[lovemysan]

After 2 years I'm going to pull the belly pan. I'm tired of roasting. Living with a belly pan my observations are as follows. I no longer drive this car on long trips. Most times I drive it less than 3 miles at 35mph.

1) Lots of heat builds up underneath the car. Specifically at the catalytic convertor. The floor gets to 180f easy. The muffler has melted perforations into the aluminum paneling.

1a) Your bellypan will cause cooling issues. A few notes on the saturn: A panel can be added underneath the radiator to force air through it. A sealed grill block with passages to the radiator would be best. The HAI will reduce underhood temps. Limit IAT temps to not more than 190, you will loose power and mileage. Do not exceed 200f coolant temp, again you will loose power and mileage. I found IAT 150-180 and coolant at 190-195 to be most efficient.

2) Chassis flex buckles anything rigid under the car. Install a bellypan with the car on stands and it will form waves when you set the car down. I've had several pieces of frame work loose.

3) You need heat resistant materials

4) The pan should be parallel to the ground from the chin to the beginning of your diffuser. In my car this would require adding a 5" chin to the nose and it would scrub, scrape, and destroy itself. For a proper rear diffuser you will need to lower the rear bumper 3-4" on a saturn s car. I also had issues with the rear of the car sagging when loaded with more than 2 people. This causes the ground clearance to shrink towards the rear of the car. In the end the upraked chin ingesting extra air, decreasing ground clearance, and too steeply angled rear diffuser caused buffeting under the car.

5) The biggest problem with a BP is servicing the car. Jacking the car flexes the pan and framework. It also makes small things like oil changes time consuming. Then there is suspension travel. On the rear of the saturn there is a LOT to deal with. I ended up using a coroplast panels that float. and are zip tired to the lower control arms. This worked but formed a hump right at the begining of the all so important rear diffuser.

On the plus side
1) Your car won't burn up
2) Snow has almost no effect(because the engine and exhaust heat keep it clean)
3) The firewall forward section controls engine temperature


I intend the keep the firewall forward section as it helps then engine operate at its most efficient temperature. If you want my belly pan I'll be taking it off soon.