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07-23-2009, 04:00 PM | #1 |
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Jlevi SW's Tour of aFe's Factories & Warehouse: Photos and Videos | Simply Amazing
Hey there guys!
Last week, Nick and I had the pleasure and privilege of touring Advanced Flow Engineering, also known as aFe. We knew that aFe is a leader in our industry, with quality products and fantastic designs - but we had no idea what a polished and impressive operation they were running. It is our pleasure to share with you some photos and videos of the aFe factories. Starting off, we knew we were in the right place when we saw this aFe truck. Actually, we were at their old facility, which now only manufactures exhausts. We had to cross the street to get to the real factory: Yep - this was the place! Sorry, we skipped taking pics of the main room, because we were too busy signing agreements (not to share information that is proprietary - we've had to obtain permission for each of these photos!). It was really nice - we should have taken pictures, but our initial reaction was "hrm, maybe we should put the camera away" till our sales rep arrived. Little area showing what kind of stuff dealers can display... 3D Model Makers - very useful... They churn out rapid prototypes so they can test immediately: One of the things that sets aFe apart is that the parts are all bolt-on with no external brackets... all integrated, built on to the INSIDE of the part, so that they can make the manifolds as large as possible for free-flow! A solidworks CAD drawing, and some "combs" that we will show you later... they're cool. What's this? Porsche OEM intake box? Nice. Can't wait to sell this on our other division. Bins of goodies. Now THIS thing is cool. This is how they test the filtration. Unlike many companies, when aFe tells you "99.8% filtration" - they've actually measured it, using this custom built machine. They take this test dust, which has a specific weight: Then, they run the machine with a filter bolted on, and they then weigh the amount of dust that is left. Anything that is gone has been trapped by the filter. They can thus calculate exactly what percentage of the debris is filtered out. Quick view out on part of the facility Now, here is another custom built machine that measures flow dynamics. This machine enables them to know what the increased air flow of a filter will be when compared with stock. So, when we tell you "70% increase" - we're not just guessing! This is a filter for a motor home... it's half the size of Nick. Which isn't saying that much - but still. An aFe intercooler. aFe is one of the only manufacturers that puts veins in their intercoolers to distribute air (and thus heat) evenly, for maximum cooling capacity A little bit of inventory for the smaller stuff. What's this? TRD boxes? Yes, that's right. aFe is the OEM supplier to Toyota for all TRD filters. Impressed yet? Wow... big warehouse. Here is a little project... very exciting for you E65 owners. Some JDM lovin, too. Seems like there are miles and miles of bins, towering above you. This is just a litttle bit bigger than our warehouse Now to the good stuff.... manufacturing! Here are a bunch of filtration elements already pressed. How did they get made? Keep reading, we'll get there. This is how they are bound together, with the metal strips. Metal strips are made right here, 10 feet from where they will be used for filters. Dare you to stick your finger in there. Tons of bottles that will be filled up and sent to people for recharge/cleaning kits... Vats of the chemicals used for the above kits. Just some stuff that's already packed up on a pallet. Remember those combs? This is what they're used for. They keep the pleats evenly spaced while the polyurethane dries. This is a heated table. The whole thing is hot, to make the polyurethane dry slowly and properly. You'll notice that there are little nubs in the mold. They keep the filter element even and in place while the drying happens. This is a mold for another filter. That's how the logo goes in. They make these molds in-house. More on that later. 4-sided mold, 3 sides already done. Now THIS is LEGIT. A machine does all of this. I'll let the video explain: WATCH THIS VIDEO! Pleating machine in action... now, on to the less amazing stuff, but still very impressive! Lots of inventory M5 intake being held in captivity. Buy this little guy today so we can find him a good home! Bins of parts Stuff waiting to be packed into kits An assembly line where workers put things in boxes. Everything has a part number - even the boxes. Even the instruction manuals. Even the baggies that hold the screws. That's how you avoid making mistakes! Henry Ford would be so proud, he probably would pick up an intake system (Ford F150 systems are one of their bestsellers). Bestsellers are kept closest to the shipping area, obviously. There are no BMW or Porsche parts there... yet. aFe has only been doing European cars for a couple of years. Did you know that Takeda, an up-and-coming intake manufacturer for JDM cars, is owned by aFe? Hey, this looks familiar! This is OUR bestseller, and their bestselling BMW model... for the N54! WHAT'S THIS IN THE R&D DEPARTMENT OF THE EXHAUST SHOP? Yep... a 335... expect to see some GOOD stuff pretty soon! Prototype being made for something.... hrmm.... All aFe exhausts use OEM-like hangars for ease of installation The exhaust shop is very big, too. aFe's whole operation used to run out of this shop, but now their new facility is 3-4x the size - and they use this one just for exhausts and CNC machining. In-House Dyno. You know all the times we say that "this part gains 12HP" - We weren't bluffing. aFe does NUMEROUS runs, chooses the lowest number, and then uses that as their advertised gain. In reality, most of the parts make more power, but they, like any respected manufacturer, like to underpromise and over-deliver. To those of you who think some of these parts may not make any power - or may even lose power... Not a chance. aFe tests in a multitude of conditions, allowing the cars the proper 50-100miles of driving time before re-dynoing in similar conditions. These parts are guaranteed to make power and increase efficiency. Because they have TWO in-house CNC machines, they can churn out molds of whatever they want, whenever they want. The result is that there are no corners cut. If it's not 100% perfect, they can walk back and make a new one. No shipping it back to the manufacturer in Asia. How many companies can say that? More CNC goodies. CNC molds... CNC mold of their logo... very cool. 1 of 2 CNC machines. Do you guys know how much these things cost? Yikes. Another CNC machine I believe. Lathe. It's like a milling machine of sorts for cutting things by rotating them. Hard to explain. Google it. Bandsaws and normal factory-type stuff Cantilevers full of exhaust pipes yet to be machined. And the 1 series exhaust prototype! So, that about concludes our tour. Pretty amazing, right? I don't even know what to comment besides WOW - what a professional operation. There are a lot of things we COULDN'T post - for example there are offices and rooms full of engineers, technicians, programmers... but only 3 sales people. When we asked how that could be for a company doing business in the 8 figures, our sales rep told us something that stuck with us... Essentially, he said "these guys consistently churn out top quality, innovative, and impressive products that sell themselves. They give me great stuff, I don't have to work hard to sell it." An awesome operation, great people, quality products, and exciting new projects. We couldn't speak any more highly of aFe, that's for sure. Expect a great promotion coming soon, we worked with our sales rep to draft up something you all will really like. Thanks for reading all of this, we hope you enjoyed it and appreciate your feedback! Regards Jonathan Levi Jlevi StreetWerks, LLC Last edited by SV Concepts; 07-23-2009 at 04:27 PM.. |
07-23-2009, 04:21 PM | #2 |
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I have been out to their factory numerous times because I let them use my car to test fit their dynamic air scoops and come up with a 1 series exhaust. Everyone there is sooo nice and humble, I even got to meet the owner and he is a really BIG BMW nut! I'm glad you guys posted this to help the bad things things that un-knowing people are trying to give them stop! This makes me proud to be running all their products for the 135, intake/exhaust/scoops! i'll add to this thread and post the video that aFe made of my car getting dyno'd with all their parts installed:
[u2b]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OuNEhncZ0ys&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OuNEhncZ0ys&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/u2b] Last edited by BSM 135i; 07-23-2009 at 07:29 PM.. |
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07-23-2009, 04:24 PM | #3 |
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Woahhhh thats awesomeeeeeee i think i might buy the aFe exhaust soon =D
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07-23-2009, 05:05 PM | #4 |
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yea can't wait to see what the end result will be for the exhaust!
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07-23-2009, 05:21 PM | #5 |
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That was excellent, thank you so much for sharing.
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07-23-2009, 05:22 PM | #6 |
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Very very nice guys.. when you see these pictures and see the amount of production and RND going on in this company it helps bring us more confidence when trying to buy a certain product. Good job..
Last edited by M3Newbie88; 07-23-2009 at 07:10 PM.. |
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07-23-2009, 05:52 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
+84570438957!!!!! |
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07-23-2009, 06:32 PM | #8 |
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07-23-2009, 10:15 PM | #9 |
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wow! that is incredible thanks for sharing! i am now convinced to buy their DCI
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some italian, german, and japanese ones; and on order more of the same
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07-23-2009, 11:06 PM | #10 |
They like my Swag...
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great post!!
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07-24-2009, 09:15 AM | #11 |
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Great post and good to see my aFe exhaust was produced in a great facility like this but not a mom and pap shop. I like my aFe exhaust very much in terms of value, sound and quality, no regret.
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7/08 135 Coupe, Crimson Red, 6 SP, Sport, Taupe Lette/Aluminum. Performance Mods: JB4 on Map 5, BMS DP Fix V3, Injen polished intake, AR Catless DP, Maddad resonated mid-pipes, aFe exhaust polished tips, ST Suspension Coil Over and Hotchkis front sway bar. Others: BMS OCC, BT Scanner, Mud Flap. Next Mods: AA Front Strut Brace.
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07-24-2009, 11:05 AM | #12 |
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Awesome! This is the type of stuff we want to hear. Sometimes, it's just a matter of helping customers understand what goes into their products!
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07-24-2009, 12:20 PM | #13 |
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Can u pm a price for the AFE exhaust?
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07-24-2009, 04:13 PM | #15 |
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Nice. I wish they made wheels.
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07-24-2009, 05:26 PM | #16 |
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PMing for pricing is for companies without fancy-shmancy e-commerce stores
http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/p590...duct_info.html Starts at $549! JL |
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07-24-2009, 08:17 PM | #17 |
///Mmmm
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Wow that was really cool. Should call History channel to make a Modern Marvels episode about your factory.
I'll def will be keeping an eye on afe for my next purchase. Thanks!
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07-24-2009, 08:24 PM | #18 |
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