Grounded out!

[easto]

Pulling into carpark to hear a massive bang underneath...
Sh*t myself as thought id ripped the chassis in half!!!

Checked the b'stard speed bump - 2 big scrawks..

SO whats in the middle of the car about 1ft apart - Exhaust mounts...Hope i havent done anything permanent!

[mike_e]

Bolt Heads.

There are two main chassis rails running down the centre of the car with bolt heads protuding from the underside. You're unlikely to do serious damage to anything vital, always sounds a lot worse than it really is.

Mike

[keppy]

There's a metal plate about 3ft long and about 1 ft wide held on by 10 bolts which protrude about an inch lower than the plate itself. It's there to protect the exhaust system as far as i can tell.

When i got on the ferry on the way to Le Mans I caught one of the front bolts, ripped it out of the chassis runner, and bent the corner of said plate down about 2 inches!! When I got to the campsite, i took it off (with long arms and a socket set i'd packed - phew!!) and off it stayed for around 2 months - no damage at all. When it next went up on a ramp I got it refitted - took about 20 mins.

So, no drama - even if you ground really badly like i did.

[j_s_g]

You should've been out on the "Tiffin in the Dales" run this weekend... I've never heard so many clangs, scrapes, and clunks as cars bottomed out over the (high speed) country lanes around SwaleDale. Smacked the cans on the back of the Tuscan whilst doing about 70mph over a bump. No damage done other than for a G/F complaining about my driving.

[easto]

Put my mind at rest for a while!!
Still gonna get it on rampts to check....
It isnt the first time ive done it and i am on standard suspension.

It might not be coming to work when i have nitrons fitted (i presume they are slightly lower)

[j_s_g]

easto said:

It might not be coming to work when i have nitrons fitted (i presume they are slightly lower)

Height adjustable.

[jouques]

Must be a day for it.

Thought that I had lost the Exhausts today when a stealth speed bump attacked me whilst pulling into a car park.

Makes me sob to hear my gorgeous beast screaming like that!

Glad for the re-assurances that have ben posted here (but I am not looking forward to leaving the carpark later!)

[shell]

This should make you laugh then. I totally dug up and re-laid my drive entrance of 15 square meters which goes up hill by 1.5 meters approx, re-profiled the drive way laid all the crazy paving style flag stones, taking 4 men 4 days for the whole job, just stop the anti roll bar catching. Usually I am the only person to travel in my car, but when it has two people in the car it catches again, much less than before, and it can be avoided by taking a different line, DOH!! any one want to buy a drive way, or a cerb? ps we did get to drink a few Stella's

[dannylt]

keppy said:

There's a metal plate about 3ft long and about 1 ft wide held on by 10 bolts which protrude about an inch lower than the plate itself. It's there to protect the exhaust system as far as i can tell.

It's there to protect the cats underneath from being bashed by stones, causing them to break up. It's probably also there to stop the red hot cats setting things underneath alight when you park up. I'd keep it on.

[Julian64]

It does more than that. At the back of that plate is a hole for a good ole fashioned mini cotton reel which is one of the very few supports for your exhaust pipe. Leave that off at your peril.

[keppy]

dannylt said:

It's there to protect the cats underneath from being bashed by stones, causing them to break up. It's probably also there to stop the red hot cats setting things underneath alight when you park up. I'd keep it on.

Now I understand!! Mine doesn't have any cats, so it didn't actually appear to be protecting anything (as the exhausts were well above the line of the chassis tubes!!! However, the cotton reel was not connected for a little while....

[daver]

It's also there to perform a strengthening role for the chassis, I believe. Don't go taking it off in the belief that it's now not serving any function!