Installing SRI Gold kit today - little help?

Dave, I respect you, but frankley, John's comments are not nonsense. He's made very valid points and I don't understand why you are so defensive about it.

 

Unplug your TPS and get back to me...

 

THAT is an utter non-sequitur and had nothing to do with dissimilar metals or contact problems. The aluminum wire fatigued and cracked (causing open circuits, shorts, and fire-starting arcing) from repeated expansion / contraction stress and plastic yielding during installation.

 

Dave, I've not taken the time to investigate every statement John or you have made. I'm refering to many, not all statements.

He just posted data about dis-similar metals, that did not seem to be nonsense to me....

 

Pretty hard to have "fretting" without relative motion ---- as is the case (no fretting) with snap-locked connectors.

 

After all these years in development, testimonials and proven track record, I cannot believe Dave Helms is actually having to defend himself and his product.

This is ridiculous....my car is getting the SRI gold kit and hose kit at the next major for sure.

 

Look at the periodic table and study that closely RE the dissimilar metals. In a NEW DESIGN, one should NOT use components of different make up, anyone can figure that out. That stated, Ferrari did exactly this on critical connections that HAD to stand up, and did so on the TPS. Even in their efforts, they used a vastly sub standard quality GOLD contact on TIN pins, and this practice started long before the 355.

I choose to use HISTORY as my teacher.... others use theory, which is right, which is wrong? I state soldering the wires leads to breakage.... because I Know, not some theory. I state not to chemically treat the wires because I Know, not because I am guessing. I state the flux contamination is a very real issue because I have made the mistake and had to repair it.....

I only find exception to statements made by guessing with total disregard to experience and history. That is talk of someone with a motive... one I do not understand but one that is clearly evident. My intent is not to "defend" Fab, just to stop/check the chain of bad information so it doesnt become std practice and accepted as fact.

 

interesting. do you know if the connections are gold to gold or gold to tin?

 

Off topic:

The correct spelling of your call sign should be "didimau..."

Back on topic now...

 

Um yeah I am with Finnerty, fretting corrosion is what they are talking about in that article and you won't have that in a solid connector.

I see fretting corrosion all the time on my aircraft but its on the skin and rivets not in a male/female electrical connection.

 

dissimilar metal electrical contacts is not recommended on many things such as audio, computer ram, etc. i would argue that those items would have less movement/vibration than that of a car engine going down the road. i wouldn't go as far to say that the cars that have the kits are hampered but I will say that:

gold + gold = best connection
tin + tin = not as good
gold + tin = not recommened

 

The results of Dave's work and the satisfaction of his clients with properly and completely installed gold kits speak for themselves very loudly, such that there is no argument, much less discussion, as to their merits. Anything else is just static IMO.

 

As Dave stated if anyone of you jamokes out there thinks I'm a shill be prepared to say that to my face and the consequences thereafter. I deal and only deal with what actually works. My car was history 3 years ago now it's fricking amazing and it is because of the mind boggling passion Mr. Helms has for these cars. Or you can keep doing the same crap you guys have always been doing, makes no nevermind to me.

 

Johnk,

All emotions aside, SRI is not doing anything crazy. There are gold on tin right from the Ferrari factory on mission critical connectors. Do you have any idea why this is the case?

2 years ago we hashed out this exact issue with even better written evidence than you posted here. Go back and do a search. Again checkers in a chess world. Parameters. Your engineering is not wrong just may not apply.

I am on my 6th Ferrari since the 80's. 308 and have lived every pain ferrari can deliver. These last 2 trouble free gold connector years have changed my life. Still I am a skeptic and as posted earlier have a new to me 2nd 550maranello. I pulled the connectors off my old 550 for a reason. Before I pay good money for my 2nd gold kit I want to make sure it makes sense despite the fact that I appear to be living the dream.

So also in an earlier post I pulled gold connectors and looked at them with a microscope! There is no corrosion there at all. Everything looks as installed 2 years ago. My worries about corrosion and pin contact pressure were unfounded. Dave knew this years ago. But I am still a guy who "mearures twice and cuts once'. I had to confirm it for myself.

I am installing that 2nd gold kit.

 

I agree with this because of my first had experience and the amount of reading I have done prior to my purchasing of the kit.

Everything else is just "static" as plugzit said.

 

I too installed the gold kit 3 years ago and my car runs stronger than it ever had before. There is no corrosion on the connectors either. What we must all realize here is that there are some on here with other motives (johnk) and many on here who couldn't cut a perfect circle if you handed them the scissors, pencil and a grade 4 geometry set. Thats just the way it is on here. On another note, I may be driving to Vegas in sept and if I do, I will be passing through Denver and will make one of our stops at Daves shop. I want to meet the man that Ive talked to on the phone many times and has had a hand in making my 355 more reliable. Plus Ive never met a female that can pull an engine from one of these babies.

 

Are you stalking Dave?

 

Aside from the corrosion discussion (of which I totally ignorant), and I may be totally wrong here, but I recall from somewhere that Dave's little gold clamps are more robust in their lack of developing bite fatigue, so they are less prone to losing contact over time than the weaker jawed originals. If true, that seems possibly more important than maybe/maybe not corrosion. If I'm totally wrong on this, sorry. If someone already brought up this issue in the many lengthy dissertations in this thread, my apologies for being repetitive.
I will add that the few times I've unplugged a connector, those gold contacts look shiny brand new, and my kit's been on 18 months.

 

You just need proper HAND-ling and Tin on gold....would be tender - would be gentle and awful sentimental....
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You are a wise man, I have the full SRI gold kit and have been one of the beta testers as well. It is amazing the difference the gold kit makes, my car recently walked away from another 355 that had just had a major service somewhere else to the point the owner wanted to know what I had done to my car. It is amazing how smart we all are the first year we own these cars and then look back after 7 years of ownership, only to learn we knew nothing early on. I will trust Dave who has made the 355 his passion since it came out over anyone that is only a short time owner. Dave is correct on how the new performance can require one to upgrade your suspension, my car was the one he was talking about getting sideways in second gear, thanks to Rob at Delta Vee for upgrading my shocks. If you have a chance to drive one of the cars that Dave has transformed, it will spoil you for one that just runs great. I am not a shill for Dave, just another wildly satisfied customer (seems to be a trend)!

 

I have had Dave's Gold Kit on my car for years. I was either the first DIY installer on a 348 or very close to it with one of the early beta test kits. I've posted my positive experience with the kit before - it works as advertised and is worth every penny. End of story.

 

When my car ends up at Dave's I would love to have a ride in yours so that I can get an idea of what to expect when mine's done I take mine on the track when I feel like giving the Porsche a rest so upgrading the brakes and suspension at the same time is something I would want done as well.

 

I will be happy to take you for a ride and let you feel the difference behind the wheel as well as long as I am available when you bring your car to Dave, work schedule has been brutal at 90 hours a week lately.

 

Brutal doesn't quite do 90 hours a week justice! I hope it settles down for you soon.