The first major issue was that my kits took over 50 days to receive!!! Throughout this whole process, I never received the master cylinder bottle I ordered. That, I would learn, was the least of my worries......
Although the caliper bracket was countersunk, the 8 supplied fasteners did not seat flush with the plane of the caliper bracket. I triple checked to make sure everything was torqued to 35 ft. lbs:
After packing the bearings into the hub, I mounted it onto the spindle. I then installed the notched washer,and clamp nut (with 6mm allen). When I tightened the rotor to spec, the heads of the 4 caliper bracket mounting fasteners were touching the inner surface of the hub - inhibiting free rotation of the assembly:
Upon further inspection, when I went to mock up the front calipers, it seems like I had another clearance issue. With the caliper over the rotor, and aligned with the 2 mounting holes on the caliper bracket, there was approximately 3/8" of open space between the caliper mounting surface and the mounting bracket.
The solution to obtain the correct clearance of the front rotors was a collar (**not shipped in my original kit, causing an added week delay) in between the spindle and the rotor hub. With them installed, the front rotor now had enough clearance to rotate past the caliper bracket mounting hardware that is sticking out from the caliper bracket (original problem). So the rotor rotated freely- great! However, now the clamp nut (w/ 6mm allen) did not have enough threads on the end of the spindle to be safe/secure:
I was not comfortable, as far as safety is concerened, for so few threads to be used here. I got my dad to check it out, an ASE Certified Master Technician, just to see if I was being paranoid, and he was also very concerned with the issue. This is the only piece of hardware securing the entire rotational mass of the wheel assembly!
The solution for the spacing between the caliper and the caliper mounting braket was a so-called "spacer kit" that was simply an assortment of washers. I had to "stack up" washers per the instructions to get the rotor to sit anywhere CLOSE to the center of the caliper. I needed 3 between the caliper bracket and the caliper, and then 1 more between the allen bolt and the caliper to prevent the bolt from going too far through the bracket and coming close to the rotor!!! All these random washers seem like a rather "Busch League" solution to the issues regarding gaps, spaces, and clearances. Shims are one thing, but this is absolutely ridiculous:
Think of the stresses involved here...
The circumference of the rotor was also too large for the caliper. There was contact between the outer lip of the rotor and the bottom portion of the caliper. There is no range of movement on that axis, because the caliper mounting bolts eliminate that possibility.
You can clearly see how the right half of the caliper body itself has siginificantly less clearance than the left half. The rotor is touching the caliper at this spot on the right hand side. It is not so bad that the rotor is locked up, but it is definitely not moving freely. You can even see a faint, hairline scratch where the caliper scored the edge of the rotor:
The last major issue was that the rotor mounted on the right front had an issue with the studs. The wheel simply wouldn't go on because the studs were not perfectly square and would not penetrate the holes in the wheel. I tried to swap wheels to eliminate the wheel as the culprit, and the other wheel, which fit like a glove on the left front, would not fit either. The rotor was never dropped, or damaged, and the shipping container had no evidence of any damage.
I am running OEM Porsche Cup IIs 17x7 ET 55 front and rear. I specifically asked if I would need wheel spacers with the BAD Series kits to work with this width wheel and this offset. I knew I had to clearance the rear bump stops a little, but I was told that the kits would "sit perfectly" front and rear with my wheels.
However, the bolt most toward the front of the car on the rear swing arms was contacting the sidewall. I tried the typical solution with a flip of the hardware, but it was still touching. When I approached the company with the problem, I was told spacers definitely would be necessary with my wheels. Wait...what the?
The company DID honor a return of the products. However, I was charged for shipping both ways (as part of the original transaction, and then as part of the return.) So I'm out $268.30 in addition to all the down time in the restoration, and all the grief and aggravation.
The shipping charges particularly bothered me. If you return an overcooked steak at a nice restaurant, you are not charged for washing the dishes. In fact, a good waiter will rectify the issue and replace your faulty meal with one that is prepared correctly. At the very least, a discount is usually applied to the check, if the entire meal is not offered gratis!!!
If an airline loses your luggage during a flight, they do not add insult to injury by forcing their passenger to pay to deliver the bags!!!
I am uncertain if my experience is a product of arrogance or ignorance, but Airkewld will not receive another cent of mine. Virtually every aspect of my order, aside from timely correspondence from Pete, was completely unacceptable. I felt everyone should be aware of the potential pitfalls of Airkewld products. BUYER BEWARE!!!!
In related news, I replaced the defective Airkewld units with a CSP Kit front and rear. Even with the considerable time zone difference, I had GREAT customer service from Gunter. My order was at my door a week after being placed...from half a world away!!! (Much better than 50 days from Airkewld in Arizona.) All this great service from CSP, a company in a country (Germany) where English is not even the native language. It is certainly more expensive (but then again Airkewld wasn't cheap to begin with), but the engineering and quality of the CSP kit are lightyears ahead of Airkewld. In my opinion, I should have gone with CSP first and saved all the hassle and frustration...it is DEFINITELY worth it in the long run. Hope I can spare some of you from such a horrible experience.
