I've done my best to give an honest account of my experiences with the companies listed below,
trying to maintain a positive tone. Porsches, though they attract the police all too often, do tend
to attract a great group of people from nearly all walks of life. Since we spend so much time and
money maintaining these cars, we may as well reward those companies that provide the best service and
value. Please note that a mention here does not equate to an endorsement by me.
We went on a long trip, my previous Porsche and I. I drove cross-country
and back from May 4 through July 3, 1999. It was a photographic, SCUBA, fun, family and
car related trip. I maintained a web site with all the goings-on as they happened at
http://www.thereandback.com.
For track events, competition driving instruction and clubs, see my Track page. For Porsche 928 links, see my old Porsche 928 page.
Clubs, Lists & Organizations
Rennlist.org, formerly PorscheList.org, provides mail list service for all
models of Porsche, plus classified ads, at
http://www.rennlist.org/.
The Porsche Club of America (PCA) is the main national owners' club. See
http://www.pca.org/. The folks in the San
Gabriel Valley Chapter and the Los Angeles Chapter (of which I'll become a member) have been
very helpful. I also enjoyed the Golden Gate Region's High-Speed Driving School.
The Porsche Owners Club (POC) organizes a number of competitive track events across
the US. See
http://www.porscheclub.com/
for details.
A. Bauer Porsche in Oakland, California, at
http://www.abauer.com.
They do all forms of maintenance and performance work. Serious racers, too.
They produce a Dash Glove for the 944 that looks good if you need one.
I had them do all the initial performance preparations and maintenance on my 951. They
also did many of the mods and most of the service on the 928 GT I had before the 951.
Huntley Racing in San Diego, California, at
http://www.huntleyracing.net.
Derrek was very helpful and interesting on the phone, but I haven't had any professional
dealings with them.
S Car Go in San Rafael, California, at
http://www.scargoracing.com.
Dave Taylor, one of their race techs, was very cool and knowledgeable. I hear many good things about
them. They do have a reputation for being expensive, but then so is all good Porsche service.
Stuttgart AutoTech in Lake Oswego (near Portland), Oregon, at
http://www.stuttgartautotech.com.
Michael there knew the Porsche 928 quite well. They did some emergency exhaust work on my 928 GT
just before I sold it. The new owner of the car speaks highly of them.
The Tech Group a part of Devek International in Belmont, California, at
http://www.devek.net.
These people work exclusively with the 928, so they know them better than nearly anyone else.
I had them install their Devek coilover suspension on my 928 GT. They were always helpful,
knowledgeable and kind. Their mascots, a pair of bull mastiffs, are adorable, too.
Automotion in Sunnyvale, California, at
http://www.automotion.com/.
Big Porsche catalog. Some 928 wares; mostly 911 stuff. Prices middle-of-the-road.
Bauer and Devek usually do better.
AutoThority, in Fairfax, Virginia, at
http://www.autothority.com/.
They make performance chipsets for a variety of cars. I've had two revisions of their chips in
my 928. Noah there sure is helpful and generous with his advice and time.
Borla Performance Industries in Oxnard, California, at
http://www.borla.com/.
They make the most reputable performance mufflers like the XR-1, which I had on my 928.
They did, however, completely screw-up the shipping, leaving me
sans car for four extra days.I'd wait until you have the item in hand before
starting any work. The muffler sure sounded good.
Devek International in Belmont, California, at
http://www.devek.net specializes in
the 928. They have an extensive catalog of maintenance and performance products, including
a very impressive stroker kit. I used their coilover suspension and anti-sway bar on my 928
GT, which handled worlds better than stock.
PIAA of Beaverton, Oregon, at
http://www.piaa.com/,
makes some very bright blue-white halogen bulbs called, aptly, Platinum Series Super
White bulbs. They are noticeably brighter than standard replacement bulbs.
The Tire Rack, at
http://www.tirerack.com/,
has great pricing on tires and excellent service so far. Salespeople are
often surprisingly knowledgeable. I end up using them every time, though they
recently shipped the wrong size tires to me, delaying me by a few days.
Valentine Research, at
http://www.valentineone.com/,
makes a superb radar detector, called the Valentine One. Build quality is
great. I've been using it for over a year now and it's saved my butt many times;
it's paid for itself a few times over.
[Details of my installation]
Ever wonder exactly what your car is worth? The Kelley Blue Book, at
http://www.kelleybluebook.com/
is most likely what your insurance company uses. It's not all that accurate when applied to rare,
specialty cars like the Turbo S.