Bilstein snapped - real lucky nothing bad happened
Going for a cruise today when I felt the front steering get real loose. Pulled over and didn't see anything obvious till I tried opening the hood. I couldnt open it all the way because the front was sitting too low - driver side shock snapped at the heim joint connection.
Unfortunately, I was going through mountain roads with very little run-off and 23 miles from the nearest town! AAA couldn't find me so I had to slowly cruise to town. No damage but it's been a long day!
Here's the best part and why the FF Community is so special: Ron Brazier "Smokey Burnout", a good friend and fellow coupe builder is loaning me one of his shock/spring assemblies so I can get the coupe home!!!
I got 16500 miles on my coupe and this is the first time it's left me stranded. Not placing blame on anyone but myself for not doing the upgrade sooner. Guess where I'm spending my $$$ next - upgraded shocks.
This is a warning to others. I built my coupe and keep it well maintained and serviced. Apparently, this is not enough as these could fail anytime without warning!
There must be something in the weather here in California...
I was driving my Spyder #18 yesterday, when the rear shock blew out as well. Luckily I was moving very slowly, and just rubbed some fiberglass in the rear wheelwell.
I've got a Bilstein BE3 A273T1 all around. I had read about the Koni recall, but didn't realize the old Bilsteins had the same problem.
Called FFR today, and they are looking into it. Keeping my fingers crossed...
A couple years ago mine snapped on the freeway doing 65 (roadster), front dropped, body landed on tire, smoke billowing, car pulling left, I'm fighting to pull it to the shoulder on the right. So lucky, bubbled a little paint on the fender, sidepipes just missed the ground. If it was the other side, the pipes would have hit.
Creepy thing, I started feeling that looseness in the front end and started tightening my harness. Within about a minute it snapped.
Have been working with Jason Lavigne at FFR for the past couple weeks. I sent in my old broken ones, and he's sending out the replacement Bilsteins (for FREE!!!). Can't wait to get them back, and have the Spyder back on the road.
FFR continues to live up to their great reputation for awesome customer support.
I've got a "new in box" pair of FFR Koni's if you're interested. I sold the other pair to another forum member.... I sold the last pair for 75% of what FFR asks for them.
Ken
__________________
Anything not worth doing is not worth doing well (thanks Roy).
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of management (don't get offended, I've done my time as a manager).
F5R1000339CP delivered 9/7/07 - now the fun REALLY begins.
Wow - it's a new car! Installed the front Konis and what a difference. I'm still riding on the rear Bilsteins and there's a noticeable difference. I'll be installing the rear Konis this weekend and can't wait.
The difference I've notice is that the Konis are firm but not harsh. The Bilsteins set up also showed evidence of a lot of spring to threaded collar contact. So much so that the threads on the collars were worn down so that they were completely worn away. The spherical bearings also showed evidence of moisture entrapment and bidding which leads to added friction and overloading.
So far, the Konis are WAY better!! I'll let you know how the rears feel.
Got the upgraded Bilsteins from FFR. They are definitely beefier then the previous set, with 14mm shafts compared with the prior 10mm. Even the Heim joints are supersized.
Put in the new shocks, and got Ol' Yeller back on the road again. Have to get some more miles to feel things out, but the new shocks do feel a bit stiffier than their predecessor.
Cheers to FFR for their continued awesome service, looking after their customers.
For those considering replacing their Blsteins - why stop at non adjustable Koni's when you can have externally adjustable aluminum bodied shocks and a choice of spring rates at the same price?
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Bilstein snapped - real lucky nothing bad happened
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