2010
02.02

the real mike gilbert.

mg1

mg2

mg3

mg4

mg5

mg6

Canibeat feature: http://www.stanceworks.com/canibeat/?p=4520

I was on the phone with a client tonight when he told me that Mike Gilbert was featured on Canibeat. I said “of course he was, that car is gorgeous!” In this crazy world of aftermarket parts/niche market parts retail, the clients are a different cut of individual. Most of my clients end up becoming my friends because we bond over things like breaking pieces of the undercarriage, laying frame and impressing people with our ability to make the car go up and down. I’ve been trying my best to feature client cars on the blog because it’s the clients that drive this business. I’m here to help out and provide parts but I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love this industry or love the clientele that I deal with. Mike Gilbert contacted me a while back because he was interested in bags for his C6 A6. When Mike originally told me his plans for the car, I became very giddy. There is something about big sedans on bags that make my jaw drop. Mike is definitely one of the coolest, most patient and humble guys I’ve dealt with. If anyone knows how things work with Bagyard, the wait is about 3-6 weeks for a set of hand built supreme series struts. Mike never once freaked out or demanded that I produce struts out of thin air. He truly knows the meaning of “good things come to those who wait”. The end result is phenomenal and on my client follow-up phone call Mike he said that he loved the ride and couldn’t be happier with the bags. These are the words that make me feel like my job is complete. To this day, Mike’s A6 is still one of my favorite cars. In fact, it’s so “cool” that my dad likes it! That says a lot coming from a guy who has been known to hate my ugly obsession with cars. Well done Mike!

2010
01.29

byb1

byb2

byb3

BAGYARD AIR RIDE and OPEN ROAD TUNING have teamed up to bring you our SECOND bomber group buy!

Front Air Struts

• Full Body Bilstein Struts

• Custom Strut Length

• Clearance for large wheels and offsets

• Available Sway Bar Mounts (Mk5/R32)

• Custom Conti-Tech Bags (designed specifically for the bombers)

• Modular design for easy servicing and rebuilding

• CNC machined plates and hardware

• 1/4″ NPT male port

• Stainless steel leader lines included

• Uses stock bushings and bearings

• Semi-Gloss black finish

• Patented O-Ring Sealed Strut Design

• Black anodized bag plates

• Laser etched bag plates

• Hand assembled in Austria

International Patent Pending

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Pricing

2005-2009 Mk5 GTI/Jetta/Rabbit, EOS, B6 Passat

Group Buy Price: 899.95

99.5-05 Mk4 Golf/Jetta/GTI

Group Buy Price: 899.95

Mk1, Mk2, Mk3 Golf/Jetta, Corrado VR6/G60, B3/B4 Passat

Group Buy Price: 899.95

Audi B5 A4 Front Struts

Group Buy Price: 899.95

Audi B6/B7 A4 Front Struts

Group Buy Price: 899.95

Rear Air Struts/Bags

In light of the upcoming show season, we are currently offering specials on most air struts and air bags.

Mk1, Mk2, Mk3 Golf/Jetta, Corrado VR6/G60, B3/B4 Passat

Special Offer Price: 895.00

Normal Price: 985.99

99.5-05 Mk4 Golf/Jetta/GTI Rear Bags (no struts)

Special Offer Price: 595.00

Normal Price: 695.00

Audi B5 QUATTRO Rear Air Struts

Special Offer Price: 1149.95

Normal Price: 1694.95

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Availability

This group buy will run a little differently than the last two group buys. We’re starting the group buy today January 27, 2010 and this group buy will close [b]promptly[/b] on Monday February 15, 2010 at 5pm EST. That being said, we are accepting NO MORE than 25 orders on this group buy. On the last group buy, we had a few late entries and this caused a delay in final shipment. We will cap this group buy at [b]25[/b], end of story. I hate to be somewhat harsh/strict but it becomes very overwhelming for myself and my staff/volunteers to sort out and ship everything. After February 15th, we’re looking at about 1 – 1.5 months until the pallet arrives here in the states. My best guess is mid/end of March. We will try our best to deliver before this, but we cannot promise anything at this point as it’s too early in the game.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Air management

We offer a full line up of air management kits. Everything from a simple paddle valve setup to the top of the line Accuair setup or the brand new Ride Pro E3!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us!

————————————————————————————————————————————

Customs, Shipping & Pick up

• Every order is subject to a customs fee – usually between 35-45 dollars. On the last group buy it was 38.52, not too bad.

• If you’re not within 2 hours of Philadelphia/Allentown or Fairfield NJ your order will be shipped. We ship ALL orders via FedEx ground and FedEx home delivery. All shipping rates are calculated when the boxes are packed. The reason for this is that shipping rates can fluctuate over time.

• We have THREE East Coast Locations for pick up and they are as follows: King Of Prussia PA, Allentown PA and Fairfield New Jersey. We have staff who will drive 1.5 – 2 hours from each location in order to meet you for a merchandise pick up.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Ordering & Payment

Since our web-store isn’t updated with these new items, we will be processing all orders via phone, email and PM.

Here is all the necessary contact information:

Phone: 484.802.3721
Email: Andrew@openroadtuning.com/ Jon@openroadtuning.com

We would also like to announce that we are now accepting all major credit cards and would be happy to process your order with your favorite piece of plastic. Paypal is no longer the only option! We also accept: bank checks, money orders and wire transfers

2010
01.28

James is makin’ it huge on HELLAFLUSH!

hellflush
hf2

Congratulations James!  James Ford (UK) has been keeping things quiet, until now.  The car is currently sitting on Bagyard Supreme series struts with EasyStreet Autopilot management.  The Monza Autostradas finish out the black theme nicely, don’t blink because you might miss the gold bolts!  James’ Mk3 is definitely one of my all time favorites.  The simplicity, the wheels, the stance, it’s just right.  Keep up the good work James!

2010
01.27

Keep that Pressuryte!

Pressuryte

OPEN ROAD TUNING and FAB-LAB CUSTOMS have recently teamed up to bring you one of the most trick additions for your analog air management system.  The FAB-LAB Pressuryte is a pressure based ride height controller that works in conjunction with your existing analog management setup.  When it comes to management, we all know that there are tons of options; everything from ride height based controllers all the way down to just for valves and two rocker switches.  The FAB-LAB Pressuryte system gets installed in conjunction with your air management setup to bring you the best in both reliability and ride height control.

One of the biggest annoyances with switchbox-based systems is setting the “perfect” ride height.  Why not just be able to get in the car, flip a switch and drive off?  Meet the FAB-LAB Pressuryte!  When you get in your car, no longer will you have to “attempt” setting the “perfect” ride height; flip the switch and let the Pressuryte do the work. One of the biggest perks of the Pressuryte is that it allows you to maintain full functionality of your switchbox.  Some digital ride height controllers make it difficult to override the ECU/Controller and manually manage the ride height.  If you want to flip some switches, just turn off Pressuryte.

When it comes to air ride, reliability is something that everyone takes into consideration.  The last thing that you want is to be stranded on the side of the road with a car that has a leak, blown bag, or a management system that has malfunctioned.  The Pressuryte is a reliable, cost effective solution to a ride height controller.  The Pressuryte will actually REPLENISH your air supply should you have a leak in your system.  Once you turn on the Pressuryte, it’s on.  The Pressuryte does not have any intermittent cycle; it is always monitoring your air system.  The Pressuryte does not have any displays, gauges, control units, etc.  Once it’s installed, just turn it on and let it work.

At OPEN ROAD TUNING, we sell products that we believe in and that we personally stand behind.  We are firm believers in selling top quality products and backing these top quality products with outstanding customer service and support.  We believe that the FAB-LAB Customs Pressuryte is a excellent product and a great addition to your current management system.  In light of our recent partnership with FAB-LAB Customs, OPEN ROAD TUNING would like to offer it’s customers FREE GROUND SHIPPING on ALL Pressuryte systems.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Lead Time & Pricing

The Pressurytes are currently being built by Jay @ FAB-LAB Customs and we are projecting to have our first batch finished by Monday January 25th 2010.  The Pressuryte Systems will ship shortly after they are produced.

As with anything air related/custom, we ask for your patience and understanding while getting this first batch produced and shipped out.

Introductory pricing is 324.95 with FREE GROUND SHIPPING!

————————————————————————————————————————————

Ordering &Payment

Since our web-store isn’t updated with this new items, we will be processing all orders via phone, email and PM.

Here is all the necessary contact information:

Phone: 484.802.3721

Email: Andrew@openroadtuning.com / Eric@openroadtuning.com / Jon@openroadtuning.com

We would also like to announce that we are now accepting all major credit cards and would be happy to process your order with your favorite piece of plastic.  Paypal is no longer the only option!  We also accept: bank checks, money orders and wire transfers

2010
01.17

thank you bob dylan, you’ve given me a title for the newest blog.

out with the old and in with the new, right?  over the past two weeks, i’ve spoken to a number of people who are glad to be finished with two thousand nine.  i feel as though i can somewhat relate on various levels, but for the most part two thousand nine was good for both open road tuning and bagyard.  in two thousand nine we were published over half a dozen times in various magazines as well as featured in several blogs, etc.  of course, like any other business, we had our fair share of problems but, who doesn’t?  tell me one business that is 100% perfect in everything that they do, and i’ll buy you a case of your favorite beer.  our biggest downfall (and most people know it) is our shipping times.  it’s rather difficult to run the retail side of things when your production facilities are 7+ hours away and you’re separated by a large body of water.

when i started this business, my goal was to provide customers with the best products money can buy and follow-up those amazing products with outstanding customer service.  it’s hard sometimes to tell people the information they don’t want to hear…things like: your shipment is delayed, it hasn’t shipped yet, we’re waiting on parts, etc.  i know immediately that their response will either be good or bad but at all times, i’m prepared to catch heat.  i understand that they’re frustrated and upset when i’ve quoted them three to four weeks and its currently week four.  rather than feed them some cockamamie excuse, it’s just best to be straightforward and honest.  recently, we’ve caught a lot of hell over the shipping on the group buy and once again, i understand the frustration.  after many people had voiced their frustration and anger, i decided to do some digging.  after several long phone conversations  i found the reason to the hold up, a communication problem.

i’m sure you’re sitting there thinking “alright, so what does all this mean? and furthermore, how does tie into the blog title?”  after numerous astronomical phone bills and hella long conversations with bagyard, we’re going to be making some big changes for two thousand ten.  yes, that’s right, we’re going to change things.  whilst two thousand nine was a great year for both companies and we thank all of our clients, friends and family for their continued support, we’re going to need your help once again to make two thousand ten our best year yet!  once again, i’ve decided it’s time to raise the bar.

as i mentioned in an earlier blog, raising the bar in a world where everything is “played” isn’t exactly easy.  it’s tough to design and build components in a world where everything has “been done before”, the copy cats are looking for ideas to steal and people are telling you “that won’t work”.  it’s tough to work with a company that is so far away and its even more difficult when their first language isn’t english.  despite all of our minor downfalls and flaws, we are driven to make two thousand ten our most successful year yet.  displayed below is a short list of things you can expect to see coming from open road/bagyard.

• bomber struts for audi models

• bomber rear bags for vw/audi models

• increased efficiency in order placing and order tracking

• reduced shipping times

• creating stock in the united states

• creating a web-store/online cart

• expanding our product line (open road tuning)

while this list is relatively short, it’s a very intense list (for lack of a better word). also, there are several things in the pipe line that we’re pushing hard to have finished in the first half of two thousand ten; but i can’t talk about those yet.  i truly think that our customer base is going to be very pleased with the new products we are planning to release in two thousand ten.  from a personal standpoint, my biggest goal for two thousand ten is to reduce shipping times.  it’s tough to rely on the austrian postal service to deliver a package in a timely manner and as much as we would love to use UPS to ship our packages, the international rates simply don’t make it feasible.  seriously, the rates are astronomical.  we (bagyard/open road) have reached a decision and that is that we will try to ship pallets about 4-5 times a year in order to cut down on shipping time and shipping costs.  even though we’re shooting to ship 4-5 pallets a year, this does not mean we will be doing 4-5 group buys.  as much as we would like to do group buys and offer great rates on struts, they’re very hard to organize and keep organized.

i also just wanted to take a second in this blog entry to give a big thank you to everyone who has helped make open road tuning and bagyard successful in two thousand nine.  over the past year, we have made some incredible friends and contacts.  it’s been such a pleasure getting to know everyone and i look forward to serving you in the future.  i really can’t thank my customers enough for all their kind words and their help.  you guys make this business worth owning and running.  it’s not always the best paying job, but i enjoy seeing happy customers and slammed cars.  i wish all my customers the best in two thousand ten, may this year be better than the last!

cheers.