Avoiding Tragedy: Protecting Your BMW Against Unexpected Hazards
Imagine, if you will, you’re driving your BMW on a short road trip to a track event. You’re not too far away from the track and already you can almost smell the race gas and hot rubber that permeates the air around the complex. Suddenly, you’re snapped back to reality by a jarring SLAM from your BMW as you hit a section of road construction. You wince, turn down the radio, and listen. That heart-sinking change in engine sound that signals a massive vacuum leak fills your ears. You stop immediately and turn off the car, hesitant to check your oil pan for the crack you already know is there, spilling all the recently filled oil on the hot concrete at the shoulder of the road. Your weekend is over and it was all thanks to something unavoidable. This situation has happened to far too many BMW owners, myself included, and is always met with feelings of regret that you didn’t dodge that hazard, or at least slow down. Maybe if you’d seen it earlier, then the disaster could have been avoided. Even if there was something you could have done, it’s too late now. Your track event, road trip, commute, and any plans are completely over now. What could you have done differently? In this week’s edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly, we’re going to cover exactly what you can do to protect your BMW from similar situations and how to gain peace of mind wherever you drive. | | | While the thought of smashing your oil pan, or possibly oil cooler, power steering lines, transmission pan, or other exposed vital bits under your BMW is terrifying, it doesn’t have to be. One of the most simple and effective improvements you can make to your BMW is a protective skid plate. However, not all skid plates are created equally. That’s why we designed our line of Turner Motorsport Skid Plates with both perfect fitment and total protection in mind. | | | Currently, we offer our sturdy line of skid plates for the E36, E46, E82, E9X, F8X, E39 M5, F10/F06/F12/F13, F10 M5, F90 M5, F3X, F2X, F87, and even the A90 Supra chassis options, which covers an extremely high number of popular BMWs that are susceptible to damage, especially with lowered suspension. Each of these skid plates is constructed from 1/8” 5052 Aluminum for a solid protective shield, but the real magic happens with how each of our skid plates is mounted. | | | There are a few different ways to mount skid plates, but the best we’ve found is to create braces that physically tie into the frame of your BMW and support the skid plate rather than tapping into the core support and using the subframe as the only real solid point. Many skid plates use this subframe/core support method, which does not offer a rigid enough mounting setup to fully protect your fragile undercarriage. Our frame-mounted supports offer the most solid structure possible to ensure nothing will get through to damage your car. | | | Another important factor we considered when designing our skid plates was mimicking the original belly pan. The skid plate replaces the factory plastic underbody panels, so we designed ours around that fitment so there are no modifications necessary to install them. Not only that, but the factory panels also affect your BMW’s aerodynamics. Our skid plates directly replace those panels and replicate the same aerodynamic benefits of the plastic versions, but with the added benefit of extreme protection. | | | However, as with any modifications and upgrades, there is a trade-off. While the factory plastic panels offer little protection, they are extremely lightweight. A common concern we’ve heard is the additional weight with a beefy skid plate. The Turner Motorsport aluminum skid plate line might be slightly heavier than the factory plastics, but the benefit of complete protection and peace of mind completely outweighs that additional few pounds on the front end. If I had to choose between the possibility of ending my weekend by hitting something that could have been prevented by a skid plate rather than adding a few extra pounds in the effort of prevention, I’d pick the skid plate every time. Take it from someone who has broken an oil pan, you don’t want to drive unprotected, even in a stock ride height BMW. | | | Finally, another function of many BMW belly plastics is to direct air to components like the oil cooler, which we see with the E9X M3. The Turner Motorsport skid plates take any air channels present in the factory plastics and incorporate them into the protective skid plate. This way, you don't have to compromise the efficiency of anything like your oil cooler, radiator, intercooler, or anything else that requires fresh air directed towards it. Naturally, we also include helpful windows for accessing drain plugs so removing the skid plate isn’t necessary for service. | | | | | Now, if you’ve read Turner Motorsport Weekly for a while, you probably already know all about our skid plates. What you might not know is that we’ve brought a new vendor on board who helps us tackle a weakness with some newer BMWs. Let’s shift gears and focus on a manufacturer we’re excited to have in our catalog to offer even more peace of mind. | | | One of our latest additions to the Turner Motorsport vendor roster is PPE, who manufactures aluminum transmission pans for modern ZF automatic BMW transmissions. Why is this a big deal, you ask? It may come as a surprise, but the latest ZF transmissions found in nearly all BMWs of recent years use a plastic transmission pan, which is more fragile than aluminum and also susceptible to warping under the heat cycles experienced by the transmission. BMW states that you should replace the pan itself after removal for a pan gasket replacement, which is less than ideal. | | | With PPE’s aluminum pans, you not only ensure a higher level of protection for your transmission pan but also won’t have to replace it every time you remove it for a service. The PPE aluminum pans are effectively the last transmission pan you’ll need to buy for your BMW. Naturally, paired with a skid plate, the underside of your car is far less susceptible to damage, even in the most extreme situations like raised steel plates, railroad crossings, potholes, or whatever crazy hazard might stand between you and your destination. | | | | | Now, let’s look back at our hypothetical from the introduction to this article, but this time, we’ll assume our hero was protected: | | | Once again, you’re on the way to the track for a weekend of racing. After a long drive, you pull off the highway and head down the winding country road that leads to the motorsport complex. You’re somewhat distracted by the anticipation of setting up camp, running through your checklist and hitting the track for your first practice sessions. That momentary lapse is just enough that you don’t see some unmarked construction that has dug out a section of the entire road, and you plow through it at speed. Fortunately, with a sturdy skid plate installed, you know that everything expensive is safely tucked underneath. You may need to replace your front lip or could have bent a wheel, but what matters is your engine is fine, your steering rack is undamaged, and all your fluids are still happy where they belong providing their important lubricating services. It may not be fun to hit something you can’t avoid in the BMW you love, but if you’ve taken the right steps to protect it, even the unavoidable hazard doesn’t stand a chance at ruining your weekend. | | | | |
