Pace Car front spoiler mod by Bee Jay

Bee Jay said:
I figure some sort of undercar belly pan, but I guess I could put a rear license plate grill like I did up front. No front plate and no rear plate. Figure I'd get pulled over then? Maybe a flip up plate. Hit a switch, and the rear plate flips up to vent the rear end. When your in traffic or being followed by the Highway Patrol, hit the switch and lower the rear plate.
Bee Jay
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Instead of having the plate move up and down on a switch, why not hinge it so that in traffic and slow driving it will stay down, and when you start moving at highway speeds, the air pressure pushes the plate up to open up the vent.
 
Hey, I found this old Saleen S7 picture. I guess my splitter isn't so tacky afterall. It sure works great. Not one new blemish on my painted spoiler since install. Still trying to find a suitable material to replace the 1/4" plywood.
My oil cooler is mounted flat in the middle panel behind my bumper. The spoiler forces air up thru it. Works great. My tranny cooler is my AC condenser in it's stock location. Works great too.

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Bee Jay
 
Splitter II
My plywood splitter has been doing a great job of protecting my painted pace car spoiler, but at speeds above 100mph, the splitter tries to split from the spoiler. So I cut out another plywood spoiler but now with a 1 1/2" extension instead of the original 3/4". This allowed me to put two bolts thru the nose of the splitter up to the frame. I also made the splitter longer, it now extends almost to the lower a arms. It's the original length in front of the front tires. I haven't driven it yet, but the splitter, and as a result, the spoiler are now mounted very solid. I could almost jack the car up by the spoiler. With the longer splitter, it's going to be a bear to drain the radiator. I'm glad I'm experementing with plywood before I make it out of something more exotic.
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Bee Jay said:
.... Still trying to find a suitable material to replace the 1/4" plywood.
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How about big truck mudflaps? They are thick, strong, stiff yet flexible. You would have make it a two-piece unit, but with some stiffeners/braces.....And it won't look as pretty, but you'll be able to hit a parking block and it will fold instead of breaking....

Just a thought.

I experimented with those before I found the HDPM commercial roof reinforcement pad I used for my air dam. The mudflaps were a little too hard to deal with and I did want more flexability than they had for the application I was doing...
 
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Wow - I like the approach - Getting better I'd say.
I am just wondering if the trailing edge will "pump" -- ok, move up and down -- and maybe wear the urethane attachment points.

That (of course) would eventually tear the fittings out of the spoiler before the plywood lets go.
Maybe a strut (like the one you have forward -Threaded rod?) to the TE would help stabilize.
There is a lot of supporting frame work you could tie to -- Unless that went in a weight loss program.

Looking Good!
Cheers - Jim
 
saudivette said:
How's this going Bee Jay?
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I haven't driven it much since I put the second splitter on. I've been in Seattle. Great weather, no rain, I could see Mt. Ranier clearly. I also blew the Porsche engine, so that is going to get a little more attention for a while. I'll drive the Vette next week and post. I need to find a local source for Delrin or the other materials suggested here.
Bee Jay
 
Bee Jay said:
I haven't driven it much since I put the second splitter on. I've been in Seattle. Great weather, no rain, I could see Mt. Ranier clearly. I also blew the Porsche engine, so that is going to get a little more attention for a while. I'll drive the Vette next week and post. I need to find a local source for Delrin or the other materials suggested here.
Bee Jay
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That's not a good application for Delrin (acetal) sheet and It would be very expensive. Look for black UHMW sheet. If you PM me your zip code I can probably find a local source for you. It's very commonly used in industry.

EDIT: I see your location as Lampoc, CA. Try these guys (or ask then where to get it):

American Plastics Corporation
463 S Dawson Dr, Camarillo, CA 93012
Phone: 805 484-3333
 
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