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      05-06-2023, 05:40 PM   #1
Patton250
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Skid/Oil Cooler Plate Protection

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OK who’s doing this and why? Our friend James from What’s Your Forte put one on his F 90 and recommends it. Showing you how ignorant I am but I didn’t know the oil cooler was so exposed to foreign debris going underneath the car. But this car has been out a long time and I know you guys will let me know whether this is really something important to get or not. Keep in mind. I also have the factory carbon fiber front lip. I’m not sure if that will affect the installation of this or not. Really looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks and if they’ve installed this.


https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5...e-skid-plates/
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      05-06-2023, 06:02 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Patton250 View Post
OK who’s doing this and why? Our friend James from What’s Your Forte put one on his F 90 and recommends it. Showing you how ignorant I am but I didn’t know the oil cooler was so exposed to foreign debris going underneath the car. But this car has been out a long time and I know you guys will let me know whether this is really something important to get or not. Keep in mind. I also have the factory carbon fiber front lip. I’m not sure if that will affect the installation of this or not. Really looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks and if they’ve installed this.


https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5...e-skid-plates/
I can only remember one forum member here having damage, here is the thread. I think the situation and location is somewhat precarious, but I don’t recall seeing another situation where this happened. That of course is not to say that it doesn’t happen more often, we just may not know of its prevalence. A couple of other members have gone this route. Here is the product thread from IND-Distribution.

I’m personally not sinking this (unrecoupable by me) money into a leased car, but if I owned this car long term, I’d likely do it. The oil cooler is not the only extremely exposed part that have caused owners issues (I’m looking at you, radiator), though it is the one that could cause near immediate catastrophic engine failure depending on how bad the strike against it would be and how much oil leaks. It’s theoretically possible you could have all your oil drained in a minute with a significant enough strike/puncture/damage.
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      05-06-2023, 06:05 PM   #3
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I’ve not added this to any of the two F90’s I’ve owned .. “out of sight, out of mind” more than likely the culprit in my case.

The cooler is indeed susceptible to damage from road debris given where it is located.

A while back someone on here damaged the cooler and needed a new engine. I believe it was covered by his auto insurance but I don’t remember the details.

At a minimum, you can avoid a major headache by installing this.
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      05-06-2023, 06:07 PM   #4
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ResIpsaLoquitur beat me to the punch 😂
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      05-06-2023, 06:40 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by josec70 View Post
ResIpsaLoquitur beat me to the punch 😂
Sorry brother! It goes without saying that you are infitinely more knowledgeable than me about this platform, so I’ll just take a seat in the back of the room.
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      05-07-2023, 06:11 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by josec70 View Post
I’ve not added this to any of the two F90’s I’ve owned .. “out of sight, out of mind” more than likely the culprit in my case.

The cooler is indeed susceptible to damage from road debris given where it is located.

A while back someone on here damaged the cooler and needed a new engine. I believe it was covered by his auto insurance but I don’t remember the details.

At a minimum, you can avoid a major headache by installing this.
It’s interesting that BMW would allow a design flaw like this to continue for so many years and not offer some type of protection for it themselves. Of the thousands of miles I drive every year upwards of 50,000 miles a year I run over crap all the time that hits the bottom of the car. I mean it’s not an every day occurrence, but I would say once every 4000 miles. Now all I need is to hit the right thing and have it hit that spot and at the very least it’s going to bend some stuff on it.
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      05-07-2023, 07:11 AM   #7
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If I drove 50k per year in my M5 and ran over crap all the time that hit the bottom of the car, I would probably invest in one of the oil cooler guards and screen kits for the other coolers. I’d probably add those parts even if I did not run over stuff all the time — that is a lot of miles and with all those miles, all risks go up.

BMW did not allow a design flaw. It has teams of engineers and does plenty of pre-production durability testing. The oil cooler has been mounted flat under the front bumper cover under tray since the F10 M5.

If there was a design flaw, there would have been a lot of problems over the years. I have not followed F10 M5 closely, but don’t recall reading of problems. I have followed F90 M5 closely and recall about 2 instances of oil cooler damage. There are probably more since not all owner are members here, but not enough to call the location a design flaw.

There is also no other place to put the oil cooler. The front has a radiator and condenser and the sides also have coolers. All of those can also be damaged in accidents or by road debris. I have read reports of AC condensers and intercooler radiators being ruined by debris.

If you do run over something or are hit by debris, stop and inspect your car. If it is leaking oil, don’t drive it. If it is not leaking, inspect closely when you get home or take it somewhere for inspection.
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      05-07-2023, 07:16 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
If I drove 50k per year in my M5 and ran over crap all the time that hit the bottom of the car, I would probably invest in one of the oil cooler guards and screen kits for the other coolers. I’d probably add those parts even if I did not run over stuff all the time — that is a lot of miles and with all those miles, all risks go up.

BMW did not allow a design flaw. It has teams of engineers and does plenty of pre-production durability testing. The oil cooler has been mounted flat under the front bumper cover under tray since the F10 M5.

If there was a design flaw, there would have been a lot of problems over the years. I have not followed F10 M5 closely, but don’t recall reading of problems. I have followed F90 M5 closely and recall about 2 instances of oil cooler damage. There are probably more since not all owner are members here, but not enough to call the location a design flaw.

There is also no other place to put the oil cooler. The front has a radiator and condenser and the sides also have coolers. All of those can also be damaged in accidents or by road debris. I have read reports of AC condensers and intercooler radiators being ruined by debris.

If you do run over something or are hit by debris, stop and inspect your car. If it is leaking oil, don’t drive it. If it is not leaking, inspect closely when you get home or take it somewhere for inspection.
Fair enough. I actually would rather spend $1000 on something more fun than a skid plate.

So you are saying you don’t recommend it nor would you invest in it?
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      05-07-2023, 09:21 AM   #9
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With the kind of miles you are putting on the car, I would spend the money on the cooler guard and screen kits for the other coolers. I am not sure which of the several sellers I would buy from — there are at least 3 and each is a little different.

I would also PPF the front 1/3 and lower rear quarters. That will help the paint look less sand blasted at 100k plus miles, at least in the Northeast where I drive. Maybe in the south or southwest that is not a problem.

Certainly spend some money on fun parts if you can. A tune and secondary down pipes, and mild handling improvements. 50,000 miles in a year and you are in the M5 for at least 800 hours. Fun parts are worth the cost.
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      05-07-2023, 12:27 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patton250 View Post
It’s interesting that BMW would allow a design flaw like this to continue for so many years and not offer some type of protection for it themselves. Of the thousands of miles I drive every year upwards of 50,000 miles a year I run over crap all the time that hits the bottom of the car. I mean it’s not an every day occurrence, but I would say once every 4000 miles. Now all I need is to hit the right thing and have it hit that spot and at the very least it’s going to bend some stuff on it.
I forgot about this until reading some of the subsequent posts on this topic. On my previous M5, I was driving down a terrible road typical of the area I live in. A chunk of the broken street about 6 inches tall by 8 inches long, by 6 inches wide had come out of the street and was resting on the road surface. I inadvertently drove over it, and it got lodged between the car’s underliner (the one that feels like fiberglass material but more rigid/harder) and the road. I dragged it briefly, and it cut a decent hole in the liner with its jagged edges and ripped it downward. I ended up having to cut away an 18 inch by 18 inch portion of the liner on the passenger side about one third of the way down the length of the car from the front because it was dragging against the ground. I looked into having it replaced, but the dealership wanted the replace the whole liner and charge me for labor accordingly. It was around $1000. I declined and drove the car that way for a couple of years before trading it for my current M5.

If I had hit the oil cooler instead, or had the piece of road get lodged underneath it, I likely would have suffered the exact occurrence these products seem to be designed to prevent. The impact and subsequent damage were so bad that if it had happened to my oil cooler, it is likely that all of the car’s oil would’ve been drained within one minute.

If you think you may hit something to this degree/frequency as your post states, this might be a great investment for you. It seems that cost is not an object as you’ve been building and modifying your car to your exact desired specifications, so going a little further with a little extra protection probably makes sense for you in my opinion.
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      05-08-2023, 04:08 PM   #11
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I had this item on my OneNote going back to 2019 when I first started looking into the F90. I was convinced at the time I would get it. More recently I decided not to bother. Yes, it is exposed, but most of the options only offer limited protection. Plus like other have said the radiator and aux ones are all very exposed too (more so it looks on the LCI). And the mesh type guard I saw might disrupt airflow and that seems unhealthy long term.

But if I ever run over something I'm going to stop right away and take a look.
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      05-08-2023, 10:21 PM   #12
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I put the ss mesh on underneath from some British company. Much cheaper and looks to actually do a better job of blocking smaller objects while still providing exit air flow.
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      05-09-2023, 04:25 AM   #13
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I put the ss mesh on underneath from some British company. Much cheaper and looks to actually do a better job of blocking smaller objects while still providing exit air flow.
I’d like to see that
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      05-09-2023, 06:45 AM   #14
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Zunsport sells the wire mesh. It should deflect smaller objects and partially dissipate the impact with larger items. For smaller items, it may be better than the aluminum, sheetmetal or stainless skid plates that have large windows.

Run over a chunk of asphalt big enough to be dragged along under your car and tear open part of your plastic undertray, and I am not sure the cooler wound be saved. Maybe the impact would be deflected enough, maybe not. Maybe the chunk of asphalt has a point on it and rotates up and into one of the skid tray windows and into the cooler. Having a skid tray with mesh might help in that case.

Some say the cheapest skid plate, the Turner, is pretty thin. Have not inspected it in person. Thin can bend. Still some deflection value. Spreading the load of an impact often reduces the likelihood of puncture, unless the item is so sharp it punctures immediately.

I would still buy some version of this protection if I drove my M5 50k miles per year like the OP, especially since he drives in areas where he regularly runs over significant debris. For most of us, who drive closer to the average of 10k per year, the risk goes down significantly. Everyone has a different level of risk tolerance — some pay thousands for extended warranties but drive only a few thousand miles per year.
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      05-09-2023, 04:15 PM   #15
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If pictures help anyone - I had done this all the way back in 2021, together with a stainless steel mesh. This is the Turner plate, and I had gone ahead and ordered the side plates too.
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      06-02-2023, 08:43 PM   #16
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I researched the various options and thought the CR Racing would provide the best oil cooler protection, followed by the Fall Line if mesh was added. I put the Turner in 3rd place, even with mesh, because it is aluminum and the others are stronger stainless. The Zunsport screen is in a distant 4th place, since it is just a screen with no structure.

The Turner looked the best, required no cutting or adding rivet nuts, and was the easiest to install. I bought one and it does look good. I ordered stainless mesh but it has not arrived yet. I would say the oil cooler protection is limited, even with mesh. The aluminum guard structure is simply so close to the oil cooler that it will bend up into the cooler if you run over a large object like a cinder block. And aluminum is not strong enough to protect against that.

On the other hand, nothing should be expected to protected against a large hard object. There is still some benefit but I think the Turner is not the best oil cooler protector. It has some other advantages — over time plastic belly pans get ripped up and crack, and the Turner replaces all of that if you order the side pieces like I did. I keep cars for 100k plus miles and the belly pans are a mess by then.

I am considering installing the mesh on the bottom rather than the top given the zero clearance at the rear of the cooler. Plus, if installed below, it would be harder to push through the 3 straps and into the cooler.
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      06-11-2023, 02:35 PM   #17
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A week ago, I was in the left lane. The car in front of me suddenly swerved to the right lane. I see something tumbling on the ground towards me. But at highway speeds, I did not have enough reaction time. I try to avoid it but hit it pretty good. I do remember when I pulled on the left side of shoulder I can hear it scraping the ground.

It was a low profile jack and a 2x4. It was jammed in there pretty good, but I found a way to get out. The truck that was in front of the car in front of me. That’s where the Jack fell from. Today was the first day I had a chance to put the car on the ramp to take a look.

I don’t know if the oil cooler protection plate made a difference or not. But I’m glad I had it. Here are some pics. Also, when I was trying to get tha damn jack out of the car, I completely forgot the oil cooler was in that location.
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      06-18-2023, 12:33 PM   #18
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It might have bounced up instead of being deflected if the guard was not there. I bought one of these, but am not happy with the open windows. I ordered some stainless woven wire mesh with 1/2 inch square holes but after receiving it, I think I like the flattened expanded metal with 3/4 inch diamond holes more do so I ordered some of that.
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      12-12-2023, 11:40 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patton250 View Post
OK who’s doing this and why? Our friend James from What’s Your Forte put one on his F 90 and recommends it. Showing you how ignorant I am but I didn’t know the oil cooler was so exposed to foreign debris going underneath the car. But this car has been out a long time and I know you guys will let me know whether this is really something important to get or not. Keep in mind. I also have the factory carbon fiber front lip. I’m not sure if that will affect the installation of this or not. Really looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks and if they’ve installed this.


https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5...e-skid-plates/
does this fits LCI F90 M5?
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      12-13-2023, 11:36 AM   #20
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does this fits LCI F90 M5?
OP has since sold his car and is not present on the forum.

This does fit the LCI.
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      12-13-2023, 07:38 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur View Post
OP has since sold his car and is not present on the forum.

This does fit the LCI.
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      12-22-2023, 09:51 AM   #22
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Road debris took out the cooler on my f10 m5. definitely getting one of these for my f90.
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