[s-cars] Belly pan blues (95 S6A)

[Harold McComas]

Mark, I "thought" the factory fasteners were Dzus???? or at least Audis 
version of them. Either way , I was trying to say just using the 5 factory 
metal belly pan screws  is easy enough.

Harold

> From: "Mark Rivera" <mrivera at webcats.net>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Belly pan blues (95 S6A)
> To: <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Message-ID: <JFEBKFFBOCOEECGECJLPOEOBEMAA.mrivera at webcats.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Thanks to Ian for sending me pics of the belly pan, especially the plan 
> view
> shots.  I was able to create a rough sketch in AutoCAD from those.  I
> measured some mounting point distances on my car so I could adjust the 
> scale
> of my sketch.  The pan appears to be just under 60" wide, which is a
> standard sheet width.  Looks like you could fit 3 pieces on a 60x96 sheet 
> of
> material.  In 0.060" aluminum, that's roughly $40 material cost each.
> 0.060" is probably a little heavier than is needed, 0.050" would be
> adequate, I think.
>
> I have a much better idea what the piece does now that I've seen one. 
> Looks
> like it aids airflow to the brakes as well.  I think to make a cost
> effective sheetmetal alternative, you would have to do without the NACA
> ducts.  I could add some simple, less sexy ducts for very little 
> additional
> cost, but maybe not everyone would go for that.
>
> I knew when I bought this car, I'd have to bite the dealer bullet every 
> now
> and then, but I'm going to forever have an issue with a $200 belly pan,
> mostly because I have the means to fabricate one.  The more complex and
> expensive you make this part (carbon fiber, etc.), the less it makes sense
> for anyone to buy anything but the dealer part.  I plan on lowering my car 
> a
> bit, and if it's so easy to damage these, I want a cheap alternative.  I
> don't plan on taking the car to the track, so a little lost brake cooling
> isn't a big issue for me.
>
> As for the PITA removal issue, I highly recommend doing what one poster 
> did,
> and retrofit some Dzus fasteners in there somehow.  Removal would take
> seconds, and there's no chance of losing any fasteners...
>
>>From here, I'll try to get my hands on a belly pan to make a template 
>>from,
> make a prototype, and let you guys know how it works out.  If there's any
> interest then, I'll come up with a group price for about 15 parts or so
> (minimum sheet order quantity), and see if anyone bites...  right now, I
> have a race car to prepare for track events in March, so that's the 
> focus...
>
> Thanks for all your comments, pro and con, and keep putting good info out
> there for me to sift through about our cars!
>
> Mark