EMP = Extreme Metal Products
I guess it's not just EMP. My disappointments also come from SuperATV.
As a new owner of a 700, I have been outfitting it for all work and no play on my rugged rural property. I've bought a winch and install kit, A-arm guards, and a rear bumper, the winch from SuperATV and the other two from EMP.
The SuperATV winch and mounting kit came with the wrong color rope. I ordered a bright blue for visibility, and I received a dull gray that blends right in. That will be a long-term irritation. The short-term irritations were incomplete and inefficient instructions, and missing hardware. I had to drive 28 miles and spend an hour and about $10 for nuts and bolts.
The EMP bumper also was missing some fasteners. I only had to drive 20 miles for replacements for those. The instructions were adequate but not good. They waste money on printing low-quality color inkjet photos that are so close-up it's hard to figure out the context. Far better would have been some simple B&W line drawings that they could cheaply photo-copy. The bumper also fit poorly at the tailgate hinge pins; and the bolt holes in the bumper were off by at least 10 mm, so I had to apply force to flex the brackets so I could slip the bolts into place. Ultimately, it seems to have come out OK, but I can't recall ever having such poor fit on an aftermarket item like this for any other vehicle I've owned. I don't think Honda builds crooked vehicles, so I'm left thinking the kit is at fault.
The EMP A-arm guards came with extra fasteners and poor instructions. EMP just punted on this one by saying you should have them installed by a qualified mechanic. The muddy, vague inkjet photos were again a waste of resources. The only thing they helped with was to offer clues as to which arms were front and which were rear. Ultimately, the installation was easy to do, but only after I realized I should not try to understand the instructions and should just do the install. In other words, the instructions were less than zero value. IAlso, 'd have appreciated some rubber coating or something to go between the clamps and the A-arms, to protect the finish so rust doesn't start.
I suppose EMP and SuperATV are small businesses, but they are failing on simple things that ANY business ought to be able to get right. I kept thinking that the owner's 5-year-old kid must have been put in charge of counting out nuts and bolts and putting them in bags... with no adult supervision or QC. And the instructions, with their ambiguous wording and terrible illustrations, reminded me of a bad Youtube how-to video with a presenter who just wings it without a script, lighting, shot planning, or editing.
OK, I know, I should be happy that they are even making stuff for the Pioneer. I get that. But I also get that some American manufacturers really need to up their games. While they complain about cheap Chinese crap undercutting them on price, they are being totally beaten on the basics. I prefer to buy American rather than Chinese (and, yes, I know most winches are Chinese), but I strongly prefer not to have to go buy fasteners, or persuade a 'bolt-on' part to fit correctly, just because some dude habitually and knowingly eschews quality of design, execution, or delivery.
All of this screed is leading up to my questions: Should I expect this crap from other Pioneer aftermarket accessory manufacturers, or is it just EMP and SuperATV that are so careless and clueless? Is this just how it is? Having had my moan and groan, grumble and whine, I'm letting it go. But I would like to know if there are other suppliers who suck less than EMP and SuperATV.
I guess it's not just EMP. My disappointments also come from SuperATV.
As a new owner of a 700, I have been outfitting it for all work and no play on my rugged rural property. I've bought a winch and install kit, A-arm guards, and a rear bumper, the winch from SuperATV and the other two from EMP.
The SuperATV winch and mounting kit came with the wrong color rope. I ordered a bright blue for visibility, and I received a dull gray that blends right in. That will be a long-term irritation. The short-term irritations were incomplete and inefficient instructions, and missing hardware. I had to drive 28 miles and spend an hour and about $10 for nuts and bolts.
The EMP bumper also was missing some fasteners. I only had to drive 20 miles for replacements for those. The instructions were adequate but not good. They waste money on printing low-quality color inkjet photos that are so close-up it's hard to figure out the context. Far better would have been some simple B&W line drawings that they could cheaply photo-copy. The bumper also fit poorly at the tailgate hinge pins; and the bolt holes in the bumper were off by at least 10 mm, so I had to apply force to flex the brackets so I could slip the bolts into place. Ultimately, it seems to have come out OK, but I can't recall ever having such poor fit on an aftermarket item like this for any other vehicle I've owned. I don't think Honda builds crooked vehicles, so I'm left thinking the kit is at fault.
The EMP A-arm guards came with extra fasteners and poor instructions. EMP just punted on this one by saying you should have them installed by a qualified mechanic. The muddy, vague inkjet photos were again a waste of resources. The only thing they helped with was to offer clues as to which arms were front and which were rear. Ultimately, the installation was easy to do, but only after I realized I should not try to understand the instructions and should just do the install. In other words, the instructions were less than zero value. IAlso, 'd have appreciated some rubber coating or something to go between the clamps and the A-arms, to protect the finish so rust doesn't start.
I suppose EMP and SuperATV are small businesses, but they are failing on simple things that ANY business ought to be able to get right. I kept thinking that the owner's 5-year-old kid must have been put in charge of counting out nuts and bolts and putting them in bags... with no adult supervision or QC. And the instructions, with their ambiguous wording and terrible illustrations, reminded me of a bad Youtube how-to video with a presenter who just wings it without a script, lighting, shot planning, or editing.
OK, I know, I should be happy that they are even making stuff for the Pioneer. I get that. But I also get that some American manufacturers really need to up their games. While they complain about cheap Chinese crap undercutting them on price, they are being totally beaten on the basics. I prefer to buy American rather than Chinese (and, yes, I know most winches are Chinese), but I strongly prefer not to have to go buy fasteners, or persuade a 'bolt-on' part to fit correctly, just because some dude habitually and knowingly eschews quality of design, execution, or delivery.
All of this screed is leading up to my questions: Should I expect this crap from other Pioneer aftermarket accessory manufacturers, or is it just EMP and SuperATV that are so careless and clueless? Is this just how it is? Having had my moan and groan, grumble and whine, I'm letting it go. But I would like to know if there are other suppliers who suck less than EMP and SuperATV.
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