Engine Protection Plate ?'s

Does have experience with the below engine protection plate? Just curious how sturdy it is, quality, effectiveness, etc. It is obviously better than not having anything. Also, any better options or manufactures? http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96021.htm

I'm not sure you can jump to the conclusion that it's better than nothing. First, it's going to hold in heat. Not as big a deal as it was on air cooled cars but still a bad thing. Second, if it's strong enough to protect your engine it's going to be heavy. Right where you want weight the least. Finally, you want to look at how it mounts. If it takes a hard hit is it going to shear off a bolt or break something important? I'm sure Gert would be more than happy to help answer these questions. Jim

I have one. It is really light and on my 996 C2, it only bolts onto 3 points. I think it will protect your engine from minor scrapes only. The bad thing is that I have to take it off when changing oil. It gets in the way of the oil filter.

I finally purchased that same skid plate after I punctured the oil sump pan when I bottomed out the car coming off a steep rise in the road at speed. The plate is ~$100. A replacement oil sump pan is ~$150 plus the $80 of Mobile 1 I sprayed all over the road and the back of my car - not including installation which I did myself. Add more if you need a tow. The plate is good quality, my engine temps were not effected, and it doesn't weigh enough to make a difference unless you are racing the car against tight competition.

AC, What does it bolt to? Are they bolts that would be a big problem if they are sheered off? Also, how light is light? If you took a hit hard enough to do damage to the oil pan, do you think it would do any good? Jim

Jim, I'm trying to find a pic that shows these bolts. They are 10mm head bolts, one in front, clamping a hose down and 2 on the sides of the pan. The way the plate is designed, it looks like it will take a really big hit to shear it off - I would compare it to a skid plate found on off-road vehicles. I'd say it weighs 2 lbs at most. It will help on deflection type hits like hitting the track curbing when you turn in way too early.

I have a plate on my car and for lowered cars I say its a must. Just the scraping of driveways and hitting debris on the road that would otherwise just go under the car is enough protection for me. Better safe than sorry with the underside of the engine.

Thanks for all the feedback and perspectives I didn't consider. My "better than nothing" comment is from a point of view I failed to explain. I'm considering the X73 suspension. Given the lower stance, as others have mentioned, I want to provide some level of protection. All very good dialog and thanks again!

Interesting, my car has this plate and I just thought that it was a factory part on all 996s. My plate is the same as the one in the link however it mounts with 4 bolts(one on each side). It is very lightweight but still strong. You can easily see that the plate on my car has bottomed out several times as it is somewhat dented and scrapped and if it wasn't there the oil pan would have taken the abuse. I would recomend getting one. It does make changing the oil more difficult because even though it has a hole in it to access the drain plug the draining oil tends to partly drain on top of the pan. In fact, when I changed my oil with the protection sheild still in place oil ran along the top of the shield and dripped down beside my collection pan causing about 3/4 of a quart of oil to spill onto my brand new garage floor. It was a serious mess and I ended up having to take the shield off anyway to clean the oil off the top of it.

It definitely bolts to the side....the flat plate kinda lips around the corners and you attach there. Yes, you do need to remove in order to change oil I guess, but you're already under there and it comes off easy. Last, the added little protection definitely helps the oil sump against bangs that might lead to a an oil leak/flow. As for pictures, I think Dell posted some of his a while back. Maybe he'll chime in soon. Meanwhile, here's a photo from Carnewal's site.

I forgot to mention that my car is a '99 C2. Gert did mention that later models use all 4 mounting points. I haven't had any issue with only 3 mounting points.

A couple bolts on my oil pan were already "rubbed" when I got the car, to the point where one of them won't take a wrench anymore. So, I put the protection plate on right after I got it. I don't think the plate is to really take a hit, but it will definitely protect your bolts from rubbing concrete. I have only heard the plate scrape once coming out of a driveway since I put it on. It's cheap and I'd rather hear it scraping first.

automotion.com has their own 996 engine protection plate, and it's bigger than the Porsche one. http://www.automotion.com/productpag...otection+Plate I would've gone this route if it weren't so much more expensive. In the end, I went with the Porsche one.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback gang. Looks like an easy way to go to add some additional protection. Rennlist rocks!

Contact Sunset.... I just bought mine, $80ish only... PS. I just got mine today.... where are the BOLTS? Do i have to purchase the bolts separately??

I purchased a used one & the previous owner drilled the hole out larger in order to make oil changes easier, I dont think it affected the amount of protection any. With the scrapes on it, I am sure it helped protect to some degree.

This plate has saved my @ss several times! I do NOT have any trouble with oil changes. The hole in the plate is where the drain plug is so I am confused why some of you have problems with oil change. JICKO, as for the bolts that are ALREADY on your car. Very easy install. If you have any problems feel free to PM me when you do the install if you get stuck. I'll have to dig up the pics but I swear I posted them at one point.

Here you go: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ght=protection