making skid plates

[esracing]

any news?

[athousandleaves]

I'd love to hear some measurements for the 185...
I was thinking of making a skidplate out of lexan this summer seeing as Its cheap, light, and fairly durable.

I was also going to add some air vents to help it act more like a diffuser too. Sorta like what the WRC cars ran.

[GT4RC]

In case you haven't seen it before, here's a link to Paladek's CUSCO ST165 Skid plate thread (more pics in link):
http://alltrac.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php ... highlight=

I've seen this skidplate in person. its beefy, and looks hardcore.

[athousandleaves]

I've seen this skidplate in person. its beefy, and looks hardcore.

I bet it weighed a ton!

[LegacyofDan]

/\ nah i doubt it, it is aluminum

[athousandleaves]

all of my friends keep discouraging me from making a skidplate from aluminum cause they say it'll bend way too easily...

[Mafix]

so make it thick.

[athousandleaves]

then it'll add too much weight to the front of the car & undo all the weight loss of AC removal etc.

edit

my friends are whiners.

and isn't aluminum pretty expensive?

[l00k0v3rth3r3]

so I purchased my metal stock and its on its way to my house, i went with the 3/16" (~5mm) thick aluminum 6061. It was like $160-170 for a 2' x 4' piece. So we'll see how that works out. I have all the dimensions worked out, still working on a good mounting system, the one posted above looks pretty cool, and easy to do. Once I get this done, I can post some pics of it on and off the car with weight and everything, and let you all know how much it would cost to fab up a few more of course you could pick the material.

[BNZ]

Measurements ? WideFNOpen ? GT4RC ?

[smog7]

so.. anyone willing to make some skid plates?? vendors?? diy handymen??

[athousandleaves]

I'm more than willing to make skidplates... I just need to find the right source for materials and some time to make em... I have some preliminary designs mocked up already on paper with measurements and bolt locations too.
Only problem is that I don't have any more money to sink into another project...

[BNZ]

Can you share your plans/designs ?
I want to put them in CAD therms and give them a try at the water cutting machine

[makenzie71]

are u sure bout this?
all kitchen and medical area's are stainless for several reasons one being iuts corrosion resistant. this comes from the nickel content in stainless.

bzzzzzzzz worng. Stainless is used in medical institutions because it is hypoallergenic and has a high heat tolerance which makes it very easy to sterilize. Has nothing to do with it's ability or inability to rust...and, yes, if it's made of metal, it WILL rust...even stainless.

[makenzie71]

wow I didn't realize there were quite so many pages and such...

then it'll add too much weight to the front of the car & undo all the weight loss of AC removal etc.

edit

my friends are whiners.

and isn't aluminum pretty expensive?

Aluminum is a LOT lighter than stainless steel...about half the weight per volume. You could make the plate twice as thick as the stainless piece and be in the same ball park. Also, aluminum is not too expensive. You can get a 2X4 ft sheet of diamond plate for a lot less than stainless.

I've made all my skid plates out of 1/4" dimaond plate because it's strong enough, light, readily available, and cheap. If I hit something hard enough to punch through it, I was lightly doing something wrong anyway and need to adjust my technique.