[zr33]

Well aware this is a common issue but would be great to get input from the members here.

My '18 Spider has the common sagging under-halo plastic piece - though it's certainly not as severe as some owner's have shown and posted about, but it's definitely noticeable if you know to look:

It was noticeable enough for my Alfa dealer to take it up with Alfa Romeo corporate and order me a new piece under warranty. Here's where things get interesting...after waiting some months a replacement piece finally arrived from Italy. I made the hour and a half trek to have it fitted...only for the new piece to be exactly the same! The dealership was lost for words - they couldn't fathom how it was designed without any central anchor points to give support.

They took back the new piece and very kindly ordered two more direct from Alfa. The new pieces came in today and comparing them side-by-side they are all identical and sagging in the middle!

At this point I have no clue what to do - besides leaving it as is or asking the dealer if they'll just give me one of the pieces in case mine gets worse. They said they had 2 other 4C's in since mine, and both had the same gap there. Can other members chime in - let me know what you think?

Cheers!

 

[ALPHAmole]

The joy of this forum!...discovering multiple things that are wrong with your car that you never noticed before.

My wife's 2016 spider has sag as well although not as bad as on yours, so maybe they ALL do to some extent?

How do you remove that piece? When I push up on it there's quite a bit of room between it and the next surface (bottom of rollbar?). It also (despite the sagging) doesn't seem particularly flexible. My only thought is to replace it with an aftermarket carbon fiber or fiberglass replacement if such a thing even exists, or remove the warped panel then reattach with heavy duty 3m trim tape with a homemade spacer to fill the gap in the middle creating a mid support brace.

 

[shpuncik]

depending how much space there is in-between you might try using 3M dual lock velcro

 

[Philster]

Options: Go with a mechanical fastener, such as a biscuit (such as the one shown). Nothing a Dremel and some biscuits can't fix.

But if there is no real reason to avoid adhesives, given that adhesives are now stronger than mechanical fasteners in many automotive applications, I can't see why you won't choose that route.

And, it's a bit of a catch-22 for drawing conclusions about the manufacturer. A fix as simple as this exists at the owner level and the dealer level. I suspect many just identify the issue, use adhesive and move on, filtering out the noise from the manufacturers.

(But, even if all these issues float up to Alfa in Italy, do we think Alfa is making all these parts and/or updating these pieces with their suppliers? That'd be a no.)

 

[Alfanut]

@zr33 , There’s a whole thread on it. Don’t know the outcome. You’ll have to do a quick scan of it.
Attention Spider Owners (Must Read)

 

[JSTACOG]

Literally only a couple of bolts to remove (4 I believe). Mine was sagging 6 months or so back, dealer ordered new piece under warranty. The dealer let me take it to the house so that I could install myself due to timelines as long as I returned the original one to them. I replaced the piece, adjusted few times and like yours, it's near same as the original. I haven't fiddled with it since as it's just not worth the effort since have to know to look and be bothered by it.

Mine is 2018 with carbon halo as well if it matters.

 

[zr33]

Thanks guys - I did scan the larger thread posted by @Alfanut and it does appear the amount of sag on my car is pretty normal. It's not bad enough to reduce visibility so I can live with it until I go down the route of a mechanical fastener as suggested by @shpuncik and @Philster - especially if it gets worse.

@JSTACOG as my current piece is identical to the new ones at the dealership I won't pursue it further, and will just do as you suggested. Definitely scope here for someone to make a replacement CF piece! 👀

 

[alphaboy1]

Oddly enough mine does not appear to sag at all. I do air out the engine compartment after a spirited drive.

 

[jagman]

Mine is sagging ,too (2018). It's seems obvious it's not worth going to the dealer for a warranty replacement since the replacement pieces seem no better. I like the industrial grade Velcro attachment idea. Seems easy enough, and not only is it not a permanent adhesion, but it's 100% reversible. Given I'm also 90min from a dealer, its cheaper to fix it than the to drive all the way there and back for a covered service that probably won't make a difference. Seems like a no brainier to try.

 

[SouthWaterXRS]

This thread reads like something the old timers in the gym talk about

Just replace "dealer" with "doctor"