Bonnet alignment

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Conwy GTS
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Post by Conwy GTS »

AllanG wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:31 pm
PMS888 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:56 pm Looks like I have to live with it. Those members who have said they have had their bonnets adjusted, do you know exactly what was 'adjusted'?
Luckily, my bonnet didn’t ‘stick out’ at the sides by the door edges, it was just the gaps between the wings that needed adjustment, and I think this was achieved by adjusting the various ‘bump stops’, which can be seen along the top of the wings when the bonnet is open.
As mentioned above, the bumps stops can be adjusted and I believe my wings were adjusted also. As it is clearly a bonnet width issue I wonder if some body shops are either (1.) bending the aluminium bonnet or (2.) adjusting all the panels to suit the bonnet?

Mine is certainly not as bad as it it was, but certainly isn’t perfect.
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andreas
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Post by andreas »

Conwy GTS wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:02 pm
As mentioned above, the bumps stops can be adjusted and I believe my wings were adjusted also. As it is clearly a bonnet width issue I wonder if some body shops are either (1.) bending the aluminium bonnet or (2.) adjusting all the panels to suit the bonnet?
Many, many years ago, when I first worked for Ford, I had to visit the Dagenham production line one day. There was a little man there whose job was to re-align the window frames of the car doors so that the doors sealed properly. He used a big piece of wood, placed in the window opening, and levered it with brute force. How times have changed...
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Nuclear Nick
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Post by Nuclear Nick »

andreas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:31 pm
Conwy GTS wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:02 pm
As mentioned above, the bumps stops can be adjusted and I believe my wings were adjusted also. As it is clearly a bonnet width issue I wonder if some body shops are either (1.) bending the aluminium bonnet or (2.) adjusting all the panels to suit the bonnet?
Many, many years ago, when I first worked for Ford, I had to visit the Dagenham production line one day. There was a little man there whose job was to re-align the window frames of the car doors so that the doors sealed properly. He used a big piece of wood, placed in the window opening, and levered it with brute force. How times have changed...
Who says they have changed? Sounds perfectly acceptable to me……..
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Conwy GTS
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Post by Conwy GTS »

Nuclear Nick wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:35 pm
andreas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:31 pm
Conwy GTS wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:02 pm
As mentioned above, the bumps stops can be adjusted and I believe my wings were adjusted also. As it is clearly a bonnet width issue I wonder if some body shops are either (1.) bending the aluminium bonnet or (2.) adjusting all the panels to suit the bonnet?
Many, many years ago, when I first worked for Ford, I had to visit the Dagenham production line one day. There was a little man there whose job was to re-align the window frames of the car doors so that the doors sealed properly. He used a big piece of wood, placed in the window opening, and levered it with brute force. How times have changed...
Who says they have changed? Sounds perfectly acceptable to me……..
I did read on the US Macan Forum that once built and passed all the quality checks, the cars are test driven. If any of these cars exhibit bonnet squeaking, then it is adjusted which may be responsible for some of the misalignment. How true this is …………….?
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Guy
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Post by Guy »

PMS888 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:56 pm I had the bonnet looked at by Leeds yesterday. They said the panel gaps they measured do not include the gap on the side - 'sticking out bit' as part of the official bonnet alignment check. All the other measurements were within the acceptable ranges. He then showed me pictures of other Macans they had there which also showed the bonnet sticking out on the side and said that unfortunately this is the 'normal spectrum' of shapes of the bonnet. He went on to say there was nothing physically they could adjust to remedy this as its a bonnet 'width' issue. Getting a new bonnet would not necessarily guarantee to fix the problem either, quoted £3500 for a new, painted and fitted bonnet by the Porsche bodyshop.
When the bonnet is cold on my car I must admit the bonnet alignment is not too bad, nothing like the photos on the opening page. He agreed it looked unsightly but there was nothing he could do under warranty.

Looks like I have to live with it. Those members who have said they have had their bonnets adjusted, do you know exactly what was 'adjusted'?

Worth having a look at the acceptable bonnet alignment measurements on page 1232 of the workshop manual, available at the first post of this thread: https://www.macanforum.com/threads/2015 ... al.166822/
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Percymon
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Post by Percymon »

I wonder whether the issue here is spring back in the bonnet pressing, due to varying mechanical properties from one batch of material to another. No expert in aluminium but in steel a formable grade for such pressing wound allow a reasonable range of strength , both in elastic and plastic regions of the forming curve.

If this was purely a heat expansion issue then every car in California would be poorly aligned
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Post by Conwy GTS »

Percymon wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:46 pm I wonder whether the issue here is spring back in the bonnet pressing, due to varying mechanical properties from one batch of material to another. No expert in aluminium but in steel a formable grade for such pressing wound allow a reasonable range of strength , both in elastic and plastic regions of the forming curve.

If this was purely a heat expansion issue then every car in California would be poorly aligned
I believe it’s more of a localised heating issue from within the engine bay, which leads to thermal expansion of the bonnet with respect to other cooler panels.
Outside temperature wouldn’t be a factor as the whole car would be at the same temperature.
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mueslibrown
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Post by mueslibrown »

We just need someone to point a thermal imaging camera - seems the passenger side (RHD) comes off the worst based on examples so far ...
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Post by Conwy GTS »

mueslibrown wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:59 am We just need someone to point a thermal imaging camera - seems the passenger side (RHD) comes off the worst based on examples so far ...
Funny enough, before I retired my last job was designing military thermal imaging equipment.
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Post by Beaverman »

mueslibrown wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:59 am We just need someone to point a thermal imaging camera - seems the passenger side (RHD) comes off the worst based on examples so far ...
OPC did that to mine and said all was ok on that front.
Now taken delivery of Gen 2 GTS http://www.porsche-code.com/PMWQDY44
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