That has to be the first drilled undertray I've seen. It was funny to read in the above joke, but actually pretty cool to see. Nice job.

 

Brilliant analysis Jean.

A thought: Perhaps if you ran it in reverse for 111.7k miles, it would even out the wear.

 

I need some help understanding here.
I've searched every thread regarding premature valve guide wear but I still can't seem to find out at what mileage the valve guides are susposed to wear out

 

right after you sell your car..

 

i believe that the only automated process in making the 993 was the painting...which i don't think would affect build quality that much.

 

that's nothing! i had to do one at 72k miles. i hope i get 110k out of my current vavle guides

 

Thanks Mike.

Your suggestion was outstanding, I have been giving it a lot of consideration in the last 2 days, and finally thought that it makes perfect sense!

I tested going in reverse 3-4 times during the last 2 days on the main highway (with the headlights on all the time of course), and I am not able to get the odometer to count backwards. , Also when in reverse, the airflow coming into the tray, is bringing hot air from the exhaust into the cylinder heads, so it might be worse?

Porsche engineers must have done something to prevent this sort of thing,otherwise everyone would do a few thousand miles in reverse just before selling their cars. Also, the max speed seems to be about 30mph only, so it is a bit boring.

So what I did is that I removed all the guages from the dashboard, and opened up the odometer, and broke the driving teeth behind, so that it does not work anymore. Now I can drive my car for thousands of miles more without any risk of premature valve guide wear WHILE keeping the tray on!

I will post a DIY. Thanks Mike for your help, this is such a great place

 

Took the tray off my car after I purchased it with the first oil change at 84K miles. Since its been off, the car was lowered with new suspension. Due to it being so low without the tray, the lower engine is exposed to the ground. Ive had one of the air vents rip and seperate and Ive had to repair that and more recently a dip in the road caused the tray holder which is affixed to the rear of the engine to scrape the ground and twist up a bit.

Lots of quick little dips in the side streets here in CA...so the trays going back on this week....
to protect the lower engine so its no longer exposed.

great idea about drilling it

 

This may be an indication that the car is a bit too low. The one thing that no one has mentioned as a use for the tray is as a skid plate

 

Oh, many people use the tray as a skid plate! It is preferred to the aftermarket metal skid plates, which cause all of the bothersome sparks. However, NEVER drill holes in an under tray intended for skid plate duty, lest you find yourself scooping up all of the used chewing gum and cigar butts on your daily route!

 

My car is about as low as you can go and still be able to turn the wheels. I've never scraped anything near the engine compartment, except for my Supercup tailpipes if my loading ramps to my trailer are on uneven ground. I also drive very carefully on speedbumps and the like.

 

Same here. And, the roads around here are not exactly even/perfectly level/no dips/etc.

 

Jean

simply brilliant

why you aren't working in Weissach instead of Saudi is beyond me

 

Funny thread... But on a serious note.

Can I remove the tray without jacking the car up. It looks like it might just have enough room. anyone ever tried that...?

 

Ty,
The car has to be raised some. If you can't jack it up, you might be able to drive the rear wheels up on some wood planks. You need about 6 in of clearance.