Guys, here is a rather disturbing account of GT2 radiator puncture from my friend Josh Ofstein:


I was out on Sunday for a drive with a friend who just took delivery of an 04 E55 in Northern Marin County. Unfortunately my coolant warning came on after a short time and I promptly pulled to the side of the rode. It seems a rock or some other road debris had pierced my center radiator and coolant was shooting out of the hole. I proceeded to drive the car, mindful of the temp gauge to the dealer. When the temp began to move from the 180 degree mark we pulled over again and refilled the tank (btw it was very difficult to remove the coolant cap!!) with warm water and I continued to the dealer. The radiator shares a part number with the Turbo and my dealer happened to have three in stock so I was on my way, one day and $1100 later. Needless to say this was a rather unpleasant Sunday drive.

I was told awhile ago by Bruce Canepa that a friend of his had this happen twice in his GT2. Bruce mentioned that he designed a mesh grill to fit over the front of the center radiator to prevent future mishaps. I haven't seen the part nor do I have any affiliation with Bruce but I thought I would mention this to the group because it could easily happen to any of us. I checked my radiator closely after it was removed and there were at least three other severe hits that could have resulted in a hole but miraculously did not...

On another note, when I went to retrieve my car from the dealer I noticed a Seal Grey GT3 on the rack and the service manager relayed an interesting story. Apparently the owner had an off track excursion in Turn 8 at Thunderhill. Anyone who has gone off at THill knows that you kick up a lot of dirt, sand, weeds and rocks. The horrible noise prompted the owner to take the car to the dealer for an inspection. Those rocks did quite a bit of damage to the underside of his car. In particular his PCCBs were destroyed - there were chunks missing from each rotor. There were also several oil lines and cooling lines damaged as well as dents in the headers and one of the wheels. The dealer claimed the damage was $39K in parts alone! Rocks and PCCBs don't mix.......

BTW, the car is at Sonnen Porsche in Mill Valley CA if anyone wants to take a look..............

Josh

2002 GT2

 

FYI, Bruce Canepa wants $995 for the mesh grills, installed, and powdercoated, or $315 for raw stainless mesh w/o install.

 

Aluminum mesh from Home Depot, make patterns out of paper or cardboard, use as a template to cut out mesh pieces. Cost $25.00...driving on the road without fear of radiator punctures...Priceless!!!

Alternative...Speed Lingerie. Protect the front paint of nose and protect the radiators...$600.00 That's the route I have taken...

 

$995 for powder coated mesh? Porsche owner must equal sucker
I'll try Rockit's idea...

 

noel,

if you do please let me know how it works, i'd like to try it as well. thanks

 

I was looking at how this could be done on the GT2 front end and it seems relatively easy. I will be delving into it in the upcoming month or so. I will keep you guys posted on the progress.
The biggest dichotomy is choosing a mesh with small enough openings to provide rock protection while also not hampering airflow.

 

I have mesh protecting the openings on my 951 track car. The mesh did nothing to stop a rock from piercing my oil cooler in one race. Like KPV says... the trick is making the mesh small enough to stop junk from entering, but large enough to not restict airflow.

 

I visited Arling's shop yesterday and I think he and Tom can design, build, and install something for us at a very reasonable cost.

Those guys rock.

 

Tyson: Arling is the best! you can't go wrong with him

 

I know, I've visited them several times and they are down the street from my office.

SP Engineering is also very good.

Between those two shops I am pretty much set.