NW Shop Review: Drift Office (Auburn WA)

[Pete156]

Originally Posted by Drift-Office

Ha! A timely call no doubt! Glad the two of you are enjoying it! Have fun over the weekend!


Bob @ Drift-Office, LLC

No, not timely. What guys like you do EVERY DAY!, to keep us happy. Keep it up!

We're going to have a great weekend, Hope you do too!

[Drift-Office]

Woot, review bump!

Ref : http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71985

(note: quote added by me, @DarrenDriven)

Originally Posted by Fastbrew

I wanted to post this here since I have been modding my car since I bought it new at the end of May this year.

It has been non-stop.

Most of it has been handled by pros - and in some cases shops that should be pros but are actually something different.

There is one thing for sure - there are plenty of people who will take your money. There are plenty of people who will try to sell you stuff that you don't really need. The pack begins to thin immediately when things don't go as planned. Fingers are pointed. You hear things like "I have never seen this before." Or "My car has the same mods and it is fine." etc.

It is customer service and dedication that really makes a shop owner stand out. Especially when things get bumpy - and it almost always will. There are always tweaks.

Bob from the Drift Office is one of those stand-out guys.

Check this out -

I decided early on that I would take my BRZ up there for an AVO kit and a clutch. I had already added suspension and a Nameless 2.5" exhaust system.

My goal is around 300whp until I decide to drop in a new engine in a couple years.

It was a 94 degree day up in Auburn when they started the tuning process after a couple of days installing all my gear. Bob was able to get 273hp out of my BRZ on 92 pump gas. Not bad - but not where we were shooting.

He told me the bottle neck was in the Nameless 2.5 (2.25 actually) setup and that I needed to go 3" to get where I wanted. He also let me know that the tolerance on the Nameless front pipe was really tight and that it would be a good idea to swap that out as well. When I picked up my car - he had a mobile detail guy finishing up an excellent job on my car (Yes - he asked in advance). No charge - it had rained during the day and he wanted it spotless. Customer cars all go inside overnight.

So - off I went and started planning for the upgrade.

I drove to my brothers house which is in that area. During the drive, the clutch started rattling like crazy. This was new to me. He told me they were louder than stock and this was typical of this level of clutch in this price range.

I was convinced it was louder than anything so he had me bring it back unplanned the next day which was a Saturday. He was also running a "dyno day" and it was packed. And hot. His techs listened to it - he listened to it. He agreed to replace it at no charge and threw it on the lift. The new one was slightly less noisy but - it still makes noise. The point here? He could tell I was not convinced so he replaced it.

Then, I started getting something odd going on. My car is pretty stiff with bars, braces etc. I also added a Cusco transmission brace. The car has a competition stage 3 clutch in it as well. It seems that when it's hot, it is really hard to avoid a first gear from a standstill "shudder" the car gets into. It can shudder quite a bit to the point where I can hear something knocking down in the passenger wheel well.

So - I called Bob. Turned out - he was going to be down in PDX at the Subaru Enthusiasts meet. Paul from Avo was with him. (I met Paul at Bob's shop - how cool is it to have the Avo rep onsite when you are installing your kit?)

He was concerned to hear about this. He told me to meet him at the event. Check this out:

He turns up with an overnight bag in case he needs to stay in Portland to look at it Monday at a friends shop (VIP Performance here in Portland). Both he AND Paul rode with me and checked it out. He already knew that the thunking was likely the new Avo stuff against the Nameless overpipe so guess what? Paul brought down a "loan to sell" overpipe/mid pipe for me to get around the thunking. This set of pipes came off Paul's dipped BRZ.

Bob was able to put my mind at ease and I am visiting VIP to get these pipes put in plus a Perrin 3" exhaust I picked up today.

Am I happy that I ran into issues? No - I don't want issues. Am I happy that I chose the Drift Office? You bet. Bob is busy and he stands by his work. He will go the extra mile.

If you are from Portland, please join me in trying to convince him to move down here!

Anyway - I have seen enough dealers/shops now to be able to put him at the top of my list. If you are ever in the area or want someone that you can trust with your vehicle - stop by The Drift Office. We are lucky to have that shop in our neck of the woods out here in the NW.

Thanks to both Bob and Paul for making me proud to be a customer.

[stockysnail]

Originally Posted by Drift-Office

Woot, review bump!

Ref : http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71985

(note: quote added by me, @DarrenDriven)

I would like to 2nd the motion of you moving down here and opening your shop!

[Joeyb860]

Originally Posted by Drift-Office

Woot, review bump!

Ref : http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71985

(note: quote added by me, @DarrenDriven)

Hey how get I get an appointment with you guys I've been calling but no answer? I want to discuss fi options and tune do you guys do fi installs? I would like to get the ball rolling as soon as the 1st of the year. Let me know thanks.

[Chen]

Originally Posted by Joeyb860

Hey how get I get an appointment with you guys I've been calling but no answer? I want to discuss fi options and tune do you guys do fi installs? I would like to get the ball rolling as soon as the 1st of the year. Let me know thanks.

Reach out via FB. Forums have died for the nw section for the most part

[slyphen]

Originally Posted by Joeyb860

Hey how get I get an appointment with you guys I've been calling but no answer? I want to discuss fi options and tune do you guys do fi installs? I would like to get the ball rolling as soon as the 1st of the year. Let me know thanks.

dude its holiday season. knowing Bob, he probably let his employees take a break and is probably closed for the holidays. but you can always reach him on FB.

[Bakchoii]

Originally Posted by Joeyb860

Hey how get I get an appointment with you guys I've been calling but no answer? I want to discuss fi options and tune do you guys do fi installs? I would like to get the ball rolling as soon as the 1st of the year. Let me know thanks.

His shop is closed for the holidays until sometime early January. Sorry man but talk to Bob on FB he'll give you some good talk and when could try and take you in.