The Cyber SG1 - The Story In Its Entirety
I will first start out by saying our policy has always been about keeping things positive and keeping business matters where it belongs, out of the public eye. We never want to bash anyone or any business since that’s not what we are about. We are about uplifting any business or company that is trying to make their way. That being said, when we cancelled the Cyber SG1, we took full responsibility and didn’t point fingers. We as a company took the hit both monetarily and more importantly on our reputation. We knew it wouldn’t change anything bringing fault to any other parties, so we sucked it up and took the hit. However, recently there seems to be a lot of miscommunication going on, and we have witnessed some parties which were at the core of the failure trying to use this as a opportunity to free themselves from their responsibility in the public eye with some untruths.
Since it would take time (which I don’t have) to research exact dates, and it won’t change anything, I will just go over a general timeline. The timeline may be skewed a bit, but the facts will not be impacted by this. The reason for us going public in the first place is simply, what is going on is not right, and we just want to make sure the facts are correct. We are the only ones who know the story in it’s entirety.
Back about a year or so BEFORE Super-G even announced the Cyber SG1, we were approached by a trusted, long time friend who’s friend had a concept for a new style rear end for a R/C Drift Chassis. This company was T-Games. The issue he was faced with was first, the lack of funds to make this concept a realty, but also the lack of ability to market and sell it. We liked the initial concept and being able to be a part of the development of a new chassis was something we were very excited about. We came to an agreement and Super-G funded / purchased the chassis design in it’s entirety. T-Games assured us he had the means to produce the chassis with the connections he had with various factories in China. We had been aware of his products prior to this, and we felt he was capable of producing the quality we were after. We were assured T-Games would deliver.
The Agreement - The remainder of the chassis would be developed with Super-G’s input on design, appearance, and control over the final product. T-Games would now be the hired designer and liaison for the manufacturing. Super-G owns the design as we are now funding every aspect from conception to the final product. It was made clear from the very first day this was even discussed, for our company to be involved in this, the quality must be of the highest standards, or we will not sell it. Cost is not an issue as long as we produce a top quality product. All this was agreed upon by all parties involved.
The design of the rear-end had to be changed a few times to ensure it would work correctly. What was disturbing about this was I had raised concerns about this initial design as I felt one aspect would not work, but were assured it would. After a few prototypes, the design was changed to a simpler design and ultimately what was settled on. We understand prototyping and have never had issues paying for it. It is coming out simply to make sure the stages are accurate, and to make known there was input even in the initial concept which started this project to begin with. In addition, we had issues with how the rear hub and main rear pivot was designed as we felt it would be fragile and not able to withstand some of the unavoidable contact during normal track use.
The initial front end design came about a month later and immediately we requested changes to be made to the thickness of the arms. At this point, nothing had been fabricated and we were assured this would be addressed before we went to prototype. A few other small changes were made and we felt confident we were on the correct path.
Over the next few months everything came together and we decided it was time to go to prototype to see where we were at. We had planned for at least 2 prototype runs. We made 4 prototype chassis which were very pricy since it was basically a one-off run.
The prototypes show up, pre-assembled, and to our dismay, the changes to the front and rear end were not present. Since the changes were made prior to fabrication, the only explanation is pure laziness. When T-Games was confronted about this, we were told to try it this way since he felt it would be fine. We insisted it would not be ok and this was not going to be acceptable. We would use these prototypes to test the concept, but the changes needed to be implemented for the final form. The changes would not alter the overall characteristics, but would definitely make it more durable. In addition, we had requested multiple replacement parts for the weak areas, but those were not included either. The explanation, don’t worry, it’s not a problem. This proved to be a major problem as the weak points were indeed weak points and failed almost immediately. There were also issues with some of the proprietary parts, such as the threaded barrels on the upper control arms.
With the prototypes we kept one here, one went to our friend who we feel is one of, if not the best turner we know. We also brought in our team, RawFew to do some extensive testing, as well as looking over the quality, fit, and finish. The chassis drove AMAZING and we had never driven anything quite like it. We were excited since we were definitely onto something great. Unfortunately, the issues we had foreseen were indeed issues. Each and every change that was ignored was in fact an issue which needed to be addressed. After everyone spending a good amount of time trying to get the chassis perfect (Over a months worth of time), there were a couple issues that just could not be resolved. Even our friend with the other prototype could not get the front end from having a strange wobble. This ended up being a byproduct of the front arms being too thin and once they would start flexing, will continue to oscillate. Not to mention since they are long and thin, break easily. The other main issues were the rear hub relies on thin carbon uprights which snap easily with a slight tap, and the main pivot is susceptible to damage and the bearings start to wear rather quickly. All unacceptable.
At this point, we were convinced the "concept" was solid, but there were changes that needed to be made. The changes had been in T-Games hands for months now and we were assured they would be implemented in the final form. We wanted to do another prototype run, but we all decided as long as the changes were made, we were confident the issues would not be present. We pulled the trigger and went into production.
My memory escapes me as far as the time frame, but we were given a promised date we would have the completed chassis in our hands. During this time we purchased all the packaging materials, as well as the differentials, CVDs, Dampers, Ball Cups, Body Mounts, and a few others that I’m sure I’m forgetting. We needed enough to for 120 chassis. We started taking pre-orders and had a few videos / commercials created for the launch. Keep in mind, this has already been around a year in the making. There had not been any new chassis in quite awhile other than I think the RhinoMax v.1. ReveD was not even in existence yet, and the PDS-Rse wasn’t even a thing. I don’t even think there was a SXIII and rear motor wasn’t even a thing. This is a significant point. (It was great for it’s time, but is now 2 years behind the current chassis.)
Our supporters trusted us to deliver and jumped on the pre-order. We are all excited and confident this is going to be an awesome chassis. The due date comes and goes and T-Games has now become very difficult to get a hold of. Same day responses turned into 2 to 3 weeks. We still had not received our instructions for the kit, which T-Games charged additional for. We sent the additional funds the moment he said he would need to charge extra for it. He made it clear he needed it right away. Just as we always sent any requested funds immediately. We were waiting for the files so we could get high quality instructions printed up for the kit. The goal was to have a very impressive presentation for this chassis. He was suddenly missing again.
Promise after promise was being broken at this point and nothing had been showing up. We were told parts were shipping to us, only to find out they weren’t even shipped. The stress level was through the roof as we were holding everyone’s money, and now T-Games was being elusive. Important note: COVID had not even hit yet.
Now there are talks of COVID shutting things down and T-Games tells us the factory working on our parts has been shut down due to COVID. For the next year, we are told a multitude of stories and excuses. We understand the world is crazy, but we also are fully aware T-Games did not follow through on his word, he put off certain tasks that would have made all the difference. If T-Games delivered on time, we would have beat the COVID shutdowns. Plus we still did not have the instructions which he said we needed to pay him extra for at that time. If it is something he was going to do right away and he wanted to be paid for it, there is no problem with that. However, saying he needed to be paid and not doing it seems to have a different motive attached to it. More about motives later.
During this time, there is talk that Super-G dropped the ball on this, Super-G isn’t going to come through, etc. In fact, there was quite a few hoping for the worst. Watching people hope we fail was a little disappointing since we would definitely be hoping to see a U.S. company bring a chassis to market. We would be pulling for these people to succeed in anything they were attempting for that matter. We wanted to say it wasn’t our fault, but ultimately we are the ones heading it so if not us, then who?
Finally after all the disappointments, the requests for refunds, and us walking around hanging our heads in shame, T-Games says he shipped everything and we have 70 complete chassis on the way. He tells us we’ll have it all in 6 weeks. We were a little put off since we should have 120 coming, but we’ll take it!
Six weeks comes and goes. Seven weeks, eight weeks, then a box shows up. A few carbon pieces, but hardly complete chassis. A couple days later a couple more. We are thinking, ok, shipping is messed up. We check the shipping dates, and come to find out they didn't even ship when we were told they were already on their way. Shipping wasn't "that messed up," just the information we were being fed was. Finally we reach out to T-Games and find out that only part of the order was shipped, even though we were told everything had shipped. He literally said he was looking at them as we spoke, and he would be shipping them the very next day. Not surprisingly, they did not ship the next day, but shipped in the weeks following. Being as transparent as we can be with our customers, we would keep them in the loop, but in the end it made Super-G look like a bunch of liars, when in fact all we were doing was keeping them in the loop with what we were being told.
Finally, after a year of the lies and deception, the remainder is shipped and we receive it. Again, we are told there are 70 complete chassis. I go through and separate everything to start kitting them. (Many of our customers saw the excitement as we started unboxing everything) As I’m doing this, I am also doing quality control and there are a lot of short-comings. Things that were discussed were not addressed. The most disheartening part of this entire project was when I got to the front arms. Again the changes were not made, and the rear hub carriers were the same. In fact, this was a batch of parts that were the same as the initial prototypes. I can only conclude the entire run was done at the time of the prototypes, as even the smallest details were not addressed, and there were many. Not knowing what to do, I put 5 kits together (Boxed) and T-Games finally sends the “First Draft” of the instructions (Months and months after being paid for them). We contact T-Games and confront him about the same front end pieces. T-Games acts surprised the changes were not made. "How can this be?" If a different factory is making the parts, how could they even be aware of the previous design? Something not taken into consideration when we were told this obviously fabricated story.
I give the kit with the provided instructions to a couple people and I built one myself. The instructions are horrible. Nobody can build the kit based on the instructions. I change them and send the revisions to T-Games. He ensures us he will get on that immediately, as well as getting the changes for the chassis addressed. There were a lot of fitment issues and a lot of shimming needed to have a proper chassis. We never received the final instructions.
I spent the next couple weeks going over everything in the kit and finding out we didn’t have the quantities T-Games said we did. We had enough parts to make 30 chassis if we improvised and purchased other parts to make it work, but literally only enough to make 10 complete chassis from what was provided to us.
At this point, we were defeated. I had been losing sleep over this, literally. With so much money out, and so much of the customers money in our possession, the stress was overwhelming. I have never experienced anything quite as stressful as this. Being so out of control but locked in for the ride, it was almost too much to handle. Not to mention the amount paid out was crippling to Super-G as a business. All our years of putting every single dollar we had into this business, and having as much as a some of our customer’s salary for the year just taken from us with nothing to show for was hard to accept. This was truly a low point for us, as well as a very scary time.
We reached out to T-Games to find out what the progress was on the instructions and the updated parts. We were told, “3 months”. We had a hard decision to make. Either we go back to our customers who have been patiently waiting, and tell them 3 more months AGAIN, or bite the bullet and say we failed and refund their money. We opted for the later, as there was no guarantee of anything in 3 months, and if history was any type of indicator, we wouldn’t see anything anyway.
To date, we only received enough to make 10 chassis. We have a bunch of miscellaneous parts, many with poor quality. We requested our money back, as we never received what we have paid for. We were told by T-Games he has no money and cannot refund us, but we later found out he has been busy opening his own shop, AND suddenly has been making parts for this new company, JT Works. (Remember motives for being paid, but not actually doing the work) The thoughts that come immediately to mind are, for someone who did not have any funds to bankroll his chassis, where did the funds come from to allow him to open a shop? Why suddenly did he need to be paid (Thousands) for instructions that he would generate on his computer, and why did he suddenly become too busy to answer calls, or follow up on questions, or even ship products he admitted were in his possession. We have been given a little less than $2k from the friend who put us in contact with T-Games, but I’m not sure if this is actually from T-Games or from our friend just trying to keep things good.
So, to put it clearly, so there are no misunderstandings or assumptions, Super-G has bankrolled and been a part of this chassis from beginning to end. Super-G paid for the research and development, design, prototypes, manufacturing, revisions, instructions, and anything else related to this chassis. RawFew put in countless hours of testing and quality control. We have refunded everyone who purchased and supported us with the project, and we paid out of pocket additional monetary compensation for the supporters who stuck it out for the long haul. The chassis you have seen being sold is not someone trying to recoup their investment. They are not sitting on a design and holding it. They have already been paid. Make no mistake about it.
This was a dark chapter in Super-G history. We were taken advantage of and paid pretty heftily, not only in monetary damage, but also mentally and physically. It hindered our growth at a very pivotal point, and has caused us great pain and hardship. It almost caused us to shut doors. We would like to leave it behind us, which is why we have pulled just about everything we could related to it’s existence.
We have remained silent on this matter as we have been hoping T-Games would make this right. Instead, he had the nerve to try and blame COVID for this, and say everyone involved mutually decided to stop the project because of this. The truth of the matter is, he was busy setting up a shop, making parts for a "different" company, and NOT fulfilling his end of the deal. We understand the amount of time and work it takes to open a shop, so it’s pretty clear to us what has happened with the funds, the time, and the commitment to this project. Again, the decision to stop this project was NOT a mutual decision because of COVID, this was Super-G telling T-Games we could no longer continue with his lies and deception, therefore we were going to stop the sale, refund our customers, and would like a refund due to breech of contract. Super-G had gone above and beyond to accommodate any difficulties T-Games had, met every request, and paid every last cent we were responsible for with not even the slightest delay. We had never laid blame, nor mentioned T-Games ever in regard to the Cyber SG1.
If JT Works was going to start selling the chassis, it should have been cleared through us prior. Super-G has paid for everything that has to do with it. The reason we will not sell it now is, the design is flawed, the quality is subpar, and is not a product we are willing to put our name on. Yes, that is our logo. This does not change the fact that we have paid for this IN FULL and are the rightful owners of this design and the parts that have been produced on our dollar.
This is the last Super-G will speak on this publicly (I hope). This is a business to business matter and should have never been brought to this point. We have no reason to skew the truth, as we are the ones who have kept this out of view. The actions of the other businesses involved have forced us to go public. Something we deeply regret.
We hope this clears the air. We love the R/C Drift Community and the things that we do, we do for you guys and hope to benefit the scene. Being pulled out into public view this way hurts in more ways than what is immediately apparent. Support those who promote positivity and squash the negativity. In the end it’s all about fun. Vote for what is right with your wallet. In the end, that is the language all businesses understand.
Super-G
UPDATE: MARCH 10, 2023.
We still have not received the cars or refund. We were promised 4 boxes of car stuff back in October '22, its now March and we received 2 shoebox sized boxes. Meanwhile, he is still selling it in CHINA:
https://www.taobao.com/list/item/wap/664136045636.htm
He's even using our photos that we took of the prototypes at OUR SHOP.
THE TRAIL OF LIES CONTINUES:
Now he started counterfeiting AZADA steering grips. TGAMES GTRC are both making fake AZADA products.
