Just a thought for anyone in Europe wanting to get parts from the US: We ordered from Arricambi the following parts 3 months ago: 1 pair 27,3mm torsion bars, 2ea 1"rear sway bars, 1 set hi-perf V6 valve springs and 1 set 4cyl valve springs. Total US price about $620. How much did it end up here, after shipping, EuroVAT, customs brokerage and import duty?....970Euros or....$1310 !!!
Cheap dollar you say? Hardee-har-har!!Maybe, on paper!
Its nice to figure everything out before deciding what is cheap and what not!
Regards
Jim K.
Brian, the other guy I ordered the stuff with has all the paperwork. I'll see if he can give it to me tomorrow and I'll post. The best thing to do when you order from the US, is to ask the vendor to state a much lower price in the shipping papers (like half or less!) Most of them happily comply as it makes no difference to them.They get their $$ from VISA and everyone is happy (well,not everyone, but who gives a sheeet!Hah!)Stupidly enough, we didn't do it this time. Then, when the stuff gets to you, all surcharges are based on the price shown in the shipping papers,heheh! I tried to save some money 8 years ago, when I ordered a complete suspension for my old 3liter from Arricambi and chose 'surface shipping'. Four months later(!!!!) the package arrived, just as I was talking with the vendor about insurance payment. The ship from LA must have docked in every port along the way and then some!
Get back to you tomorrow!
Regards,
Jim K.
Get back to you tomorrow!
Regards,
Jim K.
Hi Z,
Why not? I've had good service from them every time I've ordered things. Is there another place to buy the same stuff (like complete 75 suspension) at a lower price? I'd be glad to hear about it!!
In Europe the same parts are either more expensive or non existent. The exception is Ron's front sway bar, which for size (30mm and 28mm) and price (135Euros) can't be beaten.
Regards,
Jim K.
Why not? I've had good service from them every time I've ordered things. Is there another place to buy the same stuff (like complete 75 suspension) at a lower price? I'd be glad to hear about it!!
In Europe the same parts are either more expensive or non existent. The exception is Ron's front sway bar, which for size (30mm and 28mm) and price (135Euros) can't be beaten.
Regards,
Jim K.
Brian, I got my numbers screwed up,thinking without the documents in hand.Here's the actual breakdown for you:
Totalprice of goods USD 667 or 520Euro
Shipping 98Euro
Import duty 143E
Customs storage 35E (2 days!!!!)
Customs brokerage 80E
Brokerage VAT 15E
Load/Unload 35E (from where to where???!!!)
Other charges 46E (short for Gov't stealing!!!)
Resulting cost of goods here: 972Euro! Not bad, 86% more!!Cheap dollar they all say, HAH!!!
Totalprice of goods USD 667 or 520Euro
Shipping 98Euro
Import duty 143E
Customs storage 35E (2 days!!!!)
Customs brokerage 80E
Brokerage VAT 15E
Load/Unload 35E (from where to where???!!!)
Other charges 46E (short for Gov't stealing!!!)
Resulting cost of goods here: 972Euro! Not bad, 86% more!!Cheap dollar they all say, HAH!!!
-
MerrilGordon
- Gold
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2004 5:55 pm
- Location: Marysville, WA. USA
Hmmm . . . .
Total Price Goods 520Euro ok
Shipping 98 Euro. Seems ok
Import Duty 147E
Ok, I don't know but it seems like a lot to us US folks.
Customs Storage 35E
What a rip off ! I think the import duty should have
taken care of that.
Customs Brokerage 80E
No wonder you guys feel like you’ve been ripped
a new one. It all sounds like the same function to me.
Brokerage VAT 15E
Must be like buying a house, everyone’s got their
hands in your pocket.
Load/Unload 35E
Umm, I see shipping up there. Is this a government’s
way to put the exporter at a disadvantage
and rip off the local customer at the same time ?
Other Charges 46E
Kind of like adding insult to injury huh. I wonder
if this is a cross governmental bribery expense
that is also passed onto the . . . uh . . customer.
Merril
Total Price Goods 520Euro ok
Shipping 98 Euro. Seems ok
Import Duty 147E
Ok, I don't know but it seems like a lot to us US folks.
Customs Storage 35E
What a rip off ! I think the import duty should have
taken care of that.
Customs Brokerage 80E
No wonder you guys feel like you’ve been ripped
a new one. It all sounds like the same function to me.
Brokerage VAT 15E
Must be like buying a house, everyone’s got their
hands in your pocket.
Load/Unload 35E
Umm, I see shipping up there. Is this a government’s
way to put the exporter at a disadvantage
and rip off the local customer at the same time ?
Other Charges 46E
Kind of like adding insult to injury huh. I wonder
if this is a cross governmental bribery expense
that is also passed onto the . . . uh . . customer.
Merril
82 GTV6 3.0
Well, we kinda knew we'd have to 'drop'em!, turn around and bend over' but we didn't know how many people were in line,hahah! The gov't should be more direct and say: 'this is all mine and we call it 10 different things, so fork out!' Now we know to the letter. You see, a pair of torsion bars costs $245 at Arricambi and 400Euros from a vendor in Germany,BUT, we have to add 40E for shipping and 18%VAT for a total received price of 519Euros!(VAT also applies to shipping charges!). The pair from Arricambi, now that we know the math, will cost less! Its all a function of value and weight.
Regards,
Jim K.
Regards,
Jim K.
hi jim !
does ricambi have a website?
thats a damn good price for those torsion bars !! i want them pronto ! I dont think i'll have customs problems either, i doubt they'll know of the two providers here in OZ !
speaking of which, i dont mean to attack those companies, they provide fanatsic support for a fledgling market, and i'm sure its not easy blah blah... but damn ! they know damn well they're the only two companies making stuff for the alfa suspension (shall remain nameless) and they charge like a bull as a result!
i find it incredible and sickening that the RS racing kit is so affordable, being in euros. i could just about pay for them right now with some euros i have laying about, ex shipping of course
so i'm very interested in this set up... this is for the road right? what dampeners and settings do you use with these? sway bars?
i'm looking for a smart road set up, comfortable but something that eliminates the stock "float" effect and body roll. i've read that this can be done with lowering the stock bars, on the other hand some have said the front needs bigger bars period... pls tell me your opinion, its highly appreciated !
cheers
joe
does ricambi have a website?
thats a damn good price for those torsion bars !! i want them pronto ! I dont think i'll have customs problems either, i doubt they'll know of the two providers here in OZ !
speaking of which, i dont mean to attack those companies, they provide fanatsic support for a fledgling market, and i'm sure its not easy blah blah... but damn ! they know damn well they're the only two companies making stuff for the alfa suspension (shall remain nameless) and they charge like a bull as a result!
i find it incredible and sickening that the RS racing kit is so affordable, being in euros. i could just about pay for them right now with some euros i have laying about, ex shipping of course
so i'm very interested in this set up... this is for the road right? what dampeners and settings do you use with these? sway bars?
i'm looking for a smart road set up, comfortable but something that eliminates the stock "float" effect and body roll. i've read that this can be done with lowering the stock bars, on the other hand some have said the front needs bigger bars period... pls tell me your opinion, its highly appreciated !
cheers
joe
Joey, email to Brad Bunch at autosysg@earthlink.net he's been very helpful with our stuff.
Now, about suspension setup...I have a heavy car and I'm more than happy with the RSRacing setup, which I have used now for about 10 months. In addition,I have 27,3mm torsion bars, 25,4mm rear sway (Arricambi) and Ron's 30mm front sway with unibal links. Everything else on the car is polyurethane. I do not change ride height for the track, as I don't want to be bothered. Its not as easy as it sounds-plus I'm 52 years old,heheh! I don't like a choppy ride and I don't drive on rough dirt roads. Before the RSR, I had Bilsteins and was very happy with them too, after having experimented with most shocks available for the 75 (Koni, Spax, Avo, Spica Racing). I originally had the 27mm front sway (arricambi)but it was too light for my 1390kg job. I also had an 8pt cage installed,one that doesn't interfere with rear seat passengers at all (custom made for the application). I'm more than satisfied with handling and I believe its a closed subject, for my car anyway (and pocket, too!!). I followed ron's instruction regarding geometry too, setting toe-in at 4mm and camber at 2,5* neg. Works great on the street, but you must keep an eye for possible early wheel bearing wear, especially on a heavy car. As for the coilovers, I've set them up so the springs come into play only after a certain small chassis roll, therefore, most of the time the torsion bars do the work. In my case I opted for 50kg rear springs and 100kg front ones.
If you want another solution, here's what I have on the Turbo: the same 27,3mm torsion bars, the old 27mm front sway, 25,4mm rear sway, Bilsteins and for rear springs I have the items sold by EBSpares (they're sold together with their own 28mm front sway, which is a kit produced by Harvey Bailey-a very good one!). I had to shorten these springs by about 1 turn to correct ride height. Prices now: RSRacing kit 1300E, RSR 30mm sway 135E,RSR unibals 100E, Arricambi 27,3mm torsion set $245, Bilstein set 300E (here in Athens) and the EBSpares kit (front sway+springs) 285UKP, custom cage 1000E. There you are, the whole story.
Anything else you want, let me know.
Jim K.
Now, about suspension setup...I have a heavy car and I'm more than happy with the RSRacing setup, which I have used now for about 10 months. In addition,I have 27,3mm torsion bars, 25,4mm rear sway (Arricambi) and Ron's 30mm front sway with unibal links. Everything else on the car is polyurethane. I do not change ride height for the track, as I don't want to be bothered. Its not as easy as it sounds-plus I'm 52 years old,heheh! I don't like a choppy ride and I don't drive on rough dirt roads. Before the RSR, I had Bilsteins and was very happy with them too, after having experimented with most shocks available for the 75 (Koni, Spax, Avo, Spica Racing). I originally had the 27mm front sway (arricambi)but it was too light for my 1390kg job. I also had an 8pt cage installed,one that doesn't interfere with rear seat passengers at all (custom made for the application). I'm more than satisfied with handling and I believe its a closed subject, for my car anyway (and pocket, too!!). I followed ron's instruction regarding geometry too, setting toe-in at 4mm and camber at 2,5* neg. Works great on the street, but you must keep an eye for possible early wheel bearing wear, especially on a heavy car. As for the coilovers, I've set them up so the springs come into play only after a certain small chassis roll, therefore, most of the time the torsion bars do the work. In my case I opted for 50kg rear springs and 100kg front ones.
If you want another solution, here's what I have on the Turbo: the same 27,3mm torsion bars, the old 27mm front sway, 25,4mm rear sway, Bilsteins and for rear springs I have the items sold by EBSpares (they're sold together with their own 28mm front sway, which is a kit produced by Harvey Bailey-a very good one!). I had to shorten these springs by about 1 turn to correct ride height. Prices now: RSRacing kit 1300E, RSR 30mm sway 135E,RSR unibals 100E, Arricambi 27,3mm torsion set $245, Bilstein set 300E (here in Athens) and the EBSpares kit (front sway+springs) 285UKP, custom cage 1000E. There you are, the whole story.
Anything else you want, let me know.
Jim K.
thanks for your time jim, thats great !
will chase up that email !
what i want to know is which is the preferred street setup? realistically i wont see much track time, but i want a fairly competent setup... now that i know you're running a RSR on these bigger torsions engaing after some roll, i assume you would say the torsions alone are enough for street duty?
keep in mind this is for a gtv6.
ok, these 27.3mm bars sound good, but how are they compared to stock? in your estimation are the stock bars too small to eliminate roll and understeer? its interesting that you note that the 27s are a tad small, b/c the smallest size PACE make now is 28mm, suggesting stock definately is.
finally, would you say given your set-up, that the RS kit would have any real advantages for street duty?
cheers for the info ! (anyone else feel free to jump in with their 2 cents!)
joe
will chase up that email !
what i want to know is which is the preferred street setup? realistically i wont see much track time, but i want a fairly competent setup... now that i know you're running a RSR on these bigger torsions engaing after some roll, i assume you would say the torsions alone are enough for street duty?
keep in mind this is for a gtv6.
ok, these 27.3mm bars sound good, but how are they compared to stock? in your estimation are the stock bars too small to eliminate roll and understeer? its interesting that you note that the 27s are a tad small, b/c the smallest size PACE make now is 28mm, suggesting stock definately is.
finally, would you say given your set-up, that the RS kit would have any real advantages for street duty?
cheers for the info ! (anyone else feel free to jump in with their 2 cents!)
joe
Well Joey,its all a matter of what exactly you want to do and $$$ available. I suspect that for a gtv you would be happy with a big front sway (27-29) and DEFINITELY bigger torsion bars, 28 sounds fine. Now understeer, hmm, I would go against many guys here who vote against a big rear sway. If nothing else, when the front is stiffened too much,you get more understeer.Therefore my opinion isthat you need to counteract this with a stiffer rear, which works for me 100%. I'm not the supreme authority on this, nor I want to discount anyone else's opinion,but I say again it works for me! (maybe it only works on heavy cars?).
The RS kit in the street will probably not show its supremacy over just big torsion bars and rear springs, it comes down to $$ again!
In any case, the stock torsion bars make good crowbars, that's about it!
Jim K.
The RS kit in the street will probably not show its supremacy over just big torsion bars and rear springs, it comes down to $$ again!
In any case, the stock torsion bars make good crowbars, that's about it!
Jim K.
Yeah, you can actually remove the rear sway bar all together on a chassis with stock springs. We did this on an Alfetta me and a friend had as a track car, did wonders for driveability and laptimes. We could actually steer and put the power down after removing it... 
Mats Strandberg
-Scuderia Rosso- Now burned to the ground...
-onemanracing.com-
-Strandberg.photography-
GTV 2000 -77 - Died in the fire.
155 V6 Sport -96 - Sold!
-Scuderia Rosso- Now burned to the ground...
-onemanracing.com-
-Strandberg.photography-
GTV 2000 -77 - Died in the fire.
155 V6 Sport -96 - Sold!