Shock tower failure on 718 Spyder
#31
I'd argue that it's normal to hit potholes and steps on road. They're just a fact of life. Often they're unavoidable, and every other car that drives an order of magnitude more mileage in regions with crappier roads can handle them without destroying strut towers. Cars should be tolerant of hitting routine potholes. I've hit hundreds of potholes in my life, some of which bottomed out suspensions. Some were avoidable, some were not.
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JSF101 (12-19-2020)
#32
On the 718GT4 CS, there is a metal plate on the shock tower which is bolted via a rod to the front bulkhead and also bolted to an extension tube of the roll cage.
#33
Rennlist Member
car can handle better? They could redesign or add more material and still figure it out.
Hey someone please post the Facebook Spyder post for us non Facebook people. Thanks!
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Rxpert (07-22-2020)
#34
Rennlist Member
I'd argue that it's normal to hit potholes and steps on road. They're just a fact of life. Often they're unavoidable, and every other car that drives an order of magnitude more mileage in regions with crappier roads can handle them without destroying strut towers. Cars should be tolerant of hitting routine potholes. I've hit hundreds of potholes in my life, some of which bottomed out suspensions. Some were avoidable, some were not.
Here in NYC and the tri-state area, potholes and seams are unavoidable. I've cracked wheels, but never wrecked a strut tower.
Hell, a few years ago, I was driving at speed on the expressway in my old MKV GTI, and hit a pothole so bad the windshield cracked, radio flew out of the dash, blew a tire and bent two wheels. The engine shut off and the battery tray broke! I'm surprised the airbags didn't go off. All that, and the towers were totally fine. It's hard to justify fragile aluminum towers on a street car that can also be optioned with AC, double din nav radio and leather dash. And you can draw all the comparisons to the GT3 you want, but that's apples to oranges when you consider different shock stroke and/or springs.
Last edited by f50nut; 07-22-2020 at 06:42 PM.
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Rxpert (07-22-2020)
#35
I don't have photos to post, but a guy on the Facebook Spyder group experienced complete shock tower failure on his 12 day old Spyder - in street driving! I don't know much more than that, but this issue had of course previously occurred with 981 GT4s; I had not previously heard of this issue occurring with the 718 chassis.
#36
The SPMS Racing strut tower brace?? While it won't prevent the strut tower from cracking/breaking it seems, gotta think that if it prevents the tower from shooting up through the hood, that it more than pays for itself?? $495 for a set.
What's a new/repaired hood going to cost?? More than that I would guess? Anyone have these installed? https://www.spmsracing.com/2015-2016...rt-bracket-kit
What's a new/repaired hood going to cost?? More than that I would guess? Anyone have these installed? https://www.spmsracing.com/2015-2016...rt-bracket-kit
#37
Go to the GT4 forum and look at the top. There is a sticky. Very, very few failures but they do occur. The clubsport plate is there to stop the strut going thru the frunk lid. They have happened in competition and on roads (one up Pikes Peak if you search).
Some people's insurance covers the damage (pothole impact for example). Fix is c USD20-25k.
Obv not on track.
The people running the GT4CS have access to training to learn how to reapir.
Not great.
R
Some people's insurance covers the damage (pothole impact for example). Fix is c USD20-25k.
Obv not on track.
The people running the GT4CS have access to training to learn how to reapir.
Not great.
R
Last edited by Snowy999; 07-23-2020 at 04:30 AM.
#38
That's quite the range!!
Question - am I correct to assume that those that choose to lower the car (it has adjustable coils) like the CarswithLuke guy (believe he lowered 14mm) are potentially exacerbating the issue and increasing their odds of having this happen??
#39
Burning Brakes
This is depressing, I thought Porsche would have worked this out between generations.
#40
Rennlist Member
Hoping we get pics and more details soon. Agree with the comments the strut tower issue on the 981 was very uncommon. It seemed bigger given so much attention to a very small number of incidents that appeared to be related to some other acute event. All that being said, it's very troubling that this has popped up again in such a short amount of time.
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Denny Swift (07-22-2020),
JSF101 (12-20-2020)
#41
Stuff breaks, but this is not stuff.
This is the very structure of the car.
Years ago a colleague had a GM truck with an unusual frame rail defect that was the source of a subtle, but uncorrectable alignment problem.
GM replaced the truck with an identical new one. Vehicle was nearly a year old.
Porsche should be doing the same for owners with strut tower failures.
This is the very structure of the car.
Years ago a colleague had a GM truck with an unusual frame rail defect that was the source of a subtle, but uncorrectable alignment problem.
GM replaced the truck with an identical new one. Vehicle was nearly a year old.
Porsche should be doing the same for owners with strut tower failures.
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CaymanMatt (07-22-2020)
#42
I'd say: 1) really unfortunate that this seems to be an issue. Porsche should have reengineered the crap out of that region before re-releasing the GT4. 2) Can you say "Lemon Law"? This will the best recourse if Porsche doesn't do right for the owners of those affected.
MOO
MOO
#43
Rennlist Member
(Sorry to pick on you! :-) )
#44
Now, if we start seeing dozens of cars failing, I might change my view, but this is a problem that only a tiny fraction of cars have had. Kinda like the 'oh my God, a pebble is almost certainly going to destroy my PCCB's, because one guy posted about it on a GT3 two years ago!' A lot of hand wringing over something that is a very, very low probability event.
#45
Come on, the Camry is designed to be driven by little old ladies who will likely never get the car above 70 mph, while the GT4/Spyder are designed to be tracked and taken to the limit regularly. If anything, the latter should be able to take much more punishment. You're not really implying that adding 3mm of aluminum to the thickness of the strut housing would be too much to ask of Porsche, are you? Equating the addition of a little bit of extra reinforcement to a Camry front end is quite a leap.
Objection! I ask the jury to strike that from the record! The witness is jumping to conclusions based purely on speculation. :-)
And regarding the failures not being "common"... There were only 2,400 GT4s made. If there truly were 10 failures that we know of (there were undoubtedly more), that's equivalent to 4,000 - 5,000 of the million or so Camry's on the road. Again, we don't have any information on the one 718 failure that we know of so far.
(Sorry to pick on you! :-) )
Objection! I ask the jury to strike that from the record! The witness is jumping to conclusions based purely on speculation. :-)
And regarding the failures not being "common"... There were only 2,400 GT4s made. If there truly were 10 failures that we know of (there were undoubtedly more), that's equivalent to 4,000 - 5,000 of the million or so Camry's on the road. Again, we don't have any information on the one 718 failure that we know of so far.
(Sorry to pick on you! :-) )
And this isn't a Camry. It's a high performance sports car, with stiff suspension, where light weight is at a premium. It's not going to be as durable to impact as a Camry or a Ram truck. It is not designed to take massive impacts and be able to dissipate force like a car with softer suspension.