GT4 strut top failure
Discussion
PaulD86 said:
If that's the video I'm pretty sure it is, the video is no longer up. The video was uploaded by "Vehicle Villains" who decided to go to Wales for one of their videos and then post footage of them at 3 figure speeds on the public road. Not entirely surprisingly the Welsh police took issue with this and a court case resulted in them getting bans/fines. All their old content was taken down. I am pretty sure the video in question here was one of theirs when one had a GT4. That car also left the track at Knockhill and went through a gravel trap.
I recall all their videos, including the Knockhill ones, and I don't recall the owner ever hitting a kerb in one. Yes he ended up in the gravel after overcooking a corner, but again nothing that would damage the suspension.Yes you can lower it, of course you can, and I'm sure the odd pot hole has caused a bump stop to be used.
What folks are saying is that if you lower the car and then clatter it over sausage kerbs you're going over and above what the car was designed to do so it's no surprise parts break.
What folks are saying is that if you lower the car and then clatter it over sausage kerbs you're going over and above what the car was designed to do so it's no surprise parts break.
Yes, the car comes with height adjustable coil overs…. Porsche have a recommend range of adjustment for heights…. The PRIMARY reason is to allow for corner weight balancing. There are also some other side benefits of roll center control that come from moving the car down a little within the recommended range, front-rear.
Upon investigation…Most of these strut tower issues have occurred with a combination of the car being outside of these parameters AND the car being run into a high kerbing or road defect, or object at speed. They don’t just randomly explode whilst driving down the street.
If you lower the car excessively… then you are reducing the operating range of the spring and damper…. So will hit that bump stop quicker. If you are running so low, as to effectively be riding on the bump stops… you have no suspension and no capacity to absorb bumps or lumps.
Of course… you can have this issue even if you are at the top of the recommended range and hit something too big, too quickly. That shock will be dissipated somewhere….. It’s called physics.
Take responsibility for your actions, your driving and your car… keep the vision up, and drive according to the conditions and your ability.
Upon investigation…Most of these strut tower issues have occurred with a combination of the car being outside of these parameters AND the car being run into a high kerbing or road defect, or object at speed. They don’t just randomly explode whilst driving down the street.
If you lower the car excessively… then you are reducing the operating range of the spring and damper…. So will hit that bump stop quicker. If you are running so low, as to effectively be riding on the bump stops… you have no suspension and no capacity to absorb bumps or lumps.
Of course… you can have this issue even if you are at the top of the recommended range and hit something too big, too quickly. That shock will be dissipated somewhere….. It’s called physics.
Take responsibility for your actions, your driving and your car… keep the vision up, and drive according to the conditions and your ability.
Edited by TDT on Wednesday 19th October 08:59
Manthey will operate, and potentially lower the car, within the recommended ranges.., particularly for N’ring set up, and allowing you to take those kerbs, if driven properly… so would not expect any issue there.
As aforementioned …their primary reason for height adjustment is corner-weight balancing.
As aforementioned …their primary reason for height adjustment is corner-weight balancing.
Olivera said:
It's curious that people lower all manner of cars on cheap coilovers, run over potholes and kerbs, for years and years on end, yet the damper punching through the strut top is pretty much unheard of. It's clear to me that this is either a design or manufacturing defect.
Maybe you more know than Porsche do… give them a call! For this generation of 911 and Cayman/Boxster, this approach was taken for weight saving… and also for increasingly stringent safety standards… the materials have been chosen to absorb and dissipate energy away from the passenger compartment.
Other cars will take that energy and have it unloaded out through other components and/or put it into the passenger compartments or into the passengers.
Strategic fail-safe of these parts particularly the front end also allows for a pretty ‘easy’ repair, and allow the passenger compartment body structure to be unimpaired. The parts are just bonded and riveted in, without having to make cuts or welding which is tricky when working with a multi-material body, from a chemical reaction pov.
TDT said:
Strategic fail-safe of these parts particularly the front end also allows for a pretty ‘easy’ repair, and allow the passenger compartment body structure to be unimpaired. The parts are just bonded and riveted in, without having to make cuts or welding which is tricky when working with a multi-material body, from a chemical reaction pov.
Hi TDT,Thanks for your input, it's good to hear it's a fairly cheap easy repair. That certainly puts my mind at rest to some extent when considering a purchase.
Cheers,
Dunc.
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