Pretty much every GTS that I've seen has the condition where the rear
reflective strip that runs between the tailights is bowed out.
The velcro used by Poreche does not seem to have the holding power to overcome
the bowing tendency of the plastic strip.
Has anyone come up with a permanent fix?
__________________
Randy Venier
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The reflector as received directly from Porsche is in fact NOT flat but does
curve, the bumper covers being rather flexible do some times warp and sink in a
bit but the reflector is NEVER flat. But I do agree that the modifications done
to the S-4 rear cover mold to accept the GTS inset reflector are less than
perfect resulting in a bit of "rodent" engineering like using velcro to keep
body trim in place........!
__________________
Jim Bailey , 928 International visit the online store
www.928intl.net
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Randy,
Fixed mine perfectly and Jim M used my method on his GTS as well.
Get two toilet brass bolts - the ones with the square ends and about 3" long.
Cut a piece of alloy about 1-1/2" square and put a rectangular shaped hole in
the middle that the base of the bolt will fit into.
Next cut a similar size piece of alloy and drill a clearance size hole for the
bolt shank.
Slide this onto the bolt.
Position one bolt about 4" from center to the right (looking from the rear of
the car) and one bolt about 6-1/2" to the left, both on the back of the
reflector.
These can both be screwed to the back of the reflector with small self tapping
screws. Use as small as possible length screws so you only go through the fist
layer of plastic on the back of the reflector. Be sure to drill pilot holes for
the screws so as not to crack the plastic.
When you position the bolts : -
1) Define the measurements where they are positioned so that you can transfer
the position the the rear of the car within the reflector cut out.
2) Position so that you can access the bolts from behind the tool tray.
Once you have transferred the hole centers to the bumper, drill bolt clearance
size holes through to the inside of the car. Two layers, one is the plastic
bumper ant the other is the metal rear of the car.
Bolt it up.
Fits perfectly and will never bow again.
I tried all the other fixs, heavy duty velcro, glue etc etc and non worked.
I could take some pics or make drawings for better clarification.
I forgot one important piece of info.
Drill a pilot hole for each screw so you do not crack the plastic.
Please exscuse my terrible sketch.
You can see the useless plastic velcro on the car and the reflector.
__________________
Roger Tyson
===
Thanks, Roger! (Can you tell me what the text is in the first photo?)
Why are the bolt locations not equidistant from the center of the strip?
__________________
Randy Venier
=====
"Position flathead bolts and square washers at these points.
Making sure you can access the bolts from the tool tray area"
Sorry the text was a bit small - looked fine on the pics before I posted them.
I will redo them and repost.
The position of the bolts needs to be inline with an area that is accessable
from the tool tray stowage area.
Either the hatch motor is in the way or something else - I can't remember which.
We are under a tornado watch so I don't want to venture down to the garage just
yet.
__________________
Roger Tyson
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Mine was not so bad last year, but this year there is a sizable increase in
the bow. I think it looks like crap, and have to do something about it. I don't
want to drill any holes in my rear cover thought until I have tried everything
else.
I was thinking that maybe it was the taillights that were not installed
correctly, and had been putting slow, small pressure on the strip from both
sides.
Maybe another option (based on Rogers’s method ) would be to glue/attach a strip
of aluminum to the backside of the strip to add strength?
The GTS strip is not meant to mimic the drivers gut!!!
Cheers,
Mike
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Me too. I have noticed that Iris is also linearly challenged in the reflector
area.
What about non-crappy new velcro? I don't mind replacing the velcro every 10
years. I'd rather do that than drill holes.
Wait. Where's ChuckZ? He's gotta have a solution too. No way he could sleep at
night if his reflector stuck out.
__________________
Dave C
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I tried about four different types of velcro.
All guaranteed to hold the reflector in place.
Industrial quality applied along the whole length of the reflector.
Lasted until I washed the car or the TX sun reared its head.
If I could have found a fix that lasted a couple of years I would have used it.
One issue is getting anything to glue to the back of the reflector - different
type of plastic.
I have an old broken reflector if anyone wants something to practice on.
__________________
Roger Tyson
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the problem the velcro adheasive or the velcro not holding?
I have industrial grade velcro that comes in a 2" wide roll. I was thinking of
just running it the entire length. If the adheasive is failing, crazy glue works
wonders and should last a long time.
You may think of heating the reflector face up, full suported, in the oven at
100-150 degrees for a few min to soften and allow the unit to flatten by itself.
(I wouldn't take my eyes off of it) Remove and place a weight accross the entire
surface until it cools so it hardens flat. Then attatch the new velcro. After
that it should be a simple replacement.
Just a thought. If any one tries this let me know if it works.
__________________
Anthony
====
been there done that - cost me $120
I tried heating it in the oven and clamping it flat.
It just returned to the original shape when I released it 24 hrs later.
It also made the plastic brittle.
When I started using all the different velcros it shattered because I had to
keep pushing/bending it to mate with the velcro.
If you could emulate the original Porsche type velcro and apply it to the whole
surface it may work.
It was not the adhesive that was a problem it was the mating velcro surfaces.
All the different velcros I could find were made of a fabric/plastic material
and were not water proof.
They absorbed a large amount of water and pulled apart from the force of the
reflector trying to straighten up.
The Porsche supplied velcro is a rubber material and impervious to water.
I could not find any - if you can it may work.
Personally I prefer the fix it and forget it method.
Let me know how you get on.
__________________
Roger Tyson
====
We had this same problem with Kevin's GTS that we restored back to stock. The
main cause of his reflector being bowed was due to a crappy paint/body man
putting new velcro over the original (instead of removing the original velcro
first).
I tried weighting his original in the sun for many days to get it back straight
again, but no luck. I ordered a fresh new one from Porsche and it arrived almost
flat (as it should be) and installed perfectly with new factory velcro strips.
One tip is to make sure the threaded "stop washer" on the taillight mounting
stud is adjusted correctly so the taillights do not pressure the ends of the
reflector which can cause it to bow out. Try threading the threaded stop
(washer) out towards the end of the stud and leave about 3/8" of stud showing,
try and see how it fits, then adjust in or out until you get the outside of the
taillight housing flush with the reflector
__________________
David Roberts
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http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=195618&page=1&pp=15&highlight=gts+strip