OK so here it goes.
A month or two ago I was contacted by a member of the SVT performance community who had purchased a Lightning Boost overlay from Lightning Force Performance. He naturally thought it was one of mine. As most of you know I am the originator of the Boost Overlay for ‘03/’04 Cobras and Lightnings and have been selling them for years. Unfortunately this gentleman thought LFP was an authorized vendor of mine. I assured him they are not! He proceeded to explain that it was not functioning properly. After his explanation as to what was wrong with the overlay I suspected that LFP had copied (but not very well obviously) my Boost Overlay design. I pm’ed LFP to inquire but got no response.
Some time after that I went to the LFP site and saw that they had copied pictures of my overlays directly from my site and were representing and selling them as their own. You can go to their site and see the pictures are of my products “lifted” from my site.
I decided to order one of the LFP Cobra boost overlays just to see what they were doing. Come to find out they are charging their customers a $13 shipping fee just to send them the overlay. This brings the total cost of their overlay to over $38 dollars. Mine are still being sold for $29.95, which includes the mailing cost.
Well, it arrived today. They have a completely inferior product that is mass-produced and the thing that really stood out to me (I’m a professional graphic designer) is the font (type style) used in the numerals doesn't even match the font in the rest of the Ford gauges. Mine are hand silk screened individually and hand cut before shipping. I physically craft every single one before I mail it. I took great pains to match the correct font when I designed and developed the original Hilton Boost Overlay over 6 years ago. LFP’s looks like a grade school project.
LFP has also taken my printed instructions and just copied the installation and calibration pictures and put in their own text and slapped a LFP logo on it and are calling it theirs. One of the pictures even features my own thumb and fingers in it.
LFP has totally misrepresented their product particularly when you look at their site and see pictures of my Hilton Boost Overlays and then receive theirs instead. This is not only very unethical but the customers (you guys) who are fooled into buying this inferior product think you are getting the genuine article as is implied by my pictures that they have copied without my permission and are using on their site.
The majority of the people getting suckered are no doubt SVT Performance members thinking that LFP is carrying my Hilton Overlays and that they will be getting the original Hilton Boost Overlay. But they are instead getting an inferior product and actually paying a lot more for it than the genuine article. That really sucks in so many ways!
It’s unfortunate that I have to bring this to your attention but I thought you guys would want to know what’s been going on.
There are at least a couple thousand of you out there with my product installed on your Lightnings and Cobras. This is as much an insult to you as it is a rip off to me!
I do have a few select authorized vendors proudly selling my product with my retail packaging and they are:
American Tool (Billetflow)
Detroit Speed
Late Model Mustang Restoration Supply
And the newest authorized vendor Lethal Performance
Thanks for letting me vent a little. When someone steals your baby you tend get a bit pissed off.
Ray Hilton
Hilton Graphics
The original Boost Overlay inventor and producer
'03 Cobra- Whipple 2.3 with 3.0 pulley, Accufab TB, JLT CAI, BA 3000, 60# injectors, KB BAP, Bassani exhaust, Boost Overlay (of course), MM full subs, H&R race springs, 18" Roush wheels. 582 rwhp 575 rwtq
'94- Indy pace Cobra convertible (wife's car) stock
'89 GT- open track/street car w/392 stroker, AFR heads, Edelbrock Victor EFI, 42# injectors, Pro M, full MM suspension, Baer brakes, tubular K, full cage, torque arm, pan hard, coil overs. 400 RWHP 400 RWTQ. No power adders.
'88 5.0 convertible (daughter's car) mostly stock
'67 Shelby GT 350. Not a clone! w/514 stroker, full cage, 4 link, S&W tube chassis, coil overs, 4 wheel Wilwood discs, Lentech 4-spd AOD, Narrowed and tubbed, 9"
'67 "S" code fastback 4-spd. nightmist blue. An exact duplicate of my first car in high school. All stock
FFR Cobra kit car. Just purchased in unassembled kit form. Hoping to have assembled by summer/fall 2011. More details to come.
I'm going to need one of your overlays when I install the 17lb pulley. I used to work with a lot of dealers bringing in vehicles from the US and we bought thousands of overlays for the speedo. There is a considerable amount of time needed to design these overlays if you want an OE font, backlight diffusion, texture, etc.
Good ol LFP... Ray, that sucks you have to deal with this. I can't imagine how you feel to have something you have put so much time and effort into be "copied" by another company. I hope this gets fixed soon.
... and $13 for shipping?
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2003 Mineral Gray Cobra
Metco 2.8 upper/ 4lb Lower | BBK LTs | Mac Off-Road H | Magnaflow Cat-back | K&N FIPK | LFP Throttle Body | Accufab Plenum | J/E Pistons & Rings | Custom Clutch | 26 Spline Input Shaft | BAP | GT Pumps | Billet Flow Idlers | SCT Chip | Built T-56 | H&R Sport Springs | Self-ported Blower | Steeda Tri-ax | TR7s | Steeda Clutch Quadrant | Steeda Firewall Adjuster | 60# Injectors | EGR Delete | Billet Flow IRS Brace | All ARP Studs and Bolts in the motor
Tuned by HPP
The 03/04 Cobras need to be renamed from "Terminator" to "Drama Magnet." Between ported blowers and now this..... feels like I'm back in high school.....
Bad business. Sorta like when you call them to order parts and they dont tell you that 1 of them is on back order and ship a partial order. Problem is you cant install the rest of the parts without that 1 piece.
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POSI Race Port, welded Dragon plenum & TB, 60's, BAP, JLT RAI, BBK LT's, UPR k, 2.93/4lb combo, Maggie CB, & all the normal other stuff.
x2 man id really stick it to their ass. i looked at theirs first before i came to your site and ended up ordering one from you. im really really really glad i did.
i got your email and thanks for the great customer service. if i somehow happen to get both of them i will send one back. ive got a stamp waiting.
please for your sake nail them on this do not let it slide
thats crazy, mark at LFP is a great guy to deal with, i would never think they would do something like this. I would wait to here back from them, mark will have a good answer. No disrepect to you Ray.
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Dom
2003 Silver Kenne Bell Cobra Coupe
Kenne Bell 2.2 - Seimens Deka 60lb Injectors - Ported Lower Intake Manifold - SCT BA2600 MAF - LFP Single Blade Throttle Body - Kenne Bell Boost-a-Pump - Kenne Bell upgrade wire - PPRV Delete - True Forged Intercooler Tank - LFP Dual Pass Heat Exchanger - Billetflow 2.93 Upper Pulley - Billetflow 100mm Idler - Weapon R PCV oil catch can - UPR o/r X-Pipe - Polished Borla Stinger Catback - K&N FIPK II Intake - JLT Upper Hard Pipe - Spec Stage 2 Clutch - Ford Racing Carrier - Ford Racing Solid Shim kit - Billetflow IRS Brace - NGK TR6 Plugs - Intrax Lowering Springs - Black FR500 wheels 17x9/10.5 - Nitto 555r DR's
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