[Rick Lee]

Kurt, how does anyone know the real origin and/or quality of such bolts? I doubt the Porsche factory actually churns out flywheel bolts. They are probably made by a contractor, as are most of the parts on our cars. And the stuff at Fischer's is not some dollar-store junk. At least the storage boxes have German or Dutch writing on them and look imported to me. Are Porsche OEM flywheel bolts some sort of special carbon steel that no one is likely to replicate? If you use Loctite and the proper torque specs., what's the liklihood of a problem?

[Jazzbass]

That clears up a lot, guys. Guess owning a 3.2 Carrera doesn't afford me a lot of opportunities to buy CIS and MFI parts .

All in all, I think most of you actually agreed with my comments re: Pelican. Shipping is slow, and there is (IME) about a 50/50 chance something will be wrong with the order (wrong parts/shipped late/etc). And it is hit or miss - lots of stuff will be cheaper, and other stuff will be more expensive. However, I stand by my earlier remarks - for at least 75%-80% of the stuff I bought this year (suspension/body trim/interior stuff) PP was the cheapest. Trust me, I looked. In a lot of cases, their only competition was Performance and Tweeks. The other 20%? Shocks (shox.com), H4s (Vertex), Carpet/Interior (AppBiz).

As for the recent price increases - well - I think there's more to it than Wayne trying to buy more Ferraris. $140 for turbo tie rods! I paid something like $115 or so back in April. Why the steep increase? I think this is the more likely candidate:

1 Euro = $1.37

As long as the Euro keeps rising against the dollar, we're going to get screwed on parts coming out of Europe. Prices go up when a parts place runs out of stock and has to re-order at the new, higher price. Hence $140 turbo tie rods. At Vertex they are the same price. You might find them on eBay from someone who bought stock a while ago and can make money selling them at that price, but given what I know about the margins in retail, I'd bet a lot of money PP isn't buying them at $90 and marking them up to $140.

[little b]

HI!-jack athread,
as for "flywheel bolts".
If someone told me, "don't reuse them. They need to be replaced everytime." I'd not likely go buy those bolts in a Hardware store. No matter how cute the cashier is! (well, maybe i'd buy the bolts, and return them later for a second look...)
That's like saying "metal is metal. stick it in there!"
I guess you can save a buck or two...and then we drop the engine every week because you don't have the peace of mind.
I'd be willing to take someone's word from the factory, that they pick them up at the sie Deutche Hardware Mart....but for now....

[Charlie Stylianos]

BTW: CV bolts are HIGH strength (12.x I believe), as are the flywheel bolts. McMastercarr sells the appropriate high strength CV bolts, but wouldnt deviate from OEM on the flywheel stuff. Just MHO. Imagine the damage a ~10lb flywheel (with hardened starter ring) can cause spinning at 6500K inside the tranny bell housing.

Well, how cute did you say she was?

[Eli]

Originally Posted by jazzbass

1 Euro = $1.37

As long as the Euro keeps rising against the dollar, we're going to get screwed on parts coming out of Europe. Prices go up when a parts place runs out of stock and has to re-order at the new, higher price. Hence $140 turbo tie rods. At Vertex they are the same price. You might find them on eBay from someone who bought stock a while ago and can make money selling them at that price, but given what I know about the margins in retail, I'd bet a lot of money PP isn't buying them at $90 and marking them up to $140.

I'm with Chris on this one.

[Vicegrip]

Richard. I was not trying to jump in your stuff but of all the things you could pick to go cheap on, flywheel bolts?! Do some internet searching of fasteners and spec formulas. It is stunning to see how many different variables and conditions go into a fastener. Material alloy, hardness, surface hardness, depth of chemical and or mechanical hardening, method of manufacture, cold formed or machined, fully machined or cut close and ground to tolerance or some combination, +/-tolerance, radius of edges, the list goes on and on. Things like flywheel bolts are normally spec fasteners and go beyond just a grade. They made to a design spec laid out by the purchaser working is concert with the fastener makers.

You can bet you ass Porsche knows exactly where the critical fasteners they use come from, how they were made and by whom. Porsche is not going to save 2 DM on a part that can smoke 30,000DM worth of motor. With most supply contracts the fastener manufacturing companies are held to the design spec and are liable if the part fails to hold up to the standard.

[Rick Lee]

Alright, alright. I don't buy flywheel bolts there either. I'm just saying I've seen plenty of quality-looking, metric specialty hardware at Fischer's. I bought motor mount bolts there and the last ones I got were seat rail bolts, after I stripped one.

In other news, I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Dr. Timmins at super duper prices. Bilstein Sports all around for $425 delivered. Front and rear hollow t-bars for $570 delivered. Lots of bushings too. Last week he saved me a bundle on my 993 clutch parts. Send him your best prices and he will try to beat them.

[BillJ]

PP - Great information available both online and when you talk to them, BUT have had several issues with them sending the worng part or the right part to the wrong address. Needed a control arm bushing 3 days before an event, ordered it for overnight and they sent the right box - with a 944 bushing inside. Fortunately Charlie has some delrin he made work.

Paragon - ordered my boxster brake setup from them and was very happy with the service and the parts.

AutoAtlanta - try to never, ever, ever order from them. They are elitist, rarely have what they say they do, and their prices stink. Not a great combo

Assorted race/rebuild shops like Patrick Motorsports, AircooledRacing.com, Alan Johnson in TX, and Brad Roberts out in CA also get an important nod for the BTDT in racing experience. Real important to know and support the guys that race and are still developing new parts for the older cars.

[Parenn911]

Originally Posted by Siberian

I'm with Chris on this one.

Yeah, that is if your parts are coming from Germany. How much is one yuan equal to
Don't even get me started on the fuel pump relays and relays that PP sells which say "Made in China" on them.
I wouldn't say there were cheap$$, unless I was taking about the quality.
I now know what a melted fuel pump relay looks like .

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Parenn911

Yeah, that is if your parts are coming from Germany. How much is one yuan equal to
Don't even get me started on the fuel pump relays and relays that PP sells which say "Made in China" on them.
I wouldn't say there were cheap$$, unless I was taking about the quality.
I now know what a melted fuel pump relay looks like .

What Pari said. I got a couple of shady looking parts from them. When Wayne solicited for comments I gave them regarding this subject. I got a nastygram saying that's how he keeps his prices low.

Hmm... I have a oil pressure switch I need to install. It's not Bosch or Porsche..something else. Do I dare stick it in and risk having to drop again when it craps out early? Remember these cars are like Swiss watches.