PERFORMANCE SHOP HOSTS MUSTANG OWNERS

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

Shyam Mundra, proprietor of S&R Performance in Carrollwood, thinks he has just the thing to attract car lovers from all over the city.

The car performance/repair facility located at 9507-A North Trask St. in Tampa features the Dyno-mite engine dynamometer made by the company Land & Sea. It is the only all-wheel drive Dyno machine in Hillsborough County.

On a recent Saturday morning, Mundra and the rest of S&R welcomed members of the ‘Stang Gang, a Tampa-based Mustang owners’ club, to test out the Dyno machine on their cars.

Mundra runs S&R Performance along with Robert Ralston. The four-man staff Ralston and Mundra brought in is highly experienced in high-speed performance cars.

“I handle the business side of operating the shop, while Robert and his team handle the mechanical side of the house,” Mundra said. “It’s a great team setup. We’re building on the strengths of each person’s skills.”

“With the state-of-the-art, all-wheel drive Dyno machine, we are able to do pulls and as a result provide tuning services for most types of vehicles,” he said. “Every weekend we host car clubs.”

Asked what he and Ralston look for in potential customers and clients, he responded, “anyone who wants to tinker with his or her vehicle and take it to the next level. We can assess where you’re at by hooking up a computer to your vehicle. The process aims to improve horsepower and torque,”

The Dyno machine is used primarily as a tuning and calibration tool. The machine’s step-up drive allows cars to rest on the conveyor-like tracks and run at a high RPM without the need for long stretch of road. Data taken from sensors in the machine are sent to a computer for detailed readout. The drivers are interested in those readouts.

Alex Daniel, 32, of Temple Terrace, recently joined the ‘Stang Gang, and was on hand to put his black 2004 Mustang on the Dyno machine.

“They let me know it’s running a little lean in the fuel mixture,” he said. Too much or too little fuel in a car’s air mixture is a common problem the Dyno machine can help identify and correct.

“One of the members saw me in traffic; that’s how I joined up,” he recalled.

The ‘Stang Gang was started in 2005 as place for Ford enthusiasts of all ages to gather and share a mutual interest in a laid back, family-orientated
environment. It now boasts a membership of more than 1,400, welcoming new members everyday. They typically meet once a week, however, they don’t take themselves quite as seriously as some other local car clubs.  While there are weekly races, most meetings are simple get-togethers; in fact, members don’t need to own a Mustang to join. The membership in some cases spans generations, with fathers attending meetings with sons and daughters.

‘Stang Gang President Tim Jordan said, “a lot of shops look for volume, not quality. At this place the guys treat the cars like their own, and our owners put a lot of money into their cars.”

Jordan said S&R made a good fit for the club due to its central location and its willingness to go the extra step.

‘Stang Gang member James Foskey found their Web site shortly after moving to Florida and began attending meet-ups. He brought in his 1999 Mustang to see if it was getting the right amount of horsepower.

“It’s something I can bring my daughter to,” he said. “The people here are very professional.”

Mundra said S&R’s business model looks for groups like the ‘Stang Gang to make connections.

“We wanted to be a speed shop, to attract the right group of people,” he said.

Since the shop opened in late December business has improved with each month, and according to Mundra, much of that business these days is tied directly to car forums on the Internet.

“The car owners are really well-connected now,” he said.

Mundra and Ralston also attend area car shows in order to get the word out about the shop and the Dyno machine.

S&R Performance is located in a large warehouse structure off Linebaugh Avenue in Carrollwood. The owners gutted the existing building to make room for the garage and the machine.

With a run on the Dyno machine, the computer system can pull about 55 distinct readings. Mundra said the garage charges about $85 for a run on the machine, while a full diagnostic can cost a few hundred dollars. The full cost to S&R for the Dyno system was $85,000.

Mundra said another advantage of the diagnostic service comes from calibrating custom parts. Many enthusiasts install custom parts on their own that don’t match up with the cars. The Dyno machine can help correct that.

The site also boasts an engine rebuild room, providing transmission and suspension repair as well as performance-car related work, such as turbo-charging.
“Most of all, we go out of the way to make sure the job is done right,” he said.

S&R Performance is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information is available at http://www.sandrperformance.com

The ‘Stang Gang’s Web address is http://www.thestanggang.com.