Can
I did not ask you to delete posts and I'm sorry you took it that way. I have found your posts to be very informative so I hope you didn't take it personally. There isn't any excuse for Bilstein to leave the consumer hanging, just because you haven't had a problem doesn't mean others haven't. A public forum is for others to share ideas and experiences, both good and bad so we can learn from them. And in some cases, to vent frustrations.

The end result, Bilstein is blaming an H and R sway bar and won't take responsibility and getting a replacement is almost impossible.

BTW, Bilstein did not agree with the frozen sway bar, they claim it was too stiff. They also said that aftermarket droplinks will cause the same problem and void the warranty too.

 

Can, just because you have been lucky with your Bilstein set doesnt mean you need to enable Bilstein...there have been too many failures and poor customer service issues with Bilstein to ignore...my issue was with them was brand new out of the box and they wouldnt cover a cut PASM wire...this didnt have anything to do with after mkt sways or anything like it but I got the same poor customer service that DK and Bonehead received so what say you about this one????

Also, DK used the same installer you use and rave about...so if that sway was going to cause probs shouldnt Tom have said something?...if Tom felt it was ok to put that sway on there do you really think this was the cause of the problem???...I know you are an expert to some degree on this but do you know more than Tom???

So what if your coils snap or tear off at the bracket...would it be correct to void your warranty cause dont you have after market drop links on your car????...same thing.

 

Mact, no Tom has not been the only installer and someone else did work one week prior to the snap. OP already asked me to not post all information because Bilstein monitors these boards so I can't go further than this.

You are absolutely correct, Bilstein is not perfect - that has always been my point. Too many? Perhaps, but not more than any other supsension mods. Bilstein is a huge huge corporaton and what we post here is not going to change their fortune. I am mereley here to point out that in this forum, besides you, all else has been installer's error. And this thread has just proven my point again.

BTW, what we post here will not affect how many they sell. Tuners will continue to use, buyers will continue to buy. It's not going to hurt me - I am short position on TKA/Thyssenkrupp (JK). I am here to show - suspension problems exist with all companies. If you worry, keep it stock.

 

This is all a damm shame but seeing the installer is not an authorized installer Bilstien has an out. Is it right - heck no! If bilstien really cared about customers they could take your photos, replicate the set-up, and then make a "real" determination whether or not the H&R tie rods or the CO's where installed incorrectly or not. That is the difference between Grade A Mfg's and others.

Thank You Bilstien for making my decision easier, I am buying Ohlins.

Maybe you can run your own tests? I think you would have to determine if there was too much tension on the tab and if not, determine the shear stength of forged aluminum (I assume) and if it was a faulty design or bad casting.

 

Yes - but I am in the market right now and they are no longer on my list.

 

Look Can,
I think you're taking things a little too personally. I just asked you to be a little more discreet since we were PM'ing each other. At this time, Bilstein has rejected the claim and they will sell me one for 920 dollars. No discount, no thanks for being a customer and no apologies for broken equipment which they have conveniently blamed on someone else, which BTW has been their MO.

And for the record, I don't think I was doing the bashing. There have been many others responding here. Let's try to move forward, I'm buying a new CO and quite frankly very disappointed in Bilstein. I won't buy any aftermarket parts from them ever again not would I recommend them to anyone else

 

to clarify,
i had an alignment done 1 week prior to the snap. The car was aligned to factory specs. I really doubt that this contributed.

 

Yes buy Ohlins and share the experience - I am all for it. Other good suspension setups are KW, and if you are serious about the track, Moton and JRZ. I hope to separate the emotion (piece of **** denying my warranty) from real problems so we could learn from it.

Dave, I think I have been emotionally quite flat and not taking anything personally at all. I merely hope to share information not just about Bilstein but about suspension mod in general. I guess now we could talk freely since matter is done?
The suspension has been on your car for year and a half without a problem. That's the first clue. The H&R sway has been creaking like a barge for several weeks, that's second clue. The most damning evidence is of course the local Globe Tire People doing your Porsche suspension alignment one week prior. If this is Globe Manhattan Beach, they have somewhat of reputation http://www.yelp.com/biz/globe-tire-a...anhattan-beach .

Bilstein denies warranty based on stiffness partly because they did not know the whole story from you. They are no dummies - even as an amateur, I called the same thing - the sway bar in your signature - even before you told me the details, right?
I know it's a painful problem and I don't mean to make light of the situation at all. But let's stay emotionally flat and analyze this, how could Bilstein be liable if the problem is with the sway bar?

 

ok Bilsteins customer service is so poor its laughable. I have to beg Bilstein to sell me a shock and tell them to pity me 'cuz it's Christmas?? Bilstein will send me out a CO at 920.00 no discounts or anything. I talk to my installer and he thinks that that is too much, so he is willing to buy a set of 4 and break it for me and sell me the 1 for 650 or so. However, that is going to take time and at this point I just want my car back. So an installer can get a single coilover and sell it to me cheaper than going directly to the manufacturer??? Therefore, I have decided to purchase a single coilover from Bilstein at FULL MSRP. There's something wrong here....

Other companies will just replace the part in good faith or at least give you a discount. I really don't think that that is unreasonable and should be expected

To Can's question, here is what happened.

1. Coilover install 18 months ago. Car was never quiet and experienced a clunking sound when exiting my driveway and other uneven surfaces. This occurred from day 1. The car was aligned with a little more negative camber. -1.5 or -1.75 I think???


2. Had nylotron washers installed. Didn't help. I had the strut bearings replaced which helped for a short period of time. I then resigned myself that I would always have a noisy car.

3. 6-9 months ago I had an H and R sway bar installed set to soft setting. The car started to creak and I took the car back to the installer he lubed up the sway bar and creaking went away.

5. creaking sound came back about 1 month ago.

4. I recently replaced the tires and had the car had the car realigned and put back to factory specs. and the creaking sound was noticeably better. (one week before the crack!)

5. Crack!

I think one of the morals here is that Bilstein will not warrant their suspension if it has different droplinks or sway bars. This is a confirmed fact as I spoke with Bilstein several times this morning. They may not even warrant the suspension if it is aligned outside of factory specs! They asked me that on the phone and said that their equipment is only warranted with the car set at factory specs and factory equipment. So basically they don't have to cover anyone's car???

 

Thanks Dave, so after 5 pages, we finally have the whole story from you. But let me get this straight, to save $270, you are ok with Tom buying a whole coilover set and eats $2400? Dave, I don't feel sorry for you anymore, you got off cleanly; I don't feel sorry for Bilstein either (Company is so big our postings here matter little.); I feel sorry for your poor tuner, Tom!

Globe Tire works on the car's suspension one week prior to damage, the H&R sway creaks like a barge for a month, Bilstein POS refuses warranty because they think it's the sway bar: Tom is the innocent bystander here. He's not rich either.
I assume Tom knows about Globe Tire? He's truly a man with a golden heart.

Could we please call an end to this miserable thread - critical info not revealed, tuner suffers. You told me you know Bilstein monitors these forums so was the goal of this thread really for you to ask a question, or to pressure Bilstein? I don't like it and am fast losing interest.

 

Can
U misread my post . Tom offered to buy a set. I think that is is ridiculous that an aftermarket installer will sell me something ocheaper than the manufacuterer. For the record I am purchasing directly from bilstein at my installers advice so i i can just go on with my life. And if you call Tom he will tell u that I never asked or implied that he should absorb any of the cost. Bilstein are the real jerks here and I don't mind stating that publicly. For the record Tom has been great and I have stated that previously.

Furthermore ur right I can afford this and I would never ask an innocent bystander to pay for someone else's problems. If u don't like the thread then don't read it but I think potential customers should see how Bilstein treats owners.
Dave

 

This is such a sad thread. Nothing good or constructive for anyone or any company regardless of where you come down on the specific argument. People who modify their cars need to understand that when it breaks, they need to step up and fix it. There aren't any companies that are going to fix a problem possibly attributable to someone else or that they can't trace back to their own error. If you are unwilling to accept that then leave your car stock and trade it in for a new one every four years. My three rules for owning a Porsche:

• If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it.
• If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to modify it.
• If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.

Merry, Merry.........hope I haven't pissed anyone off too badly......

 

Can,

Your objectivity has left the building...you come across as a Bilstein paid shill now...OP's comment about him paying 900.00 for a single coil never implied he would have Tom eat the cost of a set...all he implied was Tom could buy at 600.00 a piece and he had to pay 900.00, this is called a fact...I too would be pissed...he was stating the injustice served by Bilstein and not a poor reflection on Tom from what I can decipher.

The more I read your posts you come across as a know it all paid shill...if Tom put that sway bar on OP's car and he is "the expert" Porsche installer, then he should have known better, otherwise you should change your tone and its implications...you exalt Tom yet it was him who installed that sway bar on OP's car right?...so if it was right for Bilstein to void the warranty based on aftermkt sways that could damage the coils, shouldnt the so called expert know this?(btw, I dont know Tom).

Bottom line is this, you probably dont care that Bilstein isnt taking care of its customers, all you seem to care about is the mental ************ exercise in trying to figure out "why" it happened...I am sure its a mental challenge to figure out why it happened yet you arent an expert on suspensions(since you pay other to do the install) or cars in general, yet you imply it was the sway bar that caused the failure...care to provide some data/proof?...well you cant now can ya.

You are losing credibility real fast in my eyes...one day when your suspension fails, many of us will have popcorn in hand laughing our asses off cause you will prob learn the hard way what customer service veritably means...but dont worry, I promise I wont blame it on your Tarrett aftermkt droplinks(btw, your warranty is void now) or after market gold plated valve stem caps...

 

Mact, read my post previously. A local tire shop works on the car one week prior to the break. Tuner hasn't touched the car for months.

Please refrain from personal attack; state your thinking but calling me "paid shill/know it all" leads you nowhere. "Laughing your *** off" if/when my suspension fails does not speak highly of you either. Calling people names is easy, also a two way street that I will refrain from at this point, but I must add that the jokes are on the vindictive side and the smilies don't help. This is a sad thread and getting sadder by the minute.

 

Not sure if I agree with you. Isn't that what a warranty is for? Judging by your sig, when your suspension breaks you're in trouble too. By you're argument, those poor 2009 GT-R owners who launched their cars and fried their transmissions should have had to pay for a new transmission, otherwise they weren't rich enough to buy it?

Did anyone tell us to modify the car? No
Did anyone tell us that other performance upgrades such as droplinks and sway bars void the warranty? No
Can I afford it? (really not anyone's business and besides the point)
Do I want to pay for it? no

At this point, I'm not sure if it matters what the root cause is. The part is broken and it needs to be fixed. What matters is the customer service, or lack of, from the manufacturer.

I paid for the new coilover, did I mention I paid full retail MSRP and had to beg them to sell me one?? I could have bought the whole set for 1500.00 more!

I just don't think that this is a way for a company to treat it's customers. C'mon, you guys really think it is right for Bilstein to make me grovel and then sell me one at full MSRP?