strathconaman

You mean like engines that grenade without warning? There is a reason why the 996 is the cheapest 911 you can buy.

That being said, I do have an IMS solution in my car.

My impression of the coilovers is that they are of good quality, but the support is lacking. If they went out of business tomorrow, it wouldn't make the customer service experience any worse.

Scott at Team Harco

That's definitely the way I'm taking this.

I don't have the money that, I suspect, you have for luxury items. I work on my own cars. I have to. To pay someone else to do what I can do, would mean I'd be driving a Toyota or a Honda (and by that, I mean a basic POS).

Sorry - we're not all able to just open our wallets and let our every desire be realized. Carry on.

strathconaman

Maybe the real legacy of the 996 is that it has allowed the rest of us to enjoy owning a 911. Maybe it is better that they are kept on the road with good parts rather than rusting in barns waiting for the "best parts".

mrdeezy

I would never be able to afford paying a shop to do maintenance on my car or any of the old euro cars I have owned. It's borderline crazy to buy a 20 year old European car and have to pay shops thousands upon thousands of dollars a year for maintenance. I can understand some people do that. But those people would probably buy something more reliable with the same features like a 997. The cheaper parts for these cars are not like half price they are more like 30% less. I think its not worth it. With the money saved from doing my own labor I want the good stuff. When I hard a part on my Ohlins coilovers go out, I tried to contact them three times and each time they responded to the initial communication and then completely ghosted me. So the followup service is always a bit inconsistent pretty much anywhere.

strathconaman

It is kind of sad that we can't get good service, even from good companies. I wrote to Falkin looking for some tire measurements, and the info they gave me was obviously wrong. At least I got an answer I guess. I am still waiting for Raceworks to get me my top mounts...well, waiting is the wrong word.

Scott at Team Harco

There would be a lot of dropped jaws if I advertised what I paid for my 911. The 996 is the only model that I could realistically consider, given my liquid assets. No regrets. Loving it everyday.

Those that think only the best parts and the most money spent is somehow a badge of honor, are in a different world from me.

I applaud your effort to think outside the box and take a chance on an unproven suspension kit. It seems the components are of reasonable quality, but the customer service is clearly not there. Hope you find a way to complete the installation to your satisfaction.

cds72911

Every time I call Bilstein, I get a live person at the end of the line and they are always helpful. Parts are readily available, and service (like rebuild) is accessible and reasonably priced. I'm afraid I seem like a shill for the company, but it isn't intentional. I've always gotten my money's worth (value) out of every one of their products I've ever purchased. As a result, I recommend them enthusiastically.

dporto

I think ^^this^^ will have the overall effect of "thinning the herd" so to speak. I see an awful lot of young folks (in their 20's) who have the means and enthusiasm to buy these cars but not to properly maintain them. We all know what maintenance deferred means for them. They'll never reach the lower numbers of the air-cooled cars, but the stock of good, well maintained street cars will dwindle to the point where the $15k examples will be few and far between.

Quadcammer

so for the people who like to poo-poo the cheaper brands, have you ever compared the two in person and if so, can you elaborate on what was so bad on the cheaper units.

When we really look at a coilover, its not rocket science. Sure, for a top level race car, tuning of the shock will be important. For the average weekend warrier, you're looking to get a stiffer ride, less body roll, acceptable ride quality, and decent longevity. I haven't found any indication that feal or similar are not going to deliver any of that.

Feal COs have been used on subarus for years with good reliability. They are rebuildable @ $75 each, they use swift springs on the higher end versions, and they have performed well on my track car.

The difference between feal and ohlin (maybe someone can point them out) will not be noticeable to the average HPDE driver (here come all the Senna's telling me they can feel everything). I'd rather use the $1500 to $2k difference for tires and DE entrance fees.

cds72911

Cool. Enjoy whatever you choose. I don't know why anybody would care if you choose to buy a more economical coilover (or other part). It's your car and your choice. Nobody else's opinions matter.

For my part, I'll continue feel pretty good about all of the hours of engineering and real world racing test development of the brand I chose. To me, it is worth a few extra dollars to get that quality, support, parts, and service - and to know that there is a reliable company that will stand behind their products, and answer the phone when I call. Others may not value that the same as I do.

I'll continue to try to steer people in the direction of the choice I think is smartest. I don't have feelings if my input is ignored - it's their/your car. Enjoy whatever you choose.

808Bill

What's really sad is, RW is watching...I got this PM (below) from him on 7/12 after I made a comment about communication.

"Someone said you tried to email us, I’ve checked everywhere but don’t see it. We are in the midst of a domain transfer so emails through the site might be going to limbo during the transfer. That being said, how can I help you?"

strathconaman

I see it the other way. The availability of "OEM" parts keeps them on the road. Long before "numbers matching" concourse 996s fetch real money, cars that run on gas will be legislated off the road.

dporto

Huh? What's "the other way"? I didn't say anything about "numbers matching" or "concourse quality" or even "fetching real money"... I think you totally missed my point... which was; the price point that these cars currently demand, is making them available to people who either can't afford to, or don't care to properly maintain them (i.e. they're "disposable" - this happened with the earlier cars as well, they were just made in much smaller numbers)). OEM parts are still generally expensive (compared to parts for non-Porsche cars), so many folks simply ignore warning signs/symptoms or use cheap or even used parts for many repairs - yes this keeps them "on the road" but for how long is questionable. As for fossil fuel burning vehicles being legislated off the road, that won't happen in my lifetime. There are simply way too many cars currently on the road, and too many people, jobs, businesses dependent on them to just go away...it just won't happen for quite a while (>40 years). You haven't even begun to hear the arguments against the production of electric vehicles (including real - non subsidized costs, environmental impact, etc). When they actually start to become a large scale alternative to gas engines you'll start to hear the kicking and screaming from the fossil fuel interests...

jobyt

100% this. These yahoos took my money, did not communicate for over a month ("oh, sorry, we had a bunch of orders and sent yours overseas. but we're getting new stuff made now, still want?") and then refused to honor a refund promise.

Hard pass would be my advice.

strathconaman

You didn't get your coilovers at all? WTF.