What happens during PDI

[ThreeFiveO]

Do any of you have pictures of your cars still covered in the protective plastic? I'd like to see what all it covers.

I'm going to have an ~11 hour drive home from the dealer I ordered at, so I'm thinking about asking them to leave it on...

You might want to remove the window stickers for better visabilty.

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[Computer Guy]

Do any of you have pictures of your cars still covered in the protective plastic? I'd like to see what all it covers.

I'm going to have an ~11 hour drive home from the dealer I ordered at, so I'm thinking about asking them to leave it on...

I took pictures of my lightning blue GT350 shortly after it was driven into the dealership service bay for the first time. It appears that only the plastic over the steering wheel was removed at that time the attached pictures were taken.

Lightning blue with the black roof looks great when cleaned up and in the evening sun (I had the dealership do the prep and clean up). Keeping the throttle under control permitted my GT350 to manage 26.7 MPG on a 360 mile freeway trip (25.7 MPG on the return trip) per the trip computer, which was quite shocking when I was expecting 21 MPG at best.

 

[Agent_S550]

See attached.

These are Ford's internal Dealer PDI sheets. The 2016 sheet shows shelby specific instructions. I also have the instructions for the splitter installs. Beyond that, pretty basic.

Let me know if any of you have Dealer/OEM questions. PM me or go ask in my thread in general discussion.

 

[raiderjatt02]

Here are the only 2 I have with the plastic on. I drove it home exactly like this.

 

[altjx]

Good thread. Didn't know a lot of these things went on. Taking the car past redline? >_>

 

[Variance]

So the cars do not come with any sort of protective film applied to key exterior areas to protect the paint during transport? That strikes me as odd.

That is what I was hoping to leave on the car for my drive home; I would definitely remove the plastic from the seats before starting the ~11 hour drive, haha.

 

[Computer Guy]

So the cars do not come with any sort of protective film applied to key exterior areas to protect the paint during transport? That strikes me as odd.

That is what I was hoping to leave on the car for my drive home; I would definitely remove the plastic from the seats before starting the ~11 hour drive, haha.

The picture that I have of the front of my GT350 in the service bay shows a roughly license plate size piece of protective film in the center of the front bumper, with a roughly 6 inch long bit of possibly 1/2 inch thick by 1 inch wide foam in the center. You might as well just have the dealer prep the car and enjoy the 11 hour drive in a nice looking car.

I seem to recall discussion threads where Bossing or another person used blue painter's tape on the front of their GT350 to protect it during track days. Maybe that is an option for you... look for confirmation that that type of tape will not affect new paint on a vehicle (does it still take about a month for new vehicle paint to fully harden)?

 

[dron_jones]

The picture that I have of the front of my GT350 in the service bay shows a roughly license plate size piece of protective film in the center of the front bumper, with a roughly 6 inch long bit of possibly 1/2 inch thick by 1 inch wide foam in the center. You might as well just have the dealer prep the car and enjoy the 11 hour drive in a nice looking car.

I seem to recall discussion threads where Bossing or another person used blue painter's tape on the front of their GT350 to protect it during track days. Maybe that is an option for you... look for confirmation that that type of tape will not affect new paint on a vehicle (does it still take about a month for new vehicle paint to fully harden)?

I'm not sure about how long the paint takes to fully harden but the only caution i would give is be careful on the painters tape that you apply. I know for a fact that 3M makes different strengths of adhesive on painters tape, i used it when i was doing a headlight restoration on an older vehicle, when i pulled up the tape (i didn't do it slowly and carefully i just ripped it off) it peeled up some of the paint along with it. Specifically the paint that carried over into the inside of the engine compartment (i.e.: the stuff without clear coat). The alternative option would be to buy some of the track day protective films that exist, these are single use PPF styles of film that you can apply to your car for track days. Xpel makes one called tracwrap. If you are doing a long 11hr drive i think this would make a lot of sense.

 

[dron_jones]

As an update, i spoke with my dealer and based on the information shared in this thread especially the PDF's shared by agent S550 i was able to agree with him on what would and wouldn't be done during PDI. I may be out of country when the car gets delivered so they agreed to put the car off to the side and not touch it until i arrive back, they agreed to leave all shipping plastics on the vehicle, I am only having them do the splitter install, check the fluids, check electronics, take out of transport mode, visual inspection for damage (but not detail the car). I had asked them not to fill the tank with gas because i am worried about what type of gas the person would put in and also about some young kid being assed to do the fuel run and taking my car up to redline on the drive. My SA told me that they would need to fill the car with gas to make sure that there is no leaks but told me if i prefer i could have him personally take the car and that he would fill it with Mobil 93 octane. I agreed to this. Overall i'm very happy, now i just need to get the car and fingers crossed that i won't run into any shipping damages or any delays.

Thank you all

 

[Agent_S550]

That's great man. Happy I can help!

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