diff --git a/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/S3IntegrationTest.java b/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/S3IntegrationTest.java
index 56568ebb45..d2f48f1bcd 100644
--- a/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/S3IntegrationTest.java
+++ b/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/S3IntegrationTest.java
@@ -59,12 +59,14 @@ import com.google.common.collect.Iterables;
 import com.google.inject.Module;
 
 public class S3IntegrationTest {
+   protected static final String LOCAL_ENCODING = System.getProperty("file.encoding");
    protected static final String TEST_STRING = "<apples><apple name=\"fuji\"></apple> </apples>";
-   public static long INCONSISTENCY_WINDOW = 1000;
    protected static final String sysAWSAccessKeyId = System
             .getProperty(S3Constants.PROPERTY_AWS_ACCESSKEYID);
    protected static final String sysAWSSecretAccessKey = System
             .getProperty(S3Constants.PROPERTY_AWS_SECRETACCESSKEY);
+
+   public static long INCONSISTENCY_WINDOW = 1000;
    protected static int bucketCount = 20;
    protected static volatile int bucketIndex = 0;
 
@@ -299,8 +301,8 @@ public class S3IntegrationTest {
                   if (keys.size() > 0) {
                      map.clear();
                      assertEquals(map.size(), 0, String.format(
-                              "deleting %s, we still have %s left in bucket %s", keys,
-                              map.keySet(), name));
+                              "deleting %s, we still have %s left in bucket %s, using encoding %s",
+                              keys, map.keySet(), name, LOCAL_ENCODING));
                   }
                } catch (Exception e) {
                   Utils.<RuntimeException> rethrowIfRuntimeOrSameType(e);
diff --git a/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/commands/DeleteObjectIntegrationTest.java b/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/commands/DeleteObjectIntegrationTest.java
index 8dd4ac5a8f..897abc1bbc 100644
--- a/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/commands/DeleteObjectIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/aws/s3/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/commands/DeleteObjectIntegrationTest.java
@@ -45,8 +45,6 @@ import org.testng.annotations.Test;
 @Test(groups = { "integration", "live" }, testName = "s3.DeleteObjectIntegrationTest")
 public class DeleteObjectIntegrationTest extends S3IntegrationTest {
 
-   private static final String LOCAL_ENCODING = System.getProperty("file.encoding");
-
    @Test
    void deleteObjectNotFound() throws Exception {
       String bucketName = getBucketName();
diff --git a/aws/s3/perftest/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest.java b/aws/s3/perftest/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest.java
index c0ddc5df59..9e1193cd03 100644
--- a/aws/s3/perftest/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest.java
+++ b/aws/s3/perftest/src/test/java/org/jclouds/aws/s3/JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest.java
@@ -37,6 +37,14 @@ import com.google.inject.Module;
 @Test(sequential = true, testName = "s3.JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest", groups = { "live" })
 public class JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest extends BaseJCloudsPerformance {
 
+   public JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest() {
+      super();
+      // otherwise, we'll get timeout errors
+      // TODO sdk 1.2.3 should give the ability to set a higher timeout then 5 seconds allowing this
+      // to be removed
+      loopCount = 5;
+   }
+
    @Override
    protected boolean putByteArray(String bucket, String key, byte[] data, String contentType)
             throws Exception {
@@ -117,8 +125,6 @@ public class JCloudsGaePerformanceLiveTest extends BaseJCloudsPerformance {
 
    @Override
    protected Module createHttpModule() {
-      // otherwise, we'll get timeout errors
-      loopCount = 10;
       return new URLFetchServiceClientModule();
    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file