cordycord

iTrader: (2)

It seems that there are many options from front splitter material, and most of them might be good:

Jabroc
Aluminum
Fiberglass
Alumilite or Econolite
Tegris
PVC sheet

What is the consensus?

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

plywood, 1/4 pine PTS (Plugged Touched and Sanded) or 1/4 Pine ACX or 1/4 maple. Make sure if you look at the end you see black lines in between the layers of wood, this indicated that they used waterproof glue. The regular glue that isnt black is water soluble.

jasonb

the shape is wrong, but nascar takeoffs (tegris) are cheap fwiw.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

Fiberglass is the default for the people around me now. I could see it being very effective, if there were a few layers of Kevlar on the bottom. I once saw an engine case guard for the Porsche 959 Paris Dakar racer--over 1" of pure Kevlar. They put that thing through the wringer.

I'm going to check out the Alumilite tomorrow, just because I've never seen it, but am leaning towards 1/4" PTS. Old Skool.

vehicular

iTrader: (3)

I like 1/4" Luan or balsa or 1/8" nomex honeycomb skinned in vacuum bagged carbon fiber.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

12mm birchwood.

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

1/2" birch? Damn son that thing is huge.

TNTUBA

iTrader: (1)

Alumalite

zzyx7

iTrader: (4)

ABS plastic with thin aluminum angle for extra structure. I used piano wire to support the part that sticks past the front lip. This allows it to flex up in case I hit something, but is stiff downwards to support the pressure.

Handy Man

1/2" birch is a LOT stronger than I thought. I recently hit my trailer with it (long story). The splitter was slightly damaged, but it bent the mounting tabs on my subframe and broke the welds on the captured nuts! I want to replace it with 3/8", but am having trouble finding any, so I'm gonna try 1/4" and see how long it lasts, but its pretty flimsy. I want something that will break before the mounting points do... but maybe I'll just have to beef up the mounting points.

On the plus side, the 1/2" held up to endless beating on track curbing (the underside was covered in transferred red/white paint, haha!)

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

In worcester every parking lot and drive way is a foot above street level and only has the width of the side walk to make that height different. My old one would kit on all of them, and I slammed it pretty hard a bunch of times. It just flexes up and springs back down. It took an abusive tow truck driver to break the thing, and then me being really pissed at the totaled car and stomping the ---- out of it to rip the splitter off to fit it on the uhaul trailer. I still couldnt break the thing all the way off and ended up wrenching it off.

Just make sure that if you run a bolt of screw through it to put fender washers. Or if you make it like my friend's csp car one, put a ---- load of rivets through the mood into the aluminum angle stock. I think there is a rivet like every couple inches.

brainzata

iTrader: (4)

+1 for abs plastic
1/4" thick
Turn buckles at lip, bracing behind bumper like usual.

Durable,Lightweight, allows some flex while being rigid. Mine is stout but allows the lip to "F1 effect" at speed, and flex up when bottoming out.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

If you can't stand on it, it's not worth ----.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Wasn't it cjernigan who said that 75% of the Conti Challenge cars had wood splitters?

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

I could stand on the 1/4 pine one I had. Like I said, I couldnt even break the thing off trying... Though it was held on with 11 5/16th studs with fender washers, and 4 of those went into the lower rad support.

mr_hyde

iTrader: (4)

Has anyone tried something like nylon bolts so the fasteners fail before you tear the bottom of the car off? Maybe that or smaller washers so the wood tears out at an impact before the metal bends too much? Maybe metal bolts from Harbour Freight? I can twist the heads off those with a box wrench...

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

I've seen some nice ABS splitters that have been routered so the edges have a clean finish...at least prior to any road work. I have a feeling they wouldn't last like birch in a track-only environment. Mother Nature strikes again.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

Sorry--could not resist. All kinds of splitter-type stuff on display.

9671111

iTrader: (10)

*

bbundy

Birch plywood is significantly less dense (Lighter) and stiffer than ABS plastic.