Scraping your F430

just get it touched up and from now on.. just approach all curbs (up or down) at a 45 degree angle.. get 1 tire on the curb first. I noticed at least 90% of all f430s have scrapes on the bottom front bumper

 

Got a scrape at 400 miles. Can't see it thankfull unless you crawl under. Sux but it won't be the last either. I am leaving it like that for now.

 

if you drive your 360/430 on the street you will get scrapes, get used to it.

if you don't want scrapes leave it in the garage.

 

I added the Hill Engineering plates. I got them from Forum sponsor www.ricambiamerica.com They come with bolts to hold them but I just used heavy duty mounting tape. The tape holds more than adequately. I have had no problems now, even on track and with my car lowered.

 

DoctorB....I just had the plates installed on my 360 at Auto Gallery. My guess is they will not touch up your scrapes at this time since you've already had/driven car a bit. BUT I would go back and see what they say anyway.....you never know ) I recomend the plates. Call me if you want to discuss.

bob

 

I installed the skidplates manufactured by Premier Motorsport in LA. Do a search here and you should find several hits. They are long and cover pretty much the entire leading edge of the bumper (not including the center winglet). Plus you won't be able to see the scratches once you install it.

 

Every 6 mo or so I go underneath and spray the scrapes with flat black paint.
As has been said it is virtually impossible to prevent an occasional scrape,
Just remember to go down dips at an angle to minimize "that sound" and don't look underneath!
Good luck with it-it's a fabulous machine.

 

Skid plates are a good investment, mate has them on his car and they work very well.

 

Any one have a website or email address for these guys ?

 

Premier Motorsports has one of the best design skid plates Ive seen for the F430. Easy to install and better coverage, shapes accordingly under the bumper, looks similar to a boomerang. (310) 559-1562 Ask for Dave, tell him Bhane sent his reguards Hope this helps...

-B
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I'd send it back...

 

Two quick questions:

-- Do these plates disrupt air flow/stability in any way at speed?

Also, I presume at least four holes need to be drilled to installed - do you need to remove the bumper or anything to put washers, etc. on the inside of the bolt or do you use self-tapping screws etc?

Thanks.

 

Those look a little too thick, maybe it's just the picture but I would be concerned the added thickness would cause more pressure on the front bumper in the event they do scrape hard causing damage. And they also appear to cover area's that you would never scrape. You'd have to be 4-wheeling to scrape right in front of the tire. They also don't have a countoured lip so I'd be concerned you could catch the corner of the plate. The Ricambi/Hill plate has a rounded lip.. But who knows. I have the ones from Ricambi, they appear much thinner. I haven't mounted them yet because I expect my car next month. What do you think ?

 

Why didn't I think of that?! Great idea, especially since I'm having 3M installed and I could just stick the plates to the film under the car.

What kind of tape did you use?

btw: Here's a pic of the Hill Engineering plates.
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Skids looks about the same thickness, just the angle of the photo. The reason why its design to boomerang around the bumper so it will blend in wheel to wheel and not noticable. If you have the partial skids the ones you have on your photo, in certain angles, bumper will appear having teeth hangin' down. The initial design was for the Stradales (end of 2003) which was also partial, until several clients wanted a cleaner extended look...

Cheers!

-B

 

The ricambi one is thinner.

With that wrap around skid plate do you have to drill all these holes like in the pic?

Just my opinion but I rather put on a smaller plate that protects the areas prone to scraping and gives a cleaner look. There's no way you need the plate directly in front of the front tire. If you ever manage to scrape there you've probably driven off a cliff and the skid plate aint gonna help.
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I used 3M "heavy duty" mounting tape. I got it at Home Depot or Lowes. IT is dark gray and holds up to heat and moisture unlike the standard white foam tape you normally see. While the Hill plates don't cover as much as the other ones they are adequate. the outside of the bumper cover is lower than the middle, so this is the part that hits. The upside is that if there is an aero difference, the hill ones are almost entirely in front of the tire where it wouldn't matter.

 

I only have about 350 miles on my F430 and scraped the bottom of my bumper badly today on a large road-bump. The sound was terrible, I thought the bumper was being crushed, but the good thing is, it's very solid material, not like other cars. If I had done that with my SL55 AMG, I would have probably broken the front apron or cracked it which is very fragile on the Mercedes.
I will go for skid-plates for my F430. The question is, do I need to dismantle the front bumber to install them, or can they be fixed using self-drill screws or rivets.

 

You just add them with the skrews.

 

I understand, but if they are fixed with a nut and bolt, you need to access the nut to tighten it. So how is this done without removing the bumper?

 

The bumper doesn't need to be removed. If you're using the bolts instead of an adhesive method, you do need to remove the front belly pan (#1) to access the inside of the bumper. With the pan removed, you'll reach into the bumper's back end to fix the mounting nuts and braces (shown in the above picture).
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Thanks, Daniel for a very thorough explanation.