Appearance, Paint & Body Work
User avatar
By {ikon}EM1
#231808 Ok ok ok... I'm now keeping my eye on this one... at first I thought it was just a dream for u to do... then seeing the 2.5 - 3hrs of work on a template, all I can say is good job hope it comes out good... :thumb:

Edit: what r u going to bolt it to when the final product comes out anyways...
User avatar
By LaosToaster
#231809 thanks guys

i will see what i can do tonight. hopefully i have enough material :eh:


im still figuring how imma bolt it up, any suggestions??
User avatar
By LaosToaster
#231814
teal_dx wrote:great DIY so far!

Looking at it under the car, that front part that is 6 1/2" long might be better off not there. it looks like that might pick up some air on top of the diffuser rather than under it. :? I'd make it begin right behind the rear subframe.

What do you think?


u might be right, but i suppose u can go both ways, u can cut it off to the subframe or leave it alone. u can use ur template and when placing down ur sheet metal( or whatever ur using) and just stop it at the subframe, no need to cut up the template incase u wanna do a longer design.

i have a feeling ppl are misunderstanding that this isnt the actual diffuser, the cardboard piece(template) is what ur gonna use to design ur diffuser with ur choice of material. :thumb:

imma need to continue my DIY, im gonna be using fiberglass on this one.

EDIT: i forgot to tell u that im not gonna have the diffuser stop right below the fuel tank, theres a bit of room to have it sit just behind so air wont go above the diffuser.
Last edited by LaosToaster on Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By pandapoo4u
#231815 damn man its looking good i agree with stopping at the rear subframe plus it gives you a place to mount that side

as for the other side i would make a braket that would mold into the spare tire area and let it hang 1/8 of an inch for air to travel through but thats just an idea
User avatar
By TrailerTrash
#231853 dang this is coming along nicely! good work so far dude i love how your so detailed :thumb:
User avatar
By teal_dx
#231855 for attaching to the rear bumper, what about making it so that it can tuck up on the inside edge of the bumper and then screw or rivet it to the edge of the bumper? You could do that all the way across the rear and maybe wrap up into the wheel wells a bit to prevent wind from entering through them.

FOr the subframe, that's gonna be tough. You've got a couple of suspension bolts you could use. If you had something like an A-Spec subframe brace, you could drill some holes in that and bolt the lip of the diffuser right to it.

I just remembered, there's forums of people who do everything they can to achieve better fuel economy, they call them hyper millers I believe. They do similar mods by smoothing out the underside of their car and it really helps with aerodynamics which increases fuel economy. I remember reading a thread one time where they were making their own diffusers.

Also you may want to google the civic vx rear diffuser. vx models came with a plastic rear diffuser that went on the rear passenger side and was effective enough aerodynamically to help improve MPG. I know they were abs plastic but I'm not exactly sure how they mounted.
User avatar
By LaosToaster
#231873 so i layed one layer of fiberglass, it got me thinking, doing this with sheet metal sound MUCH easier i wish i had some right now, its very time consuming im waiting for the first layer to dry. :thumbdown: . i would of been done with sheet metal just cut ur shape and done..

but heres a little DIY for anyone that wants to go the fiberglass route:

Image

what i did here is layed plastic wrapper over my template( u wanna reuse it right?) and jus layed some fiberglass on top of that. dimensions on this diffuser is 19" x~28"(gray eg diffuser style) i used fiberglass cloth for mostly the center, and fiberglass matte for the edges so that i can have 19" x~28". (NOTE: i just realized how u have to leave at least two inches of fiberglass off the edges, im not sure if this will be a problem, oh well, one more reason why i wanna try sheet metal). the tow hook hole u can cut it once ur finished laying all ur fiberglass, im not sure how many layers i should do.

does anyone kno how many layers would be good enough to not break?

Image

when laying down the resin, i started from the edges all around then worked on the center using a plastic sqeegee to smooth out the resin, when spreading the resin on the center of the diffuser, start spreading from the center and brush outwards, if u do it the other way ur fiberglass will not sit flat and lift up. and yea unfortunately i ran out of material :(

now for the ones that wanna go the sheet metal route, place ur sheet metal on the floor and then put ur template on top and do some tracing. or u can do some measuring on ur template to get ur dimensions and then draw it on ur sheet metal and cut away. This is how i would do it.
But for the fins im still thinking how this one should be done lol this is like a DIY as i go kinnd of thing
SOO much easier than fiberglass. too bad thats all i have :( i hope this is helpful stuff to others.
right now im looking at my one layer diffuser lol and it looks pretty good actually.

thats all for now, i might or might not finish the fiberglass way. i will continue this little project once i get my hands on some metal 8)
User avatar
By Ecc0
#231930 Been watching this since you first posted and must say it seems to be coming along very nicely.

For attaching it I like Teal's idea for the rear and I would probably go the same way.

For the front end of it I was planning to use an ASR subframe brace to reinforce the rear subframe then, attach it under the fixings for the sway bar.

I know this might not be right and will be happy for ppl to recommend where they would place it. Also I know that the front part needs to hang lower than the rear to create the "down force effect" wanted from the project.
User avatar
By LaosToaster
#232497 alright so yesterday i went to lowes and bought a roll of sheet metal, its super thin, i think less that 1/16 of an inch, its 20" wide, just wide enought for the design which was 19 1/2" wide. and its 10 feet long, so i can probably make a few. and some metal to metal fasteners, and this 90 degrees angle pole(i dont kno what its called)that will bolt the fins together. it all cost me about $25. will start on it soon.
User avatar
By pandapoo4u
#232516
LaosToaster wrote:alright so yesterday i went to lowes and bought a roll of sheet metal, its super thin, i think less that 1/16 of an inch, its 20" wide, just wide enought for the design which was 19 1/2" wide. and its 10 feet long, so i can probably make a few. and some metal to metal fasteners, and this 90 degrees angle pole(i dont kno what its called)that will bolt the fins together. it all cost me about $25. will start on it soon.


nice post pics of all the peices before and after please i would like to try something like this
User avatar
By Gustavo
#232525 Lookin good. Keep up the work. :thumb:
User avatar
By LaosToaster
#232613 :D :D :D :D :D :thumb: :twisted: hehehe look what i made... 8)

teaser pic.
Image



Quick descriptions:
-Took me about 2-3 hours, i lost track of time.
-Took about 50 pics for the next DIY update.
-Kinda dangerous, i guarantee u ur gonna get cut.
-Looks SWEET :D :hehe:
-Weighs just under 3 pounds.
-Sheet metal is MUCH easier than fiberglass.

Y'all can drool over this pic while i work on my DIY update. :thumb:
Note: its not done yet. the tips of the fins needa be cut true vertical. and i needa do some reinforcement where i bolted on my fins. and needa figure out my bolting points.
User avatar
By Gustavo
#232616 Lookin really good. :thumb:
User avatar
By Simmons
#232618 Looking good :thumb: