dents fender

Hi I have a question want to know, one of my friend owns a 02 996 ,after he change the shocks, I try to feel the stiffness,which means push the fender, he stop me and tell me the sales told him dont press the fender you will get a dent?! is it true or not true.again this is not a joke. thanks for your input.

Steve, My 996 got a dent in the fender once after the mountain bike tiped on it with rubber grips. They are very thin so I would keep that big thumb of yours off of it.. serious Jake

All cars these days that are lighter than the average 2 1/2 ton tank have thin steel.

iNTERESTING TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 996 AND OTHER CARS THANKS

Yea, you have to be careful. But it's not just Porsche. Any sports car these days will have thin steel as a way to try to control weight. With all of the otherwise heavy items all cars have these days (heavy electric seats and windows, air bags all around, thick sound proofing, air conditioning, computers that control everything, power steering, etc.), it's one way that manufacturers can control the overall weight of their cars.

I just visited Vancouver auto show and have pushed about 50 cars, ranging from Corolla to RS4, none of them have dings after pushed. Maybe I should check whether my 996 Turbo have any after waxing.

No, you wont get any dents in your fender from waxing the car, but if someone were to push down on the top of the fender with the heel of his hand and the suspension were to be stiff enough (like in a Porsche, for example), he might, and I say MIGHT, be at risk of putting a little dent in the top of the fender. Probably not, but I would say you would want to be careful about it.

There is nothing to do with suspension or spring when pushed the car down, its the sheetmetal that absorbs the "impact". So I assume if all 996s are gonna have dings right after pushed. Judging from the amount of energy we waxed, I would safely assume it already got dinged. Steel that is lightest and strongest are the most expensive one to produce, that's why all major carmakers are going for aluminum these days. If the steel isn't strong (I hope 996 doesn't ) and its heavy (you gonna admit 996 is damn heavy ), then why are we paying so much for owing a Porsche? Just for the damn crest badge?

Pushing down with force straight down and the only resistance is the spring is one thing WITH A THUMB. Pushing the car with your whole hand and no resistance other than the weight of the vehcile is an other thing....

Porscha, I don't know where you learned your basic rules of physics, but suspension stiffness plays a big part in how much energy the fender itself has to absorb when pushed down by someone. If the suspension is soft (like with a full sized Mercedes, for example), the suspension itself will absorb most of the push. If the suspension is very stiff, like that on most Porsches, the suspension will not absorb the push being applied to the fender. It will resist it. This would cause the fender itself to absorb most of the force of the push. If the metal is pliable enough in that case, it may dent. And yes, compared to older sports cars, 996's are heavy. However, compared to most other cars on the road today, they are still pretty light (mine weighs 3,035 pounds empty). All cars are heavier today.