Hey guys im designing a splitter as part of an engineering project at my school. I was just wondering what would be a more appealing splitter.

1. A fully functional splitter that requires the removal of the front dam and extends to roughly the axles.

Hey guys im designing a splitter as part of an engineering project at my school. I was just wondering what would be a more appealing splitter.

1. A fully functional splitter that requires the removal of the front dam and extends to roughly the axles.(Most Likely)

2. A mainly cosmetic splitter that just lays flush against the front dam.

Hopefully if the splitter comes out nicely I will be able to sell a few. They would cost between $150-200.
Comments appreciated

Mike

 

i would say the cosmetic splitter would be more logical. the idea of one to the axle is better if you were racing it, but for ease of getting to items beneath the car, go cosmetic.

 

How about one that really works. Fully functional would be a change. I know there are a lot of guys who track their cars.

 

 

On my Porsche (front-engined, water cooled), I had a full-length shroud that went from the nose of the car to the front axle.

It was in 3 pieces, the "batwing" covers from the nose back to the front wheels.
The second piece slots between the front wheels and extends back to the (finned) oil pan, allowing access to the oil drain plug.
The third piece, I never saw when I got my car, as it extends and covers the the oil pan and drain plug, going back to the axle.

Most people have long since removed that last piece and tossed it.
I track this car. A lot.
I was told the only thing that 3rd piece does is

A) increase oil temp as it blocks airflow during stop-n-go traffic.
B) add (a little) weight
C) make it much harder to change the oil.
D) collect any drip, so that you don't know you have a leak.

I don't know about racers, but most people who wrench their own cars, and esp. those who track their cars and freq. change their oil, have removed that 3rd piece.

Also, keep in mind from an aerodynamic standpoint, the effectiveness of a splitter ties into the overall package, which includes (but is not limited to):
Ride Height
Balancing the rear diffuser
Reducing and smoothing airflow under the car.
Air extraction from the engine bay...

HTH
(BTW, I have a MSME, and for my senior thesis project, I designed the "ultimate" aerodynamic RC road-race car, with a wing located over the centroid of the car)

 

Well Im definetly going to make a splitter that extends beyond the front dam. I was thinking of making it extend to the oil drain plug or to the beginning of the oil pan. I have already removed my air dam cause I have been playing with a foam mock up. Its going to have two front supports to minimize any flex from the fiberglass, similar to the m7 splitters.
Should have it molded by next week so if anyone is looking for a nice splitter thats functional... hopefully I can make some.

 

Id liek to see it

 

there are several photos of mine in my gallery....maybe they will help you

 

thanks for the photos flaco. Mine is probally going to go twice as deep as yours. Just finished finals here at school so im going to start on the splitter. Going to buy some mdf board right now!

 

her is my home made spliter picture is not clear but i trie to take and few more to show u,,,good luck whit you projet..and dont foget to post the picture of it.. i took marine 1/4 pliwood and 2 coat of marine epocsie and
black paint..

 

wow this is really cool. a fully function splitter!

 

Your splitter looks really good MC2.
Im making the plug out of 1/4 inch mdf board, primeing it, sand smooth... rinse lather repeat. Once I have a really smooth flat surface. Im going to make a fiberglass mold of the plug and then I will be able to make many. I might expirement with vacuum baging to get a really strong product, but thats to far in the future Ill get some pictures of the plug tomorrow and of the molding process.

 

I'm hoping for a splitter similar to this some day. It's a bit much by most standards I'm sure, but I'm looking to catch the air that usually hits the front tires.
Good Luck w/ the Project!

 

Ya thats a little more extreme that what I had in mind. I was actually think of molding in the winglets at the ends of the splitter. Shouldn't be much harder to make. Would probally be easier to make an attachment though instead of a solid one piece component. Another possibility to consider. If anyone has more pictures of splitters, from race cars, post them up. Under body shots would be awesome to.

 

Upturned winglets = yes.

If you vacum-formed it, would it just be made of ABS or some other plastic, then? You might also want to think about optional stand-offs - some (like me) think they look very nice/tough, while others either don't or do not want to drill their bumper for the stand-off. Either way, you might NEED to fit stand-offs to the resulting (now adjustable) splitter to meet the "functional" requirement.

 

Not necessarily, that would just make it adjustable. It could be a non-adjustable splitter and still remain functional. The former isn't necessary to make the latter true...

 

True, but given all the other variables that seem to go into making the unit "functional" (some or all of which a user might not have installed), I'd think adjustability would be required to meet that mandate, shy of designing it to work with a pre-predetermined suspension setup and/or existing body kit.

I'm certainly not an engineer though, so take that with a grain of salt - sometimes how things ACTUALLY work are counterintuitive to partial knowledge+logic, I understand...

 

As of right now Im going to be putting stand offs on mine for extra support. Im going to make the splitter without winglets and later just make some that would attach on. The winglets would most likly be some type of metal not fiberglass.
I am making them out of fiberglass since that is what im learning in engineering. You can cover your mold with a sealed plastic bag and suck all the air out to get a nice flat airless product. That was what I was thinking of doing. Its pretty common with carbon fiber.

 

Well I was working on the plug a bit and as of right now it extends back about two inches short of the axles. It covers part of the oil pan. What do you guys think, should I keep the length and cover a portion of the oil pan, or should I cut it so the oil pan is not covered at all?