m1964

Any one got across a metal plate to place under the engine/transmission?

The plastic under the car seems to be good to protect against the road dirt, etc.
Here is something they prduced in Russia, because the roads there way worse then here in the US:
http://www.alta-karter.ru/
Click on "audi" and then find the Q5.
w/ all that snow we got this winter, I'd like to have something stronger then the piece of thin plastic under the oil pan.

Jusforfun

"Russian Roads"

m1964

I'd like to "glide" over the ice and snow in the Q5 w/o hesitation just like I do in my LR2- LR2 has a sturdy metal plate under the engine, when I park on a "snow mountain", I do not have to worry about scratching the bottom of the vehicle and if I would break something.
The Audi, on the other Hand has very thin plastic under the oil pan, and the pan is located at the bottom of the vehicle -very easy to damage, because there is no protection.

PS
Audi does not even call the piece of plastic unde the engine "skid plate', they call it something like "sound baffle plate"

wclepse

I looked into getting one for my subaru but foound shipping was almost as much as the skid plate. The part is akward and fairly heavy so shipped from one coast to another wasn't cheap. I did look into having a local fabricator make something up but they didn't seem too interested. As a side note really check how this connects and what it still gives you access to. SOme require it be dropped to change fluids. So not only might you get charged more I did hear of a few people having it partially drop while driving becuase the repair techs didn't put it back on right

m1964

All the manufacturers claim their skid plate bolts onto existing parts of the suspension, no special drilling required.
My annual maintenace is due in May/June, if the dealer would give a problem with the skid plate removal, I could easily stop at my indy mech and have them take it off before I go to the dealer (and maybe have tire rotation done, etc), and hen put it back after dealer's visit.
According to one of the websites, their plate is bolted by 6 8mm stainless screws onto the chassis...

http://www.alfeco.ru/catalog/audi/3024/

EricSLine

I find no need for additional underbody protection. I didn't buy my Q to go off road nor park on anything that could damgage my investment. I do agree that having the additional plate may increase maintenance costs as there is going to be extra labor. Personally, I see buying/installing that plate to be worthless with how I drive this car and all of my previous cars.

wclepse

Just keep in mind they often have to be dropped for oil changes. Even the plastic ones with access panels tend too get pulled back by techs since they find the openings small. Also while they use existing mounts the existing mounts were designed for light plastic and if this skid plate is worth anything it will be considerably heavier which can cause isses for some stock mounts. Lastly a solid nonflexible skidplate means the holes don't have much slop to mate to the stock locations.

m1964

A vehicle is never an investment, Q5 would be better off sitting in the garage during the winter, havy rain days, etc. - we do not have luxury to buy another vehicle for winter use only, and since my wife drives for living, she needs to park where she has to park, be it on the smooth pavement or on a snow mountain...



I recently had an oil changed by my indep. mech, and there is no access hole on the plastic plate below the engine, they had to remove it to get to the oil drain plug.
My wife drives every day and has to park in unfamiliar places most of the times, I think I will gladly pay $300-400 for a piece of mind.

If you look at VW and Audi forums there a lot of owners who broke their oil pans and did not even feel anything. Newer engines are made of aluminum,and the oil pan is very thin, it does not take a lot to damage it...The metal skid plates had been available for most of older VW and Audi sedans. Q5 is a relatively new model, I am sure a skid plate will become available in the US at some point.

wclepse

Again..I am not saying it is a bad idea but after I saw some of the issues others had I decided it wasn't worth it for me but everyone is different. Just wanted to make sure you knew about some of the issues since I wasn't when I first looked into them.

EricSLine

A vehicle is an investment of your money into technologies and a company in exchange for all that a vehicle provides. Purchasing a vehicle is an investment but we'll save that discussion for the Accounting class at the University!

Let me bring up three points. 1) Living in Germany, I am accustomed to seeing more Audi vehicles than back in the States and the winters here, while not more severe, are treated differntly as the Germans don't plow&salt nearly as much as we do back in the States. The autobahns are cleared and that is just about it. With that reduced plowing and treatment comes tough parking lots and such. I've never seen cars sitting with their oils drained from a crack from parking on a snow mountain and we have much smaller cars/trucks here. Again, I don't see the immediate need for one unless off-road is in the plans.

2) While you may have read in these forums that folks have damaged their oil pans and such, the bulk of the postings in these forums are of issues and complaints. People rarely would post that they drove all winter without an issue. It is very similar to the water pump issue that plagues some of our Audis... we see the posts from those who've been bitten by the water pumps but we don't see posts that simply state, "No, my water pump is just fine" as the initial start of a thread.

3) even with a steel plate, the weight of a vehicle resting on such a plate on packed snow can cause other damage from the stress. I've been offroading before and I've heard the sounds that even a medium twist in the suspension from a sharp change in terrain can cause. I wouldn't want to park a vehicle in such a position for any period of time, steel plate or not.

It's your money and I've no interest nor say into how you spend it. I am simply responding to your post as it was a question. By the way, the roads in Russia are horrible unless you drive in a major city of which there are few. (Get a rental with theft insurance!) I'd buy something a bit more robust for that and it is not always a good idea to drive something like a Q5 outside of a major city (or even parts of the city) for fear of theft.