So my car just got transported back to Vancouver last Friday. I had it dropped off at the dealership for an inspection as at the end of the trip I had a check engine light plus I managed to ran over a rock during one of the canyon drives through LA. I heard a crunch sound and knew I had broken something expensive.
It got up on a hoist today, one of the turning vanes is crumbling from the impact and needed to be replaced.
But that's not the expensive bit.
The rock also managed to puncture an underbody panel cover.
This panel is the single biggest panel underneath the car and the replacement cost is over 20k!
The check engine light was for a 'blocked radiator fan'. Translation, pebbles got stuck on the fan motor.
Ooofff... behold the disadvantage of CFRP... it is sexy af, but quite vulnerable to impacts, difficult to repair and expensive to produce... Well, hope they'll have your replacement part installed soon! On the other hand will you be driving the 918 in the winter in Vancouver?
Porsche, separates Le Mans from Le Boys
Ouch, "most expensive rock on the road" describes it perfectly, sorry to hear that.
I never liked the CF parts at sensible locations, I never ticked the boxes for "rear diffusor in CF" for example mainly because such reason (and cost ).
Does anybody know the weight difference between CF and some polymer? Can't be that much IMO, but would be waaayyy cheaper.
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Rossi:Ouch, "most expensive rock on the road" describes it perfectly, sorry to hear that.
I never liked the CF parts at sensible locations, I never ticked the boxes for "rear diffusor in CF" for example mainly because such reason (and cost ).
Does anybody know the weight difference between CF and some polymer? Can't be that much IMO, but would be waaayyy cheaper.
Replacement cost for my R8 rear wing is 4500 EUR or so. Rear diffusor is around 6000 EUR. Front lip is around 2500 EUR or so. I wish I knew that when I was driving the car in Italy but I was lucky, nothing happened. These parts aren't even really full CF...I think...more some sort of a material mix.
Carbon looks nice and may have some certain advantages but I agree with you, some better quality "plastic" parts cannot be that much heavier or worse in rigidity in certain regions of the car where structural integrity isn't a serious issue.
I feel so sorry for Nick, this really hurts when your "baby" gets damaged. I just hope his insurance is going to pay for that.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Audi R8 V10 Plus (2017), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)
29-nov-2016 16:01:55
You could probably get one made for a fraction of that cost, no? It's just a giant flat piece of carbon, right? The mark-up on that Porsche piece is probably 1000%.
Unless there is worry about something getting in there, you could probably just patch it and call it a day. Superficial damage otherwise.
Gnil:The car should stay in the garage and be pampered like a queen, never go out , under any circumstance . Engine never turned on... you never know what could happen and it will make the exhaust dirty .
Your comments may not be far from the truth. I think its bullshit what Nick has had to put up with this million dollar car. Now pebbles damage the underside and he needs to spend $20,000 to replace it? it is a given that debris from the street will hit the under carriage and the design of the car should withstand those eventualities.
"A man wrapped up in himself makes for a very small bundle."
Gnil:The car should stay in the garage and be pampered like a queen, never go out , under any circumstance . Engine never turned on... you never know what could happen and it will make the exhaust dirty .
Sarcasm. I like.
2015 981 Cayman GT4 | Powerkit White - The fastest car on Rennteam
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nberry:Gnil:The car should stay in the garage and be pampered like a queen, never go out , under any circumstance . Engine never turned on... you never know what could happen and it will make the exhaust dirty .
Your comments may not be far from the truth. I think its bullshit what Nick has had to put up with this million dollar car. Now pebbles damage the underside and he needs to spend $20,000 to replace it? it is a given that debris from the street will hit the under carriage and the design of the car should withstand those eventualities.
It is a million dollar science project. Not a tank.
2015 981 Cayman GT4 | Powerkit White - The fastest car on Rennteam
2013 Audi S3 | Glacier White
nberry:Gnil:The car should stay in the garage and be pampered like a queen, never go out , under any circumstance . Engine never turned on... you never know what could happen and it will make the exhaust dirty .
Your comments may not be far from the truth. I think its bullshit what Nick has had to put up with this million dollar car. Now pebbles damage the underside and he needs to spend $20,000 to replace it? it is a given that debris from the street will hit the under carriage and the design of the car should withstand those eventualities.
It's not $20K to fix, it's $20K for Porsche to fix. The part is worth pennies on the dollar if it was function over form, or sold by someone else.
Here is a pic of the damage with my finger as a size reference
This is a gigantic piece
And of course, it is made in China!
Very dirty, I know. Those were dusty from my track. My mechanic forgot to take a pic of the engine bay when he did the yearly service, it looks like a dust bomb has been exploded in there.
It should be repairable, my mechanic build stuff out of carbon fiber on the side too and he thinks even the crumpling turning vane can be repaired.
I am OCD, but not to a point where I am gonna put in a new panel. or even a turning vane. These stuff goes under the car, the only person that will ever see it is my mechanic. And they WILL get damaged again.
The point of repairing was to keep it water tight. With that little hole and me driving back from SF to LA in the rain already has stuff stuck to the underbody which he has to clean out.
And the lucky thing is, the rock impacted at 1 of 2 spots that has a void on the other side, if it had hit anywhere else it would have damaged something important!
Nick, that is good news. But why should you have to be concerned whenever you drive the car? Porsche should make this right. This is a million dollar car designed for high speed tracking and public road driving. The carbon underside should be able to withstand small impediments striking it. Given that you're a valued client, I would speak with Porsche about replacing the underside as a goodwill gesture. The worst that could happen is they say no.
Half ass repair is not warranted for this car.
"A man wrapped up in himself makes for a very small bundle."
The underbody panels are pretty strong. I ran over a really good sized rock you know........................
There are other stuff that I did to the underbody toot other times, bottoming out and such, and those carbon turning vanes took some really good beating.
As for the good will, I am not gonna waste it on a underbody panel, there might be other more important stuff in the future.
Oh also they are not really quite off the hook yet for paying for something on my car, they might have to shell out for a new front e-motor in my car. It is making some unusual sound and my mechanic is asking Germany about it
nberry:The cost of repair is peanuts compared to the profit they made off you and will continue to make off you.
No, buying that 918 is an awesome investment, as it puts you in the VIP club for many years of lucrative options on limited models. Even if he didn't like the 918 that well (which he obviously does), it was a very smart buy!
73 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber replica (1,890 lbs), 06 EVO9 with track mods. Former: 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi
nberry:Nick, that is good news. But why should you have to be concerned whenever you drive the car? Porsche should make this right. This is a million dollar car designed for high speed tracking and public road driving. The carbon underside should be able to withstand small impediments striking it. Given that you're a valued client, I would speak with Porsche about replacing the underside as a goodwill gesture. The worst that could happen is they say no.
Half ass repair is not warranted for this car.
Unfortunately, he is correct that this will happen again. From an engineering perspective, Porsche was trying to shave every pound off the car. For someone who actually uses their car heavily, something like aluminum is a better option. Once you pick carbon, it is going to be vulnerable to larger rocks.
In my track group, many people forwent the fancy carbon diffusers in favor of aluminum ones even though the latter added a costly 4-5 .lbs to the back fo the car, not where you want weight hanging off.
One must consider the last Ng term provenance of the vehicle at the 918's price point. I'd order the CF panel one part as cheaply as possible, store it, and use whatever alternative you felt was appropriate now. At some point you'll want it all back tooriginal spec, and Porsche parts don't go down in price...