[Cayman718]

I made a big mistake today. I was pulling out of an unfamiliar parking lot and didn't notice a curb and ran right over it with my front (left) wheel; driving pretty quickly too.

It happened so fast that I couldn't stop in time. From the inside of the car, it seemed like a large impact to the underbody.

I have a 718 Cayman with the base suspension (no PASM), so it seems like I had just enough clearance. No scraping to any of the plastic panels (bumper or side skirt). There appears to be some scraping near where the jacking point is (I circled in yellow in the picture).

Anyways, the car drives fine and doesn't appear to have any alignment issues. But I'm worried I may have messed something up beyond what I can see.

Has anyone done this before? Should I take it to a shop for an inspection? Or just ignore it if everything seems fine?

 

[aeronca65tl]

I would carefully examine the wheel rim, both outside and inside....all the way around.

If there's no damage there, that is a good sign. After that, drive the car at moderate speed and make sure it's "tracking" properly (not "pulling" to the left or right).

It would never hurt to have a pro look at it, especially if you're not 100% sure on any of this.

 

[RGM718]

+1 on recommendations made. If you hit the curb with the wheels oriented straight ahead you may have a better chance of escaping alignment issue There still could be a question of possible damage to the tire internals but not sure how you can check that other than carefully looking at the point of impact tread area and sidewalls on the inside and outside for any signs of damage (e.g., bulge). How fast do you think you were going? Fast enough to do anything to the strut and attachment points top and bottom? If so, getting it on a lift with the left front off the ground to check for any slop/play in the suspension might be a good idea.

 

[Cayman718]

+1 on recommendations made. If you hit the curb with the wheels oriented straight ahead you may have a better chance of escaping alignment issue There still could be a question of possible damage to the tire internals but not sure how you can check that other than carefully looking at the point of impact tread area and sidewalls on the inside and outside for any signs of damage (e.g., bulge). How fast do you think you were going? Fast enough to do anything to the strut and attachment points top and bottom? If so, getting it on a lift with the left front off the ground to check for any slop/play in the suspension might be a good idea.

I'm sure I hit the curb straight ahead. It was a diagonally positioned divider in a parking lot, that's why only one wheel made it over. I was starting from stationary, so it couldn't have been more than 10-15 mph when I hit it.

No damage to the wheel or tire from what I can see (I have 20" wheels), and no alignment issues that I can tell after about 30 minutes of driving.

I think I'll take it to an alignment shop anyways to get it checked over. I might've gotten lucky this time.

 

[Cayman718]

Here's a video of the hit that I captured on my dash cam.

 

[wriggly]

Looked like a little curb. Not likely any damage occurred.

 

[GregW]

So you fell off the curb and banged the underbody? I don't see a large potential for damage; I've done similar.

 

[Porsche2018]

Ouch. I think it improbable there is any real damage but you may want ask the dealership to have a look see.

 

[Cayman718]

So you fell off the curb and banged the underbody? I don't see a large potential for damage; I've done similar.

I think it hit the underbody a bit. There’s some scraping where the jacking point is, but nothing on the plastic sideskirts.

I have an appointment with an alignment shop in 3 days. They’ll also put it in a lift and inspect the suspension. I’ll update what they find...

 

[RGM718]

Thanks for sharing. I think any number of us have probably hit speed bumps (sleeping policeman as a nod to our friends across the pond) with that much force a time or two.

 

[Cayman718]

I'm happy to report that my car checked out fine today.

Alignment test was mostly ok, with the front corner just off by 0.05 of a degree and is now corrected back to stock parameters.

I can sleep easy tonight!

 

[GregW]

Excellent!

 

[photonscience]

Run your finger around the tire side wall and see if you can feel any bulges. Sometimes tire damage to the sidewall is more subtle and a bit tough to see.

 

[Uz718]

You had a lucky break my friend.

See attached. I hit a pothole at 50+mph. Alloy took a hit, buldged the tyre.

Thankfully, new tyre is on and alloy repair next week. Its only very slightly off. Had the suspension checked, was fine.