Gungadin

If only I knew about this terrible customer service issue before I sent my engine in for up-date and the new muffler, I would have kept it. At least I'd have an engine to fly with. It can't take more than an hour to do what has to be done to my engine to make it current. And not answering my e-mails is very poor. Just sayin.

Joystick TX

Way back before I got totally fed up, I contacted Todd and told him how to get virtually free customer service help. He never did that either. All I can figure out is that Syssa is a hobby for him, not a serious business. Jim is right, the government contracts take priority, which is understandable, but it is wrong to take people's money and not provide reasonable service.

Indiomike

My Feedback: (5)

That is why I never considered buying a Syssa. The complaints to lack of service and unresponsiveness to customer concerns were well established long ago. I refuse to put myself through that kind of frustration.

Gungadin

And frustration it is !!

Gungadin

I tried to call Syssa again today, but the voice mail is full so you can't leave a message. This has been the case now for over a month. I'd bet this is intentional. If they aren't going to answer any e-mails, I'm sure they aren't going to answer phone calls either.

Joystick TX

That is a great idea.

So far, there is only one company, that I deal with, that has lousy customer service. They make a good product and it is cheap enough for me to just replace things myself and NEVER, EVER, even think about calling or emailing them for any reason because I'll be P.O.'d. If they ever have a competitor that is close in price and quality, they will be dead to me.

bigben

My Feedback: (24)

So who has family near the new Syssa World headquarters that they could go in to inspect things first hand? Maybe we could all pitch in money if someone needs to make a long haul drive to make the inspection. Wonder what Google Earth shows around the new address? Has to be some way to get brother Todd to respond to our needs.
Hell if he will provide parts I'll set up to make repairs for those out west.

Joystick TX

I think Jim and I suggested all that when he was up north. Some people did visit his business. They may not be welcome now. Good luck.

Gungadin

Well, Todd has had my engine for more than 5 wks. now for an up-date and the new style muffler. Still no response to any of my e-mails from the last few weeks. Very sad situation.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Nothing has changed much from the early days of Syssa engines. One could read all the pages of this thread and see the same things repeated over and over again. Oh yes, there were some good times scattered in there but for the most part, same stuff, different day, different month, different year. Many people had great hopes for a new American engine company only to see those hopes bashed. Most of us just licked our wounds and moved on. Sad story really .....

JohnB96041

Try sending an email to: [email protected]
Usually get a response from him.

Gungadin

Yeah, Truckracer it really is a sad story. You hit the nail on the head !

irocbsa

My Feedback: (12)

It's so strange how fickle they are with customer service. I sent my engine in late last year for a crank replacement and new bearings. I had it back in a week and it only cost me $75 shipped. Now they have dropped off the map again. Sad story indeed. It seems like it's one extreme or the other: really good or really bad.

Gungadin

Sent e-mail to Joe yesterday. We shall see what comes of it.

Gungadin

Five (5) days later--Nothing.

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

I used to find myself furious with the sporadic nature of their customer service. But when he made a deal with me and sold a very special engine to somebody else after agreeing to sell it to me and making me wait a YEAR, that was when I just plain got mad. To me, it was a one-of-a-kind collector's item, and it didn't even matter if it ran or not, so I was left salivating with nothing to bite into.
Here's my recommendation to you on dropping in. Don't. He has a defense contract, and that means he could have any level of security or police response available. I
've seen RC companies come and go, I've seen them teeter on the edge for years, and then crash, or take off. Mostly crash, to be honest. I've seen one guy struggle to make sure the last thing he did before selling his company was to scrape together all the kits his customers had paid for, only to have the guy who took over his company sell all the kits off, rather than keep his promise to the former owner to ship them as part of the purchase price.

I'm not saying Todd is dishonest, but it's not like there's any definitive proof either way. Every positive indicator seems to be countered by a negative indicator. Your guess is as good as mine. The only bit of frustration I really have to deal with is that there's a Syssa 30CC on the nose of my Giant Super Sportster, and right now it runs like a swiss watch. However, at some point I'm going to need service or parts or customer support on it - or all three - and that's when I'll give them a couple or a few weeks, and after that, I may decide to buy something else and wave goodbye to Syssa. Maybe. Reworking the nose on the plane to take on whatever new motor I choose is a fairly big job, and I'd have to refit a new cowl to boot. Maybe I'll crash it, pound it in good and proper, and I won't have to worry about it.

Say, did anybody ever get any of the V2 models that were going to come out? Or is the V1 still the only thing that's come out of Syssa? Just curious.

Jim

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

You shouldn't hold back like that.
Just come right out with it

I've been round the horn with them too.
Let go a long time ago and never looked back.
Sad...

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

No need to get crazy about it. We do what we can, we give them a reasonable number of chances, and see what happens. Then we make up our own minds about whether we walk away or hang tight.

I'm pretty sure that if their engines were no good, nobody would bother complaining. That's why it's frustrating.
Jim

Joystick TX

Jim, there were a lot of promises about the V2. I thought that you and I would be among the first to get one. Unfortunately, I never did see one either. I did get the prototype pictures and had high hopes of getting one. Gave up on that a long time ago. The old American Indian saying "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." are words to live by.

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

I remember that, Steve. We were all pumped up about it at the time.

I was just curious as to whether they actually ever produced the V2's, or if their promises fell short in the end.

Jim

Joystick TX

Jim, I always wondered about that too. I saw V2 stamped on a cylinder, but it looked nothing like the prototype that I saw. The one I saw looked sort of like an old .049 TD cylinder head. It was machined instead of cast.

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

The prototype I saw looked a bit like an .049 head/cylinder, and it was the one that I had made a deal to buy from him, and paid him for. The only difference between that and the V2 actuals was that there would be a few less fins on the head/cylinder assembly. At least, that's what he told me to expect when they came out.

You can imagine how P.O.'d I was when a V1 came in the mail!

I'm looking forward to seeing how this Valley View RC 40CC twin performs and holds up. Hehehe, Valley View RC is in the next town over from me now - talk about irony! I had no idea when I bought that engine that I'd be anywhere near them after I moved to Washington. Oddly enough, I thought they were in California, for some reason.

My Syssa still runs fine, or it did before I started boxing up my birds for the move to Washington state. I would imagine the worst case scenario would probably be a carb overhaul after being dry for so long.

Man, the weather is killer up here. Mid-July, about 70 degree days, 57 degree nights, for the whole last week. Had some eighties for two weeks, but that was it. It'll probably get hot in August again for a bit. I wish I was ready to fly now, it would be awesome.

Jim

Gungadin

Still no response, and still no engine. He has had it now for 6 weeks !

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Ergh. You have my sympathies.

I think I'm finally going to bite the bullet and go with an electric setup on my 2nd GP Super Stearman that's in the batter's box. As soon as I finish my Pitts up, the Stearman is next. I really loved how the Syssa fit into my last S-Stearman, but I'm not willing to allow this to happen to me again, and the electric installation would simplify the build considerably. Looking right now at an AXI motor: a PM532520. I also saw an E-Flite Power 1.60 for sale in the RCU forums; I was thinking about that as well. The AXI motors have a really good reputation, from what I've heard, but the motor I would need is 300 dollars, and then there's the speed control, and the mount, and you know how it goes. . . . oh, and shipping. Lots of shipping.

I've used small E-Flite motors without any problems, but I'm not sure of how well their larger motors hold up.

Jim

Joystick TX

Jim, I would go with the DLE 35ra. I have never owned a better engine. It is a great fit and you don't need to do any major surgery on the cowl. It gives plenty of power and the balance is perfect without adding lead or needing to do anything weird with the components. You also won't need to make a battery pack access. I've been running mine for a couple of years now and love it. I have an electric cub and three battery packs which gives me a safe 45 min of flying time, which is 3 15 min flights for me. The big packs take quite a while to charge, so I never do that at the field. There have been a lot of times when I wanted to fly a couple more flights, that's when I miss the gas.