G-forceGT4

After examining this crack just posted, I think I'll add another flange to the plate & bolt down on horn mount (refer to yellow arrow), it's level with the plate & won't allow any flex. A couple weeks back someone mentioned the bushing on the wiper system may allow some flex, & that appears to be the case here. Adding the extra bolt mount can't hurt. I wonder how long the guy continued driving before noticing there was a problem with the photo calvinchan posted?

PorscheAddict

It's insane you guys are having to do Porsche's work for them both in terms of diagnosing the mode of failure and in engineering a reinforcement. Godspeed! Fingers are still crossed that my very lowered 981CS on stiff coilovers and big caster is not at risk right there with you all.

ExMB

What makes you think that Porsche doesn't know how to do this just because they have a history of not responding on forums?

PorscheAddict

Not sure if you're being serious. I don't give a rip about responding on forums, but I care quite a lot about standing behind their expensive products in terms of recalls and warrantying failures from stupid **** like this. It's been happening for years, and nothing has been done by Porsche in the way of a formal recall or repair campaign. Do they know about it? Sure. But I really don't think that's even relevant if they're just going to use that information to sit on their hands. Based on the IMS saga that they never corrected, I highly doubt this will be different.

G-forceGT4

The fact that Porsche hasn't accepted any degree of responsibility in this fiasco, my hope is the guys who have experienced this failure will come forward with a class action lawsuit. I'm going to do what I can to minimize the chances of this happening, then loosing my car for months, along with $, time, & hassle. How many IMS disasters happened before taking notice, far less than 991.1 GT3 engines blowing up, b/c online communities like Rennlist & data collection.

venom51

Dodge will recall a half million trucks because the tail gate might actually open and Porsche is radio silent on failure caused by structural deficiency.

https://jalopnik.com/more-than-410-0...ial-1835066500

w00tw00t

This is *exactly* what is so perplexing to me... Porsche replaced entire engines on the GT3s that caught fire but here looks like a clear chassis weakpoint that they are not even covering under warranty.... extremely puzzling and worrisome as a new GT4 owner..

venom51

I'm not fretting much about it but it really seems like there should be cause for concern.

GoKart Mozart

Agreed. It's BS that we have to figure out a solution on our own. I waited all these years to buy a Porsche, and now this......is this what they mean by "there is no substitute"?

Forget the forums, but Porsche has denied covering this damage to several under warranty, so that is not responding IMO. If it continues I smell class action lawsuit. And while I am not a fan of suing, this would be deserving of doing so.

jmartpr

Compared to swapping an engine this fix will be a bit more complex and not sure how many certified P Body shop are available to do the job.....probably since these are independent of the Porsche dealership network the cost will be even higher.
They also have to figure a way to fix the problem because people wont accept the same part....you will always be waiting for it to fail...again...and they would be liable if indeed it fails X amount of times.
Then you have the issue of jobs not meeting the standards (outside Porsche dealership network) and having problems with the customer once they accepted there's problem with the design.
This is probably some of the reasons why they are looking the other way.....

hf1

GT3 owners organized here on RL and publicly complained to Porsche (with a well prepared letter then a meeting and a presentation) as a powerful group. There are epic RL threads about this. For Porsche, the cost of ignoring them would have been higher than the cost of making them happy. This explains the difference in Porsche’s response.

All it takes is one leader pissed off enough to take charge and get the ball rolling.

GoKart Mozart

True! It's a lot like the e46 m3 rear "subframe" failure, and not just a part they can swap out, which is why I believe there needs to be a retrofit with some kind of bracing.

In the case of BMW, at least they came out with a band aid (structural epoxy) to address the issue, and IMO Porsche could offer to install those plates and then some on all cars. That would be a lot cheaper than an engine or transmission recall AND they should warranty the cars that have failed, so far. I don't blame them for the design fault, these things can happen when you push the envelope of making cars lighter, but ignoring/denying it is such, is poor form.

RocketGuy3

I have whacked my share of curbs at the track... and in one shining moment of my life, I perpendicularly slammed all four wheels over a 4ish-inch curb on the street that I couldn't see at night at a good 30ish mph (I would guess) over a year ago. I cannot tell you how hard my heart sank contemplating my own stupidity in that moment, but I was very impressed with the outcome. I've found no discernable damage from any of this to date.

... Does this mean I'm probably in the clear as far as the strut tower failure is concerned? Or not out of the woods yet?

James88

Over 2 years ago a friend in his GT4 had a high speed impact at a road works ditch, equivalent to a large deep pot hole.
He said it was quite a significant impact and scared the living daylights out of him, to this day his car is in perfect condition with no signs of any damage and he drives his car very hard.

I'd say you'd be in the clear and not worry.

jmartpr

Maybe...just maybe....since we are talking about aluminum the failure will happen without any kind of notice after X amount of stress to the part. If we go with your case that would mean this failure only affects some cars...we really don't know or have a clue why it's happening to some cars others, like yours and mine, are OK after many miles of use and the occasional track use. I personally find all of this a bit worrisome as I don't know what causes it, what to avoid or what to look for in case of an imminent failure....guess I'll just keep using it as intended and cross my fingers.