Cars & Coffee - MICHELIN HQ - Greenville, SC - Photos

ATLIEN wrote

Parts

• WPC Treated Rod Bearing Package: $999.70
• ARP Rod Bearing Bolt Set: $559.55

Wow those prices are pretty outrageous, esp for WPC bearings, was this recently?

tdott wrote

Wow those prices are pretty outrageous, esp for WPC bearings, was this recently?

That's what I was thinking. Granted I did RBs many years ago, but I want to say it was like $500 for bearings and bolts? Triple seems nuts.

tdott wrote

Wow those prices are pretty outrageous, esp for WPC bearings, was this recently?

The job was done this year. I spent more than average I know but wanted a shop close to me that I could trust to do the job right and stand by the work. I had cheaper quotes but didn’t want to deal with the distance, etc.

spazzyfry123 wrote

That's what I was thinking. Granted I did RBs many years ago, but I want to say it was like $500 for bearings and bolts? Triple seems nuts.

I get where you’re coming from — prices have definitely gone up since back in the day. For me, I had the budget and just got a solid bonus, so I treated myself.
Sure, I could’ve shopped around and maybe saved some money, but I was comfortable with the shop I used given the race team, Lambos, Porsche and Ferrari in the shop.
The car drives amazing, and honestly, I don’t regret it one bit on a major pain point for the car.

ATLIEN wrote

I get where you’re coming from — prices have definitely gone up since back in the day. For me, I had the budget and just got a solid bonus, so I treated myself.
Sure, I could’ve shopped around and maybe saved some money, but I was comfortable with the shop I used given the race team, Lambos, Porsche and Ferrari in the shop.
The car drives amazing, and honestly, I don’t regret it one bit on a major pain point for the car.

Certainly! Believe me, I'm a glutton for punishment in that I, for some reason, chose old Land Cruisers as my other addiction. "Anyone" can change brakes on a Toyota, right? But I gladly spend the 30% more for the guy I know is going to do it the way I want and is a true LC dude.

I suppose my comment was more directed at the wildly inflated material prices relative to what I paid (BE, not WPC) some eight or ten years ago. I'm due to do it over again with my current E90, so the price came as a shock considering what I thought my budget would be for the project

spazzyfry123 wrote

Certainly! Believe me, I'm a glutton for punishment in that I, for some reason, chose old Land Cruisers as my other addiction. "Anyone" can change brakes on a Toyota, right? But I gladly spend the 30% more for the guy I know is going to do it the way I want and is a true LC dude.

I suppose my comment was more directed at the wildly inflated material prices relative to what I paid (BE, not WPC) some eight or ten years ago. I'm due to do it over again with my current E90, so the price came as a shock considering what I thought my budget would be for the project

No offense was taken at all. I did struggle a bit with the WPC vs BE Bearings decision but felt that getting the old bearings out was more important than waiting. As luck would have it my bearings came out in great shape at almost 100k miles- they frankly didn’t need to come out. I’m glad to have done it for the peace of mind obviously.

With the bearings done and a custom Alpine Stage 2 tune for the Valvetronic Designs Valved Sport Exhaust System (V2) with the catted 200-cell mid-pipe, it revs like a motorbike — an absolute thrill to drive.

Thunder Bunny is a cut above — they really go out of their way to support the enthusiast community. You’ll see them at just about every Cars & Coffee, and I really respect that. I like supporting shops where I can build a real relationship. Just last week, I went to a C&C meet and ran into the mechanic who did my rod bearings — we talked about the work, and then today I saw them again at the BMW CCA meet. They’re clearly invested in the community, and that matters a lot to me.