I actually bought a "new" Arnott replacement air strut (from Rock Auto) that comes with a new Eibach strut and Continental bladder. I did not have to deal with returning my old (still functional) unit....

Wondering how long it will last....

 

New strut would mean new casted parts along with all the rubber components installed.
remanufacturrd part would mean used casted parts and all rubber parts replaced with new.
The main difference I see us quality if the rubber used. Generic falls faster. Owm lasts longer. Wonder what Arnott uses.

 

I am very glad that all this stuff is helpful to y'all.
No need to spend 10k on airshock work.
Would have been different if dealers were actually reasonable. But they're not.
I'm knocking on wood, my ptt has been putting error free. Only gas and oils. And routine stuff.
Hand broke recently so nothing will be touched for a while.

Keep up the good job with DIY tasks. We'll worth it.

 

Note between NEW and REMAN Arnott units:

First, for those unaware: PASM mode (comfort/sport/sport+) does more than change ride height (done using the airbags), it also changes the damping rate of the shocks by sending an electric current to the shock. (this is the connector in the top center shaft of the shock)

Arnott REMAN is built using PASM cores for shocks and retains the adjustable damping.

Arnott NEW is built with "normal" non-adjustable Eibach shocks.

The new Arnott units will have ride height adjustment (due to the airbags obviously), but they do NOT have adjustable damping like the OE parts (and Arnott Reman units) have.

 

I've wondered the same. Arnott stresses VERY strongly on their website that they use "OEM type material on the CONTITECH bladder!"
They keep saying that over and over that I start to get a feeling, "they doth protest too much..."
They never mention who their suppliers are for other critical parts - do they use cheap rubber O-rings? (most likely wear/leak point) EPDM? Buna-N? Viton?
:shrug:

 

I have no idea if the Eibach strut has variable damping. I have one original air strut on the passenger side with supposedly replacement OEM air bag. I have the new Arnott unit on the driver side. I have tried Sport mode but not Sport +. I did not notice any weird feeling from different damping left or right in Sport mode, thankfully. I guess I should try Sport + one of these days...

 

It does not.

I dug through the Arnott stuff extensively when I sourced new parts to replace my failed fronts.

The Arnott website describes the difference if you read REALLY closely, it's not easy to catch in their product description, IMO.

Arnott at one point had a member on the forums (I think his name was Doug?) interacting with people and answering questions. When asked, he said very clearly that the "new" Arnott units use non-adjustable Eibach shocks instead of the adjustable OEM cores on the "reman" Arnott units.

 

@ciaka @sac02 Good catch! I had no clue!!! Luckily I don't feel a difference side to side AND no error codes!

Will Arnott designed new struts work with my vehicle's suspension controls?

Arnott Remanufactured OE struts use the vehicle’s internal electronic controls to adjust factory supplied suspension controls such as auto-leveling and / or auto damping (where available). Arnott designed new struts use custom valved shocks that don’t require or use the factory air suspension controls.

 

That there is a bunch of dog-squeezings. For that kind of scratch they're effectively disabling part of the suspension. Yeah, no.

 

I thought I got the last laugh, the new struts are actually cheaper than remanufactured (if you keep your core). It turns out Arnott got the last laugh!

Does anyone know if they somehow rebuild/renew/refresh the strut/shock portion or just reuse it? They have a finite lifespan of about 120k mi if I remember correctly. (Maybe that was 120k km...)

 

I had the exact same question. I read through a bunch of "Arnott Doug" (again, if that's the right name) posts and he was very quick to say - but also very carefully chose his words - to say things like "we thoroughly clean!" and "we confirm sure it's fully functioning! and not leaking!", BUT he very specifically avoided saying anything that would be part of ACTUALLY rebuilding the shock, like disassembling, revalving, refreshing shim stacks, resealing, etc.

My very strong suspicion is that they take cores, clean them, make sure they aren't leaking, and use them as-is.

On the other hand (in Arnott's defense), the air spring tends to fail WAAAY before the shock (my car needed it's second set of fronts at ~94k), so it's probably fair to assume that the typical cores (full spring+shock assembly) they are getting from customers with leaky air springs are probably pretty low mileage with decent shocks. :shrug:

And in another thought, they are really getting a good deal on those cores - they are paying peanuts ($200) for a $1200 Porsche shock that is probably perfectly functional, and a $1600 Porsche air spring that 50% of the time probably only needs new O-rings. I wonder if you called them up and tried to negotiate if you could get more than $200 for your core, I think it's worth a lot more than $200.

 

Had my shocks replaced under warranty 18 months ago. Got in the turbo today (2012) and got chassis failure. Went away after restart. I did have car in 2 days prior getting pads/rotors?
Car raises and lowers fine but does not show on the instrument cluster s teen like usual….. strange
I believe when taking it to Porsche dealer there is a two year warranty on the suspension work? Thanks in advance

 

It should be two years. (I want to say unlimited miles).

 

"I did have car in 2 days prior getting pads/rotors?"
Are you asking us? Or telling us? Don't know what this means.


If chassis system failure error comes up but clears after restart, means it's temporary, could be good or bad.
Good because ecu or other not movable parts are likely working OK.
Bad because there are many many mo able parts, any of which can throw this error.

Don't know what this means...
"Car raises and lowers fine but does not show on the instrument cluster s teen like usual….."
If you can raise/lower suspension, it should always show on cluster. If takes long time, it means low oressure in system. If shocks relatively new, then you have valve block that can leak (can't really test, replace only option for about 150).
then you have compressor. If old, likely does not generate pressure well and cam leak too. Replacement is best course(about 600).
This assumes all lines not broken. That is very rare.
If it was me, I would pd on piwis2, then go from there.
If you have no piwis2, and need to fix. Replace valve block and compressor.. easy to do,, takes time..
good luck..

 

​​​​​​Did you get the pads/rotors replaced at the dealer? Need to turn off the suspension control before lifting or you risk damaging the struts. Dealer would definitely know to do this but others may not....