[s-cars] Re: belly pan?

[William Noland]

The belly pan is called a Sound Dampener and your dealer parts counter
and this seems to be its primary purpose in life. Should also serve to
smooth the airflow out a bit under the car and seems to help keep the
engine compartment a bit cleaner.  Hard to say if  it helps or hinders
airflow through the IC.  Of course, it needs to be pulled for oil
changes.  Some find it difficult to reinstall -- I can usually do the
job in 5-10 minutes with an appropriate amount of swearing.

The front of the S-Car is fairly low and the bottom of the bumper cover
is fairly easily snagged on curbs or concrete parking blocks.  If done
correctly (incorrectly?), the front of the belly pan will tend to pop
out from under the bumper cover a bit, then come all the way out at
speed.  By the time you pull over to see what the loud noise is, it will
be pretty well ground down on the leading edge.  No real danger in
leaving it off.

Bill Noland
94 S4, currently sans "Belly Pan"