Aluminium front splitter - prototype made w/pics

[CalMac]

Thinking of making up a splitter in 2mm aluminium but just wanted to see if anybody knows about the legal ramifications of such a modification?

I'm thinking it may get me in trouble for ankle-chopping peds

I'd have gone down the CarbonMods route but £300 for a piece of CF which you then have to cut to size yourself seems a little pricey!
(http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/Products/Un ... LT001.aspx)

And yes it's a street car, not a track monster so yes - this is pretty much a visual thing

[gazrev1tubby]

What sort of thing are you after, do you have a drawing?

I'm going to make a flat front splitter, to suit my border bumper soon, will only be a few mm thick, and protude about 2-3" past the outline of the bumper.

It will also be quite deep, so it acts as a front undertray.

I'll be making mine from fibreglass, but I can also do cf if you'd prefer?

Depends how desperate you are time wise, and what bumper you have I guess

[CalMac]

Ah that sounds decent mate! I've got a border bumper too, which is off the car at the moment so I can sort this out.

I was thinking of killing two birds by making the splitter also an undertray - which is probably the standard procedure - however I was wondering about the cutout at the bottom/centre of the Border bumper and having to maybe do something to prevent air from just flowing straight into that (no idea if it would be significant enough to present a problem with lift).

This is sort of what I'm after, but I'd planned to shape the curves of the splitter to be equidistant from the bumper along the length if that makes sense probably about 60 or 70mm protruding.



Also I'm quite keen on the turn-ups at each end of the Bomex splitters, can't remember what they're called right now.

So is this pretty much what you were planning?

Any ideas about the support arms and where to buy?

[CalMac]

These are the 'turn-ups', Bomex style I was referring to :

http://www.rhdjapan.com/origin-carbon-f ... mall-53743

[Loque]

peds don't need feet anyway.

[gazrev1tubby]

I was planning on doing something similar to the above pic, but keeping the extended line the same shape as the border, where that one looks a bit odd.

My phone won't load the rhd link, but I'm guessing it's the Bomex uad180 (or something like that) splitter? I'll look when I next log in via the craptop.

[CalMac]

ha exactly my thoughts Loque

It's an 'Origin' pair of under-canard jobbies which flick out at right angles to the bumper - like this (although I think they may be an acquired taste)



And yeah that's what I was thinking, just blend it in with the shape of the bumper

[gazrev1tubby]

Could definitely be done, and I quite like it. I'll have a play around and see what happens

[CalMac]

excited!

[CalMac]

So I got around to making one today - which I'm quite pleased with! Think 1.5mm may be a little too thin though, and I don't want to go up to 2mm because it'll be susbtantially heavier!

Anyway - photos (sprayed quickly with a rattle can to give an idea, I'll be getting it powdercoated if I go through with it) Apologies for the horrendously dirty car:



The to-do pile








I think it'll look a lot better once fitted on the car, but I'd still like to see what gazrev1tubby has been up to with his ideas I'm thinking mine looks too DIY..

[gazrev1tubby]

Liking that mate, good effort

I just about found time to do a template over the weekend, unfortunately time just vanished, and I was back to work before I had a chance to sneeze

I'm definitely going to do this, and will hopefully be able to get a bit done this weekend coming.

[CalMac]

I know what you mean bud.. At least the sun was out!

One thing I'll point out in case you hadn't got that far yet - the bottom of the Border bumper isn't flat lol could prove to be a bit of a pain! I really haven't a clue how this fibreglass stuff works though, so I'll wait and see what you end up with before go any further

[Redrummo]

Ive liked and toyed with the idea of a front splitter (always good to have a "project" to play with ) but what worries me is how strong does it need to be? At low ish (legal) speeds its prob ok but when you get well into 3 figures (on track Id point out - I share a track tubby) then I can imagine it coming off?!

How strong does it need to be? only thing I read up to now is people using plywood and that you should be able to stand on it?! sounds stronger than what I see above..... or maybe because it only sticks out a few inches its not such a big consideration?

M

[CalMac]

Well you see, this is my dilemma! Either fabricate it from thicker aluminium and deal with the weight or have it as a purely aesthetic modification and hope for the best when the wind gets at it

Thinking about it now.. I've just had an idea actually. I'm going to be making another lip tomorrow

I made the mistake of wanting to create a dual-purpose item - I wanted the undertray AND the splitter as one piece. For some reason it's only just dawned on me that I could do both separately - splitter fabricated in 3mm aluminium, undertray in 1.5mm - both bolted into the underside of the bumper overlapping each other!

3mm will be plenty, and not that heavy if it's just the lip section

[Rob]

Don't get me wrong - I really like it, but is it legal?

Sharp edges protruding from bodywork, bit of a pedestrian ankle cutter!
You may have MOT issues.....

[nickg07]

Looks ideal for cutting the grass!

[Draven]

Looks ideal for cutting the grass!

[Magic Beans]

Kudos for going DIY on this

I need to fabricate an aluminium undertray for my Border bumper, as I want to try and maximise handling. Did you get around to making an undertray yet?

I guess you've taken into account the fact that the edges on the bumper, which it meets the bottom of the tyre (if that makes sense? ) flare out? At least they do an mine anyway. It's another reason why I want to fab an undertray, as the bumper edges don't sit as in line with the wheels etc as I'd like them to

[CalMac]

I suppose I could always sharpen the lip.. This is why I'm fitting it using riv-nuts in the bumper - removable for MOT

Magicbeans - I'm not really getting what you're on about old bean give me some more detail!

I actually incorporated this splitter as part of the undertray. You can't see it because of the bumper but the aluminium is basically just a semicircle which extends right to the back edge of the bumper. What I'm gonna do is cut off the splitter element of what I've made and use that as just an undertray - then remake the splitter in 3mm and overlap them underneath the bumper! I'll do a drawing on paint now lol

[Magic Beans]

It does sound like the ramblings of a mad man, but I am poorly sick at the moment

Basically on my bumper if you were to take it off and sit it on the ground the two bottom outer corners, so closest to the ground in the wheel arch, flare out and no longer sit flush with the bodywork (as below). I'm not sure if yours do that?



I'd like to make a custom undertray which takes this into account and pulls them in, so they are flush with the rest of the body line. I've not done it yet so was wondering if you had a template of your design? Obviously dependent on if you have the flaring and have addressed it

I'm tempted to extend it so it's more like this and also meets the custom arch liners I'm looking at making.



You still have stock arch liners fitted? Sorry, going off topic now I know