sump guard

[Piggy]

Anyone made one??

I assume theres not one to buy off the shelf.

Any thoughts on fixing points?

Smashed my sump into the 'mac this evening. No aparant damage but its worried me

[ginge191]

Made the same thread a while ago, may have been on .net.

The outcome nonetheless was to strengthen a standard sump through welding on thicker plates.

[PartyJas]

OMP make one listed for S16 / Gti-6.

Here

[Dum-Dum]

OMP make one listed for S16 / Gti-6.

Here

Nice find mate but £255.74 + VAT is a phenomenal amount of money.

Piggy the daewoo matiz comes with one as standard.

[Piggy]

Thats MAD amount of money!!

I may make a jig up out of ply and get my good metalworks guy to make me one outa metal. Its just a plate with holes after all!!!

[Eeyore]

its called a lower strut brace isnt it? Took the majority of the smacks when it was on my car!

[allanallen]

I wouldn't strengthen the sump, especially an aluminium one, it may well make it worse. Proper aftermarket ones are generally 10mm thick and built like brick outhouses, they're heavy and they're very noticeable which you probably won't want.
Don't underestimate how much hotter under bay temps will get too. if you're using an ally sump the oil will most definitely run noticeably hotter, may not be so much of an issue on diesel mind.

[Slam Wagon]

Keep thinking the same, especially with plans to go lower, if you mock something up i may be interested in one for a fair price.

[Dum-Dum]

I've gotta say for my opinion on them with a very low car is that you'd want a gap of at least 10mm between the engine and the plate plus the plate will be probably 5mm thick if not more to be any use at all and as such is a massive reduction in ground clearance in itself.

It may be pertinent to either be prepared to destroy the odd sump or go for what sounds extreme and actually lift the engine by 10-15mm. It wouldnt be that expensive either I don't think, the weld the engine mount higher or even just add a decent sized spacer to the underside of it, slot the holes on the gearbox mount cradle and you can get a PU moulding kit cheap enough to make an eccentric custom lower mount. This would also go some way towards negating the issue of driveshaft angles when running very low.

[bashbarnard]

I had a car in last year that was doing the Mongolia rally and they had a big road sign bolted to the bottom. Worked a treat.

[adam b]

You need to strengthen the cross member too. I will be sorting one at some point

[Piggy]

Lower brace is an interesting shape. Lol

Need a guard for sure. Will be mocking one up asap

[miles]

Was a option, Look at the undersheilds on service box and the metal one used to come up before the plastic one, Might still do not looked for a while

[Piggy]

Engine wont go higher

[Grant]

Just add some plates to a Ripp lower brace if you are that worried.

Or just don't drive over massive lumps of tarmac sticking up in the road?

[allanallen]

Or just don't lower it so much.....

[Poodle]

Tbf Piggy's car isn't particularly low. Seen that road-sign idea used by a few people, popular with the local greenlaners. For fixing points - you could make it super easy to install by having a lip to hook over the back of the first crossmember and and a captive nut welded on to each of the legs. If you want to go full undertray i've got some measurements and drawings i did a couple of years back that might help.

if you're using an ally sump the oil will most definitely run noticeably hotter, may not be so much of an issue on diesel mind.

Seriously? Why so? Aluminium is a much better conductor than steel, i'd expect oil temps to drop if anything.

[allanallen]

You've taken that out of context buddy, ally sumps cool the oil much better, that's obvious! I mean covering the sump with a sump gaurd will make it run hotter and it'll be more noticeable if you've got an ally sump rather than a tin one. The loss of airflow around an ally sump will lose it a lot of it's cooling capability, it won't affect a tin sump as much as they're a much poorer conductor with less surface anyway.
I've run tin and ally sumps on my sump guarded rally car so this is from experience and not just a theory. I now run a tin sump with a huge oil cooler, I prefer the Tin sump as if I had a huge hit under the car the sump guard could smash an ally sump but would probably only dent a tin one. Plus the thinner tin sumps give more ground clearance anyway

[Piggy]

Thanks for the advice guys.

It wasnt a lump in the road and its not that low. 40mm if that.

Was a B road. Doing about 45mph, minding my own business, dead straight piece of road, bit muddy hence the speed, and I thought I noticed a slight crest.... Next thing Im on it and theres abig ass dipp the other side. Bit pieved as there were no signs at all and theres alot of road damage from obviously more than a few cars bottoming out.

Its quite a common thing Im finding with the B roads in the cotswolds...amazing B roads but littered with nasty humps/dips.

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You've taken that out of context buddy, ally sumps cool the oil much better, that's obvious! I mean covering the sump with a sump gaurd will make it run hotter and it'll be more noticeable if you've got an ally sump rather than a tin one. The loss of airflow around an ally sump will lose it a lot of it's cooling capability, it won't affect a tin sump as much as they're a much poorer conductor with less surface anyway.
I've run tin and ally sumps on my sump guarded rally car so this is from experience and not just a theory. I now run a tin sump with a huge oil cooler, I prefer the Tin sump as if I had a huge hit under the car the sump guard could smash an ally sump but would probably only dent a tin one. Plus the thinner tin sumps give more ground clearance anyway

Got no issues with oil temps at the moment, have a mocal oil cooler to fit and these engines are usually wrapped up in sound proofing.

And Im not wrap the sump...just create a half undertray as it were. Plus I will likely stick a few air holes in the front anyhow

What thickness ally and tin guards do you use? Is the tin guard not much heavier?

[zx_volcane]

had my sump off yesterday, it has a rather ridiculous dent in it

no doubt if it was an ally one it would have been smashed to bits

+1 for lower strut brace, tends to take the brunt of most things when bottoming out or running over wildlife

[allanallen]

Tin sump and the gaurd is 10mm thick aluminium with skids

[Piggy]

My sump edge at lowest point isnt anymore than inch if that, higher than my strut brace. And after many hits, the brace is almost flat

[Poodle]

Ah, that makes much more sense put like that, nice one. Wasn't doubting your knowledge, just struggling to get my head around your context lol.

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Something i've considered recently is subframe mounted skid-rails. They should do most of the job of a sumpguard without so much added weight, could also be used to jack the front of the car up in the centre if properly braced. Would also deal with that cooling issue... Haven't done any research so no idea how realistic that is, guess you're probably the best person to ask, Alle/an..?

[Piggy]

Electrics is just witchcraft!!!!! Ahhhhhh

[toseland]

I have 5 mm thick quarry plate on mine..


Really common on offroaders is to utilise the front lower wishbone mounts, and with the Vitara just a hook over the rear crossmember.although mine is bolted on.


If you plan on using thevstrut brace, it worth welding a lip st say, 45 degrees onto the front of the brace, this helps it slide over things