Scirocco front lip protection from scraping underside?

[quozl]

I noticed tonight that the underside of the front lip area on my wife's Scirocco R already has a couple of small scrapes underneath at the two forward most parts of the front lip. If you look at the front of the car standing directly in the centre the two points would be directly inline with the edge of the plate holder but underneath the front lip.

I asked her if she knew how they got there and she was as baffled as I was so I took a drive down to her office and sure enough the entrance to the driveway where the road meets the driveway is the culprit as the road dives down to the gutter and then the driveway climbs up. Now my wife knows how to drive into and out of a steep driveway having driven in various low race cars and all my sports cars and she knows how to enter and exit steep drives but even with entering or exiting at an extreme angle and at crawling pace they are still just touching and scraping up the plastic and underside painted bit.

I was wondering if anyone else has had a look under the front of their car to see if they are scraping anywhere and if anyone has seen any after market solutions to alleviate this issue, I guess it wouldn't be a problem if it was just black plastic piece like the R32 but it is a painted integrated piece of the lower front bumper / lip / spoiler.

The GT3 Porsche guys I run with in my old 911 use a bit of weather strip on their front lips to save it from rubbing but as we don't have any edge to mount to under there I'm not sure if that will work. I was thinking of maybe getting my engineer who does the mods on the rally car to make up a couple of small alloy strips maybe 10mm thick and bolt them to the underside so they scrape instead of the plastic but if anyone else has any ideas or has seen an after market solution please pass it on.

We've ordered her a set of VW Racing lowering springs that get here in the next day or two but I won't be installing them for her unless we can come up with some sort of solution.

Cheers Al

[she_dub]

I have exactly the same problem, and I know how to enter and exit a driveway properly with low slung cars. It just doesn't seem to be avoidable with the Scirocco.
I also have the VWR springs, and I'm putting off having them installed as I don't know how to stop the scrape.. I was thinking of getting a strip of a plastic clear vinyl put on, but that would only really be a very temporary solution.

Interested to see if anyone has addressed the problem. Might have a look on the UK forums.

[marquee]

I know some people get a rubber strip similar to what goes under a garage door. Some have made it look pretty stock

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Tapatalk

[Transporter]

The front facing camera with the monitor
The air bag springs fitted to front suspension, switch operated by driver (Pedders sell them)

That's what I would do to prevent the leaving the front bumper bar somewhere at the shopping centre car park.

[quozl]

Hi she_dub, I'm working on a solution that I think will work nicely and prevent any more scrapes, will keep you posted once I get a bit more info.

Hi Marquee, that is essentially what the GT3 guys I know use but I'm thinking it is going to have to be something more solid that can take the grind instead of the front underside of the lip and then once it is worn down can be easily replaces with a new one.

Once I get the solution finalised I will see if anyone else wants them in here.

Cheers Q

[Rev 555]

Hi she_dub, I'm working on a solution that I think will work nicely and prevent any more scrapes, will keep you posted once I get a bit more info.

Hi Marquee, that is essentially what the GT3 guys I know use but I'm thinking it is going to have to be something more solid that can take the grind instead of the front underside of the lip and then once it is worn down can be easily replaces with a new one.

Once I get the solution finalised I will see if anyone else wants them in here.

Cheers Q

Please keep me informed too! Those two points is the only point of impact and I need to drive VERY slowly at angles to up ramps. Mine got damaged at a recent wheel alignment place and am now paranoid to leave it with anyone. The tricky part is to get something that is strong and maleable enough to run over the edge where that point joins the flat part of the underside. I was thinking like a carbon fibre piece.

Something a bit more subtle than thsi would be good.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2012/03/X1-1.jpg

[quozl]

Will do, I already have my engineer who does all the mod work on my Porsche working on a prototype and will be going to see him Friday to work out a few dimensions. It will be strong and malleable, easy to mount and able to be easily replaced as it wears down over the years so it will never hit the actual lip area again. If the prototype works out we will make them available to the community.

Cheers Al

[she_dub]

Good work Al, sounds like you're the guys for the job!
I'm very interested in seeing how your prototype turns out, as I do cringe every time I see a driveway with a slight incline, but a great big dip before it.

[ConR]

Good work Al, sounds like you're the guys for the job!
I'm very interested in seeing how your prototype turns out, as I do cringe every time I see a driveway with a slight incline, but a great big dip before it.

Isn't that pretty much every driveway in Australia? :)

[quozl]

Just wish she'd let me drive it a bit more. :P

911 is getting a heap of work done to it so I'm in her old Polo unless she lets me have a drive of the Rocco now and again ;-)

Cheers Q

[Andych]

The only real issue with putting a rub strip on will be keeping it thin enough that it doesn't load the front bar too much when it does come in contact with something. More so on lowered cars....

Now that Carbon front lip on the Scirocco X should be standard... Just saying is all 😉

[Bain]

Now that Carbon front lip on the Scirocco X should be standard... Just saying is all ��

Which would add another 2cm to an already low front end.

Standard lowering springs already take it to 12cm off the ground, so a lip would almost certainly take it into illegal territory.

At the end of the day, its going to get a few scrubs. You can spend silly amounts of money on ways to protect it or just get it resprayed when you go to sell it. The scrapes are in spots you cant see anyway unless you are for some reason laying under the front of the car.

[Andych]

The height after lowering will be dependent on which springs you use... Yours are the H & R which are more of a drop than the VWR or the Eibach but not anywhere near as much as Rev555 with the Coilovers....

Scrapes are going to be an issue for everyone at some stage or another... Minimizing the damage and where it is damaged is the main thing.

No point in having a rub strip underneath if you grind the front into that lump of concrete your wheels are meant to touch...

[quozl]

Michael finally had a chance to drop round today and look at the front lip rubbing issue as we had the car at home for the detailer who was coming to work his magic.

Anyway we have decided to go with a simple system using a hard wearing synthetic product that will protect the four most vulnerable points under the lip yet not be in view from in front of the car unless you are laying down looking at the underside.

We're trying different methods to come up with an easy to replicate and elegant mounting option so they are easy and relatively inexpensive to make in bulk on the CNC yet secure and easy to change to new ones for anyone as they wear over time.

Will keep the thread posted with what we come up with and gauge interest afterwards on putting them into production for sale through the various local VW after market sites. I'm not rushing him on these as he is finishing off the work on my 911 and I want that treated as a priority until it is finished and all the upgrades done to it but as soon as I have them on the Scirocco I will post the info and pics for all to decide if it is something they want for their cars.

Cheers Al

[Bain]

Thanks for the update Al.

Whats being done to your 911?

[she_dub]

Will keep the thread posted with what we come up with and gauge interest afterwards on putting them into production for sale through the various local VW after market sites. I'm not rushing him on these as he is finishing off the work on my 911 and I want that treated as a priority until it is finished and all the upgrades done to it but as soon as I have them on the Scirocco I will post the info and pics for all to decide if it is something they want for their cars.

Awesome! Thanks for the updates Al! :)

[quozl]

Thanks for the update Al.

Whats being done to your 911?

To put it mildly A LOT :-) I wrote up a 5 page booklet with all the upgrades / modifications I wanted done and Michael has been working through them for the past couple of months.

Really this is the start of a long process of personalising and upgrading the car to my specs that we have broken down into stages and are going to undertake over the coming 12 to 18 months and this was just stage one.

I'll post a thread in the Porsche section when I get it back in a week or so outlining the work done to date and what is still to be done over the coming months.

Cheers Al

[Scratchyratface]

Hey quozl, I've got the problem with the front bumper scraping our steep kerb onto our driveway and already have some nasty scratches (some being visible). How did you go with the synthetic product you mentioned?

[quozl]

Never went ahead with it, just fixed the scratch by sanding it down and spraying it with the VW touch up paint in a spray can. She has recently done it again but worse this time scraping a parking curb.

This looks like it may do exactly what we were going to do

Wenzhou Kadean Trading Co., Ltd (http://www.kadean-dev.com/proshow.asp?id=2111)

http://www.kadean-dev.com/picfile/201338174474591.jpg

http://www.kadean-dev.com/picfile/201338174484945.jpg

[Scratchyratface]

Ooooo ouch! My wife is refusing to drive the Scirocco now as she doesn't want to scrape it again on the driveway!
Thanks for the update, I was thinking about spraying underneath the bumper will some sort of rubber coating (if that exists?).

[quozl]

It's Marti's car so she is the one feeling the pain of doing it. She is going to get a touch up guy to come and fix it, not that bad its just the plastic underneath the paint is black so it shows.

Cheers Al

[mr gee]

I have in mind bonding 2 pieces of carbon fibre skid plates where the low points are on the spoiler

[quozl]

I have in mind bonding 2 pieces of carbon fibre skid plates where the low points are on the spoiler

Thats what we were going to do for Marti's car just two small plates at the two points of the front spoiler.

Instead of carbon we were going to use white nylon so as they wore down you could just replace them cheaply and they would be almost invisible. Biggest thing was coming up with a nutsert or similar mounting system so you could easily attach and replace them and that was reinforced enough to hold them firmly.

Cheers Al

[mr gee]

Thats what we were going to do for Marti's car just two small plates at the two points of the front spoiler.

Instead of carbon we were going to use white nylon so as they wore down you could just replace them cheaply and they would be almost invisible. Biggest thing was coming up with a nutsert or similar mounting system so you could easily attach and replace them and that was reinforced enough to hold them firmly.


Cheers Al


A silicone adhesive might do the job. as a firmer connection like the nut insert could cause the spoiler to tear in an incident

[quozl]

A silicone adhesive might do the job. as a firmer connection like the nut insert could cause the spoiler to tear in an incident

Yes thats a good point.

She only has the car for another 12 months until she picks a new one under her lease arrangement so there's not much point of doing either. If she was going to keep the car then for sure I think its a worthwhile mod.

Cheers Al

[john_char]

Just wish she'd let me drive it a bit more. :P

I'm in the same boat!!!! I work away a heap and it kills me that I don't get to drive the 'rocco as often, especially after the Veizu tune was installed.

The 'rocco does have some pretty good scrapes from just 3 weeks of driving, really interested in what has been engineered.

[Joe7777]

I scraped it the first day I picked up the car. Yeah, I know... :(

[jetblack]

Hey guys,

Take a look at thick UHMW plastic tape - 3M usually makes it. Its highly abrasive resistant and has low friction so would work well, just not sure how strong the adhesive is. You can also get sheets of it too if you want to make custom shapes to bolt it on.

Cheers, Kim

[JohnA]

never scraped the front lip, but since putting the carbon lip to it, have scraped it 3 times

[Joe7777]

That is painful, I rather scrape the plastic ;)

[JohnA]

That is painful, I rather scrape the plastic ;)

main reason i havent put the car on coilovers.
I dont know how Kev hasnt taken the front bar off with how low his rocco sits

mind you, its only a little damage to the underside of the carbon lip and to the clear coat. Can be easily fixed.

[Joe7777]

main reason i havent put the car on coilovers.
I dont know how Kev hasnt taken the front bar off with how low his rocco sits

mind you, its only a little damage to the underside of the carbon lip and to the clear coat. Can be easily fixed.

Maybe he has a HLS :rolleyes:

Take care of the lip mate :)

[Golf16SE]

Ok guys so I wanna get a front lip on the Rocco but nothing fancy as I will be scraping it around all the time .. I don't see the point with the carbon fibre lip ... Any suggestions ?

[JohnA]

Ok guys so I wanna get a front lip on the Rocco but nothing fancy as I will be scraping it around all the time .. I don't see the point with the carbon fibre lip ... Any suggestions ?

yea just get this

EZLip.com (http://ezlip.com/)

[edy]

Has anyone had any luck with a lowered Rocco and the carbon fibre lip? My car is on H & R springs and if im careful I don't usually scrape.

edy

[JohnA]

Has anyone had any luck with a lowered Rocco and the carbon fibre lip? My car is on H & R springs and if im careful I don't usually scrape.

edy

same springs as you and the dealer scraped mine putting it on the hoist, so they are buying me a new one
I have also scraped it 2 times now, so wont be installing the new one.

I am going to put the car on coilovers soon also, so will sit lower so definately can see more scraping coming

[Joe7777]

Great to hear your updates John on the coilovers. I still haven't fitted the lip after wrapping :rolleyes:

[JohnA]

Joe, i wasnt going to do it, but i blame you guys.
All your rocco's on coilovers sit beautifully and i simply love it.
My current driveway wont allow for it, but as soon as i move into the new place, i'll definately be doing it.

Just need to find a good price on some KW DCC's