air eater

I am considering buying and installing the Gert FPB on my upcoming C4S with the Aerokit at the same time I install the ROW 30 Euro suspension..
My local independent Porsche shop has a strong opinion against the use of the FPB. His reasoning is that if the bar is severely impacted it will cause serious damage to the belly pan that it is attached to.
What experiences has every FPB user had? All opinions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

95 C4 993

Then that leads to the belly pan debate, if its needed or not.

RallyJon

I think it would be better to reskin the underside of the car in diamond plate.

You're right though--reducing the limited ground clearance by 3/4" seems a bit odd. I guess it's good training for you not to drive too hard on bumpy roads. Kind of like a curb feeler.

And looking at my scarred underbumper, it looks like most of the damage happened in front of where the bar mounts, probably from the former owner running it up on parking curbs.

I think the best solution is to paint the underbumper in pickup truck bedliner.

ientre9y11

The OEM FPB is a crappy piece of plastic so replacing it is an excellent idea. I have a Gert's FPB and love it.

As to whether you might damage the underside, I guess it depends on the circumstances. I suspect what happens with most people is that the front bottoms out when they are going in and out of sloped driveways. Personally I drive slowly in and out of sloped driveways but once in a while the angles are such that the car bottoms out and the FPB gets scraped rather than the front spoiler.

Henry

I like the FPB too...I enter driveways slow too, and it has saved me on several occasions as well...good purchase.

jsalamunovich

If you really smack the FPB it probably will damage the pan. However, in my experience you don't usually do that. Instead it's the occasional scrape on the driveway at only a few MPH, which I'd much rather have on the FPB than on the front spoiler. I can't image that scraping the FPB at very low speed is going to damage the pan.

cowtown

I've had a little experience with this. I'm sure it's possible the FPB would damage the pan, but weigh that against the good it does.

"Someone" who drove my car whacked my FPB and bent it. Click here for pictures of the damaged FPB: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/324219-fpb-takes-one-for-the-team.html

It did absolutely no damage to the belly. Instead, the right-hand screw holding in the FPB sheared and the bar took the impact. The threaded hole in the pan, and the pan itself, were completely undamaged, and I was able to bolt the bar back on with new hardware. I'm a believer in the FPB....

97Targa

I have the skuff marks on mine to prove it's value. However I seem to remember a discussion about it not providing protection to some 993 variations. Due to the lower front body parts. RS and possibly Turbo fronts? If so your 4S won't benefit from one.

Butzi

i have one on my C4S with Euro Turbo front bumper, it doesn't help one bit. It sits in a "channel" behind the bumper, so, by the time it gets some use, the bumper has already taken the brunt of the scratches (I've gotten used to the height now, though).

I might remove it, drop it down/move it forward by stacking some washers or fabricate something to extend it towards the front more....

dhicks

I have the FPB from Gert and it has saved my a couple of times ..... but I have never hit it hard enough to bend it or even do anything other than scrape it......

Terry Adams

Installed 75K miles ago. Could look worse, I guess.
It all depends on the angle you aproach at.

Mark in Baltimore

When I had my fpb, it took it's share of hits and scrapes. I was always happy that it was being scraped and not the car. Sure, you might hit that odd object with the lessened 3/4" clearance but still. Never damaged the tub.

beers4all

Mine has a few battle scars on it. Thumbs up.

RallyJon

Notwithstanding my tongue in cheek comments above, I really wonder about the possibilities. A friend of mine makes molded kevlar underbody panels. The cool thing about it is that it is very thin (6mm for street cars, thicker for gravel rally) and conforms to any shape. You could create a panel that extended forward a bit to protect the vulnerable center piece.

Here's a piece for an older Subaru:

brucec59

It's a mixed bag. I feel good knowing that if I do bottom out, it will be the bar that takes the scrape rather than the bumper. But OTOH, I'm sure there have been some times when I would not have hit at all had the bar not been there. That said, it is pretty darn rare that I scrape at all, and it's always at a very low speed.