[TachItUp]

I need to drive my car 16 miles (8 each way) to get it aligned. If I drive the car to the shop without any of the under panels on, will the underside of the car get very dirty? Is there a big risk of damaging anything under the car?

If it's raining I'm going to leave the panels on.

Let me know what you think.

TIA

I think you can drive with the rear under panel off, but the front may be structural

 

[Kimgt]

why take off the panels in the first place, you can just let the alignment shop remove them and put them back on.

 

[Doge]

Plus, the only thing you really need to remove is the diffusor. And with a hand held impact you can have it off in 30 seconds.

 

[Deja Vu]

I've driven mine much farther than that with it off. I live 40 miles away from the dyno I use to tune, and sometimes if I've been working on the car at home I don't bother putting the under panels back on since I'll just have to take it off again to strap the car down once I get there.

I've never had an issue with it getting too dirty.

 

[Swic]

I drove around a bit without the panels halfway through a maintenance day. It was no problem, just avoid water and don't go too fast. Watch out for the rear panel flailing too much, make sure the screw grommets are secure. There are tons of cars out there that go their whole lives with no under panels at all.

 

[lotus_dp]

I've also heard that the large rear panel is structural...

 

[Deja Vu]

From the shop manual, just the sheer panel is....assuming I'm remembering correctly

I would assume that if the large one was structural it would have the same warnings all over it that the sheer panel does.

 

[bri3d]

The manual has this to say: "The panels contribute to the aerodynamic performance of the car, and also help to keep the engine bay clean. Do not run the car without the panels fitted."

With that aside, they're definitely not structural - you can tell just from the fasteners used. They do, however, support each other, so without the diffuser the main underpanel can flap/bend a good amount.

I wouldn't drive for any extended period or at any speed with them removed, but I too drive to the alignment shop with the diffuser pre-removed.

Leaving the underpanels on seems like a good way to encourage mistakes and/or qballing at a normal shop and extra shop hours billed at a race shop. I'd rather spend the 5 minutes to take them off myself ahead of time and save myself either damage to the car or the .5 hours of billable time.

I could see pulling them in the parking lot, but it seems easier to just leave them in the garage. That way I can double-check the alignment shop's work anyway, and make sure the rear toe joints are aligned correctly relative to each other.

 

[sprocket3]

You'll be fine. I drove mine a few times without the rear undertray and had no issues.

 

[6i9]

Do you also drive to work without underpants?

 

[aztec1382]

Is that a no no


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[Dave J]

I'm installing Sector 111's RTD2brace and then having the shop do a full alignment. I figured since the rear two panels are going to be removed, I'll just pull the front one off as well. Especially since the shop will have to remove the front under panel for the alignment.

Additionally, I like to mount rubber washers between the underside panels and the attachment points. I rather not have the shop do that...

 

[sturgeongeneral]

I'm installing Sector 111's RTD2brace and then having the shop do a full alignment. I figured since the rear two panels are going to be removed, I'll just pull the front one off as well. Especially since the shop will have to remove the front under panel for the alignment.

Additionally, I like to mount rubber washers between the underside panels and the attachment points. I rather not have the shop do that...

Excellent idea! Either plastic, leather, or rubber washers help quiet things down.