DIY front splitter.
11-24-2009, 04:17 AM
#22
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True, but that wasn't exactly done with weight as a priority as much as strength. I was just assuming ABS would be lighter than plywood and fiberglass. Then again my mind is so stuck on plywood being 3/8'' and 1/2'' building material that breaks your back after you have to carry 20 sheets of 4'x8' up 3 flights of stairs... I guess something like thin birch isn't so bad, especially in splitter size. You know what they say about assuming though... 
Desity
ABS plastic 1.04g/cc
Birch wood air dried 0.70g/cc
Im trying to find some elastic modulus comparison and havent found yet but I also think Birch is not only lighter it is stiffer as well.
Bob
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11-24-2009, 04:26 AM
#23
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I'm sure it is, but I figured you would want some flex to avoid splitting or cracking them. Though I guess at the same thickness, ABS is probably too flexible like you said and at 150mph would be pretty crappy.
You learn something new every day on here. Plywood>ABS, who would have thunk it...
You learn something new every day on here. Plywood>ABS, who would have thunk it...
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11-24-2009, 04:37 AM
#24
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Actually Balsa wood makes an awesome core material for fiber reinforced plastic similar to honeycomb. Corvettes even used balsa in there tub structure at one point.
The floor of some trucks I’ve worked on use a massive amount of Balsa sandwiched between fiberglass panels for a floor structure, The Kenworth T2000 has been in production with a Balsa core floor for more than 10 years now. It is stiff as hell.
Bob
The floor of some trucks I’ve worked on use a massive amount of Balsa sandwiched between fiberglass panels for a floor structure, The Kenworth T2000 has been in production with a Balsa core floor for more than 10 years now. It is stiff as hell.
Bob
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11-24-2009, 05:31 AM
#27
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I use 12mm Birchwood with a 1" box aluminum frame. Lighter than an APR splitter of the same dimensions - I didn't even believe that one for myself until I met Manly Kao at SLB and he showed me his APR carbon splitter vs. the 12mm Birch splitter he had made. Same dimensions (the birch splitter actually mushroomed a little more) and the birch was quite a bit lighter.
ABS is not cheap, folks. I don't know what kind of material TAP recommended, but a 4x8 sheet of ABS was $130 or so for .250" when I got my quote from them. I think the cheapest I found it was $100 online, and the shipping was astronomical. I originally was going to use that, but the birch is 30% of the cost. For something that WILL get destroyed, you want it cheap and disposable, and stiff enough to do the job - weight is a nice afterthought, but not at 3x the cost.
Bob, I wouldn't even bother with the fiberglass unless you want the aesthetic qualities. I can pretty much stand on my 12mm birch splitter, and I don't have any forward supports on it either.
cjernigan crewed for APR's Rolex team this year at a couple of races, and IIRC he told me that 75% of the cars in the paddock at that event had wood splitters.
ABS is not cheap, folks. I don't know what kind of material TAP recommended, but a 4x8 sheet of ABS was $130 or so for .250" when I got my quote from them. I think the cheapest I found it was $100 online, and the shipping was astronomical. I originally was going to use that, but the birch is 30% of the cost. For something that WILL get destroyed, you want it cheap and disposable, and stiff enough to do the job - weight is a nice afterthought, but not at 3x the cost.
Bob, I wouldn't even bother with the fiberglass unless you want the aesthetic qualities. I can pretty much stand on my 12mm birch splitter, and I don't have any forward supports on it either.
cjernigan crewed for APR's Rolex team this year at a couple of races, and IIRC he told me that 75% of the cars in the paddock at that event had wood splitters.
Bob
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11-24-2009, 08:34 AM
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FWIW I picked up a 4x8 sheet of .25" ABS locally for $75. Haven't made it into a splittr but I don't think it's stiff enough. It might work for a 1-2" but much more than that you'd have to reinforce it. I was planning on riviting a sheet or aluminum to the bottom, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
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11-24-2009, 10:58 AM
#34
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FWIW I picked up a 4x8 sheet of .25" ABS locally for $75. Haven't made it into a splittr but I don't think it's stiff enough. It might work for a 1-2" but much more than that you'd have to reinforce it. I was planning on riviting a sheet or aluminum to the bottom, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
Slick auto APR splitter.
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11-24-2009, 11:22 AM
#35
FWIW I picked up a 4x8 sheet of .25" ABS locally for $75. Haven't made it into a splittr but I don't think it's stiff enough. It might work for a 1-2" but much more than that you'd have to reinforce it. I was planning on riviting a sheet or aluminum to the bottom, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.
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11-24-2009, 12:17 PM
#39
Looks like they had to redo the place where the rods mounted to the body.
Before
After
Another reason that allot of people use wood especialy on the track is that if you have an off or damage the front splitter Alum will bend and f up your air-dynamics in the front. Wood will just break off.
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