New door struts - black and stainless - Anyone interested?

[Tomcio]

Sorry to hear that, hope you manage to find another supplier. Is the LED marker lights project still going, I remember you ran into supplier problems there as well?

As a matter of fact I did find more than one supplier. Three confirmed and one still working on the drawings.
I have already received a first test set. This set is all black and we got all the dimensions confirmed. We also got the required force confirmed to be correct. The second stage is to get the correct speed and damping so the door doesn't shoot up and bounce at the top and doesn't take weeks to open fully. Things are a bit slow as this is the middle of the summer and it's the middle of vacation season. If all goes well I should have at least three versions of the door struts - all black, OEM colors, brushed/polished stainless. This time I'm talking with some serious people and well known brands. All four manufacturers supply major car manufacturers in Europe.

The LED project is still on but it's currently on hold. The problem I had with that was not the supplier but the product itself. I got a bad batch of LEDs but the supplier refunded the full purchase price. I got some high quality name brand LEDs from another supplier and I just have to find the time to get back to it. The door lights and side marker lights are coming... I'm still here...

[Tomcio]

Hi everyone!

My quest for finding a reliable manufacturer is continuing... I have narrowed down the field to four companies from three countries. One of those manufacturers is Stabilus, the OEM for the DeLorean factory. It wasn't easy to get Stabilus on board because... now, get this... bad experience with a DeLorean parts supplier a few years ago. For obvious reasons they will not give me any details but word is that Stabilus lost a lot of money on that deal and decided not to produce any parts for the DeLorean in the future. So, when I gave them the original part number for the door strut I received a very quick answer "This part number will not be produced EVER". I got them to assign a new part number and convinced them that this is a different project and different people involved. The struts can be produced but only if I do not sell them to some certain people. This will be a gentleman agreement with no signatures but I will most definitely stick with it.
At this time I have received technical drawings for the new struts along with the new part number and all technical details like force, speed, damping, etc. I have also received a quote and the prices are fairly high in my opinion. For a large quantity order the price will be €66 each. That's $88 US or $176 for a set of 2 plus shipping. What do you guys think?

The other three manufacturers offer better, lower prices. I have received samples from one of them. They look nice...

2014-08-07 11.46.57.jpg

With those manufacturers I will be able to keep the prices I've posted before. $35 each for those who are on my pre-order list and $45 each for all new orders with free shipping. In other words, Stabilus is twice the price.
The remaining two manufacturers are working on test samples and I should be receiving them soon. I will post as soon as I have some info...

Warranty information is pretty much the same for all four manufacturers - 2 years or 30.000 cycles whichever comes first. The strut needs to be mounted with piston rod down and operated at least a few times a month when not in use.

The question for now is: Is anyone interested in getting Stabilus struts at about $185 - $190 per set (shipping included)?

[Bitsyncmaster]

At twice the price would they last twice as long? If so then that may be acceptable but how would we ever know without years of testing. My "soft lift" struts are getting a little weak after 3 or 4 years. Interesting they want them to be used a few times a month. I guess it keeps the seals oiled.

[Domi]

I was interested by the chrome version, but now i think they will only be available in black, and at that price, I don't think I would be able to buy them, sorry.
I'd rather keep the money for the Led side marker next time.

[Tomcio]

At twice the price would they last twice as long? If so then that may be acceptable but how would we ever know without years of testing. My "soft lift" struts are getting a little weak after 3 or 4 years. Interesting they want them to be used a few times a month. I guess it keeps the seals oiled.

You're right, it's impossible to know and so that's why I quoted the warranty terms which are pretty much the same for all manufacturers - 2 years or 30.000 cycles.
Honestly, I do believe that they will last longer but I doubt it will be twice as long.

Yes, the conditions for storage say that the strut needs to be operated to keep the seals lubricated. You are right.

I was interested by the chrome version, but now i think they will only be available in black, and at that price, I don't think I would be able to buy them, sorry.
I'd rather keep the money for the Led side marker next time.

I'm not sure what you mean by chrome version. The most common type is all black but I'm also working on a OEM colored version where the piston rod is chrome.
Looking at my pre-order list I got your name down for a set of stainless struts and those will be available a bit later on. They will be available!

[Domi]

Yes, you're right, my mistake, Stainless not chrome.
All right, keep us in touch.
Thanks!

[NightFlyer]

Hi everyone!

My quest for finding a reliable manufacturer is continuing... I have narrowed down the field to four companies from three countries. One of those manufacturers is Stabilus, the OEM for the DeLorean factory. It wasn't easy to get Stabilus on board because... now, get this... bad experience with a DeLorean parts supplier a few years ago. For obvious reasons they will not give me any details but word is that Stabilus lost a lot of money on that deal and decided not to produce any parts for the DeLorean in the future. So, when I gave them the original part number for the door strut I received a very quick answer "This part number will not be produced EVER". I got them to assign a new part number and convinced them that this is a different project and different people involved. The struts can be produced but only if I do not sell them to some certain people. This will be a gentleman agreement with no signatures but I will most definitely stick with it.
At this time I have received technical drawings for the new struts along with the new part number and all technical details like force, speed, damping, etc. I have also received a quote and the prices are fairly high in my opinion. For a large quantity order the price will be €66 each. That's $88 US or $176 for a set of 2 plus shipping. What do you guys think?

The other three manufacturers offer better, lower prices. I have received samples from one of them. They look nice...

2014-08-07 11.46.57.jpg

With those manufacturers I will be able to keep the prices I've posted before. $35 each for those who are on my pre-order list and $45 each for all new orders with free shipping. In other words, Stabilus is twice the price.
The remaining two manufacturers are working on test samples and I should be receiving them soon. I will post as soon as I have some info...

Warranty information is pretty much the same for all four manufacturers - 2 years or 30.000 cycles whichever comes first. The strut needs to be mounted with piston rod down and operated at least a few times a month when not in use.

The question for now is: Is anyone interested in getting Stabilus struts at about $185 - $190 per set (shipping included)?

Sounds like there's some salacious info in the back story here. Curious - is the parts vendor/supplier mentioned as having ripped off Stabilus still in active operation today, I wonder, or did they go the way of the do-do bird?

I would be interested in a black set from Stabilus, but couldn't buy them right away, but probably later in the year or early next year (second surgery for my cat has left me pretty drained of discretionary funds recently, unfortunately).

On another note, I'm trying to figure out where the info comes from (other than the Concours manual) that the stock/OEM struts did indeed have a black housing with a chrome piston/shaft and end ball? I believe the door struts on my car to be stock/OEM, but they're all black. They're Stabilus and have been on the car since before I bought it - over 12+ years anyway. Maybe later on today, I can get the part number off my struts and post it here.

[Tomcio]

Sounds like there's some salacious info in the back story here. Curious - is the parts vendor/supplier mentioned as having ripped off Stabilus still in active operation today, I wonder, or did they go the way of the do-do bird?

I have to keep my word and so I can't disclose the name or any other info. I don't want to start an argument either...
Without actually disclosing any additional information I can say that since I was told not to sell the struts to those people I believe it's pretty obvious that they are still active today.

I would be interested in a black set from Stabilus, but couldn't buy them right away, but probably later in the year or early next year (second surgery for my cat has left me pretty drained of discretionary funds recently, unfortunately).

Don't worry about it. If we decide to go with this manufacturer this will not be a one time deal. The plan is to have the struts in stock or on very short order.

On another note, I'm trying to figure out where the info comes from (other than the Concours manual) that the stock/OEM struts did indeed have a black housing with a chrome piston/shaft and end ball? I believe the door struts on my car to be stock/OEM, but they're all black. They're Stabilus and have been on the car since before I bought it - over 12+ years anyway. Maybe later on today, I can get the part number off my struts and post it here.

This info comes from one of my cars that has just 8k miles on it and everything is as it came from the factory. Also, I spoke to Rob Grady and he confirmed the original factory color scheme.

Here's some more info about the different color combinations:

There were two versions of Stabilus strut. Here's what they look like:
1.jpg
Both are Stabilus Lift-O-Mat
The one on top is the one that was installed at the factory. The colors are:
Black mount - black cylinder - silver chrome piston rod - gold mount
The one on the bottom is all black and has a part number 867691 and was produced later (this one is from 1998 ). The colors are:
Black mount - black cylinder - black piston rod - black mount

Stabilus says that the first version was produced in Germany. The all black unit that I have was made in Mexico.

Here's a close-up picture of the markings:

2.jpg

This is a close-up view of the factory original piston rod and mount:

3.jpg

This is a close-up view of the later version piston rod and mount:

4.jpg

According to Stabilus they stopped chrome coating piston rods in early 1990s as the black nitrate coating is cheaper to produce and more durable. Currently they do not offer chrome plated rods.
For concurs quality one manufacturer has agreed to producing chrome plated rods.
I will be offering three types - all black, OEM three colors and stainless steel. All black and stainless will be available directly through me while OEM colored ones will be available through a stateside vendor. I will post details when the struts are actually available.

[Chris 16409]

Tom, if you decide to go with Stabilus, will they be made in Mexico or Germany. The Mexican made ones weren't as good, so if we're paying $80 a strut, it would be nice if they were made in Germany.

[NightFlyer]

That's GREAT info Tom - thanks for sharing

It's possible that my struts are three colored, but just oily and oxidized, causing them to appear all black. I'm definitely going to have to check them out (didn't get to look at them today, unfortunately).

Regardless, I haven't seen anything do a better job or last as long as struts with the Stabilus brand name on them, regardless of whether they were produced in Germany or Mexico. I do have (confirmed) the stock/OEM louver Stabilus struts, and they're good as new still (though I did have to replace the stock/OEM hood struts with Grady's struts from the early 2000s - which are also still working as new to this day).