924Board.org

[bass gt]

Hi Guy's,

Does anyone here know where i can source new cylinder head studs/bolts for my 931? I am also interested in getting a copper head gasket. Does anyone have any experience of these? I dont want to change the thickness of the gasket to alter the CR, just improve the head sealing in preparation for a little uplift in the boost!!

Many Thanks!

Steve

[Smoothie]

I put a set of Raceware head studs in not long after I got the car over 10 years ago. -Didn't do anything with the head gasket - that's still the same oe part that was there when I got it. Have turned up the boost to varying levels - 10psi, 12 psi, no problems.
[ http://www.raceware-fasteners.com ]
_________________
"..it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff."


'82 924T, US version, dark green metallic, 5 speed Audi 016G gearbox

[gohim]

A couple of great places to get quality engine parts at fair prices would be ZIMMS, and EBS (engine builders supply) I think they are both in TX.

You can also try "europroducts" (in FL I think?). I have not purchased Porsche Parts from this company, but I have bought some parts for my VW Jetta from them this past year (they sell on eBay, as well as phone and INTERNET), and the service was excellent.

Performance Products (in CA, have had great experiences with them). PP is one of a few NON-Porsche Dealer Companies with a purchase agreement that is allowed to purchase Genuine Porsche Parts directly from the PCNA (Porsche Cars North America) Warehouse. Occasionally PP shows up at the Pomona, CA Porsche/Corvette/Antique Car Swapmeet to clear out obsolete, discontinued, sample and prototype products, and customer returned items at unbelievable prices.

DO NOT ORDER FROM Automobile Atlanta, or GPR (seems that they merged and/or are now joint marketing), I had a problem with GBR and many problems with AA. There have been many documented cases of problems with AA, and they charge ridiclous shipping fees. You must be caseful because AA has been selling on eBay under numerous screen names. They also have many Negative FeedBack Comments. I have rear that the service is much better if you go there is person (don't ever pay for a part without being able to leave the place with it).

VERTEX (FL), offers good prices, but I have been told that they operate from a garage behind a house (nothing wrong with that). Actually instock position is poor (they may say that everything is instock, but they order many items after you place your order and pay them). AND NEVER ORDER ANY REBUILT PRODUCT FROM VERTEX. It appears that their idea of a rebuilt replacement part is a spray can of black paint and IF YOU ARE LUCKY, A FEW REPLACEMENT SEALS. Not even a full set of new seals.

I have not ordered from TWEEKS since they were bought up by Mid-America years ago, and relocated (to IL?). The biggest problem with TWEEKS appears to be phone sales people who are not familiar with Porsche Parts (unlike the staff under previous ownership), and numerous obvious mistakes in their catalog (see earlier comment on familiarity). They do have some true bargains prices scatter throughout the catalog (maybe huge purchase mistakes from long ago?).

Oops, almost forgot... "www.stopshopanddrive.com". Incredible prices, great in stock position. Fast shipping from multiple warehouses, and great customer service.

[goturbo]

I am rebuilding my engine right now and I have already done some gruntwork on this and have gotten some real good input from folks on this board. gohim pretty much covered all the bases and I have had experience with most of the places that he mentioned with similar results. As far as the head gasket is concerned, most folks will agree with what smoothie said. I have heard that it is a fairly robust gasket that will tolerate a fair ammount of power increase from many folks on this board as well as the people EBS who work with racers who have done all kinds of stuff to their cars and still use the stock head gasket. With that said I can tell you that I have shopped around and EBS seems to not only know their stuff, but they had the cheapest price on the head gasket kit. I just recently ordered there complete oem engine gasket kit and it was quite a bit less than the nearest competetor. I don't remember the exact price because I have been ordering so much stuff lately but they were the cheapest on the gasket set, water pump and the engine bearings.

Buying parts from these suppliers is tricky business. The key is figuring out who buys what from whom. I have ordered stuff from the Porsche dealership before and when I picked it up it was in the orrigional box that was shipped to them, and it came from Automobile Atlanta!! That is not to say that it always comes from them, but this part did. I know for a fact that Eurowebparts uses other parts distributers like AA and perhaps PP, but they still often have better prices than either of them on stuff.

But hey, sometimes just getting the parts is a challenge in it's self...

[jpab924]

where are you getting your boost controller from?

[goturbo]

I am getting my boost controller from an eBay store. These guys are always selling the Turbosmart controller and their price is the best that I have found.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7922323589&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

Have not ordered it yet, but it is on the list. I've been busy gettin the hard to find items first ...like everything else.

[jpab924]

Yeah, that looks nice, but a little overkill. .....and at that price....damn!

[goturbo]

Yea I know but for what it does you'd have to spend hours horsing around with cobbling other systems togother.

It already has an adjustalbe switching function that can activate other relays, in my case the water spray and the alcohol injection. Plus it comes with the control valve to operate the waste gate so I don't need to dork around with fooling the waste gate some other way. As you probably read, it has two set points; one for driving to work, and one for blowing the doors off Billies rice eater on the way home!!

If you think about it it does quite a bit for that price. I have seen other 'designer' systems sell for $600 or $800 and IMHO they don't stack up tho the turbosmart. Plus this is in a nice small neatly mountable package, not some goofy box that gets velcrowed to the top of the dash.

But I guess If I were a goof that drove a lowered Honda Civic put a loudner on my exhaust tip and an external turbo blow off valve that had a megaphone on it I'd probably want that big turbo controller box sittin right on top of my dash, lit up with all my other interrior neon. Did I say that out loud again...

...oops I digress. Sorry about that. To each their own, I suppose I should be happy that they share a similar passion for automobiles. So I'm happy see.

[gohim]

You gotta be careful even when you buy parts from an authorized Porsche Dealership. A good example of this is a couple of cases from three or four years ago, that were reported by Members on the Rennlist. One of whom bought some of the small gaskets/seals that fit under the door handles, and the other had the front of engine service performed by his local Authorized Porsche Dealership.

After a little over a year several of the door gaskets were cracked and rotting, so the guy took them back to the Porsche Dealership where he bought them expecting the parts to be replaced under the 2-year blanket warranty that Porsche AG offers on Genuine Porsche Parts. The Porsche Dealership refused to replace the parts under warranty and admitted that the reason they would not replace them was because the parts were not Genuine Porsche Parts.

Turns out that the Porsche Dealership bought the parts from Audi, because the Audi wholesale price was lower than the Porsche AG price. But the warranty from Audi was only 1 year. The Lister paid full Porsche AG List Price for the parts, and bought the parts from the authorized Porsche Dealership, because he wanted the 2-year warranty. He got ripped-off. If I were the Parts Department at the Dealership, I would have replaced the parts for free as I would have felt obligated.

In the other case, the Porsche Dealership initially refused to make good after one of the Non-Porsche AG supplied belts broke and the usual valve damage occured. That particular person went back and raised a huge stink, after which the Dealer Parts and Service Departments rethought their position, and repaired the car (at either no charge, or at a low charge for some additional parts or work that was done).

My local Ford Dealerships buy Gates rubber hoses, and belts, and charge the Ford Motor Company Price. That sucks because the Ford Price is higher than the Gates Rubber Company List Price. The Ford hoses are actually better quality than the Gates hoses, so when I want Genuine Ford hoses, I order them from an Internet based company instead of the Ford Dealerships.

This could be a critical problem if you buy your timing and balanceshaft belts from a authorized Porsche Dealership thinking that you will be protected against damage from belt failure for two years, and it turns out after one of the belts fails in a year, that the Porsche Dealership bought the belts from a Gates or Continental hose wholesaler, and the parts that you bought for a high price thinking you were getting a good warranty, actually did not come with any warranty and you are stuck with a big repair bill.

PCNA does not buy parts from AA. If you ever get parts from an authorized Porsche Dealership that have other suppliers names stamped on them, you better question the Parts Counter Manager about the true origin of the parts you are buying. Could be as simple as the parts you were given had been previously shipped to another party or company and returned to the Dealership where you are getting them from. Or, it could be that the parts were not bought from PCNA by the Dealership, and you are at risk, without the warranty that you thought you were purchasing when you went to the Dealership.