Sick and tired of scraping my car...

[spinjector]

I did it again. You may ask, do I have eyes? Yes, but unfortunately they can be fooled sometimes. I was in a parking lot with lumpy sand-colored paving, and part of the surface had sunk down in a very deceptive way so it was almost impossible to see the "sink". SCRAAAAAAAAAAPE!

I'm so tired of this. But on a car with only 4.5" of ground clearance, I supposed it's to be expected.

But it's time I did something about it. I want to make the entire underside of my Noob completely armored with 1/4" aluminum plating - front to back, side to side. Sort of like the Panzer Plate, but for the whole underside of the car. I've been looking at welders at Homogeneous Depot, and they have some small ones with gas adapters for welding aluminum. I come from a family of welders, so I've got plenty of help and advice on welding of non-ferrous metals if I ask for it.

Has anyone ever seen this? Got any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Lnzbug]

Kinda sound like a good idea till you really think about it. What if something breaks or wears out. How do you get to it to fix it? Also I think it would get too hot with no air circulating around the exhaust.

[green02turbo]

Welding aluminum takes some serious equipment. Either a 200Amp tig or at least 185 amps of spool gun'd mig. I'd recommend at least a millermatic 185 with the spool gun attachment for aluminum. If it plugs into 110V and says it can weld aluminum it probably can do beer cans and thats about it. A torch and so called aluminum welding rod is next to impossible to so good luck.

[zeusenergy]

Originally Posted by spinjector

I did it again. You may ask, do I have eyes? Yes, but unfortunately they can be fooled sometimes. I was in a parking lot with lumpy sand-colored paving, and part of the surface had sunk down in a very deceptive way so it was almost impossible to see the "sink". SCRAAAAAAAAAAPE!

I'm so tired of this. But on a car with only 4.5" of ground clearance, I supposed it's to be expected.

But it's time I did something about it. I want to make the entire underside of my Noob completely armored with 1/4" aluminum plating - front to back, side to side. Sort of like the Panzer Plate, but for the whole underside of the car. I've been looking at welders at Homogeneous Depot, and they have some small ones with gas adapters for welding aluminum. I come from a family of welders, so I've got plenty of help and advice on welding of non-ferrous metals if I ask for it.

Has anyone ever seen this? Got any suggestions?

Thanks.

The Ferrari 355 and enzo come to mind here. Actually, most of the newer Ferraris come with complete underbody protection (SLASH) downforce generating plates bolted to the belly. They don't have hardly any clearnace at all. It can certainly be done. I wouldn't go over the exhaust as another person said... and really there's no point on our cars to go beyond the engine area. Maybe you could do the fuel system areas as well with a smaller plate. Hey it's up to you, but you will need to have access to a serious welding rig, brake bending equipment, really good drills and cutting tools made for aluminum, and alot of cash on hand for the raw aluminum sheet. If you use a simple bolt-in design, then it should be all good when you need to access something for maintenance.

[kate_the_valkyrie]

Originally Posted by spinjector

I did it again. You may ask, do I have eyes? Yes, but unfortunately they can be fooled sometimes. I was in a parking lot with lumpy sand-colored paving, and part of the surface had sunk down in a very deceptive way so it was almost impossible to see the "sink". SCRAAAAAAAAAAPE!

I'm so tired of this. But on a car with only 4.5" of ground clearance, I supposed it's to be expected.

But it's time I did something about it. I want to make the entire underside of my Noob completely armored with 1/4" aluminum plating - front to back, side to side. Sort of like the Panzer Plate, but for the whole underside of the car. I've been looking at welders at Homogeneous Depot, and they have some small ones with gas adapters for welding aluminum. I come from a family of welders, so I've got plenty of help and advice on welding of non-ferrous metals if I ask for it.

Has anyone ever seen this? Got any suggestions?

Thanks.

I do really feel your frustration here. I bought my NB march 2nd, and apon driving home from Phoenix to Lake Havasu, the truckers around here had melted snow and ice falling from their undercarriages, and I couldn't avoid one. I had the plastic underbody cover in the very front of the bug, and It's now cracked and broken. I had to pull of the interstate, and tie it back up to make it home safely. I'm a younger first time owner, still getting used to the plastic parts on these vehicles... I wondered about a metal undercover as well... Or does anyone suggest as to where to purchase the front undercover replacement? Ebay? VW ordering?

[NYBugman]

To the OP, if you're determined to install underside protective plates, then do it in multiple pieces. It will be easier to remove them for maintenance if they are modular.

A positive side effect will be that it will streamline the car and increase gas mileage. A negative side effect will be that you're adding unnecessary weight to the car, which could decrease gas mileage.

IMO, all you need is a skidplate. The only other vital part under the car is the fuel filter, which is tucked up under the car pretty well. If you're scraping at stock height, then drive slower and be more careful. I drive a lowered New Beetle around some of the worst roads in NYC (Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Downtown Manhattan, BQE) and I can't recall scraping the actual car body on anything.

As far as scraping the front lip on stuff, then take driveways at a sharper angle and live with it. It's part of the deal.

[Fowvay]

My plastic belly pan has been shredded, broken, torn, cracked and whacked to with in an inch of it's life. It has been band aided together with mulitple strips of aluminum siding (thanks to Bill Walker). Those repairs now need more repairs and I still have zero intention of raising my car back up to stock ride height. I just like being low. .... REALLY LOW!!!

[KatWoman]

I've been lucky to avoid scrapes so far *knocks on wood*. I used to drive a slammed Neon back in the day so I had plenty of experience driving a lowered car. I had it for 7 years so I still catch myself taking certain inclines and severe angles.

[pdoel]

Moving to the correct forum.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Here on the West Coast we have our share of royally screwed up roads and highways, mostly thanks to the destructive weight of big rigs and the snail slow pace that road repairs get done, if at all... Hmmm, wonder where all our tax dollars go??...

Although it' hasn't been a problem for me, I do understand your aggravation and concern.

The armor idea is a good idea, however, along with the afore mentioned issues with this there is an additional point that you may want to consider if you haven't:

1. Weight, that much aluminum will be very heavy and will negatively effect the performance of your car (mileage, acceleration, braking, maneuvering at speed etc.

If only we could get the powers that be, to earn their keep and maintain our roads, another choice would be to move to Arizona where the roads are glass smooth, both are probably out of the question...

[digitalputty]

I hear ya about being low. I was driving back to work today after lunch and I heard something scrape on the bottom of my car - on a flat surface no dips or anything. I looked back ... it was a fracking soda can. 0_O ... SODA can. ARGH!

[kate_the_valkyrie]

Originally Posted by Too Cold NB1.8T

Here on the West Coast we have our share of royally screwed up roads and highways, mostly thanks to the destructive weight of big rigs and the snail slow pace that road repairs get done, if at all... Hmmm, wonder where all our tax dollars go??...

Although it' hasn't been a problem for me, I do understand your aggravation and concern.

The armor idea is a good idea, however, along with the afore mentioned issues with this there is an additional point that you may want to consider if you haven't:

1. Weight, that much aluminum will be very heavy and will negatively effect the performance of your car (mileage, acceleration, braking, maneuvering at speed etc.

If only we could get the powers that be, to earn their keep and maintain our roads, another choice would be to move to Arizona where the roads are glass smooth, both are probably out of the question...

Roads in arizona? Wow I wish that were true. I live in Lake Havasu City, right on the az,ca border.. I picked up my new beetle last week in phoenix and those damn truckers tear up our roads in this state almost worse!
So where would the best place be for a girl like me who knows nothing about this stuff find someone to make and attatch a small skid plate in the front? A welder? Mechanic? Fabrication shop? Ideas? I feel so cluless compared to everyone else...

[noR]

Originally Posted by kate_the_valkyrie

Roads in arizona? Wow I wish that were true. I live in Lake Havasu City, right on the az,ca border.. I picked up my new beetle last week in phoenix and those damn truckers tear up our roads in this state almost worse!
So where would the best place be for a girl like me who knows nothing about this stuff find someone to make and attatch a small skid plate in the front? A welder? Mechanic? Fabrication shop? Ideas? I feel so cluless compared to everyone else...

http://www.dieselgeek.com/ Sells one ready to install, no welding mechanic, or fabrication shop necessary. It's pricey, but strong enough to protect against nearly anything you could throw at it.

[gilligan]

If you do plate the entire underside of your car I cant wait for your post on what happened when you tried to roll over a big hump in the road. You'll be able to change all four of your tires at the same time without a jack.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Hmmmm, California roads must be worse than I thought, the two different times myself and a friend visited at least 4 major cities in Arizona, almost all the streets and highways were fresh black top, felt like we were on a new race track, made spirited driving a blast.

Most roads in California are like a demolition derby course in comparison.

[SMG]

All you need is a skidplate for the front since it's the lowest part of the car. I was skeptical of them at first but after being slammed on coilovers for a year I've learned that skidplates work and work well. The only drawbacks are the cost and the weight.

[Yurko]

where are you located? depending on your design and construction you also have the possibility of picking up some extra snow and ice during the winter if your local weather provides it. Additionally, anyplace you connect it to the undercarriage you run the risk of corrosion, as you will probably have to drill or weld.

just get a panzer plate and call it good. between these forums and vwvortex it doesn't seem like the protection it offers is inadequate.

[Picknicker]

If you are concerned about the air circulation around the exhaust - check whether you can customize a oil pan protection from a BMW E30 3 series (1986-1992)

My Beetle usually hits the ground first with it's muffler...

[DZLBUG]

I'm planning on probably a 1" lift and a Panzer skidplate for my NB TDI. 2" lifts are available but they are still kind of in "beta" testing and its not fully known what effects this has on alignment and tire wear.

Lift kits can be found here: http://www.metalnerd.com/cat09.htm

[spinjector]

well that night be an option... but that's hardware, and is why i like the idea of the EasyStreet airbags... you can lift up 6" if you need to... =-)