Carbon Fiber Front Reinforcement Panel

[Cronenberged]

You could add a divinycell foam for extra rigidity and to cut some weight. Looks good bigjae46

[bigjae46]

v1 is done!









I have some nutserts on the way to mount the underbody panels for the transmission.

This came out thicker than the OE part so the underbody panels won't slide in. One area for improvement.

I torqued the bolts multiple times, no galling or marks in the carbon. Not concerned with damage around the bolt holes. Galvanic corrosion could be an issue since carbon is electrically conductive. So I may add titanium washers at some point.

I did have to enlarge one bolt hole for the control arm bushing. Same hole I had to enlarge for the OE panel.

I bolt U-channel for the splitter to the front. I should have left more material there.

I would like to make it lighter. Some possibilities is using a core which would also make it cheaper to build. Could apply less layers with added reinforcement in targeted areas. The problem is I'm not 100% sure what those areas are.

Anyway...Proof of weight.

Carbon 4.8 lb



Aluminum - 7.4lb



planned v1.1 changes

- lay up the trans cover mountings with fewer layers so the label can slide in

- extend front of plate to aid with mounting a front splitter

- reduce weight by using a core material or targeted reinforcement


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[bigjae46]

How did you get education on making carbon fiber parts? All online?
If there are kits/homemade materials that are relatively inexpensive I would love to try my hand at some small stuff.

Great work!

Lots of research and reading. Easy Composites and a FB group “Carbon Fabricators” are good resources.

I’ve worked with composites when I did car audio. But that’s a whole different ballgame.


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[Cubieman]

How did you get education on making carbon fiber parts? All online?
If there are kits/homemade materials that are relatively inexpensive I would love to try my hand at some small stuff.

Great work!

[bigjae46]

Ha ha ha, our definitions of "the easy stuff" vary greatly!! LOL

To me this seems hard had hell. Again, I give you credit for this - super impressive.

Thanks. Definitely trial and error. More error so far. Let’s see how this turns out.


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[Casa de Mesa]

The front? I’ve thought about it but I will be complex. Sticking with relatively easier stuff right now. Next projects are a front bumper and hood.

Ha ha ha, our definitions of "the easy stuff" vary greatly!! LOL

To me this seems hard had hell. Again, I give you credit for this - super impressive.

[bigjae46]

I've no educated input on the added Kevlar but I feel the large washers, stainless, aluminum or titanium, are an absolute must. To install the various racing control arm kits, one of the bolt holes of the pan has to be opened up to allow a mounting bolt to pass through so the option to customize, if you opt to sell this to we droolers, would be nice too.

Feff

Aluminum is soft so it will get eaten up after numerous torque cycles. For that reason, I hate the seat floor mount adaptors that are popular. They are aluminum and every time you torque up the bolts it galls or chews up the aluminum.

Carbon is extremely hard so I don’t think galling is an issue. I should have an idea this evening. That’s the exciting thing about this…have to wait a day to see what you made. Either massive excitement or massive disappointment!


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[bigjae46]

Is the stiffness of the stock plate a known issue?

How about making a subframe reinforcement "shell" that covers the entire subframe with structural carbon fiber and distributes the load?

The front? I’ve thought about it but I will be complex. Sticking with relatively easier stuff right now. Next projects are a front bumper and hood.

Not an issue as far as I know but I think it could be improved.

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[Casa de Mesa]

Man bigjae46 this is ambitious as hell and I love it!! Really curious what the weight differential ends up becoming. Would be interesting to see if there are other tangible benefits to this (chassis stiffness) beyond that of the aluminum plate.

Agree with others on the washers because "it just seems logical". You might be able to use big/thick fender washer on v1 of this thing. Or just send it as is. Temper my comments with the fact that I am no engineer...

[Feffman]

That’s something I’ve considered. I’m going to test it and then find out. I’m debating whether to bond stainless or titanium washers around all of the bolt holes. Aluminum is more likely to gall since it’s much softer so I think I will be OK.

Also debated whether to add a kevlar layer. If the part is damaged then the kevlar will at least keep it together. Might be a later “upgrade”. I could add a layer to this part since the peel ply side is facing the ground so I can just add hand laminate it to test it out.

I've no educated input on the added Kevlar but I feel the large washers, stainless, aluminum or titanium, are an absolute must. To install the various racing control arm kits, one of the bolt holes of the pan has to be opened up to allow a mounting bolt to pass through so the option to customize, if you opt to sell this to we droolers, would be nice too.

Feff

[Cronenberged]

Is the stiffness of the stock plate a known issue?

How about making a subframe reinforcement "shell" that covers the entire subframe with structural carbon fiber and distributes the load?

Would be best to 3D scan and have the mold produced.

[cobra]

Is the stiffness of the stock plate a known issue?

How about making a subframe reinforcement "shell" that covers the entire subframe with structural carbon fiber and distributes the load?

[Estoril]

Nice! Props.

[bigjae46]

I put the panel on a piece of wood and stood on the edges. It was about the same as the OE aluminum part.

The goal is stiffer so I’m adding 2 more layers. Just hand laminated the layers of carbon and now I’m pulling a vacuum through a bleeder which absorbs the excess epoxy.



Also infused thicker rear wing end plates and a divider for the oil cooler/radiator that I lost. Mostly used scrap pieces…worked out just right!




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[bigjae46]

Nice work jae! Very cool. I wonder how the CF is going hold up to 44 ft-lbs + 90 + 30 multiple times. You'll have to install it and never remove it lol.

That’s something I’ve considered. I’m going to test it and then find out. I’m debating whether to bond stainless or titanium washers around all of the bolt holes. Aluminum is more likely to gall since it’s much softer so I think I will be OK.

Also debated whether to add a kevlar layer. If the part is damaged then the kevlar will at least keep it together. Might be a later “upgrade”. I could add a layer to this part since the peel ply side is facing the ground so I can just add hand laminate it to test it out.


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