Big Fish Garage
Big Fish Garage specialise in vehicle tuning, repair services and diagnostics.
Fear not, you don’t need to be a petrol head to enjoy this feature! Manager Pip is a wealth of knowledge on the subject with a great way of explaining the technical bits. Over to her.
The hobby that got out of hand
“Big Fish literally started as a hobby, A project engineer in the power generation/IT and automotive industries, my brother John has been tuning engines since his teens. Coming from the corporate world, we both felt strongly about creating a true family business. 15 years on, we’ve never looked back. Last year we expanded further and we now have 2 workshop and dynometer technicians, Chris and Guy.”
Keeping it in the family
“We call our kids the ‘little fishes’ and they’re involved too. Whilst studying, my eldest niece did admin support cataloging parts. Currently at secondary school, my niece Izzy is keen on engineering. With her own purple toolbox in hand she’s learning how to work safely in the garage. Like many 8 year olds, my son loves cars and is now showing a real interest.”
If you ask Pip’s son what Big Fish do he’d say – “my uncle John makes cars go faster” – Perfect explanation! Here’s Pip with more on the technical bit.
If it stands still long enough, we can tune it!
“Every modern car has an engine control unit (ECU) which keeps the engine running smoothly. On leaving the factory the ECU software is written to provide the expected performance of the vehicle. When a modification is made to that vehicle the software has to be re-written to tell the car it’s been modified. That’s where we come in. We even write software for garages all over the country. Our advanced vehicle tuning diagnostic tools and expertise are in high demand. Because of that we get lots of ‘puzzles’ referred to us. If it’s something we can’t fix – like a gearbox re-build – we pass on detailed diagnostic information so that the client can get help elsewhere.”
From the garage to the road and the track
“As a modification garage, we specialise in motor sport. Mainly custom builds and track cars needing to be more efficient or quicker to overtake. These vehicles are not allowed on the road and they’re really fun to work on. Motorway cruisers and daily drivers come in too. For these clients, consultations are important. Some customisation such as full exhaust modifications are not road legal. These could potentially invalidate a drivers insurance or warranty. So we have to explain this before we undertake any work. Using genuine parts, we specialise in German vehicles, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda. Therefore get a lot of work from main dealers. Sometimes a dealer will discover that a vehicle has had advanced software upgrades that they need help with. The majority of our work now is from repeat customers.”
It’s not just about pimping your ride to be the fastest, noisiest, coolest vehicle in town.
Power to the people
“We genuinely love what we do. The boys would say they’re happiest when building a track or kit car. I really enjoy what we call the ‘daily drivers’. Vans are normally very heavily capped when they leave the factory. With modified software we can help them gain up to 50-80 horse power (hp). Releasing the power helps improve drivability, as well as saving money on miles per gallon (MPG).”
Bucking the trend
“We do true custom vehicle tuning and want the job done right, first time. If a client drives away and something’s not right we need to know. That way we can take that feedback onto the next job. Commonly, we see customers who feel like they haven’t been listened to by a garage. It’s easy to be blindsided if you’re not knowledgeable about cars. In those cases we help clients understand how much the parts should cost, how long it should take to complete etc so that they’re in a much better position to negotiate.”
Pip recently rescued a business park tenant struggling to start their car in the freezing temperatures. Battery pack in hand the self professed ‘un-technical’ member of the Big Fish team got the car running again!
Supporting the business community
“The park is such is friendly place to work and I often recommend it to other businesses, such as Luke Wilkinson Joinery. Everyone here is keen to support each other. We refer work to Chris at Stonewall Leisure and vice versa. If a motorhome conversion is too heavy and the MPG has gone through the floor, we can improve it.”
Terry Dicken Business Park tenant offer
“Our work creates a lot of noise. To thank our neighbours for their understanding we created a special offer for tenants on the park – £25 off custom vehicle tuning, not limited to one transaction. The same offer is extended to delivery drivers who often find it difficult to find us as we’re tucked away behind Navigation House.”
For custom build, advice, diagnostics or custom solutions Big Fish Garage can be found behind Navigation House, 18B Ellerbeck Way, Terry Dicken Business Park, Stokesley, TS9 5JZ
You can’t see the Big Fish garage from the road. So follow the signs for Navigation House, just behind it, look for the cars!
Or visit their website
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