Is Porsche's sheetmetal thicker than other cars'

[cantdrv55]

Is it me or did/does Porsche use a thicker sheetmetal than other car makes? My 2004 FX45's doors did not "feel" as thick as my 911's and didn't sound as solid either. You know how some car doors look wavy after a while but 911 doors seem to keep its shape. My imagination or have you made the same observation?

[Bobboloo]

In general modern cars use thinner sheet metal than older cars for reasons of fuel economy, competition in pricing and the presence of tooling that wasn't available in the older days.
I doubt todays Porsches have sheet metal as thick as it was in the days when Porsche made it's cars by hand.

Some economy cars take it to the limit. The sheet metal is so thin that you can forget about trying to hammer out a dent and resurfacing a fender because the whole fender looses it's shape. All you can do is just replace it.

[Sonic dB]

Funny....I was just thinking about this again today as I do periodically.

t seemed that my 86 Carrera did have thicker sheet metal, as did all 911s prior and up to the 993. I have a 993 now and Id say that its still very good quality but maybe just a hair thinner sheet metal than the original 911s, but I could be wrong.

Definitely the newer 911s have thinner sheet metal. This is proven how you can walk up to a new Turbo at a dealership, press on the fender above the front wheel well and feel and see it literally move. You cant do that with older 911s.

[cantdrv55]

Originally posted by Sonic dB
This is proven how you can walk up to a new Turbo at a dealership, press on the fender above the front wheel well and feel and see it literally move. You cant do that with older 911s.

That's exactly what I did tonight when I compared the 911 to my minivan's fender.

[Wil Ferch]

Confirmed by my body shop buddy...Porsches ( at least through the later 80's)..and most other high end German cars of that time have/had a bit thicker sheet metal....

- Wil

[Chris Holcombe]

Detroit iron used to have thicker sheet metal also. The big automakers started using "high strength steel" in the early 80's. It is a stronger alloy than the old steel. Because it has better strength they could use thinner gauges and make the car body lighter. It does dent easier though.

[mjohnson]

Thicker? I dont know, but it sure stands up to hail better than most.

Last week my SC was caught in a 15 minute hailstorm, some of which was over 1" dia.

No dents at all, though the ice did manage to knock off some of the oxidized paint scum. Now I have shiny spots all over the car.

I'll admit that the hail was pretty soft. Just as it started, we were out in it covering another car with blankets and the hits didn't hurt too much.

Most every other car in the lot had damage. My coworkers are reporting insurance quotes in the $4-5k range.

The car we were covering? Ferrari 308. It managed to make it through with three dents, one everyone can see and two that only the owner can see. This is less than a year after he had a multi-kilobuck hail damage repair. Storms seem to follow the guy...

Even he now admits that curved German steel is stronger than flat Italian aluminum.

mike
'78SC

[azasadny]

One of those "no pain dent pullers" told me there wasn't any way he could pull out a few small dents out of my '74 911 because the sheet metal was "too thick".

[sketchers356]

Yeah, I have never worked on a car make with tougher steel. I was amazed at how much hammering force was required when I was doing some body work on the 951. Seemed even tougher than my 911.

[MOMO3.2]

We had a viscious hail storm in SoCal last year. Our next door neighbor has a 2005 Chevy SUV. My wife has a 2005 BMW X3. Our neighbor's Chevy sustained a number of tiny dents in the hood and top. My wife's X3 does not have a single mark on it.

Go figure...

[dsmeyer]

Originally posted by azasadny
One of those "no pain dent pullers" told me there wasn't any way he could pull out a few small dents out of my '74 911 because the sheet metal was "too thick".

You should find another "dent doctor" with more experience.
I had some dings removed from my '86 when I got the car and
the panels all look like new.
I was told that the thicker sheet metal panels were easier to repair than
thiner panels. Have you ever tryed to undent an aluminium can?
He also told me that German cars still have thicker sheet metal than
U.S. or Japanese cars.

[safe]

I guess most of you have seen the Top Gear video where Jeremy drops piano on front fenders

[RickM]

Originally posted by dsmeyer
You should find another "dent doctor" with more experience.

I think he means the suction cup do-dads that are sold on TV.

Regarding '80s Porsche sheet metal thickness, I look at it as where in car design evolution it sits. If you look at pre '60s automobiles you'll see what really thick sheet steel is. Used to be you would hammer out the dents to the best of your ability and file the the metal smooth.

[rusnak]

I remember in the 80s there was a news story in So Cal, in which a guy who cheated on his wife was driving away in his 911. His wife pulled out a .38 and shot at him point blank. The drivers side door stopped the bullet. I've never forgotten that.

[RickM]

Originally posted by rusnak
I remember in the 80s there was a news story in So Cal, in which a guy who cheated on his wife was driving away in his 911. His wife pulled out a .38 and shot at him point blank. The drivers side door stopped the bullet. I've never forgotten that.

You'd think she would've shot point blank at the glass and not at the door.

[rusnak]

Rick, she probably did, just a bad shot. Porsche was unique in that the doors have a metal inner skin too. This makes them really awesome for mounting speakers. I think the bullet must have hit the window motor, but it's an amazing story anyway.

[tshih]

The furious spouse story had a variant where a 45 caliber was used and the Recaro leather seats saved that one's ass!!

[911pcars]

The latest 911s might have thinner sheet metal where it counts less, in less structurally-dependent areas of the chassis/body. Where it counts, current manufacturers use various thickness and grades of steel to arrive at the desired chassis rigidity. In fact, the later chassis are significantly more rigid than early 911s, even with thinner body sheet metal (if that is indeed the case). However, later chassis have been progressively heavier, due in part to thicker sheet metal (unit body construction) in pursuit of higher rigidity and crash worthiness.

For example, if newer chassis were less competent, do you think Cup cars (for example) would be as succesfull as they are (other than having a larger engine and better suspension)?

The thought that sheet metal must be the same grade and thickness throughout the vehicle is old school chassis design.

Sherwood

[dvkk]

When I toured the Karmann factory in 91, our guide told us they used .8mm steel to stamp out parts for VWs, and .9mm for parts for BMWs. He didn't mention Porsche, but I did recognise 911 gas filler doors being stamped out. I should've grabbed one!

[rusnak]

My 1970 914-6 has really thick sheet metal, but it flexes like a plastic chair. My 911SC was more rigid, but then my 3.2 911 is more rigid than the SC.

I have noticed that the weakness of the air cooled 911s is in the front chassis "rails" forward of the firewall. They are only tied together by a thin sheet of metal at the front trunk, so you're dependent on the floor for rigidity. And the point at which the B pillar meets the roof flexes. If you run your finger along the body at this point you can often feel the metal rippling from the chassis flex. Still, a 1/4" ride height increase at the left rear translates to about 1/4" ride height decrease in the right front, which is amazing on a 20 year old car.