BROKEN - Brand New Elephant Racing Torsion Bars

[lawbrkr_de]

I bought new Quick Change Torsion Bars from Elephant Racing 2 weeks ago.
It was installed by a workshop who is building race cars.
They also did a perfect alignment and corner balancing.

My first ride was a fast drive through the German Eifel near the legendary Nürburgring.

On Saturday I just wanted to go for a quick ride.
As I left the gas station I heard a loud BANG and it was louder than my exhaust.

So I stopped and walked around the car. The rear right side sits on the wheel.
I barely made it home.
Yesterday the same workshop disassembled the rear.

Look what happend.

Now the worst. The elephant racing service is really bad and slow and they want to check if it´s their fault.

Look at the pictures - a brand new Torsion Bar.
The rusty spot is an inclusion of iron (which happens during the transformation from iron to steel) And if it´s done wrong you have these inclusions which are a weak spot in steel.

I asked them for new T-Bars and of course for the costs to replace it and do a new alignment.

Am I asking to much?

[Mahler9th]

Thanks for sharing this "heads up."

I hope that the vendor takes care of its customers.

Years ago I met a young Porsche enthusiast while waiting in line at nearby restaurant. He was wearing a sweatshirt from a locally-headquartered Porsche racing team that is famous around the globe. We became friends, and still are.

He wanted to be employed in the local "Porsche ecosystem," not as a technician but in some other capacity. I introduced him around.

He eventually secured a position with Elephant Racing Products. I think he lasted about a year. If he was still there I'd call him on your behalf, but I don't know whether he would have been empowered to be proactive in helping you.

Hopefully whomever is working there will be proactive in helping you.

[Solamar]

Well that sucks.

At a minimum I'd expect Elephant to ship me new bars with the expectation I return the broken bars for them to examine. After inspection, I would expect Elephant to cover my expenses to ship them the broken t bar.

Reimbursing your install costs? That would be most excellent customer service, but probably more than I would demand.

[911 SLANT]

I would expect them to pay for everything you have to do to put new TB in. That includes alignment and corner balance. I just had that done. Not cheap!

[Jeffreypang911]

Originally Posted by Solamar

Well that sucks.

At a minimum I'd expect Elephant to ship me new bars with the expectation I return the broken bars for them to examine. After inspection, I would expect Elephant to cover my expenses to ship them the broken t bar.

Reimbursing your install costs? That would be most excellent customer service, but probably more than I would demand.

Agreed. By using aftermarket parts you are accepting that there are inherent risks and stuff like this will happen.

I wonder if this could be a case to argue that solid torsion bars are a better way to go - the photos posted show the inside is already covered in surface rust, which would not be an issue with solid units.

[stubble88]

Wow! That’s terrible. Sorry that happen

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by 911 SLANT

I would expect them to pay for everything you have to do to put new TB in. That includes alignment and corner balance. I just had that done. Not cheap!

If I had this problem with a Germany Company they would refund the additional costs, because they know these costs came up because of their faulty part.

And honestly Germany Companies have the worst customer service in the world. But reasonable companies with knowable brand names they do a lot for their reputation.

Look at Bilstein and KW Suspension. They wouldn´t even try to excuse themselves.

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by Jeffreypang911

Agreed. By using aftermarket parts you are accepting that there are inherent risks and stuff like this will happen.

I wonder if this could be a case to argue that solid torsion bars are a better way to go - the photos posted show the inside is already covered in surface rust, which would not be an issue with solid units.

Isn´t Elephant Racing like a superior aftermarket part? Better than OEM? That´s how they advertise themselves.

As far as I know hollowed ones have a quicker response and a longer lifetime than solid ones.

"Our Plated & Plugged Hollow torsion bars are the best available. The ends are plugged to prevent moisture entry that rots ordinary hollow bars from the inside out. The entire bar is zinc plated for superior protection.
Excellent quality control means proper spline fit and spring-rate consistency bar-to-bar. Inferior quality competing bars fail on all counts."

That´s what they say on their website

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by Jeffreypang911

Agreed. By using aftermarket parts you are accepting that there are inherent risks and stuff like this will happen.

I wonder if this could be a case to argue that solid torsion bars are a better way to go - the photos posted show the inside is already covered in surface rust, which would not be an issue with solid units.

"Our Plated & Plugged Hollow torsion bars are the best available. The ends are plugged to prevent moisture entry that rots ordinary hollow bars from the inside out. The entire bar is zinc plated for superior protection.
Excellent quality control means proper spline fit and spring-rate consistency bar-to-bar. Inferior quality competing bars fail on all counts."

That´s how they advertise their superior aftermarket parts.

[proporsche]

So.. did you get RE: from Elephant??
Ivan

[aigel]

Elephant is known in the community as a very reputable company which started out of the local Porsche circles here in the Bay Area. I bought a lot of their products and when I needed some help it was quick and generous. It is not just my experience that they stand behind their products, everyone I know has had a good experience.

That said, put yourself in the company's shoes. I am pretty sure that Elephant does not make these bars, they resell them, so they will have to run it up their supply chain and they will want to see the part before they commit to a replacement.

And yes, I think you are asking for too much. Generally when you buy an autopart that fails, the company is only liable for a replacement part, not the labor to R&R the part. If I buy a new alternator here at AutoZone and it fails, they will gladly replace the alternator but definitely not pay for the shop to pull and reinstall it.

What I would do is call them and discuss on the phone. I would see that they agree to send me replacements immediately and then decide if I get credit for the broken ones once they arrive back. And I would ask if they can help with the costs that you have with R&R - but that would be discretionary - Kulanz as they say where you are from ... my life experience has taught me that you can get that easier if you 'ask' rather than demand.

G

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by aigel

Elephant is known in the community as a very reputable company which started out of the local Porsche circles here in the Bay Area. I bought a lot of their products and when I needed some help it was quick and generous. It is not just my experience that they stand behind their products, everyone I know has had a good experience.

That said, put yourself in the company's shoes. I am pretty sure that Elephant does not make these bars, they resell them, so they will have to run it up their supply chain and they will want to see the part before they commit to a replacement.

And yes, I think you are asking for too much. Generally when you buy an autopart that fails, the company is only liable for a replacement part, not the labor to R&R the part. If I buy a new alternator here at AutoZone and it fails, they will gladly replace the alternator but definitely not pay for the shop to pull and reinstall it.

What I would do is call them and discuss on the phone. I would see that they agree to send me replacements immediately and then decide if I get credit for the broken ones once they arrive back. And I would ask if they can help with the costs that you have with R&R - but that would be discretionary - Kulanz as they say where you are from ... my life experience has taught me that you can get that easier if you 'ask' rather than demand.

G

Thanks for your your advice. I really like Elephant Racing and their parts. But a company with that reputation should have a quick and understandable customer service.

I already asked for a discretionary. I will wait what they reply and hope for at least a little refund for my R&R. As you may know the work, the alignment and the corner balancing is pretty expensive, when it´s done right.

And I´m a bit angry, because I just spend that money two weeks ago, when I mounted the brand new t-bars.

[Mahler9th]

"That said, put yourself in the company's shoes. I am pretty sure that Elephant does not make these bars, they resell them, so they will have to run it up their supply chain and they will want to see the part before they commit to a replacement.

And yes, I think you are asking for too much. Generally when you buy an autopart that fails, the company is only liable for a replacement part, not the labor to R&R the part. If I buy a new alternator here at AutoZone and it fails, they will gladly replace the alternator but definitely not pay for the shop to pull and reinstall it."

I disagree.

[herman maire]

This kinda makes you appreciate the old original simple style torsion bars.

[manbridge 74]

Originally Posted by herman maire

This kinda makes you appreciate the old original simple style torsion bars.

Yeah, you don’t hear much about factory bars breaking even at 50 years old.

[dhamilto]

You wouldnt be able to see inclusions without a microscope - this was clearly a crack on the inner wall of the tube. You can tell by the amount of rust - similar to the rust on the inside wall. The clean bit is where the crack propagated along and to the surface, under stress. There are areas that suggest that the crack in the tube went all the way through as-manufactured, but was probably hidden by the subsequent machining and polishing process... looks like they dont do crack checks prior to machining the raw tubes.

[Derek77]

I know you purchased this from ER but what brand of torsion bar is this?

[boyt911sc]

If I were in your shoes, I will contact Chuck Moreland and show him the pictures you posted. And keep us posted.

Tony

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

If I were in your shoes, I will contact Chuck Moreland and show him the pictures you posted. And keep us posted.

Tony

I‘m already in contact with Chuck.
He received these pictures twice already.
I‘m hoping for a new massage every minute.

[lawbrkr_de]

Originally Posted by Derek77

I know you purchased this from ER but what brand of torsion bar is this?

It seems like it‘s from Sander Engineering. They have an exclusive deal with ER.
Sanders told me to deal with ER cause they only manufacturing and ER is doing the resell and customer support.