I guess thats whats often referred to as "improving the product" ie; so the car doesn't wind up in the wall or over a cliff all the time .

 

I bent one of my drop links last summer and even though the dealer said they would not be covered under warranty, Bilstein covered them when I contacted them directly. They sent a set of the new curved design immediately. Excellent customer service. Thanks, Ryan.

That said, I chose to install a set from Tarret Engineering. Manufactured from billet aluminum, they are adjustable at both ends so you can dial in a perfect fit for whatever setup you are running. The new Bilstein's are not adjustable and appear to be a (strengthened?) steel rod (same as the originals) about the diameter of a pencil - not nearly as robust as the Tarett offering. So, imo, if you are going to purchase replacements, go with an aftermarket vendor. Even if you can get a "free" upgrade from Bilstein, just know there are better solutions out there. Best,

 

Hah no kidding! Not to over-generalize but when it comes to business Ze Germans can prone to this sort of behavior if History shows anything They never fess up to being wrong about anything and then one day the "thing" that's wrong or needed fixing just suddenly gets "fixed". Oh and they shoot the messenger

 

Paul this is merely your personal preferences/opinions - justify or not is 100% dependent on each driver. Same with overkill, torture, etc. - merely subjective. Towards that end, I agree and respect your wish.

OTOH, as I have mentioned, this is not necessarily true. You don't have to drive the car at all-out level, and you don't have to be a professional driver, to appreciate a reduction in weight transfer.
A body roll could be felt at 30 mph, you don't have to take a car to 150 mph to see a difference. This is the very basis of suspension modification: as stiffness improves, up to a point of course, handling improves. The improvement comes from a reduction of weight transfer, both lateral, and front/back. You don't need to take a VW GTI to the track to know that it's a better handling car than its lesser breathen. I hope I have provided enough evidence that improvement in handling with a weight transfer reduction should not be a point of contention here.
Where you are correct of course, is that as handling improves, ride suffers. But again, that is a personal choice that each of us has to make.

 

For more interesting Moton leaking stories: http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-a...w=1048&bih=641
Does this mean I wouldn't use Moton for the track? No.

eclou the mod of this forum, takes his Bilstein to 186 mph at the track. I am on year 3-4 of my Bilstein, not a single problem except a smile on my face.
Does this mean Bilstein is perfect? No.

If I look enough I will find horror stories with all suspension mods, all ECU mods, all exhaust mods, etc. Remember the moment you mod, is the moment that you have willingly taken the car our of its intended working parameters - for suspension it is the ride height for one (changing angle of link of sway bar to coilover). No after market suspension mod will be the same as stock for reliability - this is the price one pays for taking the car towards its full handling potential.

This is the price we pay for our passion, for taking our hobby to the edge. What will I do if my Bilstein breaks tomorrow? The day after tomorrow, another Bilstein, or KW, or TPC, etc., goes in! I will have to sell my Turbo otherwise because my personal preference is that the stock Turbo is way too soft, with too much body roll, the steering is numb, and the rear end has too much movement, etc.

 

very well put. Like I said, the core of the problem is Porsche didn't put the right suspension on the car! LOL. Seriously though, modding a car is a love/hate relationship for me. Most cars (every car that I have had) I have felt the need to "improve" on the car with aftermarket modifications. The downside of course is that when something goes wrong, you can't go to the dealership and say "you deal with it".

 

Is it a good time yet for me to discuss the original problem of this thread? To me, fixing the problem is one thing, but more important is the question, why. Why did it break? I wonder if any pro lurking here has been looking at that component in dk's signature like I have per instruction of my suspension advisor (JK), and wonder?

There are 3 parts involved in this break, the coilover mount, the link, and something else.. We've been discussing the mount blaming everything on the Bilstein, and the link, but where does that force come from? The other end of the link - that H&R bar.

Sway bar has a urethrane type compound bushing around which it rotates. Over time, the sway bar *could* bind, or even more, tends to bind (my GMG did in a big way). A free sway is supposed to drop freely; with binding, it's stuck in place to varying degree.
Remember that the relationship between sway bar, link, and coilover is 3D and that the link has angles. When the wheel turned, the angle is acute. In a perfect storm, the sway bar binds at a very acute angle and got caught, the stress caused shearing of the mount.

dk you might want to get rid of that signature line until warranty claim is settled - just kidding. I really hope they will replace for you free and clear. Some interesting reading:http://www.google.com/search?q=sway+bar+binding&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

Thanks for the advice. Need to lift my car to see whats on there.

 

I think they have already Can. Sharky has given the scoop on this one. Btw has your car still got the old straight rods on it? If so it may be time to get her back into the shop.

 

I was going to spill more ink but will stop for now, having spent some time trying to help dk10438 deciphering what exactly happened that led to the broken link. The story is a bit, actually a lot, more convoluted but I'll let dk fill in the details if/when he sees fit.

For now, let me just add this:
1. My system is going on nearly 4 years now without ever having a problem. I do not know why, but perhaps it's a combination of the ride height I use (10mm lowering) and the GMG sway bar (not to suggest that it's the best at all!). My drop link has NEVER popped, despite of being pushed past normal limits by professional driver (Tom and tester for Car and Driver mag). I got Alex's Sharklinks for safety (thanks Alex) but have never used it.
2. I do think that the drop link problem has something to do with altered geometry caused by
a. after market sway bars having longer arms than stock (something that the Bilstein link was not designed for), changing angles of interaction between coilover, link, and sway bar, and
b. ride height alteration, and
c. increase stiffness of that sway bar, and last but not least,
d. bar binding
3. The key to my suspension "luck" IMHO is that I have only Porsche expert work on my car, mostly Tom of Lucent. If you are in Northern Calif., there is Sharkwerks; East Coast, TPC, AWE; Florida, Champion. I cannot emphasize this point often enough. Really, I CANNOT emphasize this point enough.
4. The only problem I have had is I smile and grin too much when I am in this car. If you like to stiffen your car, my rec. remains two: Bilstein or KW.

 

1) I suspect you're just not driving it hard enough. Now Can please dont tell me you've been holding out on us . Anyway regardless of what the new story is (and we know that rarely the full story is ever put on the table up front in these instances) but no which way you look at it the new bent rods werent made for nothing so please put those sharklinks on immediately! I would not like to hear a sad story from you later on n the piece.
4) Pleased to hear. Now my only problem is some of these stories make me smile and grin too much..

 

Paul, no offense meant regarding the smile comment - was really meant to recruit people to share the fun, not to make fun of stock cars. Anyway the popping has been a puzzle, because of some of the following points/observations (by others as well, not just me):

1. For 997 Turbo, most people do NOT have the popping problem. I am sure you know the negative press makes any problem more "popular" than it is. This is the puzzle: why on some cars, and not others?!!
2. What I suspect, is that certain combination of drop link, and longer after-market sway bar, and ride height, alter the geometry more than others, and require more robust linkage. In this sense, Alex is correct.
3. Why does after market sway alter the geometry and why is it harmful in front? After market sways have longer arms. The longer arms increase the angle of connection beyond that was intended. It is particularly harmful in front because when you turn the steering wheel, it changes the direction of the force on the sway bar. What is supposed to be up and down, is now sideways or diagonal, creating a shear force instead of an up and down force. This is why a lot of problems happen when you are backing the car out: it's the severe/acute angle of turn.
4. Bilstein releases the more robust link to take care of these outliers IMHO, as they realize people are lowering the car a lot, or use AF sway a lot. If anyone here has a link that hasn't popped in 3 years, it's not going to pop now. Doesn't mean the newer link is not more robust or better, or that it will never pop, that I agree. But *really* it's a very minor point - because it's not like something that comes back and back.
See picture below of my front suspension with steering wheel completely turned, with Tarett drop links http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/996-997-suspension/996-997-swaybars~drop-links/list.htm. It shows how the drop link is now sideways and shearing instead of activating up and down.

 

No offense meant Can. Just teasin.....+it wasn't really applicable to you anyway. I was mainly referring to the incomplete tales of woe that often appear on this forum omiting key relative points....

And looking at your picture, aside it showing that your car needs more washing attention under the gaurds (JK) that rod does sit too close for comfort even though it does clear by a few hairs or so. Now whether BS conceded the new link was required to accommodate outside factors with different sways is beside the point. It just sits too close to be considered a good job in my books. I bet you wouldnt find an end result that looked like that on anything Porsche has built onto their GT2/3 cars.
Get the sharklinks on..

 

See PM about all my links Paul.
No the rod doesn't sit too close for comfort: you want the activation point to be close to the sway bar, not far away, because then you risk bending the bolt. Also, what you are looking at is standard Tarett drop link that have been used many years on very many generations of hobbyists' Porsche cars - not something recently made or invented! Whether you get it from Tarett, or ERP, or whoever, it is the same and it is time tested. However it looks close or not right, it is a time tested and proven product.
Any rubbing would cause noise or peeling of paint, and my car with this combination is does not have noise, pop, or any problem whatsoever with fitment. I don't want to upset one vendor vs. the other, or to say mine is best, but Bilstein combination with GMG sway bar is a reasonably safe one, and not a bad one to duplicate for any one interested.
You are asking many good questions - first one is the same that I asked Tom.

BTW, the link here is the Tarett drop link with heim joint that I had in the past; I now actually have the stock Bilstein link in. I switch and play around with the suspension toys.

 

Actually i was looking at the other end.....up near the support plate/bracket....the one which was levered off the op's strut. No issues with the clearance on the sway.