Splitter Materials

Hello All, Well the aluminum splitter I have is looking tired and its time for a new one. What materials and thickness is being used?

I was using sheet aluminum and it measures 0.09" thick.

Suggestions for weight vs. strength?

I was researching and I have come up with this:

-Alumalite (plastic corrugated core with aluminum sheet both sides used in the sign industry) but what happens with the exposed core on the cut edges?

-Tegris plastic material? I emailed [email protected] for info tegris.milliken.com

Wood but not sure what material and how thick. Maybe just some nice 3/8" finished plywood or luan? Seems heavy

-I was told to use expanded PVC sheet because its light and strong but I have not found a place to buy it and my only lead for the stuff says all he can get is 1/2".

Other materials looked at - Polycarbonate, lexan, Nitrile, Kydex
http://www.professionalplastics.com/Architectural-Products
http://www.rubbercal.com/Nitrile.html



Thoughts?

I have used Alumalite and 1/4" ABS EXTENSIVELY. The Alumalite is LIGHT and VERY stiff. but the leading edge will get DESTROYED over time. ABS... not as stiff or light but very durable. Some of the ones I've made and sold have been in 100_mph accidents and were reused without any damage! and it looks way better than alumalite

Hi Brian, Most of the race cars.. sports racers, Prototypes etc, that we see use plywood for splitters and the floor of the car.. natures fiberglass/carbon fiber.. A cellulose composite!!

The Palmer Jag that we sold to Rhyss Millen for Pikes Peak had a full floor and splitter made of plywood.

The Red Bull Lotus Exige GT3 shows a novel approach.

Plywood for the corners of the splitter and an alloy center section.. This car was built for and raced by Adrian Newey.

pics of the Red Bull car are on our website wirewheel.com

Let me know if you need more pics...

All the best James
wirewheel.com

Brian.... Jody Ausitn aka "Falcon" on NASAforums has a handful of NASCAR COT splitters that he's selling for $25 each.

http://www.nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=51365

Hello James, well it sounds like plywood might be the choice of champions. Can you identify the type of plywood? Birch, luan, etc? How thick is it? Looks like maybe 3/8" thick. Did they do anything else to it besides paint it?

Can you take a picture of the underside of that car? maybe while on a lift would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi Brian, the car is still in the trailer from last weekend at Sebring. Once it is out I will get some photographs.

The wood is painted that is all.

As for what type, I am not sure. Some of the cars had thinner floors than others. The splitter material is quite thick. I would say you need a fairly high quality plywood so that it wears away rather than breaking into chunks.

Pics coming soon!!
James

I am using ABS plactic 3/8 thick. You can get it in 4 X 8 sheets or 4 x 4 sheets. My splitter runs back under the radiator to near the front of the engine. I broke a couple splitters getting on and of the trailer, after speeking to the plastic they gave me a type that looks the same but it is much stronger. It may be lexan, not sure.

Whats the weight of your plastic? 3/8" plywood is about 1lb per sq.ft.

16 gauge aluminum is about .75 lbs per sq.ft.

Plywood is very cheap and stiffer then aluminum...

The plastic is approx. 1 1/2 per sq. ft.

That is per pound

That is per pound

1 1/2 sq. ft. weighs a pound? So about 2/3 lb. per sq. ft.?

Mike

No it has to be the other way....1.5lbs per sq.ft.

That seems a little rough when the splitter is about 15+ sq.ft.

Weight is the enemy!

I got lost!

Merry Christmas,
Mike

Hi Brian, well we finally got the Exige out of the trailer!!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9jtslM0Pr98/Tv3EfhxurRI/AAAAAAAAN3A/60wCHxJldtw/s800/DSCN8481.JPG

One of the pics below also shows the plywood "floor" extending out to the side to give a larger flat bottom.

Happy New Year.
James
wirewheel.com
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wksiwS1TdhU/Tv3EeXxNyEI/AAAAAAAAN24/OHOxPJJeyzw/s800/DSCN8479.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EqXb0BCsu2I/Tv3Ed35KZ9I/AAAAAAAAN20/958vWvoMUTE/s912/DSCN8478.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6NuVIiw1xDg/Tv3EfHBu-tI/AAAAAAAAN28/tM_AKiL834s/s800/DSCN8480.JPG

Hi Brian, well we finally got the Exige out of the trailer!!



One of the pics below also shows the plywood "floor" extending out to the side to give a larger flat bottom.

Happy New Year.
James
wirewheel.com



James, any chance of any shots of the underside? About to fit a flat bottom and diffuser to the Panoz so currently doing research......!

Thnx, Kel.

Hi kel, I will get you some pics next week.
The Exige does have a big diffuser also.. The wide floor is an interesting idea on this car.. easier to do on this considering the width of the wheel arches and track of the car.

wide floor
http://wirewheel.com/gallery/103148.jpg
big diffuser (sp)
http://wirewheel.com/gallery/103162.jpg
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
James
www.wirewheel.com

Hi kel, I will get you some pics next week.
The Exige does have a big diffuser also.. The wide floor is an interesting idea on this car.. easier to do on this considering the width of the wheel arches and track of the car.
wide floor

big diffuser (sp)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
James
www.wirewheel.com (http://www.wirewheel.com)

Awesome, underside pics would be greatly appreciated thanks James. That is a very cool car and must stick to the track like glue given the size of the diffuser.

Kel.

Does anyone out there have a proven splitter design or pattern that they are willing to share? Fabrication is not my strong suit and I'm curious about design and support.

Thanks, Bill F.
Tallahassee FL.
GTS#35

Does anyone out there have a proven splitter design or pattern that they are willing to share? Fabrication is not my strong suit and I'm curious about design and support.

Thanks, Bill F.
Tallahassee FL.
GTS#35

Ditto,
Mike

I do but I dont want to make them for people (sorry). I might be swayed to make them for people if I had at least 3 to make at the same time. You will need plywood and a jig saw, paint, aluminum angle, a shrinker/stretcher metal tool, and rivets. I used a router to make it look even better. You'll need a drill too. I have the template of the splitter so there is no measuring just some bending of metal to match the curve of your kydex air dam.

I do but I dont want to make them for people (sorry). I might be swayed to make them for people if I had at least 3 to make at the same time. You will need plywood and a jig saw, paint, aluminum angle, a shrinker/stretcher metal tool, and rivets. I used a router to make it look even better. You'll need a drill too. I have the template of the splitter so there is no measuring just some bending of metal to match the curve of your kydex air dam.
Thanks Bryan. Let's see if some others are interested purchasing -- I certainly am.
In my original post I was thinking more about a detailed drawing with splitter dimensions and the design and dimensions of the mounting system. I've vintage raced for a number of years and learned long ago the price of being on the bleeding edge.

If there isn't enough interest from the forum to get Brian to fabricate the splitter, I have a possible solution. I made a splitter template from a big piece of cardboard, and then transferred the pattern to material of choice (I used Lexan). I got a sheet of cardboard from a large box, and held it up to the bottom side of the front end, and started to cut out the shape I desired. I extended the splitter about 3 inches in front of the air dam, and used the same basic curvature of the air dam as a guide. I looked at several pictures of other splitters to determine the width of the sides in front of the wheels. I extended the splitter back to the tube frame member that runs in line with the front tires. Careful measuring and cutting allowed me to create a template that I've used three times to reproduce the splitter.
I attached the splitter to the front air dam with a lot of rivets and an Lexan angle (one leg of the angle riveted to the splitter and the other leg to the air dam). I purchased the Lexan angle from Home Depot where it's sold as a 90 degree corner protector for walls. The tube frame already had some holes in it, so I used them to attach the splitter using rivets or 1/4-20 bolts.
I think the whole process took about 6 hours.