GREAT Price on Control Arms

[insite]

i just bought a new lower control arm here for $99; thought i'd share. no affiliation.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/49839/nm/1997-2004+Porsche+Boxster+Front+Lower+Rear+Control+Arm

[tonycarreon]

just an FYI, the part is made in china - okay for my ipod, but not my car. but decent price. just replaced 1 of mine - $500 parts+labor.

[insite]

i figured it was chinese based on price alone. i'm sure the casting is fine. we'll see how long the ball joint lasts.

[clickman]

Why would you assume the casting is fine?

[insite]

Originally Posted by clickman

Why would you assume the casting is fine?

1. simple material
2. chinese factories are getting pretty good at this stuff


the ones that are getting REALLY good are the ones who market to the US & europe. lots of them are running AS9100/ISO quality programs as well. i must admit i know jack about 'URO' (mfgr) and their factories. when it shows up, i'll have one of our MatE's take a look at the alloy compared w/ OEM. i bet it's very close.

[insite]

and here we go:

http://www.apaindustries.com/uro/site/quality

URO is ISO9000 certified. most of these companies start out w/ abysmal performance records. over time, they adopt industry standard quality techniques & manufacturing processes. eventually, they can get quite good.

these guys have been around since '84. my guess is that they started manufacturing in england or the US, and then moved some or all mfg ops to china. this is always a rocky transition, but expat owners tend to be motivated to bring these operations on par w/ their domestic counterparts. just because it's chinese does not mean that it's crap.

btw, do we know where porsche buys their cast aluminum parts? i bet you dollars to donuts it is NOT germany or any other western euro country.

[insite]

one last tidbit: URO / APA is now an OEM supplier for Jaguar Classic.

[Fluellen]

There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence on the web - not restricted to Porsches - that the URO ball joints last about a year so.

I think PelicanParts rates URO as a 3 out of 5, and their supplier ratings are typically pretty spot on.

FWIW, ISO 9000 certification does not mean much if anything at all. It's a certification that you have a quality plan in place. It does NOT certify that you are producing "quality" products... your quality plan could literally be to produce ball joints that fail in expectation after 1 month. As long as you can show that you have processes in place to meet that quality level, you'll be certified ISO 9000...

[insite]

i do agree w/ your assertion that ISO9000 simply means you have a quality plan in place that allows some repeatable level of quality. it does not, however, deal at ALL with the quality of the design.

[chamilun]

coming from the e39 bmws, I got about 1 year from the fcp control arms (bushings fail, but the ball joint stays pretty good).

however, Im not certain the lemforders really lasted that much longer. Now that the fcp parts have a lifetime warranty, tough call.

I must say I have a tough time using aftermarket parts on either the BMW or the Porsche

[dirkdiggler]

That FCP website also has the best price I have found on Bosch Oxygen sensors ...... $94 ....... thats like $40 cheaper than autozone even!!

[dirkdiggler]

Has Any one used these control arms with good results??

They are so cheap I may just buy them and install for the hell of it. But dont really want to go thru the hassle if they only last a year or so....

You can get a pair of them right now for $160 shipped

[dirkdiggler]

Looks like Suncoast parts sells the exact same product for $250

part numbers are the exact same

http://www.****************************************************.com/product/99634105316.html

[insite]

That's Porsche brand. The other is URO brand & made in china. They are not the same thing.

Originally Posted by dirkdiggler

Looks like Suncoast parts sells the exact same product for $250

part numbers are the exact same

http://www.****************************************************.com/product/99634105316.html

[dirkdiggler]

Why wold the part numbers be the exact same?

I see pelican parts sells these cheaper ones for $135 ......... anyone have experience with them?

[insite]

read the whole thread. btw, the part number of the aftermarket parts are frequently matched to that of the OEMs they replace. this is done so that

a) you know where it's designed to go
b) so that you can find them when you do a search for the porsche part

just because someone tags a part with the same number as OEM doesn't mean that it's the same thing.

Originally Posted by dirkdiggler

Why wold the part numbers be the exact same?

I see pelican parts sells these cheaper ones for $135 ......... anyone have experience with them?

[dirkdiggler]

I bought a pair of them for $160 just to give them a try ..... warranty seems good so what the heck

[gschotland]

I just replaced my control arms with TRWs (OEM supplier) from Pelican. Unquestionably a nicely made product that I expect will last 80k miles like the originals.

If my wrench time (and safety) were worth zero, then I'd be all over the $100-$180 "savings" from buying these Chinese parts. This is probably the same stuff Deutsche Parts peddles on eBay that buyers ******************** like crazy about. In my experience with other European cars, mostly BMWs, this low-buck stuff just doesn't cut it. Sure, I want to save a buck like most people, but I always stick with OEM or near-OEM quality, shop a bit for price, and buy from a trusted supplier.

[dirkdiggler]

insite - have you received yours in the mail yet? if so, What are your thoughts on them compared to the OEM control arms?

[insite]

Originally Posted by dirkdiggler

insite - have you received yours in the mail yet? if so, What are your thoughts on them compared to the OEM control arms?

i'll let you know when they show up. they supposedly shipped last tuesday or wednesday from CT. i think they should have been here by now. if they don't arrive today, i will call FCP.