Protect your air con condensers!
Discussion
dreamcar said:
Problem is if you wish to maintain OEM service history & warranty - I do - you are basically stuffed if the grilles cannot easily be removed and refitted.
In case you hadn't heard it before, OPC Sutton Coldfield first confirmed fitting Zunsport grilles wouldn't affect my warranty, and then after fitting them OPC Leicester confirmed they would be fine for the 111 point check and subsequent extended warranty from three years on. The 111 point check was duly carried out by Leics OPC, with the grilles in place, and there was no mention of them when they handed me the 2 year extended warranty for years 4 & 5.They do not need to be removed and refitted.
The answer seems quite simple to me. It's all a matter of risk.
There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
gwsinc said:
The answer seems quite simple to me. It's all a matter of risk.
There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
+1 more to all the above........There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
And thanks for that.
Gadgit.
Last week a stone punctured my engine coolant radiator on my new 718 Cayman GTS. There were no warning lights or alarms to alert me that the coolant was leaking out. I only noticed when I parked up and saw the coolant spurting out. Had the car recovered to the nearest OPC and was told that the cost to supply and fit the new radiator is £1240.00.
Just hope the engine will be OK. This is a truly terrible design fault and needs to be addressed by Porsche. Meanwhile I have been in contact with Zun Sport and I am going to let them use my car to design a set of grills for the 718 GTS.
Just hope the engine will be OK. This is a truly terrible design fault and needs to be addressed by Porsche. Meanwhile I have been in contact with Zun Sport and I am going to let them use my car to design a set of grills for the 718 GTS.
captandy said:
Porsche Assist dealt withe the recovery. Stone damage is not covered by the new car warranty.
That is truly shocking to be honest. Did you by any chance ask OPC why do they not offer protective grills already like GT cars? 718 GTS is a very expensive car, surely it will be exposed to stones in our crappy roads. 
rockin said:
Seems to me everybody seems to expect to buy a car and then run it for free. That's not the way the game works. If you can't afford to run the car, don't buy it.
What is shocking is that these somewhat fragile part is not protected by design by Porsche, and more so that it is not covered therefore under warranty... surely even if one has money to burn, I’d rather spend it on something more enjoyable than on this... DJMC said:
dreamcar said:
Problem is if you wish to maintain OEM service history & warranty - I do - you are basically stuffed if the grilles cannot easily be removed and refitted.
In case you hadn't heard it before, OPC Sutton Coldfield first confirmed fitting Zunsport grilles wouldn't affect my warranty, and then after fitting them OPC Leicester confirmed they would be fine for the 111 point check and subsequent extended warranty from three years on. The 111 point check was duly carried out by Leics OPC, with the grilles in place, and there was no mention of them when they handed me the 2 year extended warranty for years 4 & 5.They do not need to be removed and refitted.
rockin said:
Seems to me everybody seems to expect to buy a car and then run it for free. That's not the way the game works. If you can't afford to run the car, don't buy it.
Rockin, either you are just joking or you totally do not understand what this thread is about.Yes, it is partly about the money, but the whole point of this situation is the shame of Porsche allowing their cars to be built in this way.
There are plenty of other sports cars out there that do not have this problem, and there is absolutely no reason why Porsche could not have sorted this out.
I feel sorry for the main dealers as they must have a lot of angry customers turning up with busted up condensers, and they cannot get money from Porsche for a repair bill on the warranty.
Moving on to someone else's comment about his radiator leaking coolant, this is unusual as the air con condensers should protect the engine radiators which are behind the air con rads. If you lost engine coolant you should get a warning light I suspect. But I did not get a low pressure warning of the air con system failure.
Gadgit
captandy said:
Last week a stone punctured my engine coolant radiator on my new 718 Cayman GTS. There were no warning lights or alarms to alert me that the coolant was leaking out. I only noticed when I parked up and saw the coolant spurting out. Had the car recovered to the nearest OPC and was told that the cost to supply and fit the new radiator is £1240.00.
Just hope the engine will be OK. This is a truly terrible design fault and needs to be addressed by Porsche. Meanwhile I have been in contact with Zun Sport and I am going to let them use my car to design a set of grills for the 718 GTS.
If you feel your car isn't of satisfactory quality in this respect why not sue Porsche for your outlay. With a few other owners who have suffered similarly as witnesses I reckon you'd stand a better than 50/50 chance of winning in the small claims court.Just hope the engine will be OK. This is a truly terrible design fault and needs to be addressed by Porsche. Meanwhile I have been in contact with Zun Sport and I am going to let them use my car to design a set of grills for the 718 GTS.
DJMC said:
If you feel your car isn't of satisfactory quality in this respect why not sue Porsche for your outlay. With a few other owners who have suffered similarly as witnesses I reckon you'd stand a better than 50/50 chance of winning in the small claims court.
Actually, there are loads of angry owners out there on U.S.A forums already. (not only 911 or boxsters, macans too).Still very puzzling to me when they put grills on their performance cars (where they would be used mainly on sleek track conditions)
but they do not even offer this as option on standard road cars?
ooid said:
rockin said:
Seems to me everybody seems to expect to buy a car and then run it for free. That's not the way the game works. If you can't afford to run the car, don't buy it.
well, seems to me you should read carefully before teaching us how "the game" works. 
this is bad design and i agree with DJMC, surely it can be argued that the design of the front apron/spoiler is not fit for purpose? those gaping holes, aside from looking bland, are just begging for stones to fly in.
gwsinc said:
The answer seems quite simple to me. It's all a matter of risk.
There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
+1 ... Good sound advice. There is a risk that stones etc could damage your condensers from day 1 of ownership anything above say 20mph. If you accept the risk - fine, you may or may not have to shell out for new condensers at any time from day 1 of ownership.
If you want to mitigate the risk either drive under 20mph at all times or fit some grills. These of course only lower the risk of condenser damage, but for me (and may others) this is peace of mind that I have done what I can to save the condensers (and however many £££ they cost to replace).
As for the Warranty the only sensible solution IMO is to seek written confirmation from your OPC to state that these grills wont invalidate it. Or you could take the risk that the person who told you they are not an issue is still there on the day of the 111-point check, or that who ever does the check is similarly minded.
The important thing is that you are aware of the risks and possible options (and what each option costs) when you make your decision to go for these or not. As long as you have done this I respect whatever decision you make, but I would recommend to anyone that asks me that you at least consider fitting them.
:-)
I called Porsche Brooklands today about a 981 that had the Zunsport grilles fitted and the chap I spoke to said the same thing as previously mentioned that the grilles won't invalidate the warranty if the car is already under a current warranty and has them fitted but if the warranty were to elapse then thee 111 point inspection would have to be done on it again. Then it's possible that they wouldn't cover from that point on unless the grilles were removed as they have to send pics of the car off to Porsche HO when starting a new policy.
So I will defo look to get it in writing once I actually find myself a 981 that is!
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