RS683 sells for considerably less than Torque RT700. The discrepancies in the wet and dry boiling points between the two fluids was one of the ways that Gene initially caught Michael making fraudulent claims, which he found while reviewing the specifications from the manufacturer. He said he's marketed RS683 with accurate specifications, but there still seems to be an inconsistency on the front label regarding dry boiling point. He also said that even with the lower wet and dry boiling points the fluid is exceptional and has some very unique properties - which has been borne out by extensive testing by @CounterSpace Garage here on this forum.

For people like myself who have used and liked Torque RT700, Prospeed Motorsport RS683 is an excellent direct replacement. I suggested that Gene talk with @CounterSpace Garage to see if they would like to distribute or sell RS683, and he seemed very interested at the suggestion - particularly because they had so much direct experience with the product when marketed as RT700. @CounterSpace Garage, if you're interested please PM me and I can give you Gene's mobile number and e-mail address.

No doubt, it's a crazy story - I wanted to share it with the forum and I hope it was helpful to those that wondered what the hell happened to Torque RT700!

03-29-2017, 09:02 PM	#94
RJasonKlein Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S 10 Series Location: Clarendon Hills, IL Posts: 617 Thanks: 442 Thanked 356 Times in 202 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I spoke to Gene Mahan, the owner of Prospeed Motorsport, and I have some information that will be helpful to the forum and can shed some light on what exactly happened with Torque RT700. Gene was a business partner with Michael Wachholz and together they created the Torque RT700 brand and marketed the product. Gene's role was primarily as a financial backer, while Michael was responsible for sales, marketing, and running the business day-to-day. According to Gene, he became aware that Michael was not acting ethically, was marketing the product with fraudulent claims, and was failing to fulfill customer orders, and he decided to terminate his financial involvement in the business. Michael then seized their inventory of 45 cases of brake fluid and claimed that it never existed or had already been sold. It appears that at this point he continued to take customer and distributor money, but failed to fulfill a substantial number of orders. Police reports were filed and there's currently an arrest warrant for Michael Wachholz in the state of Colorado, and it's suspected that he's fled the state. Crazy story, huh? Gene told me that neither Torque, Inc. or Prospeed Motorsport manufacture the product, but that it's made under contract by a third party and that RT700 and RS683 are, in fact, the same exact fluid - although Prospeed Motorsport RS683 sells for considerably less than Torque RT700. The discrepancies in the wet and dry boiling points between the two fluids was one of the ways that Gene initially caught Michael making fraudulent claims, which he found while reviewing the specifications from the manufacturer. He said he's marketed RS683 with accurate specifications, but there still seems to be an inconsistency on the front label regarding dry boiling point. He also said that even with the lower wet and dry boiling points the fluid is exceptional and has some very unique properties - which has been borne out by extensive testing by @CounterSpace Garage here on this forum. For people like myself who have used and liked Torque RT700, Prospeed Motorsport RS683 is an excellent direct replacement. I suggested that Gene talk with @CounterSpace Garage to see if they would like to distribute or sell RS683, and he seemed very interested at the suggestion - particularly because they had so much direct experience with the product when marketed as RT700. @CounterSpace Garage, if you're interested please PM me and I can give you Gene's mobile number and e-mail address. No doubt, it's a crazy story - I wanted to share it with the forum and I hope it was helpful to those that wondered what the hell happened to Torque RT700! Last edited by RJasonKlein; 03-30-2017 at 12:46 AM. Reason: Corrected a typographical error.