So I just found this thread, and all I can think of is "Whoa... simmer down Peter..." lol
All the personal attacks really don't make Ray look bad, and if anything his responses lend him more credibility (which I can only assume was not your end goal).
When it comes down to the truth of the matter PFS will build the car to the specs of what the customer asks for. If the customer wants something that is geared for street use than he'll build it with that as a focus, if the customer wants it to be used for drag purposes only (in the case of ET's car that you quoted earlier) than he'll build that. If the customer has a show car and wants impressive numbers with the option of ripping it up on a track, than PFS will build that too. At no point can Ray (or any builder/tuner for that matter) control how well the owner will drive a car once it's been paid for and taken home.
With regards to discrepancies in dyno figures, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about when it comes to the reputation of American dyno's. When I was living in England and first started making power oriented modifications to my FD I was continuously disappointed because the numbers I
thought I should be making (based off what I read on the 7club) were consistently and significantly different from the numbers I was receiving from my UK shops DynoDynamics dyno. I did a little research and realized that MOST American dynos showed 15-20% higher numbers than their UK and Australian equivelents. Though I felt a bit cheated, that knowledge certainly made me feel better about the difference on paper.
When I came home from the UK I took my car to the very same dyno that PFS is still using today. I took it there for three reasons: 1) He was the closest reputable shop to me, 2) I wanted to
actually compare numbers between what the UK dyno showed, and what the Yank dynos spit out, and 3) I needed a re-map for US gas (93 octane, verses the UK 98 RON equiv to 94 octane).
Ray humored me and did a baseline run for initial power before he began tuning. Ray's dyno showed almost the exact same HP as the DD dyno that my car had been mapped on in the UK, if anything it was 5whp off. When Ray re-mapped my car for a LOWER octane rating I picked up significantly more HP for the same PSI level.
Now, changing tacks and closing out my post (this was initially meant to be very short, oh well... lol) I'll say that you know of my experiences with PFS and other US tuners. My overall opinion is that Ray/PFS turns out an excellent product (when it's finally done, lol) and I have nothing to legitimately complain about with regards to his craftsmanship or tuning abilities. (The side seal issue was a fluke, and Ray has taken steps to correct/rectify that.) The engine that my car was running on when I bought it was a PFS engine, and I beat the LIVING PISS out of it damned near every day in England. Rays engine took all that abuse and constantly begged for more, hell... my FD was more reliable than my diesel DD in England!!! If that doesn't say something than I don't know what will
I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything, I'm just suggesting that perhaps you approached the subject from the start with pre-conceived notions that may have been mis-directed. PFS isn't a one trick pony full of fuck-ups (like BDC/HC), but it seems like you approached him with that expectation in mind. Ya know what I mean?
Cheers man
Levi