STS claims patent infringement

[WS6FirebirdTA00]

http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/236967

I dont really know what to say to that one, pretty retarded if you ask me lol

[MeentSS02]

Wow...guess I'd better keep any turbos I'm transporting out of my trunk.

[WS6FirebirdTA00]

haha

[horist]

lol ... guess i should drop my idea of making a GUI based operating system called Doors :P

[EC_Tune]

Wonder what they would say if you mounted them in the back seat? LOL

[Chris@HPTuners]

lol, i doubt any company would seriously consider action against a single person, however, the act of getting a patent also comes with the burden of defending it due to the ridiculous nature of the legal system and the joyful clarity of the english language

If you actually need to defend against a serious claim, you need to show you have a history of monitoring infringements and protecting your IP. Any patent lawyer will tell you that if you have IP protected by patents it is a good idea to notify anyone you think may be infringing it to prevent inadvertantly creating a precedence against yourself.

Good on STS for actually going to the expense and effort to get a patent on the idea in the first place

[flea]

I agree with Chris ........ if this is legit there must me more to it. I deal with IP issues on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis and 99.9% of companies will not waste the time, effort and money seeking patent infringement damages from a single individual unless they constitute a serious threat.

Generally a letter from an attorney or the company owner will scare off most individuals anyway. This is usually more or less to let the person know that XY or Z company is aware of their activies. When sent to a single person putting someting together in their garage this is nothing more than a legal "bluff".

[eficalibrator]

If you actually need to defend against a serious claim, you need to show you have a history of monitoring infringements and protecting your IP. Any patent lawyer will tell you that if you have IP protected by patents it is a good idea to notify anyone you think may be infringing it to prevent inadvertantly creating a precedence against yourself.

Good on STS for actually going to the expense and effort to get a patent on the idea in the first place

...except that "prior art" exists in Corky Bell's book Maximum Boost where he advocates the future use of a turbo AFTER the catalyst. I'm pretty sure that the first date of Copyright for the book was prior to STS's first production of said kits.

Either way, neither one makes me want to rush out and install a turbo that far away from the engine on purpose.

[gman4dx266]

wonder if they'd sue UPS because of the way they transport it.

"...you may not transport this item on its side behind the rear axle of any US delivery trucks..."

Some people have insane power trips sometimes...and not the good kind.

[WS6FirebirdTA00]

wonder if they'd sue UPS because of the way they transport it.

"...you may not transport this item on its side behind the rear axle of any US delivery trucks..."

Some people have insane power trips sometimes...and not the good kind.

hahaha

[flea]

This kind of stuff makes me glad I'm not an attorney (no insult intended)

[Chris@HPTuners]

...except that "prior art" exists in Corky Bell's book Maximum Boost where he advocates the future use of a turbo AFTER the catalyst. I'm pretty sure that the first date of Copyright for the book was prior to STS's first production of said kits.

Either way, neither one makes me want to rush out and install a turbo that far away from the engine on purpose.

I have that book (and his other one on superchargers), i'll have to read it again

I love the patent language, i better go get said book from prior art bookshelf in my public domain living room

[Bill@HPTuners]

I have that book (and his other one on superchargers), i'll have to read it again

werd...I liked the self contained turbo they installed on the miata though hehe

[eficalibrator]

It's a decent read with respect to physical component and system design. However, you must take most of the discussion about combustion with a grain of salt as I found several glaring technical errors in the discussion about cylinder pressure.

The "oil free" turbo isn't really news either. It's still commercially available as an "aerocharger" or something similar at the moment. Variable turbine geomtry seems to be his pet. Porsche just recently put it into production on a gasoline engine, which has to have Corky jumping for joy.

[Fox95]

I was in contact with tech support at STS just recently and I can tell you this much, they are not the sharpest pencils in the box.

A customer of mine has a chevy truck with their turbo system on it, and it's nothing short of disapointing.

He was having a problem with it not producing any boost, so I went through the some checks making sure there weren't any boost leaks in the 10+ feet of intake tubing from the front to rear.

I then checked to make sure the wastegate was working right, and after all that checked the turbo itself and then proceded to call up STS for any insight from them. Well after 28 minutes of trying to explain to this guy how a wastegate worked, yes that's right I was instructing him, I finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing of any use this "Tech support" person could offer me, and I had to get off the phone becuase I felt as though the intelligence was getting sucked out of my brain by the second just from talking to the guy.

So far I have not seen any of the 3 STS turbo systems here in town on cars and a truck perform nearly well enough to merit the money they are charging for these kits. I have also seen two of these system removed shortly after installation.

[bulletLS1]

USED TO HAVE A "TURBOED-TOY" and as religion always "the turbo goes as close as posible to the ex port..."
imagine my surprize, and though of relief, "there is another religion?!" where in the TWO GUY GARAGE tested a turboed camaro with the turbo in place where the silencer went!!!!!!!
OF COURSE IT ONLY NEEDED 4 PSI OF BOOST (imagine the turbo lag!!!)
non the less it produced short of 500hp!!!!

[Flash99]

See this is what actually pisses me off. STS Pioneered the technology, did all of the homework, made a system that works. Everyone laughed at the idea and said how stupid it was to mount the turbo outside the engine bay, and all turbos needed to be located right off the manifolds. So Rick Squires paid the money for the patents and developed the technology to assist many cars. (Including all of the fastest GTO's Now)

So call it what you want, but this guy invented something great, and I purchased one. I would not have attempted a remote kit otherwise. I am a very happy customer, and I hope he enjoys my $$$.

[Bill@HPTuners]

See this is what actually pisses me off. STS Pioneered the technology, did all of the homework, made a system that works. Everyone laughed at the idea and said how stupid it was to mount the turbo outside the engine bay, and all turbos needed to be located right off the manifolds. So Rick Squires paid the money for the patents and developed the technology to assist many cars. (Including all of the fastest GTO's Now)

So call it what you want, but this guy invented something great, and I purchased one. I would not have attempted a remote kit otherwise. I am a very happy customer, and I hope he enjoys my $$$.

actually, I have good information it was done along time before squires, but it just wasn't perfected or patented at the time.

[WS6FirebirdTA00]

I like how people make it sound like its a big deal, it doesnt take a genius to figure it out, they were just smart enough to pull off a scheme like that and patent it. There is nothing really ground breaking, its still a turbo.

[Rich Z]

See this is what actually pisses me off. STS Pioneered the technology, did all of the homework, made a system that works. Everyone laughed at the idea and said how stupid it was to mount the turbo outside the engine bay, and all turbos needed to be located right off the manifolds. So Rick Squires paid the money for the patents and developed the technology to assist many cars. (Including all of the fastest GTO's Now)

So call it what you want, but this guy invented something great, and I purchased one. I would not have attempted a remote kit otherwise. I am a very happy customer, and I hope he enjoys my $$$.

Actually, I have the STS system on my 2002 C5 Z06 Corvette and it is very impressive. To me, at least. I've never compared it with any other FI system, but compared to my STOCK performance, it is heads and shoulders above it.

There were several issues at hand when I was investigating all the options for FI for my care. The STS system came out on top with all things considered.

• I didn't care for all that heat under the hood that came with other turbo options. With the STS system there is basically NO additional underhood heat to deal with.
• I didn't care for all that WEIGHT being on the front end from other turbos AND superchargers. With the STS system, the intercooler is up front and the turbos are in back. Weight distribution of the added hardware is pretty evenly distributed across the entire car.
• I didn't like belt issues with other systems. Thrown belts on some of the centrifugal sc units have been an issue.
• I didn't like overheating problems with other systems. All the belt driven sc units have been noted to having overheating issues here and there. Certainly having those extremely hot turbos of front mounted systems in the engine compartment can't but contributed negatively in this department as well.

Actually the only thing beforehand I was really concerned about was the air inlets being behind the back bumper on the car. Since I live on a dirt road, I was highly concerned about the filters getting clogged frequently. But with the covers that came with the filters, it is a non issue completely.

That being noted, I do have to make mention that the system is pretty darned LOUD. Since the STS turbos replace the mufflers, the exhaust is SUBSTANTIALLY louder than stock. I haven't been pulled over for it, which actually surprises me quite a bit. Been pulled over because a cop HEARD me and felt I MUST be speeding, but he didn't ticket me nor comment on the loudness.

Anyway, 533 rwhp on a stock block with 6.5 psi boost is just FINE for me. And all things considered, this was the best setup for me. YMMV, of course.