10 replies to this topic

[Nev]

Off the back of the 'Wot wing' thread recently, I am now thinking of building a splitter at the front of my car. I intend to project 2 flat sheets of plywood out from the front floor pan: One will be a primary strength item (with small nose) and a second projecting out further will be 'sacrificial' to cope with speed bumps and snap if necessary. However, my question is this: What materials should I use and how can I nicely form a smooth curve from the horizontal lip to the vertical to mate to the bumper area. I imagine the curve will have a radius of some 2 or 3 inches and need some sort of 'former' to lay glass fibre of somesuch to make a nice progressive upwards curve. Ideally the material that mates to the bumper will not stick to it, as I may decied to scrap the whole system if it doent work as I intend and dont want to have to bin my clam at the same time! Any ideas anyone, as I've never done this sort of thing before.

Edited by Nev, 02 November 2011 - 10:25 PM.

[NickB787]

Leevx2.2 made is own and I think he made one for Joe looked OK drop him a pm.

found the linklee splitter

Edited by NickB777, 02 November 2011 - 10:31 PM.

[Wreelybro]

Yeah speak to Joe or JJJ both have a splitter solution.. May eve go down that route for my front end as well for the front edge if you're using marine ply you could try a router or a power file?

Edited by Wreelybro, 02 November 2011 - 10:35 PM.

[TIP]

I would form the radius/transition from a high density polystyrene foam,(the blue insulation slabs work well) just skin it in ali foil before applying the resin and glass mat because it will melt otherwise.

[-Dab-of-Oppo-]

This is something I am thinking of doing too. I had the idea of using some UPVC fascia board for the main lip. My reasoning behind using this material is - > It's very impact resistant and any scuffs can be easilly sanded out > Flexible and will not crack unless bent beyond about 45 degrees > It's light weight yet still very rigid > Standard thicknesses should be spot on and you may even be able to make use of the angle and shaped lips you can get on it > Smooth surfaced and easy to paint > Easilly cut to shape and can be made to contour the bumper by applying heat. > The only negative I can see is that I am not sure the depth it tends to come in will be enough to have it all in one piece. I have not really given any thought on blending it in with the clam more. Maybe with it in place you could mask the splitter and clam up and then spray some expanding foam along the length of the groove, shape it a bit in place with a sort of pre made contour gauge before it fully drys and then remove the whole length in one for final tidying up. It's not an adhesive so should be easy to remove in one piece. It should act as a more easilly workable alternative to Tips suggestion of cavity wall slabs in that the shaping is done for you by the foam itself when it expands against the surfaces.

Edited by -Dab-of-Oppo-, 04 November 2011 - 01:48 PM.

[Nev]

Hmm, yes using some sort of semi curved plastic fascia board/guttering would be ideal. I am keen on having an upswept curve to mate with the bumper, as this should help move the air up and over the car more. I am tempted to do this over the weekend, do you fancy coming up and working on it in my garage with me (Im only about 70 miles away in Bristol). If the first one works well, we can easily make a second. I have loads of tools + space etc and live 3 miles away from a B&Q warehouse handily !

[Vespa]

Before fitting anything Nev, you should take Nipper for a blast up that private two laned road near yours to see at what speed your steering becomes noticeably light. Then you will have a proper value to gauge any progress by I'm certain mine makes the steering more positive but I never did any real pre/post comparison

[Hark]

Off the back of the 'Wot wing' thread recently, I am now thinking of building a splitter at the front of my car.

Without any proven/scientific gains ?

[davemate]

i personally wouldnt bother with making a section that mounts up to the curve of the front bumper. in a bot of a hijack with FLD we discussed how to do this.. my solution will be (when i have some money to buy a splitter!) to use some rubber door moulding along it as this will be flexible enough and will allow for the silly tollerances of these cars and be easily removable.

this is a bit of a crappy picture but if you see theone second from the right you may get an idea what i mean:


it will be a case of finding somehting the right size and then just bonding this on to the splitter.

[darronwall]

i have bought one from robin and am in the process of extending it foward using a 9mm upvc flatboard extenting to the rear or the front clam

[FLD]

I need to pick up and finish this: http://www.vx220.org...ee-quite-right/ The element part is balsa cored carbon. The spacing of the carbon by the balsa provides plenty of rigidity but it will smash quite easily if impacted.