Shock and strut question

[kcbrown]

Bilstein is a unique problem, for sure. On their shock kits, to be "competitive with the internet" I'm supposed to make a living, pay my employees, pay the overhead and keep the lights on, do testing in the shop and on the track, prove the parts we sell in competition, answer customer questions 24/7... for 5% margin on an $800 sale. That's $40 profit, which is often lost in shipping. How? We don't just drop-ship Bilstein direct to the end user like everyone else, we pay to ship the shocks here so we can assemble our Bilstein shock kits (springs + top mounts) in-house to verify everything is correct and to save the end user time and hassles And since it usually costs me $50 to ship a set of shocks here, I'd lose $10 on that $800 sale... its a farce.

Competition is rough. But you're an honest to God shop that does all sorts of work, plus you have a nice, diversified product line that includes your own parts. I suspect you're going to do all right.

It is impossible for real shops to make a living selling Other People's Parts (OPP). I know most of you don't care - you just want the best deal - but that's the reality of the situation. These "bunny slipper" online sellers are killing the automotive aftermarket. Eventually there will be no more Sam Stranos or Vorshlags to advise, help, consult, post pictures, do testing, or make new combinations of Other People's Parts. You'll just have TireRack - the WalMart of automotive parts - and Amazon to choose from.

Well, no. Firstly, you design and sell your own parts. Secondly, you run a real shop. And finally, you sell more than just those parts that everyone else sells. Like I said, I think you'll be all right.


And believe it or not, there do exist people who value solid advice and excellent after-the-sale service enough to buy from those who give it, even though the prices are higher. Probably enough to keep people like you and Sam afloat, even.

Phil has to admit, I shared some good tech in that post (that took me 30 minutes to put together). But one perceived slight and Mr Thinskin goes off and he now likely HATES me for LIFE. I see this all the time... if I don't candy coat the hell out of everything I post, coddle every customer, I'm branded a total A-HOLE. It sucks...

Eh. It's your choice how to present things. You don't have to sugar coat anything. You could get away with simply presenting the facts without injecting any personal opinion, etc. But that's not your style.

Frankly, I like your style. It makes for rousing good conversation. But then, I strongly prefer someone give it to me straight up, personal opinions and all, than for them to pussyfoot around. Maybe I'm weird that way, but I cut my teeth on Usenet back when there were real flame wars and no moderators.

So you'll just have to deal with the consequences of how you present things. But you should know that not everyone has a problem with it. Keep it up.

 

[modernbeat]

Terry didn't mention that we test all the springs that were available to us from Bilstein when we put the StreetPro kit together. There were two different sets for the S197. One set barely made the cut (the light blue springs), and the other set did not (the black springs).

Later on, Bilstein dropped the good set of springs and kept the bad set. Those are the springs they now offer with the B12 kit. And we don't offer them because they are not well balanced for the car. The Ford Racing K and P springs turned out the best for balance. I remember that there was a Steeda spring that has better rates, but it lowers the car too much to be used with even the shortest of the Bilstein struts.

I'm not at work today, or I'd post the spring rating charts. You can most likely find them in one of my older posts, as we share that data when we measure it so you can verify and compare what we do to what others offer. I urge everyone to educate themselves so they can intelligently make choices that will give them the best benefits towards their goals without causing too many compromises. One of the resources I often point our customers to is the book "Think Fast" by Neil Roberts. Neil discusses attacking the items with the most reward when you have limited resources (money, time, test days), and getting the best bang for the buck without crippling your efforts.

 

[Boone]

Whoa!!! That's ALMOST an apology from Terry. He's getting a little soft as he ages. I get the negativity when you see where it's coming from. Anyone in sales goes through the same issues when competing with the big box stores and "no overhead and no service" internet sites. It doesn't amount to a free pass, but it does explain the "glass half empty" approach.

Phil, I admit that I thought you were 17, not 18. I assumed the 1098 in your user name corresponded with your birth date. So I guess I'm sorry as well.

Now, for something that may be helpful to the OP... My car is set up for street and track with coilovers and CCPs. When I had my alignment done, I set the car up for street use and marked the location on the CCP with a paint marker. I then marked them for max camber (2 1/16 degrees negative is all I can get). I can adjust my camber in my garage by lining up the paint marks before hitting the track or autoX in no time. This may help you get off the fence on the CCPs, if you ever think you may want to drive your car in anger and prolong the life of your tires while doing it.

Have a good weekend.

 

[Phil1098]

Phil, I admit that I thought you were 17, not 18. I assumed the 1098 in your user name corresponded with your birth date. So I guess I'm sorry as well.

That's OK, it is an old tie I had with Ducati motorcycles. I had a 1098 along with a 998, the original 1995 916, and several others. I was a super moderator on the Ducati forum and actually have a letter from the CEO of Ducati North America thanking me for helping to make the launch of the 1098 a success. I don't ride any more, but used to do a ton of track days. Now I just tinker with my ten year old Mustang.

 

[Phil1098]

Well look, I've made another new lifetime fan! All it took was one perceived slight in a giant post full of helpful tech. Come on Phil, lighten up. At 56 you don't want to be lumped in with the "I need a safe space", easily ruffled Millennial crowd. At our age we are supposed to make fun of those easily offended people!

Terry, I do appreciate all the info, I don't hate you or anyone else, life is too short to be miserable. As far as calling it the way it is, I coined a phrase years ago that I use all the time, "It doesn't matter how much sugar you put on a turd, it's never a gum drop." The ONLY thing that put me off was that you felt sure I was buying from some idiot on eBay and not a reputable dealer. My comment about going elsewhere was also just matter of fact, when a business pisses off customers they usually lose them. I didn't say I won't buy from you, I genuinely appreciate all the solid info. I sell for a living, I'm not thin skinned, I also don't take shit off people either. I applaud type A personalities, God knows I'm one too.

 

[Phil1098]

Terry didn't mention that we test all the springs that were available to us from Bilstein when we put the StreetPro kit together. There were two different sets for the S197. One set barely made the cut (the light blue springs), and the other set did not (the black springs).

Later on, Bilstein dropped the good set of springs and kept the bad set. Those are the springs they now offer with the B12 kit. And we don't offer them because they are not well balanced for the car. The Ford Racing K and P springs turned out the best for balance. I remember that there was a Steeda spring that has better rates, but it lowers the car too much to be used with even the shortest of the Bilstein struts.

Thank you VERY much, this is really good info. You are 100% correct in that the kit does come with the black springs. With your input, that will put me off of that. I assumed that since Bilstein packaged it up it would be pretty well balanced, turns out it's not. I'm still leaning towards the P springs as I really don't want the car lowered too much. Thanks again.

 

[ExSRT8Guy]

I always read Terry's replies because I usually learn something. Most of his offerings are way more serious than what I need, but you never know... I've always appreciated Sam's input, as well.

Being self-employed, I want to give Terry a thumbs-up on his pricing rationale. There's always someone cheaper. I try to make it a point to give my business to the outfits that do R&D.

Phil - I'm 56, as well. I think you'd be really pleased with my setup that I detailed earlier, though maybe with Bilsteins sub'd for the Tokicos.

An aside - DNA was a client of mine; they're 5 minutes away. You would think that a motorcycle brand of that caliber would have a large, sophisticated NA operation, but it's anything but. <50 employees, working for the love of the brand, on a shoestring budget. Props to you for your involvement!