Diffuser and splitter build pics

[dave6666]

I'm building stuff again for the GTS.

-> Front splitter

-> Side splitters

-> Rear diffuser

All will be aluminum. Certainly heavier than composites, but aluminum is very cheap compared to the other and I can fabricate with it very well.

I plan on having lots of pics of how it all mounts to the car etc - it will all be very sturdy - but for now I'm going to skip ahead with a few pics and show the cut lines I've drawn out on the side splitters. Comments welcome.

I took the bulge below the door and transfered it down to the splitter, and then added an additional 1/2" outboard. That line was then projected all the way to the front of the sill where it intersected my other line about 6" shy of the front.

The short line at the front is the side of the sill at the front projected down with nothing added outboard.

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[alpine7822]

Are you going to paint it white to match the hood vents?

 

[dave6666]

I speculated that it would take but the first reply to ask that question.

You answered that prediction well my friend!

So no, if you remember my thread in the SRT section about flat versus satin black, my choice will come from the anti-color color.

Did you know that black is not a color?

 

[BOTTLEFED]

Very good Dave.
That is almost the exact line I was going to take in designing mine.
I already have some aluminum side splitters so want to try carbon fiber for my own design.

Keep the pics coming.

 

[alpine7822]

I speculated that it would take but the first reply to ask that question.

You answered that prediction well my friend!

So no, if you remember my thread in the SRT section about flat versus satin black, my choice will come from the anti-color color.

Did you know that black is not a color?

Yes, black is actually the absorbtion of all color and reflection of none...I did pass middle school science. Same reason white is not a color...it's merely the reflection of all light.

 

[dave6666]

Yes, black is actually the absorbtion of all color and reflection of none...I did pass middle school science. Same reason white is not a color...it's merely the reflection of all light.

Pretty close. Black actually absorbs all light (not color, which is the perception of reflected light) and is therefore the absence of all color, whereas white is the presence of all color.

Set the slider bars on an RGB mixer to all zero and you get black. Set all of them to 255 and you get white.

Look. I've hijacked my own thread.

 

[LiquoRT/10]

It will be very interesting to see how you avoid covering your "Ice Cube" side sills with the new side splitters.

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[dave6666]

It will be very interesting to see how you avoid covering your "Ice Cube" side sills with the new side splitters.

-> Hole saw used on FRP sills... carbide grit

-> Hole saw used on aluminum splitter... bi-metal

Yes, the splitters will be drilled with all of the vent holes and all of the screen attachment holes too. I should have pics by tonight of a finished one, short of powder coating of course.

 

[alpine7822]

Pretty close. Black actually absorbs all light (not color, which is the perception of reflected light) and is therefore the absence of all color, whereas white is the presence of all color.

Set the slider bars on an RGB mixer to all zero and you get black. Set all of them to 255 and you get white.

Look. I've hijacked my own thread.

Okay, so now that it has been established that my Viper absorbs all LIGHT (and colored light for that matter), I'm looking for something that would absorb all soundwaves as well (i.e. - radar beams).

 

[dave6666]

Okay, so now that it has been established that my Viper absorbs all LIGHT (and colored light for that matter), I'm looking for something that would absorb all soundwaves as well (i.e. - radar beams).

I doubt the cops are using SONAR on you to detect your speed (SONAR = sound wave frequency, RADAR = radio wave frequency).



But I'll keep looking for you.

 

[alpine7822]

Thank you professor.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

blah blah blah


less talking, more pictures

 

[eucharistos]

I'm building stuff again for the GTS.

-> Front splitter

-> Side splitters

-> Rear diffuser

All will be aluminum.

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.... flat versus satin black,

looking at your fab (<--double entendre intended ) pics, you are going satin, yes?



(note this post is in the form of a question not a statement so any reply looks less like obvious post count padding)

 

[dave6666]

Back to business, or as Bottlefed would say, posting pics.

I'm gonna rewind to the beginning on the side splitters.

The first step was to modify my Autoform sills so they were flat on the bottom attachment points. The splitter plates will also use those mounting locations and I did not want the FRP cracking because it is hollow between the 2 parts.

Mr. Bondo was called into action. The paint on my sills is low mileage and I'm not planning on a repaint soon, so steps were taken for damage control. The splitter will cover all of it, but I am picky.

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Went material shopping at Metal Supermarkets in Fort Worth for my 3/16" thick 5052. Two tall pieces for the side splitters and the smaller piece is for the rear diffuser. Still need stuff for the rear fins and the front splitter.

Total cost with tax was about $225 for those pieces. Them cutting 'em, me picking up from their store.

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I wanted to have everything installed on the car before deciding where the cut line would be on the outside. The edge you see that is. So I trimmed the back around the exhaust exit to fit that as it dips down there on the sill, and then drilled some of the small holes in the splitter plate to match the side sill. Enabled me to mate the two together and get it mounted on the car.

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From there the cut line was drawn on and that was my opening post. No changes were made from that plan.

Next step was to transfer all of the large vent holes to the splitter and drill.

Hard work.

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Hard work requires quality refreshment.

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Drilling and cutting mostly complete now.

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The bottom of my Autoform sills are not flat along the length of the car. A slight dip right at the door hinge area. I decided after careful checking to do 2 bends on the splitter plate for best fit to the sill so it would not crack it when pulling the 2 together. Hardly any bend at all, but was needed.

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Short of finishing the saw cut edges, fabrication is now done.

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You can see the bend when level with it. Of course if the car is on the ground you need to be 4" tall.

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[Stretch]

Dave those look really cool so far! I can't wait to see the rest of the project unfold and pics of the final product.

 

[Bobpantax]

Very interesting Dave. Fine craftsmanship.

 

[dave6666]

Very interesting Dave. Fine craftsmanship.

As always Bob, thanks for the compliments. Which brings up a point I'd like to make.

Anybody that posts pics of stuff they have or they build or whatever is usually looking for some high fives from the guys and gals here on the net. Duh. I won't deny that on my behalf, but would like to add that I'm also trying to show people not only what they can build themselves, but how really cheaply I work.

You've probably noticed I leave the tool of choice laying there for the photos. And do you see anything really fancy or expensive there? No. Just average stuff from Home Depot, or in the case of the metal brake, Harbor Freight.

I have no clue whether I motivate anyone with this crap, but my car looks better every day.

Nonetheless, a productive Sunday in this 80 DEGREE Texas weather, and we now have a his and hers pair ready to go get powder coated mañana.

Is the passenger side Leslie's? I mean the hers?

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[eucharistos]

looks good dave, thanks for posting

You've probably noticed I leave the tool of choice laying there for the photos. And do you see anything really fancy or expensive there? No. Just average stuff from Home Depot, or in the case of the metal brake, Harbor Freight.

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harbor freight has more of my $$$ because of your posts.....thanks







i mean, thanks

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi Dave. You are welcome. You deserve the praise. Your work is quite extraordinary. The photos show that all the tolerances, holes, bends, etc. are perfect. The two pieces shown above appear to be exact mirror images subject to any difference, if any, in bend necessitated by side to side variation in the car. The quality of the work is especially notable because your tools are, as you say above: "nothing fancy". Are you really a rocket scientist? Based on the precision of your work, it makes sense.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

can't wait to see them on your car

good job!

 

[LPDesRoche]

Nice fab work.

 

[Flash Gordon]

Dave, you may be a wise-ass....but you're a talented one!

 

[Chinook47]

Nice work! You should anodize them!

 

[2001 GTS]

Looking good Dave!

 

[Fatboy 18]

Fantastic work mate

And a High 5 for the Beer pic

Mark
Cold, Grey, AND WET

 

[dave6666]

Side splitters are at the coaters for PU on Wednesday. After taking a looksie at a handful of Q-panels the color will be RAL9005 which is a matte black.

Forgot to also mention that in the 3/16" thick aluminum they weigh about 7-1/2 pounds each. Lightened of course by the vent holes to match the sills.

Speaking of weight, I started thinking about what material to make the front splitter from. Laminated aluminum honeycomb would be killer of course, but I really don't think it would take incidental road abuse. Also would be much more difficult to fabricate with. There are also some FRP type laminated panels but some of the same issues can apply. Durability, price, fabrication difficulty etc.

So back to good old plastic or metal sheet. I'm thinking 3/8" thick in either 6061 aluminum or polyester/glass fiber. To get a little idea of what kind of weight we'd be looking at here I did a simple CAD drawing of the front splitter. Crude but "from the car" measurements. The dashed line is the front of the fascia, and I've added 1" to the side and 3" to the front. The rectangular cut-out is the Roe duct.

Looking at the screen shot of my CAD program you can see in the info box it gives that profile about 537 sq. inches. I'll round down to 500 as I can drill some lightening holes to the side of the Roe duct.

500 sq. inches of 3/8" thick 6061 aluminum is 18-1/2 pounds. Lighter than I thought it would be. FRP composite sheet would be about 80% of that. I'll get prices tomorrow on what I think will be a 2ft x 6ft piece.

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[Bobpantax]

CAD drawing. Now we know that behind the kidder is the rocket scientist. How are the drawings coming for the next lunar mission vehicle?

 

[DublinOH]

Hello Dave. I don't know where you get your supplies from, but I've found Metals Depot to have just about anything one could need and their pricing is pretty good. They'll deliver right to your home. Just an FYI. Might give them a try.

 

[dave6666]

Second update in the same evening. Hmm. I either need to get a life, or maybe I'm just trying to tidy up for a visitor.

Rear diffuser... The main purpose for building it... No, wait. The entire starting point for doing ALL of this stuff, was to cover the no longer used rear exhaust hole. I have side exhaust now.

So the rear muffler heat shield was removed. A few rivets and there it is.

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Looks like this now:

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With that done the rear bumper cover is much more conformable. As I was investigating the fitment of a flat diffuser plate back there, it became obvious that near the outer edge of the bumper there would be a gap above the diffuser if nothing was done, still then showing the exhaust hole. So being able to mush the underside flatter would be a good thing.

This next pic is me holding a 4 ft straight edge along the old exhaust hole. Notice the gap to the left, of the straight edge to the bumper cover.

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Pushing up on it just a little watch the gap disappear. I mean, I've got this straight edge at arm's length and the camera in my other hand. And can I still take a picture. I am not pushing hard.

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Also now exposed is the rear most exhaust hanger bar. Middle of pic with 4 threaded holes. This will be used to fabricate a bracket to keep the diffuser plate sucked up against the bumper cover.

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Time for a mock up of the plate to the rear.

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As I figured the rear frame tips get in the way and the plate will be trimmed to fit better there.

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This edge will be trimmed to follow the rear shape of the bumper. I want it curvy versus straight.

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Last pic is of the width. There seems to be the petite models that span between the molded in bumps like on the right side of the pic. And then there's the farm implement width that goes across the entire rear of the car. I wanted a "medium."

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[Leslie]

wow I am IMPRESSED!