ROG100

I have been down most of the avenues you mention and in most cases the ecomomics kill it to the extent you might as well stick with the Porsche part.

However I would be happy to have something to sell so have at it 8>)

ROG100

H,
The material the original cam gears are made out of is not suitable for hard anodizing - that is why Porsche change the material. It was to soft so reusing is not a viable option wear wise.
R

BC

The parts are available, as is mentioned. BUT - and this is a relatively big but - at what point will it become in-feasible to own one of these cars instead of something with parts that are actually priced properly and available? 400 dollars for a cam gear - and the reason is "Because they can" -

There are 4 gears on the front of the motor. Two cam gears, an oil pump gear, and of course the crank gear.

Custom gears are an issue because - well, they are custom. They may be made one year or two, and then when you go back to replace them again, the world is a different place and you can't get them.

Its quite a quandary. And as I have said before - its not always about the price - if there is added value. If the value continues constant, or even goes down, but the price goes up - many more people that simply just shrug and hand over the Credit Card will no longer do so.

Mark Anderson

I have looked into this as well and like Roger found out it's just not as easy as it might appear.

tmpusfugit

Jeff, it is not quite that simple. FYI; There is no real need to scan the part. I have 2 CNC mills in my shop, and they both work from a CAD drawing, a drawing that can be done on one of these gears in less than an hour on any cheap computer drafting program. The reall problems come in with cutting the key way, which has to be done in a seperate process and is not done on many lower end CNC mills....it is internal to the gear and has to be done with a press driven keyway cutter or a shaper. The keyway cutter will have to be the correct size for the 928....not a big deal, but it will most likely cost about $250 for the cutter and will take about 10 minutes of production time, after proper fixtures are built.

Another issue has to do with the amount of machine time required to reduce bar stock to the required pulley dimensions....not a big deal but most shops base costs on machine time +materials costs +tool costs +set up time +labor costs +overhead +profit. It would be nice if we could find a source for forged aluminum blanks for these.....that would help a bunch....

Then there is the anodizing which is a black art to me....I have learned to resist offering any service that is dependent on services outside your direct control....I have been had too many times.....

None of this stuff is really difficult, it is all back to what Roger and others have said.....cost is high when volumes are low....

BC

I understand everyone is saying that this is more complex than it seems, but as you suggest - the actual production of the part is not that huge - and it can be made from a tough aluminum or a steel. And then if you could make 100 at a time - I just can't see how it wold be more than 200 a piece. I make stuff (albeit much more simple - shock hats, retaining pieces from aluminum, steel shapes, etc) at emachineshop.com all the time - and once I get over about 20 pieces, the prices drop considerably.

So - who has the CAD drawing?

borland

Why wouldn't a refurbished gearset be viable with your proposed steel ring tooth insert?

Fabio421

What abou approaching one of the companies that already make aftermarket adjustable cam gears? They already have the fisxtures and tooling. It would just be a matter of changing the tooth profile and possibly adjusting some other minor dimensions. If these guys can seel cam gears for $105. I would think they could make and sell ours for less than the $400 that Porsche wants. Even with our smaller economy of scale.

http://www.aemelectronics.com/tru-ti...e-cam-gears-1/

A List Of Adjustable Cam Gear Mfg's.

ROG100

AEM was the first company I talked to 8>) outside of my own local machine shop

Melo928

Are 944 cam gears significantly different? Ten miles from my home is this company that has 944 gears in production. They might (should) be able to modify CAD to meet 928 design.

http://http://www.tommisbillet.com/s...che/index.html

ROG100

Borland I had not considered that so may be a possibilty - worth checking

ROG100

Melo928
No prices - how much? any ideas?
Roger

Melo928

I haven't ask but seems that price range is 100-150 Euros for other car models.

I was ones looking spacers for my Audi and saw that they has cam gears to 944, I assume that tooth profile is similar/close to 928 but center/orientation has differences.

Herman K

attached coating and BMW crank gear

ROG100

Herman,
Looks really cheap - perhaps under $100 8>).
If they can make it and ship it to me for less than $150 each in quantities of 50 I am all ears.
Roger