strut tower failure
02-23-2019, 04:01 PM
#691
It's at one of the few shops that have the porsche specific frame jigs in my area. Big shout out to Joe Weinstein for that advice. Thank you. The repair bill is currently at $19k with zero exterior damage. I've had zero issue from the insurance company thus far, thankfully.
02-23-2019, 10:11 PM
#692
It's at one of the few shops that have the porsche specific frame jigs in my area. Big shout out to Joe Weinstein for that advice. Thank you. The repair bill is currently at $19k with zero exterior damage. I've had zero issue from the insurance company thus far, thankfully.
02-24-2019, 02:50 AM
#693
Instructor
02-24-2019, 05:06 AM
#694
Man, that's a bad hit—and a bad place for a rock to be in general, let alone for a competitive event. There's a part of me that loves that there's still an event like this out there—and a part of me that says that rock should have been blasted out of there eons ago.
But that guy Tony Quinn might just win for more agreeable, coolest competitor ever. Talk about shrugging it off. Inspiring...
But that guy Tony Quinn might just win for more agreeable, coolest competitor ever. Talk about shrugging it off. Inspiring...
02-24-2019, 05:13 AM
#695
02-24-2019, 08:07 AM
#696
Rennlist Member
If a pothole like that can cause the failure, then there must be more than just a few cars. Wasn’t aware about the GT3. Is there an equivalent GT3/RS thread about this here?
02-24-2019, 08:14 AM
#697
Rennlist Member
It's at one of the few shops that have the porsche specific frame jigs in my area. Big shout out to Joe Weinstein for that advice. Thank you. The repair bill is currently at $19k with zero exterior damage. I've had zero issue from the insurance company thus far, thankfully.
02-24-2019, 11:19 AM
#698
It's at one of the few shops that have the porsche specific frame jigs in my area. Big shout out to Joe Weinstein for that advice. Thank you. The repair bill is currently at $19k with zero exterior damage. I've had zero issue from the insurance company thus far, thankfully.
02-24-2019, 04:38 PM
#699
02-24-2019, 05:31 PM
#700
02-24-2019, 09:14 PM
#701
Rennlist Member
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And if anyone is able to obtain a new one that won't be installed on a car, please PM me. As I posted earlier in this thread, after several different angles of attack, I was unable to obtain a new one. Several RL members offered to help, one was in Europe, but alas, they found the same thing I did, Porsche will only release one to a Porsche certified body shop that has a VIN number vehicle confirmed as needing the repair.
02-25-2019, 02:29 AM
#702
Is your dealership Parkplace? AFAIk they have that jig needed for these type of repairs and have done some. Therefore they would already be familiar with the warranty denial by PCNA. James88 is from down under and different rules may apply there. Porsche already is aware of your car since, as posted in this thread, getting ahold of the tower is next to impossible without the broken exchange part.
02-26-2019, 12:58 AM
#703
I'd be curious to hear someone like PeteVB or Robert Linton weigh in on the importance of the bonding agent in this scenario, as the real goal is to spread the load and the piece would obviously be held up (and pushed up) by the strut itself. Might not need much (or, effectively, any?) help from the body agent to stay in place. Question becomes what's the best way to spread that loading so the tower top doesn't take the whole hit. And, of course, what happens as that load is spread.
There are already a number of bolt-on options that will partially alleviate the issue to choose from. I’d guess a rough order of effectiveness as: 19” rims with taller tires, stiffer shocks, increased ride height, stiffer springs. Meanwhile the solution mentioned above would irreversibly modify the chassis and might move the problem to somewhere else we have yet to understand. It’s attractive in some ways, but not compellingly so in my mind. Possibly why we haven’t seen a great solution yet.
Last edited by Petevb; 02-26-2019 at 01:40 AM.
02-26-2019, 01:25 AM
#704
Rennlist Member
I did do some brainstorming with a Hayden on the topic some time back. We got to a similar solution as has been mentioned- a cup shaped carbon fiber reinforcement inside the strut tower. There is some significant complexity in the stiffness and CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatch- carbon will not expand with the aluminum, and hence the bond to the chassis will be heavily stressed if that’s not accounted for. It’s solvable with the right design and combination of adhesives (rigid in the right areas, some compliant in others) but complex to do right with the available info. Ultimately the potential liability and need for significant customer support on installation seem to make it relatively unattractive as an aftermarket product.
There are already a number of bolt-on options that will partially alleviate the issue to choose from. I’d guess a rough of effectiveness as: 19” rims with taller tires, stiffer shocks, increased ride height, stiffer springs. Meanwhile the solution mentioned above would irreversibly modify the chassis and might move the problem to somewhere else we have yet to understand. It’s attractive in some ways, but not compellingly so in my mind. Possibly why we haven’t seen a great solution yet.
The CTE issue makes perfect sense, which has me thinking about forged aluminum inverted cups possibly bolted in (or could it be something that doesn't bolt in?) as well as the "straps" seen in the 992 strut towers, though I am curious what other changes (metallurgy?) might have been made along with the addition of those (steel?) bars, which seem intended to hold the strut towers down. Other side is it appears to be a tiny number of failures (vs # of cars sold) with a lot of variables involved...
02-26-2019, 07:07 AM
#705
it was suggested to me that a mere 5mm approx. thick layer of high density polyethylene or similar on top of the shock mount would absorb a lot of impact on the aluminium casting, however, you would have to see what that would do to movement and feel of the car, and life span? although its pretty tough stuff