Lower front damage
Discussion
From my previous post about PPF, I took the car down to a bodyshop today and we had a closer look under the front spoiler.
The undulations I'd felt, and assumed were aluminium, are actually some kind of plastic about 3mm thick. It bulges out between the mounting bolts (one is missing) and looks as if the bolts have been over-tightened, or should have had spacers. The repair man said he can't bend it flat, and the undulations are too great to sand out.
Presumably a DB9 supposed to look straight in this area - so how did mine end up like this? And can it be improved before respraying??
The undulations I'd felt, and assumed were aluminium, are actually some kind of plastic about 3mm thick. It bulges out between the mounting bolts (one is missing) and looks as if the bolts have been over-tightened, or should have had spacers. The repair man said he can't bend it flat, and the undulations are too great to sand out.
Presumably a DB9 supposed to look straight in this area - so how did mine end up like this? And can it be improved before respraying??
I feel your pain. I grounded the carbon chin spoiler of my DBS going over a speed bump & I could have wept when I heard the scrape.
“They all look like that, Sir,” was the comment from the mechanic when it went in for a service later that year.
Despite being ultra cautious every sports car I’ve had has suffered some sort of damage like this & I have reconciled myself to accepting it’s the price you pay to drive a cool car on crap UK roads, and that nobody other than the owner ever notices.
“They all look like that, Sir,” was the comment from the mechanic when it went in for a service later that year.
Despite being ultra cautious every sports car I’ve had has suffered some sort of damage like this & I have reconciled myself to accepting it’s the price you pay to drive a cool car on crap UK roads, and that nobody other than the owner ever notices.
Caslad said:
I feel your pain. I grounded the carbon chin spoiler of my DBS going over a speed bump & I could have wept when I heard the scrape.
“They all look like that, Sir,” was the comment from the mechanic when it went in for a service later that year.
Despite being ultra cautious every sports car I’ve had has suffered some sort of damage like this & I have reconciled myself to accepting it’s the price you pay to drive a cool car on crap UK roads, and that nobody other than the owner ever notices.
I fitted a fake carbon splitter to the front of my Vantage, to the untrained eye it looks real enough from a distance but it has already been replaced when I inadvertently nudge a rock in some long grass as I attempted to do a 3 point turn down a country lane. Luckily £300 for a new one wasn't too bad and this has taken a few scrapes but nothing that you would notice unless you got under the car.“They all look like that, Sir,” was the comment from the mechanic when it went in for a service later that year.
Despite being ultra cautious every sports car I’ve had has suffered some sort of damage like this & I have reconciled myself to accepting it’s the price you pay to drive a cool car on crap UK roads, and that nobody other than the owner ever notices.
Hence, I agree with you, it's the price you pay.
This is the relevant page from Aston 1936, and lists several options for protection. https://aston1936.com/2019/11/16/skid-plate-option...
Looking at the video, the underside of his spoiler/bumper also undulates between the fittings, though not as badly as mine.
It may be that I have to leave it wavy, but at least it can be green and shiny all over. And perhaps with some of that SlipLo against future scrapes... what do you think?
Looking at the video, the underside of his spoiler/bumper also undulates between the fittings, though not as badly as mine.
It may be that I have to leave it wavy, but at least it can be green and shiny all over. And perhaps with some of that SlipLo against future scrapes... what do you think?
Zuman said:
It's a common issue. I cut a skid plate out of .190 aluminium for my '06 DB9 Volante and it's serving two purposes: it's rigid enough to pull the chin back into shape, and it also protects it against further damage.
That's interesting; I did wonder if a strong enough plate could be used to force the undulations flat. But it would take a lot of force and I can imagine threads stripping. Another tactic might be to grind the 'waves' off then cover the resulting gaps with the plate. It would be a DIY job if the car was upside down on a workbench! Have a look at my photos above - was yours that wavy? The worst bit, between the two close bolts, must be 1cm high.
I'm just amazed that it fits so badly that it goes like that when the bolts are tightened.
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 26th September 22:54
Simpo Two said:
Have a look at my photos above - was yours that wavy? The worst bit, between the two close bolts, must be 1cm high.
I'm just amazed that it fits so badly that it goes like that when the bolts are tightened.
Mine was close, but perhaps not QUITE as bad. I used a combination of the drawing power of the screws and a floor jack providing upward pressure against a few scraps of wood to even the gaps. The aluminium skid plate remained rigid. There were a few minimal gaps remaining, but after a week or so I was able to re-tighten and eliminate them.I'm just amazed that it fits so badly that it goes like that when the bolts are tightened.
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 26th September 22:54
That doesn’t look right. It should be level, definitely over tightened. Does no look like carbon fiber which would not bend, would crack. I was going to get scrape armor, but was told it can end up causing even more damage if it catches on a curb. Don’t know if that’s true or not so decided against it.
AstonV said:
That doesn’t look right. It should be level, definitely over tightened. Does no look like carbon fiber which would not bend, would crack. I was going to get scrape armor, but was told it can end up causing even more damage if it catches on a curb. Don’t know if that’s true or not so decided against it.
There's obviously a big gap between the plastic and whatever it's bolted to. If I'd fitted the nose I'd have used spacers to save distorting the plastic, but too late now. I slackened off the two front bolts but the plastic was set to shape. Perhaps in the past the nose cone has 'had work' and been put back by a monkey, because I can't think it left the factory like that.Regarding a slab of aluminium, yes it would save the underneath, but make the front even lower - and if it did catch on anything the force would be transferred back and maybe damage something else.
So on balance I think I'll have to live with it being wavy, but have it Pentland green with PPF. Thanks for all the ideas and input; it's very helpful to decide the 'best' course of action.
“Regarding a slab of aluminium, yes it would save the underneath, but make the front even lower - and if it did catch on anything the force would be transferred back and maybe damage something else.”
Agree 100%. I decided against adding any aftermarket protection for exactly this reason.
Agree 100%. I decided against adding any aftermarket protection for exactly this reason.
Caslad said:
“Regarding a slab of aluminium, yes it would save the underneath, but make the front even lower - and if it did catch on anything the force would be transferred back and maybe damage something else.”
Agree 100%. I decided against adding any aftermarket protection for exactly this reason.
That’s what I was told as well when I looked into scrape armor. Less clearance and could end up taking the entire front splitter out. Agree 100%. I decided against adding any aftermarket protection for exactly this reason.
I understand your concerns about adding a rigid aluminium plate. However, the additional thickness is only 5mm and on my '06 DB9 the mounting points are either just clips or a couple of plastic thimbles with threaded inserts, so I'm not too worried about downstream damage. And the Gen1, pre-facelift DB9 doesn't have a splitter.
My real solution, however, is a front camera. I connected one to my nav screen and I haven't made contact with a front-end hazard since.
My real solution, however, is a front camera. I connected one to my nav screen and I haven't made contact with a front-end hazard since.
Simpo Two said:
How on earth did you get a camera to work with the Volvo satnav?
Here: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/aston-martin/4...(By the way, you can see the sad state of my DB9's chin in the first photo; you can also just make out the first skid plate I installed - one of the plastic versions).
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