A Chevy Owner on Jacobs® ignition

As told by the vehicle owner - Joe G.

12 mpg…

uphill, downhill, fast, slow
no matter where I went I got 12mpg +- ½ a mpg.

New plugs, cap, rotor, Air cleaner.. 12mpg
What next?  Taller tires... or  Overdrive transmission...?

WAIT!  Jacobs guarantees 15 – 20% increase...  so I called them.

[Re....] answered the phone and asked me about my truck.  It is a 1990 Chevrolet Suburban, 350 4x4.  [Re....] told me that the guaranteed minimum mileage I would get is 14.15 mpg; and that’s if I hot rod it.  His mother has a Suburban like mine and she gets over 15mpg.

After lots of skepticism a couple discount ploys a quick search on the internet and a call back I told [Re....] that he could keep his discounts if I could return the unit for a 100% money back guarantee.   [Re....] said that he could not do that but he said that he could give me a low price so if I did return it the cost would be about $43.

2 mpg is a great carrot that would save me about $200 per year so I went for it.

 And so the story begins...

On April 21,1999 I installed the Jacobs Ultra Team® and on April 23,we left for Phoenix again.  Going to Phoenix I got about 12mpg.. no change. We continued up to the Grand Canyon and got 10.75 mpg… not surprising because it was uphill all the way but still when we got home on April 28 there was no significant change.

There was [Cl...]…
    "your gap is too big try .050"

Then there was [Ga....]…
    " your gap is too small try .060"

Then there was [Ch....]…
    " your gap is OK try advancing the timing"

Finally there was [Mi....]
    He was very understanding and concerned that I was not getting the mileage increase.  He offered to send me an upgrade to pro street and an extension on my warranty for 30 days once the new unit was received.  He also offered to pay the shipping charges for the ultra team unit as long as it was under $10.00..

I told him to put it in writing and fax it to me..

So I called Jacobs again and the conversation went something like this...

JOE:  "[Mi....] this system is not working on my truck. My extended 30 day trial is over in a week and I would like to return the unit for my refund less the 10% restocking charge."

[Mi....]:  "maybe you are not getting the mileage because your EGR may be bad."

JOE:  "I did some work on that last year"

[Mi....]:  "Not that.. well then maybe your O2 sensor is bad.. how about a $50.00 credit toward that and try it some more"

JOE:  "[Mi....]… enough…I am done… please issue me a return #"

[Mi....]:  "oookkkk welllll how about that $50.00 credit"

JOE: "NO please issue me a return #"

[Mi....]:  "ok .. of course that does not include the cap and rotor"

JOE:  "WHAT!! [Re....] did not say that. He said it applied to all.  I think you should honor your reps word.  It will only cost you $25.00 and besides, I am writing this web page.

[Mi....]:  "[Mi....] changed his mind after a few more seconds of talking.. "you're right it is only $25.00"

JOE: "So we are done... almost.  [Mi....], remember you did say that you would credit that ups charge for the ultra team unit."

[Mi....]:  "uh  right.  I don’t do the paperwork.  I am sure they’ll take care of it"

JOE:  "You don’t understand [Mi....]  I expect to see my $453.60 less 10% ($408.24) + $5.00 credited back to my account."

[Mi....]:  "OK"

JOE:  "thank you and good bye"

To be continued when I see the credit to my account.

P.S. I installed 1.5" taller tires and have seen a 14% increase in mileage.

P.P.S. I left my spark plug gap at .055" and it runs the same as with the Jacobs unit

The views above are the sole opinions of the author.  However, we believe the story reinforces our opinion about factory parts... Good running factory parts are best.

They did seem to service the problem with the best intentions.  It is very nice to see a company refund money when a customer has a bad experience.

Let's hope Joe sees the credit card charge change too!

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