Last week I was unable to miss a piece of road debris (75mph, pulled out to pass a truck). It looked flat when runover, but made a startling wallop. In the rear view it now appeared like a sizeable chunk of firewood - I'm guessing it was a mud flap off a semi that got rolled up, & probabaly still had some metal attached. Within 1/2 mile a strong gasoline smell filled the car, a dribbling trail appeared on the road behind, & a fine spray on the hatch glass. With the center exhaust, I was wondering if it might be more dangerous to slow down & stop, but that decision was made for me as the fuel pump seemd to starve out before the tank was empty. I checked underneath & found a big dent & a gash in the plastic tank, but NO FIRE. MINI Roadside sent out a flatbed & took my MCS to International in Milwaukee (I was just outside Madison, WI at the time). A week later I'm getting my car back today for $775 + tax. Insurance will pay all but the $100 deducible. Faltbed driver suggested that this may have been a lot more exciting with a steel tank. A friend reminded me of an accident a year or two ago in Milwuakee: A family in a minivan hit a piece of steel that fell off a truck, the fuel tank exploded & 6 people died. I guess I'n lucky just to lose my toy for a week.

 

Russko,

Welcome to MCO. Count your blessings, hitting road debris can be extremely dangerous, even life threatening. A ruptured fuel tank is a potentially serious event. Luckily it was only that, potentially, and no more. Check out http://www.mossmini.com for the skid plate. I have one and it has been helpful in my case, as I too have hit road debris in similar circumstances to your accident.

 

:smile: :smile: We also installed the skid plate from Moss to protect it from these potential disasters... :smile: IMO - it was well worth the $$$...

Chow!

Donna
donna@dcmetrominis.org

 

Ordered the mossmini PS fan cover - it arrived the day after my road dedris mishap.

I keep a fire extinguisher in my gear bag, but opening the hatch to get at it may have been a problem if the rear had been aflame. Need to rethink that extinguisher location.

 

>> We also installed the skid plate from Moss to protect it from these potential disasters...

Does the Moss skidplate go all the way to the back of the car?

Or is it a two-piece thing. I didn't realize that it protected the gas tank as well.

 

The Moss skidplate only covers the engine/drivetrain of the FWD MINI. It is about twice the size of the factory plastic piece, and being made of steel, vastly superior too. Fire extinguishers are a great idea. I recommend Halon, as it leaves no residue. Best place to install is on the passenger's floor, within reach of the driver and inside the cockpit.