Old Library

Hoo boy.  I'll reply to the group, cuz it might interest y'all:

I have AVO coilovers, and was noticing a lot of thumping noise in the
front over low speed bumps, mainly from the right front corner.  Also,
my left front damping-adjustment knob went south, and wouldn't turn the
normal # of revs.  I called Scott at CFI Motorsports and told him I was
sending the left front back to have it repaired/replaced.  I also pulled
the right front, just to have a look, and noticed the rod (piston?) was
binding because it was bent!  So I sent them both back.  CFI should have
received them yesterday, and I'll call today if I don't hear from Scott
first.

-- Jay Saathoff

> -----Original Message-----
&gt; From:	&#84;H34303&#64;swt<img src=/i/de.gif border=0 width=35 height=15> [SMTP:]
> Sent:	Friday, December 12, 1997 6:41 AM
&gt; To:	&#71;TI-VR6&#64;dev.tivoli<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>
> Subject:	jay s.
>
> Hey Jay, was wondering if you got the problem with the coilovers
> fixed.
> How did you do it?  I'm still not sure if mine are right or not.
>
> -tommy
>
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Is it me or does it seems a whole bunch of list members are having their
AVO systems crap out.  It seems all the stuff tuners have told me (Read:
AVO is crap quality) seems to be true.


Mark Radelow
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Peter Howe, owner of CFI Motorsports in New Jersey, just called.  He
received my two front AVO's yesterday, and went to great lengths to
explain why it would take up to three weeks to get them fixed/replaced.
It seems AVO's U.S. distributor went under/got kicked off the team, for
some expense-skimming thing that Peter took ten minutes to explain.  I
just called Ron's Parts (who also carries AVO) for a second opinion, and
Dustin there had also heard of AVO's U.S. distributor problems, so I
guess that story checks out.

I guess I'll put my stock fronts back on until Peter's time is up, at
which time I'll start fighting for a refund.  Since the rear AVO's are
fine, I'd rather leave them alone.  Does anyone think I could just cut
my stock front springs to match the rear ride height?  Has anyone tried
this (e-mail me privately if you don't want to get flamed ;-).  Remember
this is just temporary, so don't flame me for what I already know is a
half-assed solution!

-- Jay Saathoff

Maybe next time, I'll try SPAX.
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I, too, have had problems with my Avo coilovers from day 1.  After one
front shock seized within half a mile of installation, I ordered a
replacement from Ron's Parts.  It worked better, but was bloody loud.
In fact both front shocks were displaying a horrible knocking sound.
Knowing that I would get a runaround and absolutely zero resolvement of
the problem from that spineless scumbag of the earth named Ron Johnson
(former owner of Ron's Parts and first class asshole), I sent a fax
directly to Rod Avon expressing my displeasure with his product.  The
next morning he called me back, stating:

1)  He knew exactly what the problem was.  Oil was seeping around the
piston when it wasn't supposed to, causing the knock.  I heard
subsequently from someone else who faxed Rod that they had traced the
problem to a faulty batch of parts from one of their suppliers.  Rod did
not mention this to me.

2)  He agreed to air express new shocks with revised internals off to me
within 10 days, and pick up the freight for the ones coming back to him.

3)  This conversation occured at the beginning of November, and I still
have yet to receive anything from him.  A call last week brought the
excuse that he was away on business and hadn't had time to send them
yet.  They will supposedly be here next week.  I think that it's funny
that paying shipments were still being sent while Rod was away, but that
warranty work wasn't attended to.

So, while I'm still giving Rod Avon the benefit of the doubt, I'm
downright disappointed in the satisfaction I have received to date.  If
the new shocks still knock, then I'll probably just take my losses and
sell the whole kit, to be replaced with Spax or something.

In other news, the rear springs squeak when they compress and extend.
How do I get rid of this problem?  Does surgical tubing over the coils
or something help?  Are there spring spacers to prevent coil contact?

Other than the noise generated by the kit, the suspension really does
work quite well.

Later
Rob
93 SLC

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Mark Klaus Radelow wrote:
>
> Is it me or does it seems a whole bunch of list members are having their
> AVO systems crap out.  It seems all the stuff tuners have told me (Read:
> AVO is crap quality) seems to be true.
>
> Mark Radelow

	One of my friends who is building an A2 GTI VR6 has a set of AVO
Coilovers he is going to be throwing on his car.  He actually has one of
the last set of nickel coated sets to come to the country.  They look ok
to me, but since he is missing tie rods and radiator hoses, he hasn't
had the thing out of the garage yet..

Abe

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E-Mail:  &#97;be&#64;wasting-bandwidth<img src=/i/dn.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>
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While I was down at CFI today, I made sure to ask about the rash
of AVO problems people here have been having.  As I suspected, they
are negotiating to be the new US distributor.  Here's the news, straight
from the source.

AVO has been experiencing an uncomforable number of failures in their
VR6 components, but only in North America.  These same parts are working
fine in the UK and Europe.  AVO is seriously concerned about all of
these failures, and is working on a radical re-design of the VR6
setup.  The new setup will have better seals, and the shafts have
been increased significantly in diameter.  The first sets of the new
package will be coming out of their factory in a few weeks, and CFI
will be thrashing them on a VR6 for quality control.  I offered my
car for testing, because the roads that I drive on every day will
kill any suspension quickly.  Unfortunately, someone else beat me
to the volunteer line. :-(

AVO is very concerned about the problem, CFI does not want to get
a reputation for selling junk, and they are working together to
solve everyone's problems.  If you're waiting for an AVO exchange,
please bear with them.  They want to get it right.

Other news from my visit is that they are bringing in the Bonrath
lower rear cup spoiler, and they gave me the Bonrath catalog. They
are also in the process of becoming a Ferodo brake distributor.  I
got some great Neuspeed gossip that I can't repeat.  We were talking
about coil-overs, and they pointed out that the Koni setup for the
VR6 is $2000.

Like I've said before, CFI is the nicest store of any
kind that I've ever been to.....

-Arthur
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