Porsche Axle Repair - Diminutive DIY

My son’s Porsche suffered a rather dramatic front axle failure while undergoing some high-speed, high-stress testing in our living room. Just look at the damage. My wife and I, and Graham as well, are just lucky he was able to walk away unscathed. Our wallet, however, had to bear the brunt of the damage as we attempted a repair.

Looking at the damaged parts in detail I was surprised to see that the front axle was made up of uni-directional pine, milled to less than 1MM diameter. This seemed like a feathery piece of engineering, one I wondered if had been superseded by a new factory part.

Calling the factory in Stuttgart, I was soon forwarded to a member of the competition engineering department. A Dr. Peter Wolfhensler. He was well aware of the front axle failure on my son’s Porsche. “Unfortunately, the pine used for that production run had some core instabilities that showed up under extensive testing. We ourselves experienced a dramatic failure while testing on the Nurburgring. The right front wheel shearing off and the driver being slammed into the Armco at 200 kmh. But overall, we are still pleased with the performance of this equipment. It is within factory failure rates.”

I asked if they had fixed the problem. Here the doctor paused, “Not quite. We are still looking for a suitable pine-based axle assembly as it has the desired weight/cost/performance ratio but have not found an adequate solution. Yet.”

Carbon fiber seemed like a good material for this use, so I asked Dr. Wolfhensler about that as an option. “It is too costly for a customer car. We have learned our lessons from ceramic brakes. Until the costs come down, the customers cars will need to be optioned only with the pine.”

About to hang up the phone, Dr. Wolfhensler tossed another option at me. “I hear The Racer’s Group, TRG.”

“Of endurance racing fame?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. I hear that TRG is developing a fix that uses a ferrous material. They have found the additional weight is not a handicap in their particular type of racing. Maybe they have an option for you.”

So once again, when it comes to my Porsches, I had to turn to a private entity to find a satisfactory repair. The LN engineering fix for the M96 IMS comes to mind. I quickly rang up TRG.

I didn’t even fully explain the problem when the young man on the other end of the line interrupted me. “I know the exact problem. We have developed a kit to upgrade to an extruded, air-rolled, nickel-lined, honeycombed center steel axle.”

“I’ll take it.” I said.

Gulping after the young man quoted me the price, I took a breath and was hit with more bad news. “You are handy right? The kit comes as a you-cut-to-fit and epoxy yourself kit. This allows you to change the track of the car if you wish. We find an extra 2mm track in the rear helps with braking stability.”

The kit arrived and I set to work. First, I had to re-bore the wheels. Thanks Porsche for using an adhesive instead of a center-lock. I used a 1/4 inch bit and made sure to hone it perfectly true. I don’t want my son to suffer any high-speed vibrations.

Next, I leave some things as the factory intended and did not alter the track. I used the stock width of 11.5mm. And with no other alternative, I also used a quick-setting, multi-material epoxy. The fellows at TRG suggesting I ensure thorough coating of the parts because if their steel comes into contact with the wood wheels there would be galvanic corrosion due to minute metal particles in the wood stock. Who knew?

So, did Graham notice any difference in the ride quality of his Porsche after my lengthy repairs? In a word, no. He just grabbed it and pushed it along the floor - on its roof.

Of course the above is fiction. It is the way I handle how poorly this toy was built in the first place. Kinda like Boxster motors.

Porsche Stocking

I am super thankful to my neighbor who made this great stocking for my son, Graham. Check it out, it is even an impact bumper model. Love it.

The only thing better than a Porsche on a stocking, would be a Porsche key in a stocking. But I think he will have to wait another fifteen years for that.

And, after my not so great experiences with Porsche Design products, I am glad to have something handcrafted right next door.

Porsche Design Driver's Selection Quality is Horrendous

How hard is it for a company to disappoint a long-term brand loyalist? Hard. I know, I have been in advertising for over a decade. Your brand loyalists are your strongest asset, but they can also be your strongest adversary.

And Porsche Design/Driver's Selection/Porsche AG whatever you call yourself, you have an adversary in me now.

If Porsche built their cars as shoddily as they do the glasses, watches and toys that bear their name they would not be in business. Period. I thought that their items would be built like their cars in that they were meant to be used. That is what I and so many of you like about Porsche cars, they can be used as intended and not be the worse for it unlike a Lotus or Ferrari. But read below and you will see that is not the case.

Let's recap my passion for Porsche. I have owned three 951s, two 944s, I race a 944 SPEC Car, I have owned two 911SCs, I have owned one 912. I have convinced two of my friends to buy 911s. I have driven across the country for the right car. Oh yeah, I have also written the only Porsche novel. So you could say I am a brand loyalist. Doubt it still, I even defend the Panamera design. I write this blog for no monetary compensation, I hope my readers enjoy the lack of ads. It would be only one click of the button labeled 'monetize' for me to allow them, but I want the site to be unsullied. I do this because I love it.

My opinions and decision to bring this to the world, (OK Porsche world through my blog) is because I do not want anyone else to be disappointed like I am.

WATCHES. I was pretty happy when I bought my 911 To the Core Watch. I even made a post about it. But that was before I even wore it out once. Much to my chagrin, I have worn the watch approximately two dozen times. And each time I do, a new fault seems to appear. Enlarge the pictures and notice the frayed stitching on the band. And the remarkable amount of scratches on the housing. I am not kidding, I can scratch it with my fingernail. Compare this to the Christopher Ward watch I recently won from Octane. I have worn this watch almost daily since then and guess what? It looks as good as the day I pulled it out of the very impressive packaging. The list price on both these watches is around $500. So, apples to apples, Porsche Driver's Selection your watch quality stinks!

TOYS. I have a one year old son and I of course wanted to indoctrinate him into the Porsche brand early. So, I bought him the My First Porsche wooden toy. A friend of ours bought him anAutomoblox. The Porsche was $20, the Automoblox $30. Enlarge the pictures you will the Porsche paint flakes off on a whim. Every edge is scratched remarkably. Guess what, he usually plays with this car in his crib. Compare that to the Automoblox which looks brand new, and this with much abuse from the four year old neighbor who takes it out of my house and plays with it on the driveway. Seriously, I have wooden toys from Target, not cars I admit, that have not flaked off any paint as of yet. Thanks for the junky toy Porsche!

GLASSWARE. This is my favorite. Do you like my set of four, I mean two drink glasses? Pretty nice huh? I have had this set for three years and use it on the rare occasion that I would mix up some Tom Collins. Well, two of the soldiers are down. One cracked on the lip when an ice cube was dropped in. The other broke in half when hand washing. Now, compare this to the complete set of four glasses I was given by my grandparents who purchased them in the 60's. These glasses have been moved countless times, sipped on porches(not in Porsches) and washed in dishwashers yet they all remain intact. The Porsche glasses were $80 for 4, thats $20 a piece. My grandparents were poor so no way did they spend the equivalent funds FORTY YEARS AGO.

NOTE - I have bought all these items new from approved Porsche dealers. Not second hand. Not off a resellers site.

I have gone and sent this posting link to Porsche Driver's Selection, Porsche NA and Porsche Design. I will let you know what I hear back.

But, I cannot recommend any Porsche products besides their cars at this time. It is all too obvious to me that these items and I am sure all the others in their catalog are designed to make money not live up to the Porsche brand promise of excellence. They seem to be designed as gifts to be admired on a shelf, not used and enjoyed. And with the gift giving season just coming on us, that is too bad.