Just bought a set of "Tuner Lugs" ($68.95) and 5mm spacers ($49.90) this weekend in response to a rubbing issue with my new KSport coilovers, and nearly shat myself when I opened the package and saw this:



Palo's verbatim description reads:

"If you need to run a 5m spacer, this is the finest available..... Manufactured from aircraft grade aluminum, meticulously engineered, with a durability and strength that leaves the others behind. Always in stock and ready to ship. Use the Uber Long tuner lug above for complete certainty you have the best performance components available anywhere in the world."

I was shocked because I have used these exact same spacers before (ezAccessory.com):




These things go like hotcakes for $29.89 shipped. Palo's advertising is very misleading here. The same place also sells "Tuner Lugs" that seemed strikingly similar to mine:



Again, Palo's description:

"THE WORLDS FINEST QUALITY, Grade 10.3, which is Formula one track standard...An absolute essential for any true performance enthusiast. Know your exact torque poundage on each lug, resulting in perfect mating of the wheel to hub, needed for track or aggressive street performance. The needed UBER key makes your rims almost theft proof once installed. Will fit any rim but designed for high performance rim application."

And again, ezAccessory.com:



These can be had in a set of 16 for $39.89 shipped. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon here, but I'm not happy - period.


Looking forward...

 

That guys a joke....theres probly a 12+ page post on how all the lugs rust etc...Palo Uber should not be allowed to be a vendor

 

And this is the very reason why a legitimate buyers rating system is necessary. (And also reiterates the quote, "Buyer beware." Sorry you got screwed on this one, I would return them for spite. Misleading ads just ain't cool.

 

...what's even more exasperating is how eloquently this guy four-flushed me over the phone. I couldn't get a hold of anyone all day Monday, then he calls me at home that evening with a half-hour spiel about how wonderfully stupefying his family and product really are. To make up for it all, he includes a little something extra - "No worries.." he says. Turns out to be an "Uber Euro" antenna, free of charge - though I think I may have actually paid for it


Looking forward...

 

Hey, give them a brake... They rattle canned the spacers black for ya, what more could you ask for? These guy's have no shame...

 

Every time I hear of Palu Uber, their products, and Ad writing, it reminds me of This. A "Vendor" in the Mac world, bought stuff (usually low-quality) and re-branded it as his own. He was doing good business until the Mac community caught him at it

 

Why don't you report them to the BBB..... At least they will send them a crappy letter and list them..

 

What we all need to do is keep forwarding these posts to their email acct.

carol@palouber.com

 

And I almost thought between the title and the first photo (before doing the reading) this was going to be about damaged materials straight out of the box "brand new"

 

...have you seen or heard of this before? Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me. It's amazing that a company would do this, not only to us, but to themselves. As if no one would eventually uncover their dealings. I'm not angry so much as incredibly disappointed that this has been permitted to continue. I had planned on purchasing their CF wing extension, but will look elsewhere.

You know, while I was talking to this guy on the phone, he mentioned Blackie here on the forums, as well as seven other persons whom he claimed to have some sort of vendetta against his father's company. He revealed quite a bit to me, actually, but I'm not sure how much was true and how much was just more icing on the turd. Something about how his father's signature MCS burned up somewhere in England and the only thing remaining where his immaculate forged alloy wheels What a jerk.


Looking forward...

 

Ohhhhh yeah. Situation Normal AFU was an appropriate title. There's quite a few threads on NAM if you spend some time searching. Some got locked some deleted some lived. There is also a single happy customer thread, last I read it it was @ 2.5 happy customers (I don't really know if that has grown or shrunk since)

Lesson being just because they're a NAM vendor does not mean you shouldn't do the research on them beyond that. I just hope your sharing of the experiance is something another person comes across when they do their research.

 

The thing that has caught me is that they say that thier "Tuner Lugs" are grade 10.3. I worked for Fastenal for 3 years,...there is no such thing as 10.3 grade steel. 10.9 yes. But WTF is 10.3????? Dopes.


But I still like thier carbon fiber wing extension

 

It never ceases to amazing me how people can read the descriptions that Palo Uber has for their items and still buy the damn things.

 

And why does old Marky Ferg still allow them to be a vendor......cause they pay him

 

Correct. And when people continue to buy from them, they will continue to advertise here.

 

In a vendor only thread that we cannot repudiate found here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=115082 the following is said.

The 2007 F1 Regulations can be found here http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/f1regs.html

Article 12 discusses wheels and tyres. There is NO reference at all to construction of the wheel retaining nut. In fact, F1 uses a single large nut in a centerlock construction.

Then I looked at the FIA Standards, they sure do have a lot of them. THre is NOT one for Wheel Retaining Devices.

Again P.U. Fails to tell the truth.

 

And, from the look of 'em, the spacers aren't even hub-centric... They look to be a very generic design for several different bolt patterns and won't provide the same safety/security that a set of H&R (or other hub-centric 4x100 spacers) would provide for the MINI, IMHO.

 

I assume I was probably on the list You can't really believe anything he says.....it's often lies. All I've ever done was point out "snafu's" that the company has. Like re-badging spacers.....or rebadging wheels....https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lo+uber+wheels

I agree with agranger....I've run a lot of spacers on my car and helped buddies install them on their rides as well. These things look almost scary in construction It's amazing that they didnt even try sourcing a spacer that was atleast hubcentric to the MINI. Bad things can happen with cheap spacers. If it's uneven it can easily cause vibration or loosening lugs...I've watched cheap generic eBay spacers cause a great deal of vibration.

You can review the vendor here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...uct/204/cat/17

 

Yes you have been Uber-Screwed. The uber-screw is hand crafted of the finest BS ever created.

 

10.9 isnt anything special anyway, its simply metric grade 8. Any hardware store carries grade 8 bolts. 10.3 doesnt exist as far as i know, not sure what the standard metric rating is tho. I know SAE is Grade 5, which you can get plated or unplated, and then grade 8 is always unplated, unless very very special, and i dont think i have ever actually seen a plated gr8 fastener. On the same topic, i talked to a friend who is very knowladgeable in the world of metalurgy, and he said gr 8 is fairly useless in the world of wheels, because the stub/bolt is so much stronger than hub, it will just tear the bolts from the hub, and even gr5 would probably do the same before sheering anyway. One of the best advantages of gr8 is that they withstand heat better, which is why alot of engine equipment is gr8, not because of its strength, but because of its heat management. Mind you, its doesnt stop me from running gr8 in alot of places where it isnt required, but if its not readably available, dont worry about it.

just my .02 on the 10.3 debacle

 

If it's not against site guidelines, I recommend someone starting a "Boycott Palo Uber" thread or something similar. IMO PU is a misleading, deceptive, dishonest company. I don't really have a problem with them selling overpriced re-badged products, but it's the lack of honest straight-forward answers from their customer service that irritates me.

For you guys that like the PU CF wing extension, I'm sure a few other vendors could easily make their own, sell it for much less, and still make lots of profit.

Nallen00, reporting PU to the BBB probably wouldn't be as effective as reporting it to HERE. I have a couple friends that work for a major corporation in the customer service department who have told me complaints filed to the BBB mean almost nothing nowadays.

 

at least they tell the truth about lying. In the post up there that says they make it to one standard but advertise it as another, tells you something. In the event that you make something better than some factions standards, you dont advertise it as the standard, but advertise that you exceed that standard. But an honest company would already know that, this just shows how the first idea that comes to their mind is lying. Just shows to go you.

PU is clearly FUBAR, so long as we are throwing (insert that fancy word here) out there

 

I probably owe you an apology. Just had to find out for myself, I guess.

That's classic

Good stuff. Report filed And I'm totally in agreement with the need for a boycott.


Looking forward...

 

[quote=cooper99;1971624]
For you guys that like the PU CF wing extension, I'm sure a few other vendors could easily make their own, sell it for much less, and still make lots of profit. [quote]

Sorry about the threadjack, but...



More info here: http://www.michiganmini.org/forum/in...p?topic=2957.0

Edit: in response to a few PM's. I'm not personally involved in the development/manufacturing/sale of the wing. I just wanted to provide a link to a very nice upcoming product.

 

8.8 and 10.9
no such thing as 10.3

By the way yellow zinc plate is the most common plateing for grade 8 fasteners. What you may consider unplated is still plated, it's called black phosphate. (black in color but still a plateing ) Just a common misconception.