SF Bay Area Shop Recommendations

[Calspeed]

Hello,

Any recommendations and contacts for a shop in San Francisco or on the Peninsula for Suspension work? I know that there are shops out here but I tend to like using recommendations. Any leads would be great.

Thanks,

Calspeed

[makaio]

The Stable in SF. S-Car-Go in San Rafel.

[dtfastbear]

I'll give my standard answers:

I've had good luck with the Stable for maintenance, but I would never go there for performance mods of any sort. Never.

S-Car-Go (talk to Rob or Ray - in San Rafael but worth the drive) is the best performance shop in the area, in my opinion, but they are a true racing shop and as such will tend to steer you to high-end solutions. They have done my suspension set up and I am REALLY happy with the results!

Carrera Motorsports (talk to Adam) in San Mateo is another great shop. I don't know how much high-performance set up experience they have, but these guys are straight shooters and will tell you if they are the right people to do what you want to have done.

What are you thinking of having done?

Dean

[Calspeed]

Hello,

Thanks for the great info. As for what I have planned, I intend on just dailing in the suspension for light track days and also alittle autocross. I race vintage but for the Porsche I want to just get out there and have some fun. I got some friends that run the late model TT Supras and BMW M Z3's and I want to be able to dice competitively.

I guess that after I install the 16x7's and 9's I will drop off the car to see what can be done to not only to the performance but the looks too.

Calspeed

[tobluforu]

S_CAR_GO or bring it up to sears to the racers group. They too are awesome. They have an incredible shop that can do it all. They sell a great performance chip and will put your car on dyno and dial it in Pricey though. They also have a wide variety of suspension pieces in the shop. If your lucky, they will hot lap you in one of their cars.

[Alex001]

I've had good experiences with Griffin Motorwerke in Berkeley (have not had any suspension work done though). Very helpful, not too expensive, plus they are into racing too.

[dtfastbear]

Calspeed,

I'm heavily involved with the GGR region for autocross and time trials, so look me up when you get involved this season.

Sounds like you are just looking for a corner balance and competition alignment? Or shocks/swaybars/torsion bars, too?

As I mentioned, S-Car-Go did my corner balance and alignment and I went out and nabbed top-time-of-day at the next autocross (up against a 914 with a 3.6 in it, too!) These guys are good. The car is also very competitive on the track, even though the only mods are Bilstein sport shocks, said alignment and R-compound tires.

Good luck,

Dean

[Calspeed]

Hello,

Thanks Dean for the info. Yes, I will advise when I start to get the Porsche on the course. I look forward to learning how to drive it well. I am still alittle scared of driving the car at speed. It is so different from my racecar. The rear engine set up changes everything in the way it needs to be driven.

Calspeed

[markhams]

I had my car corner balanced at The Racers group a couple months ago. I am very pleased w/ their work. I did quite a bit of checking around (S-car-go, hi-tec, Abauer, etc.) and they gave me the cheapest estimate by a couple hundred bucks.

-MS

[john70t]

There's Bill Eason in Emeryville who works out of his garage. Nice guy with a lot of experience if you want to go that route.

[jyl]

Any more experiences with Griffin Motorwerke? I live in Berkeley, so they'd be a convenient shop for me.

[steve911]

JYL--
there's also Roger Krause Racing down in Castro Valley; Brandon Krause (son) is their suspension guy. Real good to work with; I had them do an alignment and mount the tires I bought from Tire Rack a while back.

[jhugh]

I've taken my cars to Brandon Krause of Krause Tire as well. What he did with the 911 was nothing short of amazing. He really knows his stuff and uses good equipment. Usually when I go in there, half the other cars are race cars. Just don't buy tires & suspension parts there - their prices are ridiculous.

Cheers,

[BYantzer]

S Car Go all the way. Rob is the man!!!!

[joeg]

HI all, this is my 1st post on the list...

Im thinking of getting a 4w alignment on my new (to me) '88 targa.
Whats a normal charge for that?? And a corner balance??

Thanks, Joe -- also in San Francisco...