Houston Performance shops?

[MerlinS3]

I might be relocating to houston in the coming months, and am trying to find a good local aftermarket tuning shop in the area.

I.E exhausts, suspension installs, BBK installs, Tuning, Engine work.. and so fourth

[Avantmaniac]

Audivolkswagen underground, elite motorsport and Reisu motorsport.

[w123houston]

I went to Bartuning near Hobby Airport for APR stage 1. Is anyone in Harris county running a high flow cat or test pipe and stage 2 software? I'm curious what the procedure is when its time for safety/emissions inspection?

[bendilzerian]

Hey everyone, wanted to bump this thread and get some others to chime in on their recent experiences and preferences for shops here in the Houston area.

I recently picked up my first Audi, an 08 RS4. I'm comfortable doing a lot of work but some of it I'm just not willing to spend the time learning along the way. Specifically, I'm planning subframe bushings, a full control arm kit, coilovers, trans and differential mounts, maybe even go as far as doing engine mounts too. This is the kind of thing I don't want to learn/struggle with/mess up since I'm not familiar with german cars and I don't have a lift.

So - who uses what shops? What have you had done where? What was your experience there? My research online thus far is leaning me towards Reisu but I'm remaining open-minded

Edit: This place is very nearby to me. They serviced an RS4 that I was considering and I called them to get some info. The guys were incredibly helpful on the phone and their reviews are really great everywhere I can search them. Anybody used them? Das European Autohaus:
https://www.google.com/search?q=das+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Still, would prefer the most competent person in respect to RS4s specifically but that might be asking a bit much.

[1.8Turbo4me!]

Hey everyone, wanted to bump this thread and get some others to chime in on their recent experiences and preferences for shops here in the Houston area.

I recently picked up my first Audi, an 08 RS4. I'm comfortable doing a lot of work but some of it I'm just not willing to spend the time learning along the way. Specifically, I'm planning subframe bushings, a full control arm kit, coilovers, trans and differential mounts, maybe even go as far as doing engine mounts too. This is the kind of thing I don't want to learn/struggle with/mess up since I'm not familiar with german cars and I don't have a lift.

So - who uses what shops? What have you had done where? What was your experience there? My research online thus far is leaning me towards Reisu but I'm remaining open-minded

Edit: This place is very nearby to me. They serviced an RS4 that I was considering and I called them to get some info. The guys were incredibly helpful on the phone and their reviews are really great everywhere I can search them. Anybody used them? Das European Autohaus:
https://www.google.com/search?q=das+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Still, would prefer the most competent person in respect to RS4s specifically but that might be asking a bit much.

welcome to the Audi world! RS4 is such a nice car! as for shops, there are plenty around in Houston so you'll definitely get lots of answers. E1 Motorsports, 1st Stop AutoHaus, and Reisu are popular shops that have a great reputation.

E1 Motorsports - been around for a long time, they work on just about any car, big shop, sell performance parts (audi, vw, european, etc)
1st Stop AutoHaus - newest shop around, ~2 years but techs are experienced guys that decided to open their own shop (audi & vw)
Reisu - been around, 1 man shop, owner is the tech, Audi only - this guy has worked on my car for 5 years and going since I've been in Houston.

You can't go wrong with any of these 3 shops, they are recommended and mentioned many times on Audi Club of Houston facebook page. If you have facebook, you should join the club. We have meets, events, dinner, great group of people.

[bendilzerian]

welcome to the Audi world! RS4 is such a nice car! as for shops, there are plenty around in Houston so you'll definitely get lots of answers. E1 Motorsports, 1st Stop AutoHaus, and Reisu are popular shops that have a great reputation.

E1 Motorsports - been around for a long time, they work on just about any car, big shop, sell performance parts (audi, vw, european, etc)
1st Stop AutoHaus - newest shop around, ~2 years but techs are experienced guys that decided to open their own shop (audi & vw)
Reisu - been around, 1 man shop, owner is the tech, Audi only - this guy has worked on my car for 5 years and going since I've been in Houston.

You can't go wrong with any of these 3 shops, they are recommended and mentioned many times on Audi Club of Houston facebook page. If you have facebook, you should join the club. We have meets, events, dinner, great group of people.

Thanks very much for the response here, I'm sure that will help many locals in the future!

I will check those other two out as well. Should be ready to have the car go in within the next two weeks.

Already in the FB group

[bendilzerian]

In case anybody local happens on this thread in the future, figured I'd update with what I found by calling around the last few weeks.

E1: Very nice on the phone. They do lots of work despite their site looking like they mostly resell performance parts. But when I brought up the B7 platform and doing control arms, driveline mounts, etc etc the guy on the phone (don't know if owner, forgot his name too) hesitated a bit and said they're much more familiar with B8+ cars. They wouldn't be afraid to do it, but in my best interest of time/labor cost he recommended I check out another shop, BarTuning because they're more familiar with the older platforms. I respect that, because it means they aren't just out there doing any and all work they can, and respected my time/opinion of their shop. Good on them.

BarTuning: At recommendation of above, I called them next. Owner was really comfortable speaking about the car, and a nice guy. I checked out some of his videos online. However, two things really killed this for me. For one, he wouldn't talk about any sort of timeline, availability, or cost before he saw the car in person and got it up in the air. That doesn't bother me all that much, and I can understand his POV. A car with tons of age, rust, etc is gonna take longer than something ultra clean I know. But BarTuning is nearly an hour's drive for me one way; kinda defers me from spending 3 hours of my day just to get down there and find out what's what or if they'd do the work. But, what put the nail in the coffin for me was that they don't install customer's parts, no negotiations. Again, as someone with an understanding of running a business, I can see why he'd want to make that policy. That definitely killed it for me though; I highly doubt he could undercut all my options for shopping online for alllll the stuff I needed. Plus I didn't want to always have to go to that shop for parts. Oh well.

1st Stop AutoHaus: Hoping to turn my luck around, called them next. They said they were comfortable with doing the work, and could have it done in a decent timeframe. Needed to schedule about a week out for the 2-3 days they'd have the car. That's all fine. But the guy honestly sounded half asleep on the phone. I'm not sure if it's just a front desk there or one of the mechanics, but I just didn't get an A+ vibe from the call.

Reisu: Called the owner (forgot his name...) and we chatted about the car, the work, etc. He definitely knows his stuff, gave me a decent timeframe of availability, and how long he'd need to do it. He recommended we rebuild the axles instead of attempt at one of the 'premium' non-genuine GKN axles or going through Raxles. That's what I was looking for. If a shop can't project time/availability, and talk knowledgeably about the work, it throws me off. I felt really great after this call, and the car will definitely be going here for probably any and all work I can't DIY.


Parts should all be arriving this weekend/early this week. Not sure I'll be able to get the car in and out by Saturday, but I'll give him a call back once I have everything in hand.

[Melo]

Glad you went with Reisu, he did all my custom work

[1.8Turbo4me!]

In case anybody local happens on this thread in the future, figured I'd update with what I found by calling around the last few weeks.

E1: Very nice on the phone. They do lots of work despite their site looking like they mostly resell performance parts. But when I brought up the B7 platform and doing control arms, driveline mounts, etc etc the guy on the phone (don't know if owner, forgot his name too) hesitated a bit and said they're much more familiar with B8+ cars. They wouldn't be afraid to do it, but in my best interest of time/labor cost he recommended I check out another shop, BarTuning because they're more familiar with the older platforms. I respect that, because it means they aren't just out there doing any and all work they can, and respected my time/opinion of their shop. Good on them.

BarTuning: At recommendation of above, I called them next. Owner was really comfortable speaking about the car, and a nice guy. I checked out some of his videos online. However, two things really killed this for me. For one, he wouldn't talk about any sort of timeline, availability, or cost before he saw the car in person and got it up in the air. That doesn't bother me all that much, and I can understand his POV. A car with tons of age, rust, etc is gonna take longer than something ultra clean I know. But BarTuning is nearly an hour's drive for me one way; kinda defers me from spending 3 hours of my day just to get down there and find out what's what or if they'd do the work. But, what put the nail in the coffin for me was that they don't install customer's parts, no negotiations. Again, as someone with an understanding of running a business, I can see why he'd want to make that policy. That definitely killed it for me though; I highly doubt he could undercut all my options for shopping online for alllll the stuff I needed. Plus I didn't want to always have to go to that shop for parts. Oh well.

1st Stop AutoHaus: Hoping to turn my luck around, called them next. They said they were comfortable with doing the work, and could have it done in a decent timeframe. Needed to schedule about a week out for the 2-3 days they'd have the car. That's all fine. But the guy honestly sounded half asleep on the phone. I'm not sure if it's just a front desk there or one of the mechanics, but I just didn't get an A+ vibe from the call.

Reisu: Called the owner (forgot his name...) and we chatted about the car, the work, etc. He definitely knows his stuff, gave me a decent timeframe of availability, and how long he'd need to do it. He recommended we rebuild the axles instead of attempt at one of the 'premium' non-genuine GKN axles or going through Raxles. That's what I was looking for. If a shop can't project time/availability, and talk knowledgeably about the work, it throws me off. I felt really great after this call, and the car will definitely be going here for probably any and all work I can't DIY.


Parts should all be arriving this weekend/early this week. Not sure I'll be able to get the car in and out by Saturday, but I'll give him a call back once I have everything in hand.

Aadel at E1 and Luis at 1st Stop AutoHaus are also members of ACH (Audi Club of Houston).

Glad you called those shops, it's a nice way to see how they communicate and respond (knowledge and interest of helping).

I believe you made the right call by going to Reisu! Not because he's my go-to guy as well, but I believe his knowledge of the B5, B6, and B7 is more than the other shops. He currently have a big turbo B6 and have had others also. He's tuned B5's and my B6 as well. Can't go wrong, great guy to talk cars with. Oh yeah, his name is Raudel.