Husky44 Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Ever wonder where all the rocks go that you hear pinging off your wheel wells? I found them. It appears that they collect somehow inside the rocker panel. This is what I cleaned out of the back of one side. That's from 2900 miles. Alaska roads aren't the best, but they're not THAT bad. And no, I never drove it on a gravel road. THIS is why I change my own oil, detail my own cars, etc. You never know what you'll discover when you're crawling around underneath it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Ever wonder where all the rocks go that you hear pinging off your wheel wells? I found them. It appears that they collect somehow inside the rocker panel. This is what I cleaned out of the back of one side. That's from 2900 miles. Alaska roads aren't the best, but they're not THAT bad. And no, I never drove it on a gravel road. WOW! THIS is why I change my own oil, detail my own cars, etc. You never know what you'll discover when you're crawling around underneath it. +1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy49 Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 THIS is why I change my own oil, detail my own cars, etc. You never know what you'll discover when you're crawling around underneath it. No one cares more about your car than you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergenfelter Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 That is why I installed the Jaeger Bros. front flaps on mine - those G2's are slightly wider than the stock front flaps - the Jaeger Bros. look perfectly stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jskup1 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 It's even worse in the rear diffuser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky44 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Found a bunch today wedged between the exhaust tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2scmustangs Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 when I put on my roush rocker panel splitters I FOUND THE SAME THING about two hand full of gravel . thats with 1800 miles on her and it was all from the back of the rocker panel near the back wheels i never had it on a gravel road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svt13 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 The solution is to change the tires to something other than the goodyears. They are no good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 This could be an opportunity for someone to come up with a product that would keep out the junk. If the rocks get in there so does the winter road salts. Considering the millions of Mustangs out there this could be a big seller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jskup1 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 The solution is to change the tires to something other than the goodyears. They are no good. My V6 with Pirelli's did the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san6279 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Probably a stupid question, but...best way to remove the rocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010KonaBlueGT Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Ever wonder where all the rocks go that you hear pinging off your wheel wells? I found them. It appears that they collect somehow inside the rocker panel. Yep, I found the same thing on my 2010 when I decided to go after the alignment of the rear stone guard/flaps. Not to the same extent you had but I'm pretty carefull about driving my car on a road that hadn't been swept (after it snows they put "sand" down then sweep it back up to reuse it). It's pretty simple to get them out but first you have to realize they are in there! Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickW Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Ever wonder where all the rocks go that you hear pinging off your wheel wells? I found them. It appears that they collect somehow inside the rocker panel. This is what I cleaned out of the back of one side. That's from 2900 miles. Alaska roads aren't the best, but they're not THAT bad. And no, I never drove it on a gravel road. THIS is why I change my own oil, detail my own cars, etc. You never know what you'll discover when you're crawling around underneath it. This is a big wake-up call. Also, there is a similar thread on SVTP, on which a poster whose screen-name is "Snorman" posted pictures of his pock-marked rocker panels on his car -- which has only 1,300 miles. It was bad, really bad, and I would be furious if this happened to my $60,000+ car. I ordered the stone guards from Shelby. I'm seriously considering the fullest clear paint protection I can get, too (Xpel, or something like that). Would probably be a good investment, considering the cost of the car and where I live (New Mexico). I wish I would have had something like that when I first moved here 11 years ago. I was driving my Cobra on I-25 from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, and realized I was driving into a fairly strong headwind. It wasn't fierce like a dust storm or a sand storm (which are pretty common around here, and which I would have had the good sense not to drive my car in), but it was just windy enough to blow unseen sand into the air and into my path. I've got the results to prove it: You can't tell unless you're looking really close, but shining a Surefire flashlight onto the front of the car and the windshield reveals about 50 million little tiny chips that the blowing sand took out of the paint on every surface on the front of the car -- and the windshield. Evidently, those unseen airborne sand and dust particles can and will wreak havoc on our cars' finishes -- at least here in the Desert Southwest. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san6279 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Rick, Xpel Ultimate clear bra highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer-Ted Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Probably a stupid question, but...best way to remove the rocks? Garden hose. I flush out those areas every time I was the car. Some will get stuck but scraping them out of every crevice can do more damage than good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san6279 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Farmer-Ted, thanks for the info. Will use water only... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky44 Posted December 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 This is a big wake-up call. Also, there is a similar thread on SVTP, on which a poster whose screen-name is "Snorman" posted pictures of his pock-marked rocker panels on his car -- which has only 1,300 miles. It was bad, really bad, and I would be furious if this happened to my $60,000+ car. I ordered the stone guards from Shelby. I'm seriously considering the fullest clear paint protection I can get, too (Xpel, or something like that). Would probably be a good investment, considering the cost of the car and where I live (New Mexico). I wish I would have had something like that when I first moved here 11 years ago. I was driving my Cobra on I-25 from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, and realized I was driving into a fairly strong headwind. It wasn't fierce like a dust storm or a sand storm (which are pretty common around here, and which I would have had the good sense not to drive my car in), but it was just windy enough to blow unseen sand into the air and into my path. I've got the results to prove it: You can't tell unless you're looking really close, but shining a Surefire flashlight onto the front of the car and the windshield reveals about 50 million little tiny chips that the blowing sand took out of the paint on every surface on the front of the car -- and the windshield. Evidently, those unseen airborne sand and dust particles can and will wreak havoc on our cars' finishes -- at least here in the Desert Southwest. Rick FWIW, I saw Snorman's pcs. My car has no damage at all like that in 2900 miles of AK roads. So all of that gravel you see from my car got there without any damage to my paint. Not sure what damaged his car, but I would hazard a guess that we're dealing with two different issues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT93 Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Probably a stupid question, but...best way to remove the rocks? Depending on where they are I use either a garden hose as stated above or compressed air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickW Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Rick, Xpel Ultimate clear bra highly recommended. Thanks. From their Web site, the only installer here in Albuquerque is a Mercedes Benz dealer. Might be expensive, but I assume they would do good work. I'll give them a call as my delivery date gets closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickW Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 FWIW, I saw Snorman's pcs. My car has no damage at all like that in 2900 miles of AK roads. So all of that gravel you see from my car got there without any damage to my paint. Not sure what damaged his car, but I would hazard a guess that we're dealing with two different issues... Yeah, I thought it kinda strange, too. If it's like that on the rocker panels, one wonders what the rest of the car looks like on close inspection. And one wonders what caused it. I still would like to get some added protection for the paint, though, considering the cost of the car. I tend to digress, but at my job in my company vehicle (currently, a 2010 Dodge Caravan), I do a lot of highway driving here in New Mexico, about 36,000 miles a year. I tend to go through at least one windshield a year. I don't tailgate the gravel trucks; I don't tailgate anyone, but the flying rocks do seem to find me. Case in point: I was driving to the airport in Durango, Colorado, to pick up a director of sales for an important meeting. In the passenger seat, I had the vice president of my company. It's a two-lane road to the airport. I wasn't doing anything wrong, just driving normal, when an 18-wheel gravel truck in the oncoming lane threw up a golf-ball size rock into my windshield as we passed. BAM! Scared the hell out both of us! The point is, well, I don't know what the hell the point is. . . . Okay, windshields are replaceable. Factory paint jobs? Not so much, but it might be a good investment to do what one can to protect them. The fact that stuff happens that is completely out of our control -- and what can we do to prevent it? That's a question, to quote Dear Leader, that is "Above my pay grade." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrel 007 Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 I was driving on a freeway in Michigan when I started coming up on a huge gravel truck and the cars on the freway were zig-zagging all over like a bunch of drunks then pulling to the side of the road with big smashes in their windshields. As I approached the truck all of a sudden I was caught in a storm of small rocks. It seems the back gate of the trailer was bent and bowed out in the middle allowing the rock load to constantly pour out the opening while the truck was doing 70 MPH. I whipped my wheel as 1 inch rocks started belting my Saleen Extreme. I drove down into the median with two wheels on the shoulder and floored it to get around this guy. And believe it or not the driver was laughing maniacally like some possessed demon. He thought it was the funniest thing in the world that he had smashed at least 60 windshields and was hoping to wreck many more apparently. He is lucky somebody with a gun didn't get pissed off and drive along side of him and take him out permanetly. One crazy person. As it is it took a big chunk of paint off my carbon fiber hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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