Hail protection? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jpc763 · 05-24-2016, 02:11 PM

All,

I live here in Colorado and we get afternoon thunderstorms in the spring/summer. They occasionally include hail, sometimes large hail. A storm just rolled through work and dropped pea size hail which was not a problem but it got me thinking.

My car is outside while at work. If I needed to move it due to a hail storm, there is no covered parking nearby.

Are there any good car covers that provide *some* protection for hail?

I found this online. Anybody have experience?

Home Page | HailBlankets.com

Thanks in advance.

NOTE: I did try to search and did not find an answer.

texomawaves · 05-24-2016, 02:43 PM

car covers look tacky in my opinion... and a hassle to mess with. If there's a 10% chance of rain I leave mine parked in the garage.

Sassmatt72 · 05-24-2016, 02:47 PM

Any hail big eunf to do damage will not be slowed by any cover.

A pop up canopy (big enuf for full coverage for angled incoming impacts...)

nothing touching the car will help, must be anchord to the ground too for hi wind.

What I've seen blowing down the front straight at Willow springs....
5 tents and pop-ups all teatherd together and w-out any weights... fast too.

husker boxster · 05-29-2016, 06:04 AM

Good question JPC. My job is very iffy and I currently have covered parking. Chances are good covered parking would not be available at my next place of employment, so I was wondering if something like this existed.

The link you provided gives a little info about the product but doesn't make any claims about how large of hail it can protect from. I suppose there are too many variables (wind being the biggest) that would preclude them from making claims like "protection up to quarter sized hail". It would be interesting to know how large the hail could be. The marketing blurb makes it sounds good.

And speaking of wind... Hail in the Midwest is generally accompanied by severe thunderstorms or tornados. Both of those generate high winds. A canopy tent would be no match for 50-60mph winds whether it was anchored or not. And I don't think your employer would care much for you anchoring your canopy in his / her parking lot.

Leaving my Porsche at home is not an option. I have to drive one or the other. Currently I only have to worry about the 20 min drive in or back. Hopefully that doesn't change, but I might be looking for hail protection devices too.

Dave S. · 05-29-2016, 08:25 AM

When I worked in Denver, I kept track of all the self service car wash locations nearby my work and along my route. If it looked like hail was imminent, I'd just pull my car into a car wash bay and sit out the storm. Turns out no one is washing there car as a hail storm is approaching.

husker boxster · 05-29-2016, 02:19 PM

I keep track of banks - their drive thrus are usually brick or something fairly substantial. You generally can't swing a dead cat (sorry Timco) w/o hitting a bank.

geetee · 05-29-2016, 07:16 PM

Hail sucks...really not much you can do when it hits ya all of a sudden.
Yes it was totalled

husker boxster · 05-30-2016, 04:37 AM

Ow, that's painful to look at. Appears to be golf ball sized hail. Yeah, storms producing hail can pop up in 30 min, not giving you much warning. I've had 1 car hailed on - my first brand new car I ever bought, an 89 Probe GT which was 1 yr old at the time. Sickening feeling watching it get pelted.

Can't imagine the cost of replacing every panel on a 911. Did you turn your Porsche into a track car?

jb92563 · 05-31-2016, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetee

Hail sucks...really not much you can do when it hits ya all of a sudden.
Yes it was totalled

That's still a great track car as is with dimples.
The dimples will increase your top speed.

FoxRvrBox · 05-31-2016, 08:05 AM

Paintless Dent Repair can work wonders, but there was too much big hail there for that car to be saved.
By the time you realize it's hailing its too late to do much about it. And tents turn into kites pretty fast in the Midwest. If you are lucky you are driving and can find the car wash or bank.

VGM911 · 05-31-2016, 08:18 AM

Okay, so we don't get much hail here in New Jersey. On the rare occasion when it happens, they're usually very small and harmless.

But for you guys who live in areas where hail is more common (and big!), I'm imagining that you often see cars with hail damage in your daily travels. True? If so, how do you live with/cope with this problem? I find it hard to envision......

P.S. I just Googled "hail damage on cars" and got a shocking, first-hand look at what you guys experience. Wow!

steved0x · 05-31-2016, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb92563

That's still a great track car as is with dimples.
The dimples will increase your top speed.

I was thinking the same thing! All the dimples may increase lift. I heard about a Cessna 150 that got hail damage on the wings and it flew better after than it ever did before.

Steve

husker boxster · 05-31-2016, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VGM911

But for you guys who live in areas where hail is more common (and big!), I'm imagining that you often see cars with hail damage in your daily travels. True? If so, how do you live with/cope with this problem? I find it hard to envision......

You have to watch radar closely and look out for the orange and purple areas. You need solid cover - under a tree or gas station canopy is not ideal. As I said previously, hail is generated when there are severe thunderstorms or tornados. That means high winds. Sitting under a tree will slow the hail down but a big branch could prove very devastating. Gas stations are safer but high winds can bring those down quickly. Basically you respect Mother Nature and try to stay out of it as best you can. The ounce of prevention theory.

When Punkin was 6 mo old, I was at a golf course for league. We had just teed off when the sirens went off. No time to buzz home so I pulled Punkin into the cart barn. Luckily the golf course folks didn't mind. We had small hail there but the hail was intense enough at my house that it ruined the roof. I don't play league at that course anymore and the course I now play at won't let me go in their cart barn. But they have some brick overhangs into the dining area of their club house that would provide enough protection for whichever Porsche I'm driving. Always have an escape plan during thunderstorm season.

Yes we see all kinds of dimpled darlings after an event. I think the dealers don't care if they get hit. Gives them a reason to have a sale. Cpl yrs ago a city in the metro area got hit by baseball to softball sized hail. One of the largest Ford truck dealerships is in that city and got hammered. They actually totaled many of the trucks. If a side or rear window was broken and rain got in, the ins co totaled the car. They didn't want warranty issues with wet electronics. That was one expensive hail storm with all the damage to houses and businesses it caused.

When I was returning from COTA, a storm popped up just outside Lincoln. I figured I'd wait 30 min, it would blow thru, and I come in behind it on my way home. Except it didn't move and there were nasty clouds starting to form in the southwest which would be heading my way. I was camped out under a very flimsy hotel overhang. I went inside and looked at the radar. The storm was in east Linc and I-80 went across north Linc. There was only 1 little patch of orange over the interstate. Decided to take my chances. Drove 85mph thru fairly heavy rain but no baseball hail. Got to the east side of Linc and was out of the severe weather.

Life can be dangerous in fly-over country.

VGM911 · 06-01-2016, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by husker boxster

You have to watch radar closely and look out for the orange and purple areas. You need solid cover - under a tree or gas station canopy is not ideal. As I said previously, hail is generated when there are severe thunderstorms or tornados. That means high winds. Sitting under a tree will slow the hail down but a big branch could prove very devastating. Gas stations are safer but high winds can bring those down quickly. Basically you respect Mother Nature and try to stay out of it as best you can. The ounce of prevention theory.

When Punkin was 6 mo old, I was at a golf course for league. We had just teed off when the sirens went off. No time to buzz home so I pulled Punkin into the cart barn. Luckily the golf course folks didn't mind. We had small hail there but the hail was intense enough at my house that it ruined the roof. I don't play league at that course anymore and the course I now play at won't let me go in their cart barn. But they have some brick overhangs into the dining area of their club house that would provide enough protection for whichever Porsche I'm driving. Always have an escape plan during thunderstorm season.

Yes we see all kinds of dimpled darlings after an event. I think the dealers don't care if they get hit. Gives them a reason to have a sale. Cpl yrs ago a city in the metro area got hit by baseball to softball sized hail. One of the largest Ford truck dealerships is in that city and got hammered. They actually totaled many of the trucks. If a side or rear window was broken and rain got in, the ins co totaled the car. They didn't want warranty issues with wet electronics. That was one expensive hail storm with all the damage to houses and businesses it caused.

When I was returning from COTA, a storm popped up just outside Lincoln. I figured I'd wait 30 min, it would blow thru, and I come in behind it on my way home. Except it didn't move and there were nasty clouds starting to form in the southwest which would be heading my way. I was camped out under a very flimsy hotel overhang. I went inside and looked at the radar. The storm was in east Linc and I-80 went across north Linc. There was only 1 little patch of orange over the interstate. Decided to take my chances. Drove 85mph thru fairly heavy rain but no baseball hail. Got to the east side of Linc and was out of the severe weather.

Life can be dangerous in fly-over country.

Thanks for the first-hand account of what it's like. Makes me happier than ever that I live out of harm's way.