Help save the bumper covers!?

[SteveSneed]

OK, so I did it again: caught the front bumper cover on a curb stop and ripped it loose. Before I give Caliber Collision another $1300 to hang a new cover on it, I want to try to find a solution to prevent this from ever happening again. And no, "always back in to parking spots" and "don't hit shit" are not acceptable solutions - my wife drives it sometimes, and while I can demand that of myself, demanding it of her isn't worth the hassle.

As common a problem as this is for the gen5's (and let's face it, it's a real design flaw, one that according to the body shop is common enough that they keep the mounts and related repair parts in-house), I can't believe that *someone* hasn't come up with a solution and marketed it. But I can't find one. Does anyone know of such a beast?

If not, I'll figure out something - a couple of lengths of mild steel tubing, flattened on the ends to bolt to the bottom lip of the cover and the crossmember, or something along those lines. But I'd much prefer if someone has already engineered a solution.

Thanks!
Steve

[LsxDoctor]

Theres a little system called 'curb alert'. It has a parking sensor that beeps when you're close to the curb

[SteveSneed]

Originally Posted by LsxDoctor

Theres a little system called 'curb alert'. It has a parking sensor that beeps when you're close to the curb

That's an option, for sure. I'd still like something physical, though.

[KillboyPowerhead]

Is not letting her drive it an option?

Maybe this is what you're looking for? https://www.southerncarparts.com/201...id-plates.html

[HawkeyeZL1]

Curb alert. I put one on my car and haven't hit a parking stop since.

[SteveSneed]

Originally Posted by KillboyPowerhead

Is not letting her drive it an option?

Maybe this is what you're looking for? https://www.southerncarparts.com/201...id-plates.html

I wish!!!

That website indicates those are for the SS only, but I'll contact them to see if they'll work on my RS. I'll probably get a curb alert too.

That pic makes what I was thinking of easier to conceptualize, though. In addition to those scrape blocks, think of a sheetmetal pan that attaches along the rear edge of the bottom of the bumper cover, all the way from fender liner to fender liner (where the rubber airdam currently attaches) and extending back to attach at the steering rack crossmember. Such a pan would, when you run over a curbstop, not allow the back edge of the bumper cover to slip over the stop itself or those damn pieces of re-bar that sometimes stick up out of the stops, and catch. I doubt there's be any significant aerodynamic or cooling impact, but it might overstress the cover mounts if you ran up on something really tall.

My concern on those scrape blocks is that while they'd obviously save you when pulling into a low driveway or the like, they do have a significant back edge that, if you pulled over a curbstop with those pieces of re-bar sticking up far enough to get the blocks past the re-bar, would tend to catch and end up causing the same damage.

[SteveSneed]

Originally Posted by HawkeyeZL1

Curb alert. I put one on my car and haven't hit a parking stop since.

Does it ever give "false positives", like when you're pulling into a driveway or (worse) just driving down the road and hit a pothole or the like?

[Rainbow1616]

Originally Posted by SteveSneed

Does it ever give "false positives", like when you're pulling into a driveway or (worse) just driving down the road and hit a pothole or the like?

Yes, that is why I got rid of mine and went with a front camera. It would go off over speed bumps, potholes, uneven road surfaces, I just couldn't rely on it.