DBS Superleggera Front Radiators Protection

[ress]

Hello, the front left and right radiators on DBS Superleggera have fairly weak protection. They are getting hammered by rocks, there are a few mini-holes on each one of them even after just 1,000 km.

Is there any chance to get the mesh protection grille picture/dimensions without disassembling the front bumper? I'm thinking about manufacturing a new one with better protection than the factory one.

Edited by ress on Monday 28th October 17:48

[S1-NOS]

Not a DBS but this is quite common on a lot of new cars - the M140i and M340i comes to mind (Google “M140 radiator stones”).

I can’t see how you would make a proper job of fitting stone guards or mesh without removing the front bumper though. Happy to be proven wrong!

[ress]

S1-NOS said:

Not a DBS but this is quite common on a lot of new cars - the M140i and M340i comes to mind (Google “M140 radiator stones”).

I can’t see how you would make a proper job of fitting stone guards or mesh without removing the front bumper though. Happy to be proven wrong!

Thanks, S1-NOS. I will have a look.

At the moment, I'm looking for the original mesh protection part picture only. The final installation of the new protection piece will require the front bumper removal, for sure.

Edited by ress on Monday 28th October 19:18

[james-witton]

Could you not go back to AM and question whether the design is fit for purpose?

Grills are not meant to be damaged by road debris.

[ress]

james-witton said:

Could you not go back to AM and question whether the design is fit for purpose?

Grills are not meant to be damaged by road debris.

Yes, the question/complaint has been sent to my AM dealer. But I doubt they would come up with some solution.

The radiator stone punctures are quite common also on MB AMG GT, for example. There is an aftermarket part for better protection.

[ress]

This is how the radiator looks like after 1,000 km.

[bananarob]

Haven’t suffered the same damage as yet but I have felt they look very weak and frankly given the honeycomb grille, out of place and cheap. Would be great if Aston manufactured an alternative.

[james-witton]

I do think any alternative should be supplied FOC by AM. This is clearly a design flaw.
These cars aren’t exactly cheap and they should be able to do the job they were designed for.

[hornbaek]

Unfortunately it is form over function in this respect. This huge open aperture without a proper protection will pepper the radiator after very few miles on rough surfaces. Porsche had this issue a while ago, and many put a thin metal mesh into the air ducks in the front (but obviously that was much smaller surface to cover). The other issue with the DB11 at least are the open wheel arches where spray and dirt enters the engine bay every time you drive in the wet. It might be great for aerodynamics ( or for storytelling ) but for everyday use its a nuisance. I think it is ok for exotic sports cars to have these features but for everyday GT cars its just not practical.

[phumy]

You will also need to take into account the amount of airflow required to cool the radiator, dont get new grills that would cut the airflow by too much otherwise you may have cooling issues.

[Dewi 2]

hornbaek said:

The other issue with the DB11 at least are the open wheel arches where spray and dirt enters the engine bay every time you drive in the wet. It might be great for aerodynamics ( or for storytelling ) but for everyday use its a nuisance. I think it is ok for exotic sports cars to have these features but for everyday GT cars its just not practical.

Interesting that should mention this.

I can remember standing beside the new DB11 at a dealer launch. I looked down through the new wing air outlets (displeased that 50 years of history had been ditched) and could see the tyre tread. It was therefore obvious that on a wet day, some dirty water would flow from the tyres through the outlet and along the side of the car.

They had some marketing guff about curlicues, supposedly making the DB11 grip the road much better. Well maybe it is true. Perhaps DB 11 owners have noticed the improvement. At what speed can the effect be noticed ? -