twas the night before xmas...

[nostatic]

Talked to Jeremy at TRE and they're finishing up with a 4-wheel alignment after new shocks (with a bunch of other stuff) and tweaking the ride height and camber. Pick her up tomorrow. Feels like the night before xmas.

[Jim Richards]

Fun fun fun!

I'm all a twitter...........

[david914]

Boy, I'll bet! I've been 911-less for what seems like an eternity. In reality, it's been about three weeks (Ok, an eternity!). I'm waiting for a local rebuild shop to get a part for my alternator, and of course, it's backordered. Should've just bit the bullet and ordered a d*mn rebuilt unit, but sixty bucks for a new rectifier assembly versus $200+ for an entire unit, and well, you get the idea. Penny wise and time foolish.

What "bunch of other stuff" did you have done? (Oh, and Merry Christmas, by the way!)

[SilverPoly]

They hooked me up with the same a few months ago. I can't tell you what a difference it made on my car. It literally felt like a different car. I went with the HD front SP back setup as well as adding a strut brace and 4 wheel alignment. The new shocks raised my ride height a lot in the back so they lowered it and it handles like it's on rails.

Have fun.

[Jeremy Cottrell]

It feels good to be Santa, bringing such happiness into the world. We will be checking the naughty/nice meter for the free 3.6 conversion at X-mas time.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by Jeremy Cottrell
It feels good to be Santa, bringing such happiness into the world. We will be checking the naughty/nice meter for the free 3.6 conversion at X-mas time.

I would settle for a backdate and some more suspension tweaks, but beggars (with a low naughty/nice ratio) can't be choosers...

[Trust Me]

For a 3.6 you might mistake me for as saint!

[surflvr911sc]

Originally posted by nostatic
but beggars (with a low naughty/nice ratio) can't be choosers...

Did Porsche make a 3.6 that ran on coal?

[Tyson Schmidt]

Oh sure, Santa takes all the credit. But what about the elf who did all the work? Nobody ever leaves milk and cookies out for the elves.

[nostatic]

I was planning on bringing beer and beer for the elves.

[Bill Douglas]

Poor little elves, life can be sooo selfish.

Hey Todd, your wife will be suprised how far a couple of hundred bucks goes in tweaking the 911.

[Tyson Schmidt]

Elves like Pacifico, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Or, er, so I'm told.

[nostatic]

Bill, I don't ask how much the latest piece of pottery purchased on eBay costs, and she doesn't ask how many "couple" is in a "couple hundred bucks." Besides, these were all safety items.

[Tyson Schmidt]

Since when are fuzzy dice, chain steering wheels, and giant barefoot gas pedals considered "safety items" ? Oops! I wasn't supposed to say anything.

On a serious note, you are really going to like your car. It really turned out nicely. Should be just the thing for the Big Bear III run.

[arcsine]

I am with you brother. Next week mine goes in for turbo tie rods, corner balance and alignment. Should be the last of a long list of big items to be done. I too will not sleep the night before.

Tysons "recommendation" for the elves effort sounds like a good one.

[jyl]

Hey, Tyson (or anyone else with an opinion) what's a fair price for a 4-wheel align and corner balance? I was quoted appx $500 up here in the Bay Area.

[surflvr911sc]

I'm charged $200 every time I go. He's a real pro and there are very few people that I let work on the car besides myself.

This isn't the first time I've heard high numbers like that quoted. I would think that if they are basically charging labor (of course knowledge/equipment too) then I don’t know if I want someone who needs that much time to do it. It should take two to four hours depending on what the car needs. My .02 anyway.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by Tyson Schmidt
Since when are fuzzy dice, chain steering wheels, and giant barefoot gas pedals considered "safety items" ? Oops! I wasn't supposed to say anything.

what, no neon washer nozzles? And you guys call yourselves professionals...

I have to say I have a soft spot for the barefoot gas pedals. Although I think it should accompany Hooker headers and Holley carbs. Maybe that's the next set of mods...

[Tyson Schmidt]

Originally posted by jyl
Hey, Tyson (or anyone else with an opinion) what's a fair price for a 4-wheel align and corner balance? I was quoted appx $500 up here in the Bay Area.

That all depends. If it has factory adjustable rear spring plates, and there is adequate adjustment range, and the alignment is just a street alignment, then the price Ryan quoted is reasonable.

If it's non-adjustable rear spring plates, or the range of adjustment is already used up on the factory adjustable plates, and the alignment is to track-spec, requiring heroic modifications to achieve enough negative camber, etc., then the price goes up accordingly.

Re-indexing torsion bars to set the corner balance can be very difficult and time consuming. Especially if they've been in there for awhile. Sometimes the torsion bars just don't want to come out. It's usually done in conjunction with new bushings/torsion bars, so that usually helps.

Some people are more meticulous than others. I tend to obsess on getting things perfect with alignment settings and chassis set-up. Many guys just get it close and call it good. If it is an improvement, then you'll just figure it's as good as it can be, and never know the difference. If the guy reindexes the bars and gets it closer, but not perfect, he may just call it good and use the front adjusters to finish it up.

Some people spend all day corner balancing and aligning a car for the track. I don't think that's because they are incompetent, just obsessive. One of the local Guru's is like this. I know for a fact that he knows what he's doing. He's just a racer, who knows the importance of even the tiniest details when the car hits the track. For your average Joe street driver, it's probably a waste of money to have someone spend this kind of time getting it perfect.