Team3S: 3000GT & Stealth Sunday, December 7 2003 Volume 02 : Number 316

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Yeah but Cody your DSM and NA 3KGT should still weigh at least 400LBS

less than a 3KGT VR-4 or an RT/TT Stealth. Believe me I of am friends

with a bunch of hard core dsm folks (www.victorreasearch.com) and they

We have also discussed many a times what I should do for brakes and

they are recommending at least a 13" front and 12" rear, they have

also said if I have money to burn to go 14" front 13" rear. I value

their opinion very highly considering on their stage 1 motor they have

run an 11.3 @ 132 and still managed to stop the car without any sort

PS its nice to have a resident wheel and tire guru on the forum, you

have thrown out some really good information to help me help friends

figure out why they are getting vibration in their steering wheel when

Any one have any advice on what to do with the Stealth front end still in perfect shape only had 73 thousand miles on it was a very babied car up untill the wreck. I only carried liabillity so it's a total loss for me.  It's just to bad that car was worth more than money and would have never sold it. It's been a bad couple days.

From: Engelmann Peter A Maj AFELM PEP <peter.engelmann@ramstein.af.mil>

I'm Pete Engelmann, an Air Force member stationed in Hamburg, Germany since

January 2003. I have a black 1992 Stealth R/T Twin Turbo, 123K miles, no

modifications (I'm good at partial differential equations, but an absolute

idiot at anything mechanical). Recently, I found out I have brake problems.

Quick background (sorry, I know this makes the post longer, but it's

necessary to explain the two questions I have below): While in the vicinity

of Ramstein Air Force Base (about 400 miles from my duty station in

Hamburg), I noticed my right front tire had severe wear on the right outside

of the tread. None of my other tires showed the same problem, and the tires

were nearly new. Took the car to the AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange

Service) garage at Ramstein, thinking something was wrong with the

alignment. As soon as the car was on the lift, the mechanic noticed the

right front wheel did not turn at all by hand. The mechanic said that

pulling the wheel revealed a stuck piston in the caliper, due to the fact

that all the seals in the caliper had fallen out (or were never installed in

the first place), meaning dirt and moisture had gotten into those areas. In

effect, that wheel was constantly being braked. Consequently, the pads were

pretty worn, too. Pulling the left front wheel revealed more missing seals

(although that piston was OK), plus a caliper that had apparently been put

on backwards, as the brake line to it was twisted. When I told the German

mechanic I had just had the brakes done in the States before shipping the

car to Germany (to avoid precisely the problem I have now--getting parts and

finding a reputable mechanic), he inquired what "idiot" (his word, although

I now share the sentiment!) had done the work. (Answer: Just Brakes in

Colorado Springs. New pads & shoes, rotors turned, calipers rebuilt on all

4 wheels for $480.) OK, so now I need at least the front calipers rebuilt

AGAIN, and probably the rear ones as well (I'll find that out Tuesday, when

Now my two questions: should I go with an upgrade to accomodate Autobahn

Question #1: since I need at least another caliper rebuild plus pads &

shoes, should I consider upgrading the entire brake system at this time? I

do NOT race the car, but I DO enjoy driving fast on the Autobahn--traffic

permitting, I'll hit 150+ mph (have I mentioned that I've been DREAMING of

taking the car to Germany the past 10 years??). And traffic being what it

is, I frequently have to stomp on the brakes--hard--at those speeds. Is

merely replacing the brakes with stock parts acceptable, or should I--just

for safety!--go with something designed to handle the higher speeds?

(Somehow, I don't think the stock system was designed for routine 150 mph

speeds.) If so, what are your recommendations? I immediately thought of

drilled rotors (I notice the fast Porsches here all have those), but I've

followed the posts on the list for a few weeks now, and I note there is some

disagreement on whether they're necessary. I'd especially appreciate

comments from Geoff Mohler (the Team3S FAQ site says he's the recommended

vendor for brakes) and maybe Roger Gerl, since it sounds like he's got

The FAQ site lists Porterfield as the recommended rotor manufacturer. Would

you concur? Are those 1-piece rotors? Should I go with 2-piece? (The web

research I've done so far indicates that would drive the price quite

high--to about $2K per axle. Is it worth the price?) The FAQ site also

lists slotting, drilling, and cryo-treating as optional rotor treatments.

Which, if any, are recommended for high-speed Autobahn driving? Do I need

new calipers as well? What about brake pads? I presume Porterfield R4-S

Question #2: does anyone have any experience with mechanics in Germany? In

general, I'm more inclined to trust any of them than I would American

mechanics, because the shops I've seen are all clean (you can eat off the

(Meisterbrief) that's not easy to get to have their own shop. Also, they

all appear to be 40+ years old--I interpret that as meaning "experienced",

not young kids still learning the ropes of their trade. And finally, I've

had too many "Just Brakes" experiences in America--I pay top dollar, and get

crappy work. But I presume I'm preaching to the choir with this audience.

Right now, I'm looking at choosing between two: either the AAFES garage at

Ramstein (owned by AAFES, but the mechanics are German), or one called

"Allrad Automobile, K. D. Schlangen GmbH, Osdorfer Landstrasse, Hamburg".

Advantage of the latter is he's close--I don't have to drive 400 miles one

way to use his services. He recently swapped out headlights for me--charged

me 20 euros apiece (about $25 according to the current exchange rate) plus

25 euros labor for installing both. Sounded like a fair price to me--gives

me a "warm fuzzy" he's honest. I know it's a long shot, but does anyone

I know this is a long post--thanks to everyone for bearing with me while I