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Members who have purchased these plates from Porsche motorsport have likely noticed that on the passenger side there's two "flanges" that can be secured to the car @ the points shown nicely in Cmosman's post. On the driver's side the plate is a bit different than the one on the CS in that it's only possible to fasten it in one place, by the windshield washer fluid cap.
After closer inspection & taking some measurements, I decided to modify the motorsport plates in such a way that they could actually be bolted down by the flanges to three different locations. In this way the secure flanges & steel plate actually press down on the strut tower hat from above further reinforcing the vulnerable aluminium strut tower top.
Here is a photo of my driver's side plate. Note the welded flange on the plate in ~ 12:30 position (from the top of photo), then the existing flange secured as previously described in ~ 4:00 position. The loose bracket adjacent to the plate will be welded to the plate directly in front ~ 9:00 position, this will bolt down directly in front of the tower.
Look closely at the bracket which has two 90 degree bends, & the top part is angled at 12.5 degrees coinciding with the angle of the tower. The passenger side is configured in a similar way.
Having the plate secured in this way has the strut mounted through the tower top & plate with total of 6 bolts when complete. The plate is 1/8" steel & the added flanges are 3/16" steel.
The other thing to note is the thickness of the tower top is ~ 1/8" aluminium & the points to which the steel plates are mounted are significantly thicker (~ 3/8") or greater. I'll measure these with calipers next time I'm under the hood.
Last edited by G-forceGT4; 03-28-2019 at 02:58 AM.
Reason: grammar & extra info
Saw another one at a track this weekend.
Failed near the end of a relatively fast long sweeper ('ego check' at Spring Mountain). Probably near 120 in a GT4.
Unfortunately, caused the car to fly into the gravel trap and sustain even more front end damage. Missed the tire barrier by a few feet.
He did make out better than a Wolf at the same corner. That car must have had something mechanical go wrong. Went through the gravel trap, through the tire barrier and knocked over the concrete Jersey barrier.
Saw another one at a track this weekend.
Failed near the end of a relatively fast long sweeper ('ego check' at Spring Mountain). Probably near 120 in a GT4.
Unfortunately, caused the car to fly into the gravel trap and sustain even more front end damage. Missed the tire barrier by a few feet.
He did make out better than a Wolf at the same corner. That car must have had something mechanical go wrong. Went through the gravel trap, through the tire barrier and knocked over the concrete Jersey barrier.
Did you talk to the GT4 or Wolf driver to find out more details on what happened leading up to the off track excursion? Since both cars went off there was there was there coolant or oil on track and that was what caused them to go off?
Saw another one at a track this weekend.
Failed near the end of a relatively fast long sweeper ('ego check' at Spring Mountain). Probably near 120 in a GT4.
Unfortunately, caused the car to fly into the gravel trap and sustain even more front end damage. Missed the tire barrier by a few feet.
He did make out better than a Wolf at the same corner. That car must have had something mechanical go wrong. Went through the gravel trap, through the tire barrier and knocked over the concrete Jersey barrier.
does spring mountain still have those big drop offs when you leave the pavement? I had an off around ego check several years ago when I dropped two wheels on the way out. It was ugly.
Saw another one at a track this weekend.
Failed near the end of a relatively fast long sweeper ('ego check' at Spring Mountain). Probably near 120 in a GT4.
Unfortunately, caused the car to fly into the gravel trap and sustain even more front end damage. Missed the tire barrier by a few feet.
Hi Dr. Bill.
How was it determined that the strut tower failed on track (before the car went into the trap)?
Hi Dr. Bill. How was it determined that the strut tower failed on track (before the car went into the trap)?
That is a bit hard to believe that it failed before it went off track. Pure speculation on my part, but claiming that could be a convenient excuse for a driver to not own the mishap.
In regards to the GT4; apparently when he got on the brakes hard, the front end collapsed. That's what caused the off road excursion. Out of respect for the owner, I took no photos. The cast aluminum pieces of both strut towers clearly fractured. And is surprisingly thin!
Don't know about the Wolf incident. The driver left in an ambulance. Was reported to be awake and alert, likely with multiple rib fractures. Got no updates on his condition. There was nothing on the track surface. A couple Radicals were off in other locations too. Sometimes the members get a bit exuberant.
In regards to the GT4; apparently when he got on the brakes hard, the front end collapsed. That's what caused the off road excursion. Out of respect for the owner, I took no photos. The cast aluminum pieces of both strut towers clearly fractured. And is surprisingly thin!
Don't know about the Wolf incident. The driver left in an ambulance. Was reported to be awake and alert, likely with multiple rib fractures. Got no updates on his condition. There was nothing on the track surface. A couple Radicals were off in other locations too. Sometimes the members get a bit exuberant.
So both strut towers failed from hard braking? He must have damaged them beforehand and then the braking was the final straw. I hope he is OK?
In regards to the GT4; apparently when he got on the brakes hard, the front end collapsed. That's what caused the off road excursion. Out of respect for the owner, I took no photos. The cast aluminum pieces of both strut towers clearly fractured. And is surprisingly thin!
Don't know about the Wolf incident. The driver left in an ambulance. Was reported to be awake and alert, likely with multiple rib fractures. Got no updates on his condition. There was nothing on the track surface. A couple Radicals were off in other locations too. Sometimes the members get a bit exuberant.
That does not make any sense. No way do I believe they collapsed under hard braking. There has to be more to that story. He damaged them beforehand (and tech inspection didn't catch it) and they gave out completely when he went off.
That does not make any sense. No way do I believe they collapsed under hard braking. There has to be more to that story. He damaged them beforehand (and tech inspection didn't catch it) and they gave out completely when he went off.
If you've followed some of the posts by owners that have experienced their strut towers fail, the towers seem to incur micro-fractures which later lead to total failure.
It's not like it has to happen all at once, due to a single "incident"..... such as hitting a pothole, going off a berm on the track, or in this alleged case, under hard braking.
I seem to recall one post where the owner was simply driving down the freeway.... when one of his towers failed.
If you've followed some of the posts by owners that have experienced their strut towers fail, the towers seem to incur micro-fractures which later lead to total failure.
It's not like it has to happen all at once, due to a single "incident"..... such as hitting a pothole, going off a berm on the track, or in this alleged case, under hard braking.
I seem to recall one post where the owner was simply driving down the freeway.... when one of his towers failed.
And that driver/owner hit a big dip/pot hole equivalent when it happened. That also was 1 tower. The explanation here was both towers under hard braking. To me that implies that there was more going on than posted; guesses don't count. If those towers fail under hard braking on a supposedly smooth surface than they aren't micro-fractured IMHO. There is more than meets the eye here. Maybe the owner experienced too may bay area road conditions beforehand and the tech inspection missed it.
03-27-2019, 11:18 PM
