I have a 2008 GT. The car is in very good nick overall. Having climbed all over it during these last few weeks I have come across a 10" x 10" pressed steel plate (patterned) on either side of the car just inboard of the front jacking point. It spans a portion of the brake pipeline channel that runs front to back along the car but doesn't seem to have a purpose?>
Anyway - unlike the rest of the underside, these two steel panels are in a terribly corroded state of disrepair. In fact one has part crumbled and this weekend I removed both plates and threw them in the bin as they were crumbling in my hands!
Does anyone have any idea what these are there for?
[I also note that some of the front and rear suspension rods,supports etc have got what looks like 'wind deflectors' made of hard plastic just in front of several of these suspension struts - anyone?].
Without wishing to **** on Nareman’s chips, I don’t think they are. Rust isn’t attracted by things, it’s a chemical reaction between oxygen and the iron in steel which occurs more quickly in the presence of a catalyst (water and salt).
The plates protect the pipes that run behind them in the vicinity of the jacking point and due to their location behind the front wheels and their shape which pools water in the ridges they tend to rust more quickly.
There is such a thing as a sacrificial anode in ships and large steel structures, but these are made of a more reactive metal (zinc or aluminium) to prevent galvanic corrosion when immersed in an electrolyte (like sea water), not the same material, like the plates.
I am sure he was having a laugh at Maserati’s expenseHOLY THREAD RESURRECTION!!!
having just had a PPI done by Nuvola and discussing findings with Nareman, I learned the answer.
these plates are sacrificial and intended to attract corrosion and keep it away from the front subframe. Consider them as a consumable to be replaced when they start to rust.
The design team have gone up slightly in my estimation.