dgjks6

Last time I went to change the oil on the 997 non of the local places carried an oil filter. This time I decided to order a few ahead of time and compare. As an aside the macan oil filter is the same

I ordered a Porsche one from Porsche, a Hengst, and a mahle. The OEM porsche fitler came in a plastic bag with no o-ring and was $25. The Mahle came in a box with an O-ring. And guess what? They both had the exact same Mahle part number and wiriting on the filter on yellow that said Mahle. And it was 1/2 the price without the Porsche bag.

Quadcammer

Yeah this is well known that you can get oe parts in the bosch, mann, mahle box for much cheaper

dgjks6

I've read that too. And the last brakes I did came in a Porsche bix and said Texter. But then everyone says says the ones they give to Porsche are "special" - maybe different quality. This is the exact same typing and part number on the top.

And Porsche charge extra for each o-ring and washer.

Bruce In Philly

I order from Pelican and there you can choose Porsche labeled or OEM.

For the most part, I have no problem ordering OEM stuff after a bit of research. Plugs, filters, are really the same stuff in our cars. Suspension parts like control arms, I believe are the same if you buy TRW but I am not completely sure.... I do buy the TRW OEM parts though. Belt... I just purchased the OEM Continental belt.... I could care less actually about a belt.

Suspension items like shocks I believe you have to buy Porsche labeled (they are marked Bilstein on the originals).... I just did this .... as the after market Bilsteins are known to be slightly different in performance as demanded by Porsche.

For things like heat exchangers, I have purchsed OEM and saw the part came in a white box and had the exact same manufacturer's marks as the one I took out.

Regarding textar brake pads...... I was in a situation where I had to buy fast.... Pelican had Textar pads listed as OEM but the picture was different as the Textars did not have those disc weights on them.... since, the picture there has changed and they now look exactly like the Porsche labeled units.... I purchased the Porsche labeled then. Now I would probably buy the Textars or maybe just switch to ceramics.

Motor mounts were are oddity.... Porsche units are made by Corteco... Pelican sells Corteco labelled OEM units but when I ordered them, one was used... the other looked old.... something is weird about the Corteco supply chain, so I sent them back and got Porsche labeled.... exact same by the way.

In short, with a little research, you can save a ton of money.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

user 72902

So you are saying that Bilstein supplies OEM suspensions for Porsche and then manufactures a series of direct factory replacements (B4, B6, B8) that have different performance abilities? For what reason and why waste resources? No flame just trying to understand. Perhaps I don't follow your statement. Peace

Bruce In Philly

As I understand it, to protect the value of buying Porsche labeled parts, Porsche demanded of Bilstein that in order to be a supplier to Porsche, they can't sell an aftermarket unit exactly like they supply to Porsche. The Bilstein aftermarket, ride harder. Further, the PASM Bilstein has the cable coming out the other end. There are differences and these are a requirement to be a Porsche supplier. This does not appear to be true for all parts.

I replaced my shocks on my 2000 Boxster S after around 150K miles with Bilstein aftermarkets.... they rode very differently and everyone said they were the replacement. Of course I was comparing a used shock to a new one, but I am still sure the ride was not the same. Oh and the aftermarket units are painted different colors.

That is what I understand.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Rikky001

Fully agree with Bruce.
Me, being in South Korea, I order most parts from Pelican parts, easy enough.
I bought the OEM Textar from Pelican - and they arrived with the weights, they were very very cheap but oh man, they create a lot of dust. ah well, they were cheap and do the job fantastic so nothing to complain. Next time I will try the Hawks, they are not that expensive either.

Devil Boy

O'Reilly's carries the WIX brand filter #57211 but they keep them behind the counter and not on the shelf so you have to ask for it.

phaphaphooey

This is true. However, if you are **** about oil filters, the Wix canister filters have a lower efficiency rating than the Mahle/Mann filters that you can order. Even though the distinction is likely academic, it bothers me enough that I order a Mann or Mahle as opposed to doing the easier thing and popping down to my local O'Reilly's and picking up a Wix for the 997.2 when I need it.

user 72902

That's interesting and thanks for your insight. I recently replaced my suspension from a non PASM to the Bilstein B6 setup reusing my springs. While the two systems share the same ride height the B6 is the sport version. I agree with your Boxster observations that comparing new/different components to old/worn is subjective at best. However my feedback is that my new setup is slightly more stiff and I get a little more feedback through my feet, rear, and hands versus before. Thanks again.

Bruce In Philly

I should have said the Boxster shocks, albeit old, were not in need of replacement. They were not leaking. I changed them because I had a broken spring in the front... really weird, the bottom 5" was snapped. Must have been a flaw in the metal.... anyway, can't just replace one spring, so that turned into both fronts, which turned into all fours.... ah hell, just replace everything....... you know how that goes for us neurotics.

So I still stand by my (understandably suspect) opinion that the ride was never harder than after the Bilstein aftermarket installation. At that time for those models, Bilstein had two aftermarket models, regular and heavy duty. The word was the heavy duty was the "S" version and I had a Boxster S.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Devil Boy

No problem. I've been on this forum long enough to know there are a lot of people that are just as **** about such things. For everyone else, there are more affordable and more convenient alternatives.