Wow, I am sold. Do you want cash, Western Union money orders, or for me to just send you the $99,000 change from the Nigerian Money Order you are going to send with the afterburner?

 

I think it is great to have a forum to announce things you are developing for the Mini.... I think that arguements about in depth patent law and what is patentable or not belong in a seperate thread....and it would be nice if people listed their qualifications or experience so that we could get an idea of the credibility of the source (this is about Don's AC). Where I see an issue, possible genius, is when a MFG brings out a new product....makes claims to be "track tested (which I am sure it is) solicits preorders without the support materials like literature/pictures and data..... and claims that "data" will not be supplied because it will only confuse us... I think two things, 1) this manufacturer does not care about the basics of marketing (see any MKTG 101 text book) and, 2) PR is of no concern.....or, more of #1. These announcements are fine until you ask people to send money for a completely undocumented (publically) product..... we get better than that from infomercials......c'mon Don are you serious about "come by the shop"..... At least make an attempt...please.....many of us are interested

FWIW.... having no interest in "marketing basics" is not necessarily a bad thing because ploys like that can,.... and in this case ARE creating "mystery" and intrigue and can get the product free publicity by fostering discussion/arguements among the target markets.....us.... we are doing exactly what was intended...not necessarily bad. Don, I believe is a pretty smart guy..... that being said, I would love to see some pictures....can't get by the shop this week.

 

when will the units ships. 650 is a good price for an intercooler (aftercooler) i dont really need pics. just as long as it works

 

I just want to know how DMH would expect a flood of pre-orders on a product that we essentially have no information or photographs of. None whatsoever. All that we know is that he says, "it just works".

My friends, that is quite a gigantic leap of faith, isn't it? Just trust him? Hmmm...

I don't understand how DMH considers product photography, (and to a lesser extent, specs and numbers), to be not very important to gaining sales. I would argue that product photography is absolutely integral in gaining sales. That's a no-brainer. Most of us need visuals, especially when we're going to spend nearly $700 on our beloved MINI's.

We want to see what this thing looks like, and how it will look in our engine bay. Call us "crazy"!

You say it's well made? A product photo will show that, to a certain extent.

My point is, (in case it is at all unclear at this point), it is unrealistic for us to put money down on a mystery item, no matter how good that you claim it works. If you want lots of orders, you need to give us what we want: photos and more information.

Personally, I couldn't care less about this tangent about patents. Who cares? I just want to know about your product!!!

You've got a captive audience right now, don't lose us!

 

Is this really necessary?

 

I’ll try not to lose you. I’m old: most everything I do is on the phone or in person.

Pictures: From my experience on NAM, pictures do seem necessary to most. But to the customers I am more accustomed to dealing with all that matters are results. If you walked through a Grand Am paddock you would see blankets covering aero devices and engine bays covered. Ever been to a professional motorcycle race? You'd see nothing. But many covet what they think makes the other guy fast, sight unseen. You simply trust the builder and judge him by his results. (I wrote this paragraph in anther thread as well.)
I am working on the scoop and when that is finished I will add pictures to my web site.

Patent: I have contacted the US Patent Office and my legal staff. There is nothing new or innovative about this product, design, usage, parts, etc. Back in the spring, my pre-NAM days, I got the idea from our 944 Turbos that also flows the air through the cores depth.

Data: The data is not really transferable from car to car. I’ve written about that at length. What matters is if it works. You can debate all you like about the why, how...
I know some of you guys are concerned about heat soak and the like. And most seem to be street drivers. The stock unit is really a good design for most applications. Air to water works as well but is more complicated. (MTH will have one available in a couple of months.) For air to air the scoop and speed you are traveling is highly important. Sit at a light and idle in the summer and heat rises. My aftercooler was designed and tested for those interested in a solution at the track for the limitations of the stock unit.

Sales: No, I’m not a marketer. I spend my time developing our cars and customers cars for the track. I am not as big as M7 or Alta either. I made 10 units and sold 5 to my customers. I do not do this in order to eat; I do it only because I enjoy it. I’m supposed to be semi-retired! I am merely bringing to your attention that there a many intercooler alternative available for the Mini.

 

necessary...no..... funny as hell....yes

 

DMH, there is no reason that you need to defend anything.
This is a free country ( maybe not ) and you are entitled to market or say what you want as long as it is fairly represented & not a direct copy of a competitor.
I'de like to see what you have when you get a chance to post some pics.

"Is this really necessary?"

 

Hey, what's hapening out there?

 

I agree and would like to see as well...... personally I'm glad a guy with your experience is interested in the Mini....

 

Bob,
Isn't this what M7 did with the Air Gain System, 8000rpm software, and tech 10+ cylinder head that caused such a ruckus? This isn't about starting a fight it's about countering what you are saying to Don.
Does anyone know what ever happened to his software that he was touting?

 

I was not involved in any of that.....

 

I was under the impression that you could obtain a patent if you come up with a product/invention that nobody else done yet.

 

I can't wait to see more of this device

 

No problem, man. It's all good.
You are probably right. I just thought that the DFIC, being the only IC on the market like it, was unique enough to obtain a patent. I don't know if Peter included the scoop with his application or not, I would imagine he did.

 

I am very curious as well.

 

Didn't ALTA make one similar first? I believe a guy named Andy tested something similar before the DFIC came out. Can anyone confirm this?

 

I am in the market for an aftermarket intercooler. To sum things up from you, 6"core with a ram-air style inlet, $650 and no modified scoop(as of yet) What is the height of the cooler? Is there a reason that that you decided to go with air-air and not water-air? Can you give us any info on what MTH is doing with designing a intercooler? Thanks -- Johan

 

I'm not sure about Andy but I think Doc Obnoxious tested the unit and provided feedback to Alta. Andy doesn't post any more (or at least I haven't seen him post lately), but Doc Ob can verify what he did or didn't do.

I don't recollect a lot of the test data getting into the public domain, but that might be my hazy memory getting in the way...

 

62 is right.
Matt aka Dr.Obnxs did some testing with the stock IC, the Alta TMIC, and the Alta Flow Through.

 

An average patent takes about 30 months to process and is costly as well. The expected return is most likely negative. There is simply not much worthwhile to patent on an aftercooler.
I choose to develop an air-to-air aftercooler because of its simplicity and effectiveness on the track. MTH will have an air-to water aftercooler available in a few months.

 

 

Actually, a patent costs about $350, and can be easily submitted by anyone who is willing to do the research on prior art (all online) and use the legalese that the Patent Office requires for describing claims.

You can also get a Design patent that says, in so many words, "I claim the invention of a frimble-hanger that looks like this."

Interestingly, the Patent Office is the only US Gov't agency that is required by statute to be helpful to applicants, and they are. They even provide MS-Word document templates and PDF's for all the forms.

My first patent took almost exactly a year for the Patent Office to process, and I did all research and writing myself - no big deal - about 3 days work to do the research and figure out their forms and procedures - again, all online.

As to whether there is anything unique or patentable about this particular invention, that's not clear.

 

Eric,

I'm just a happy customer who purchased a DFIC. Peter (as he should be) is very proud of his DFIC. I picked mine up from his house. While talking about it he showed me the patent papers. I have no idea what the patent # is. I was just happy to get DFIC and couln't wait to get home and put it on.

Not knowing what the DMH "aftercooler" looks like, I can not speculate as to whether it's a copy or not. That said, I work in manufacturing and have to fight copy's all the time. When some one comes up with a great idea like the DFIC there will always be some one trying to jump the train.

LongBoard

 

I think the operative distinction is unique-ness across all applications. The first person to come up with the idea of an intercooler (1930s? timeframe) could certainly get a patent; application of an intercooler to the MINI - don't think it would be patentable (absent some other secret sauce).