Splitter Material -- Wings

[McMahonRacing]

Looking for a local source for "splitter material" & not Home Depot, I already did the wood thing and want to try somerthing else ...... any suggetsions ?

Rear wing, looking for a 67-72 wide wing, single element ( less drag more down force ) to replace my current EVO II APR Wing, would like to lower it a bit, looks a tad funnnt that high ...... any suggestions that won't break the bank ?

Thanks
Pat

[KhanhD]

I can get Alumalite for about $50 a half sheet (2x8') or $100 for a full sheet (4x8'). I made my splitter out of a half sheet without issue.

In Fitchburg MA

[WillM]

Alumalite or Econolite.

Alumalite = corrugated plastic sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum, 'finished' (painted) on both sides.

Econolite = Alumalite but finished (painted) on one side and natural aluminum on the other (un-finished).

Check out New England Sign Supply in Woburn. They have a scratch & dent section that is perfect for this type of stuff. Large sheets of all sorts of random materials used as substrates for signs.

I paid $40 for a full sheet of Econolite with a banged corner.

This isn't the kind of thing you can mail order. Shipping fees are astronomical...!

[nhsilversti]

i have a sheet of the all aluminum construction stuff (name eludes me at the moment) that you saw last year at NE exotics show at budweiser. i have the invoice at work so i can tell you how much i paid if your interested.

send me a pm or call 603-3 two zero 0177

ted

[nhsilversti]

update, the stuff i have is made by plascore and is all aluminum construction. it was 185 per sheet plus shipping. light and very stiff

ted

[McMahonRacing]

Will you be around NHMS this w/e .....
We are going to be there all 3 days, gonna be warm .....
Will keep an eye out for ya & we can talk, esp. like to check out the material again ......

[nhsilversti]

im not sure if i will be up for a visit, def not driving this one.
i will have a small piece of the material that ill pass onto either sam webster or chad fox (if he stops by my house on saturday).

i just got a reply email to confirm what the shipping charges were, 119.00

while it does make the stuff pricey, it is much better than alumalite.

ted

[962porsche]

i took over two years and studied aerodynamics .
over the course of that time i learned many things . one is that the splitters made from things like a alimalite are not all that efficient . the reason is that thow you may think they are not to thick at 1/8" to 3 1/6 " thinck they truly are but it is not really the thickness it has to do with the leading edge of the splitter . you have to add the edgeing U shaped plastic strip to it to cover the honeycomb after you cut it to the proper shape . that is also one of the big down sides to using a product like alimalite . as soon as the air flows over the edge strip it loses contact with the splitter taking about 25 to 35 % of its afficiency away .
any splitter that is just flat on the top and under side is only going to give you about one third or it's potential at creating frontal down force . then there is the size and shape of it and how far under the car it runs that truly make them work and do there job . as you know rear down force is very ez to get on a car but when it comes to getting frontal down force that is a hole other matter .
the hole myth about being able to stand on a splitter is just not true at all ! what you don't want is any deflection in it .
you don't want the splitter to be tipped with the front or leading edge to the ground a little or faceing up a little it has to be dead flat or parallel to the ground as the car is moving .
you also don't want to add things like stays to help hold it from the top side edge of the splitter to say the cars bumper . this totaly interrupts the air flow not just around the the stays but for in many cases about 6+ inches around the stays .

[nile13]

Alumalite or Econolite.

Alumalite = corrugated plastic sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum, 'finished' (painted) on both sides.

Econolite = Alumalite but finished (painted) on one side and natural aluminum on the other (un-finished).

Check out New England Sign Supply in Woburn. They have a scratch & dent section that is perfect for this type of stuff. Large sheets of all sorts of random materials used as substrates for signs.

I paid $40 for a full sheet of Econolite with a banged corner.

Will, do you have any Econolite left? I'm thinking of building a splitter (and a Lexan rear spoiler for that matter). What to sell the rest of your Econolite or, even better, make a splitter for me or help me make one for one billion dollars?

Seriously, I can use all the help I can get with this, my fabrication skills are non-existent.

[WillM]

Sorry, but I do not have any Alumalite left over, at least nothing near the size you'd need for a splitter/diffuser.

My main contribution was the ideas and funding. Les & the fabricator/neighbor did the work.

David is right about the leading edge of splitters made from corrugated substrates (such as Aluma/EconoLite). I had a rubber gasket around mine, but didn't like it (it is too big). My next step is to seal the leading edge with a bead of RTV. I think that should work well, and if it doesn't, I'll try gluing/RTV-ing a 3/16" strip of thin plastic around the perimeter.

I also agree on the 'standing on the splitter myth'. Impossible to do on my setup without breaking all sorts of parts (unless you weigh 20 pounds less than Raj).

Here's some info on how my front bumper & splitter use PVC and AlumaLite to get the job done. This is copied & pasted from a post I made on a different forum, but I think the pictures will work:

The car:


The combination front grill/air dam flange/brake ducts:


Under side of splitter


Close-up of underside showing splitter seam, dzus fastner, pop rivets:


Splitter hook/hanger, on upper side (engine side) of splitter, at the tail-end of the splitter:


Chassis pins just behind engine mounts. The splitter hooks hang from these pins:


Splitter hooks slipped over chassis pins. In a sharp front impact, the back end of the splitter should slip right off of the hooks (in theory!)


Flat-bottom of splitter as viewed from the rear with the splitter hooks attached to the chassis pins:


Fabricated aluminum dzus panel attached to front fenders serve as attachment points for the air dam. Not shown are the aluminum support arms, similar to the stock steel rods, which brace these brackets to the frame and push the fender out a bit, providing more coverage to the front of the tires:


PVC air dam. Seems to be a good mix of flexibility and rigidity. Lays flat and curls up easy, does not fold under air pressure. Top of air dam is attached to the front bumper. Middle, center of air dam is attached to the combination flange (grill/brake ducts), bottom of air dam is attached to splitter. The height/ground clearance of the splitter can be changed by using air dams of different lengths. The longer the air dam, the lower the splitter:

Close-up of dzus fastner holding bottom of air dam to the splitter:


Ground clearance testing. 1" thick strips of pink insulation glued in place. The idea is to test and see how close the splitter is getting to the ground. Can we go lower?:

No! The strips of insulation worked great. You can see where some were planed down quite a bit while others were completely untouched:


This end got the worst of it. At this particular track (NHMS), there are two right-hand turns with massive transitions. The front-left hand side of the car is under heavy load here, and scrapes. The black marks are track rubber. The alumalite itself is lightly scuffed but otherwise undamaged:


A reinforcement panel and 5 dzus fastners hold the two symmetrical splitter halves together solidly, and allow for easy break-down and transportation:


All-in-all I'm very happy with the way things have come together. The combination of parts seems to work well and is by far the easiest front aero to install, remove, and transport.

Assembled and on the car, the parts are sturdy enough to hold up to track abuse without caving in or coming off. The air dam has some flex which should help absorb small impacts, but still does not deform at high speeds.

Next step is to work on radiator / engine bay ducting/cooling. The cardboard ducting I made a the last track event seemed to work well, and should be a good template/starting point.

[boltonite]

wow, a great write-up. Love the nascar-like ducting, I have front-end aero envy.

Fwiw, I used Dibond (also available at the Woburn graphic supply place) for my splitter, Dibond has a solid core and is pretty thin but also rigid. I think its is in the alumalite family of products, very similar in weight (not at all light IMO, I'd use carbon fiber next time).
FF

[WillM]

wow, a great write-up. Love the nascar-like ducting, I have front-end aero envy.

Fwiw, I used Dibond (also available at the Woburn graphic supply place) for my splitter, Dibond has a solid core and is pretty thin but also rigid. I think its is in the alumalite family of products, very similar in weight (not at all light IMO, I'd use carbon fiber next time).
FF

Sign professionals like Jeff & Liz would know more than I do, but here's my understanding.

Dibond is simiilar to Alumalite/Econolite: they are all two thin layers of aluminum with a type of (plastic) material sandwiched in between. The difference, as you said, is the material that is sandwiched between the two aluminum layers. Dibone is solid, alumalite/econolite is corrugated. I believe the corrugation makes Alumalite stiffer and lighter, but a bit thicker. There is also two types that incorporate wood instead of plastic; one is wood sandwiched between two sheets of aluminum and the other is wood with a layer of aluminum on only one side. The type of wood and thickness varies (wood, plywood, particle board, etc).

Carbon fiber would certainly be a lot lighter and even more rigid, but it is much more difficult to work with, and in a totally different cost category. You'd never be able to attain the same level of success rivets and dzus 1/4 turn fasteners with carbon fiber as you would with one of the aluminum-based substrates.

Fred, I'll trade you front aero envy for lightness and hp/torque envy any day!

[nile13]

Will, thank you very much for detailed pics and description! Very enlightening.

I can't quite duplicate it on the CSP car - I believe I have to keep all of my front bumper and certainly the undertray. But it gives me some decent ideas on what to do.