posted
Ok - this is going to be a bit lenghty, so bear w/ me...
Prior to going to Skyline a few weeks ago, I completely detailed the car & am 100% sure there were no dimples in the qtr panels. That being said...
Approx 1 wk after returning, I found some time to do another good cleaning of the car. To my absolute horror I noticed two half-dollar sized dimples in the the passenger-side qtr panel. Not very deep, but enough that I noticed. They are about 4-6" apart & about 3-4" in from of the antenna mount.
Here's where it gets interesting...
There are no dimples on the driver's side (I checked for about 5 minutes & couldn't find a trace!)....I did have a passenger during the entire trip to, during & from Skyline (all the twisty's included). Said passenger always rode in the passenger-side rear seat.
Could the extra weight/stress on that side have caused this?
Are they going to continue to get worse w/ "normal" driving?
[The car is a '01 SS, Bilstein, SLP Bolt-On SFC's, BMR STB, no other major mods...]
Thanks to anyone w/ input/opinions on this!! -Andy
-------------------- 2001 LPM SS | Build # 1509 | M6 | T-Tops | Leather | ASR | iCAGS | Blackwing Air Lid | K&N Air Filter | Lou's Short Stick | BMR STB | Center Mount DynoMouth | SLP SFC | Bilstein Suspension | Auburn Differential | AAM Diff Cover | Chrome 10-spokes Baseline (9/14): 317.4 RWHP/ 330 TQ 2001 Suzuki SV650 - the "other" toy Posts: 47 | From: Middletown, CT | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by 2002Z4CSS: I have only heard of those dimples from drag racing or autocrossing.
Thanks! I did do some searching on this & other boards & came to a pretty similar conclusion. That is why I'm concerned about... A) the cause B) preventing this from worsening
-Andy
-------------------- 2001 LPM SS | Build # 1509 | M6 | T-Tops | Leather | ASR | iCAGS | Blackwing Air Lid | K&N Air Filter | Lou's Short Stick | BMR STB | Center Mount DynoMouth | SLP SFC | Bilstein Suspension | Auburn Differential | AAM Diff Cover | Chrome 10-spokes Baseline (9/14): 317.4 RWHP/ 330 TQ 2001 Suzuki SV650 - the "other" toy Posts: 47 | From: Middletown, CT | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by 2002Z4CSS: I have only heard of those dimples from drag racing or autocrossing.
Thanks! I did do some searching on this & other boards & came to a pretty similar conclusion. That is why I'm concerned about... A) the cause B) preventing this from worsening
-Andy
Running slicks and getting real good traction seems to make the dimples when drag racing. My Camaros never got the dimples from the 1/4 mile but I had street tires and they spun off the line. SFC's and a STB should help prevent this.
Posts: 5682 | From: Dearborn,Mi. | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
My 99ss has never had any dimples untill the other night. When my son got home from work he said Dad I have something to show you. I thought he did something to my daily driver. He took me out to the garage to show me a very small dimple, smaller then a dime, a few inches from the rear antena. While I was at work during the day he was using the ramps for his car and when he was putting then back in the garage one sliped in his hand and went down on the rear upper fender and left the dimple. He really felt bad and said he'd pay to have it fixed. I said not to worry. I figure if it was poped out the clear coat/paint might crack. I'm living with the odd small stone chip on the front end so I can live with this, but I've seen a lot of posts on dimples in this same area. Must be a weak point.
-------------------- 99SS, C221, Black Convertible, Neutral top and neutral leather, 6spd.,B/M shifter, all power, CD/radio, traction control, loud mouth, SLP strut tower brace, K&N Filter, dyno'd at 312.6 hp. and 321.8 torque at 122.97 mph and 12.7 fuel/air ratio with the above mods. I've just installed SLP y-pipe, lid, and bellows. Dec. 2003, installed Don Goetz SFC,s. February 2004 I added white gauges. Posts: 57 | From: Port Elgin, Ontario< Canada | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by 2k1SS: [QBAre they going to continue to get worse w/ "normal" driving?
[The car is a '01 SS, Bilstein, SLP Bolt-On SFC's, BMR STB, no other major mods...]
Thanks to anyone w/ input/opinions on this!! -Andy [/QB]
These are known in the F-body community as "stress dents" and are relatively common on the 4th gen cars. Yes, they seem to be caused by torsional stress. I had a couple of them on my '98 on the passenger rear 1/4 panel. I had them taken out by a dent removal company. They went in thru the rear tail light and worked them out. Actually, it was quite an interesting process to watch. You could never tell they had been there and I was charged around CDN$100 for the work in '99. I subsequently installed a STB & SFCs and just noticed a few weeks ago that a couple more have made their appearance. Yes, the car goes to the dragstrip (only street tires), but also sees its fair share of autoXing and lapping. I guess this is something I'm gonna have to live with on this car. A small price to pay for the level of enjoyment returned, IMHO!
quote:Originally posted by Elie Garfinkel: These are known in the F-body community as "stress dents" and are relatively common on the 4th gen cars. Yes, they seem to be caused by torsional stress. I had a couple of them on my '98 on the passenger rear 1/4 panel. I had them taken out by a dent removal company. They went in thru the rear tail light and worked them out. Actually, it was quite an interesting process to watch. You could never tell they had been there and I was charged around CDN$100 for the work in '99. I subsequently installed a STB & SFCs and just noticed a few weeks ago that a couple more have made their appearance. Yes, the car goes to the dragstrip (only street tires), but also sees its fair share of autoXing and lapping. I guess this is something I'm gonna have to live with on this car. A small price to pay for the level of enjoyment returned, IMHO!
Best regardSS,
Elie
Thanks...I'll look into the dent removal.
On the bright side, I guess I have a good excuse for not carrying any more than 1 passenger from now on!
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