Found an interesting article tonight about how Porsche creates their numbering designation for parts. I had a solid understanding of how they were assigned, but it's worth a quick read.

Structure of The Part Number Code

The Porsche Part Number system are made up of eleven digits (000-000-000-00). The are broken down into three groups of three digits and a final set of two digits.

Porsche PET numbers for your Porsche

Describing a part over the telephone to a supplier can work, but sometimes only the correct Porsche Part Number will do. Porsche maintain their own official Porsche (PET) Electronics Parts catalogue to make life easier. These PET catalogues are available in PDF format on the Porsche.com website and free to use and download. We have listed them all in one place to make it easy for you to find the one your looking for. Take a look at the List of Porsche PET catalogues.

The First Group of Three Digits
XXX-000-000-00
This is normally quite straight forward. The first three digits normally correlate to the model type tat the parts for first designed for, such as the 911, 828, 964 etc. However Porsche have been known to use the same part number on another model type, so its not always as obvious as it may seem.
Some additional points to consider are:
Typical Porsche model type three digit prefixes include 901, 902, 911, 912, 930, 914, 928, 964, 986, 996, 997, 991 etc;
999, 900, or N three digit prefixes typically mean a component re-used on multiple models.

The Second Set of Three Digits
000-XXX-000-00
The second set of three digits tell us more about the actual part we are looking for. The first of the three digits indicate which subsystem of the car the part belongs to i.e., transmission, engine, suspension etc. The second pair of digits normally refer to the diagram number in the parts catalogue itself. Ere are the main categories: 100 Engine; 200 Fuel and Exhaust; 300 Transmission; 400 Front Axle/Steering; 500 Rear Axle; 600 Wheels/Brakes; 700 Levers/Pedals; 800 Body; and 900 Electrical.

The Third Set of Three Digits
000-000-XXX-00
These third set of digits seem to be the code for the actual part number. We know of no particular relevance to these numbers or how they are defined. Perhaps one of our readers can share their knowledge.

The Final Two Digits
000-000-000-XX
The best way to describe the relevance of the last two digits is that they represent the Modification Number for the associated part. The original item will end in 00. Any subsequent modifications to the par's original specification means the number will increment by one digit. This could mean a material change, a finish change or something else. This is just a general guide. As mentioned earlier, there will be exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking this should serve you well. It's a good idea to get a copy of the PET catalogue for your particular model of Porsche. They are freely available for download from the Porsche website. We have placed links to each of the PET catalogues here.


http://p101tv.com/article_view.php?article=2

 

great info
now can you show the wheel they spin to determine pricing?

 

..

 

That is an old wheel and has been replace , new number is 928-123-456-$$.

 

Yes, the superceded wheel has more '0's'.

 

This is not exactly accurate. Although the second set of digits does refer to what system the part is for, I don't believe it's related to the catalog diagrams. For instance XXX-351-XXX-XX is front brake components and XXX-352-XXX-XX is rear brake components. Brakes are 600 grouping in the catalog. Similarly, front suspension is 343, and rear suspension is 333 in the part numbers, whereas they are 400 and 500 respectively in the catalog groupings.

 

My memory is fuzzy but, a thousand years ago, I remember hearing that the ninth number 000-000-00X-00 determined left or right. As in the front rotors. Left being odd, and right even...

...or the other way round.

 

Local Porsche center use pricing formula Price In German Porsche center x 2 + 100 euros for all parts which cost above 100 euros in Germany. For 10 euro parts they add only 10 euros after standard x 2 multiplication.

 

FWIW, that pricing 'wheel' only spins in one direction, and is accumulative. ie: It never reuses a lower price, only adds to the previous price.

Local dealers have a free hand in deciding what the parts costs are, witness Erkka's example in Finland. I dropped into the loacl dealer in Pasadena, Ca, for an oil drain plug gasket. At the time, the PCNA retail was less than a dollar. Rusnak Parts Counter Price was over $5 for a single seal. I mentioned to the salesman that Ionly need a couple, not the box of ten, thinking I might get him to blink on the price. He didn't. I mentioned the PCNA list price, which he then confirmed. But he still wanted over $5 for a single seal. This is a pretty regular reminder about how fortunate we are to have our specialised vendors supporting our particular habit. "I'm not an addict, I can quit any time." Repeat.

 

When I got my 82 the first thing I wanted to do before driving it was change all the fluids .... all I needed was an oil filter from the local Porsche dealer.

Price $37.50 ... when I pushed him for a trade price I got it for $32.00 ... thieves. From Roger it was about $6.50 at the time.

We are indeed lucky to have the support of our vendors.