Apparently THIS is the ONLY thread on this entire forum on which I can post.
My name and password works HERE and here only.
If someone reads this and wants to help out, can you post the following response to a thread titles "skid plates for 165" under CLUB CHAT...
Here's the question posted by TRDriver: "is there anybody that makes skid plates for the 165? if not, what do i make them out of and what should they cover and where could i bolt them up? thanks alot!"
PLEX replied that I had them built by Tap Plastics.
MY REPLY:
Tap Plastics did not build them for me, I built them myself but I purchased the materials from Tap Plastics. I then took them home and cut, heated, shaped and installed them.
All the materials I bought from Tap are High Density Polyethalene. I bought a 4x4 sheet of 1/2 inch and a 4x8 sheet of 1/4 inch.
The half inch is the front portion under the engine to the cross beam roughtly at the axle and the rest of the underside is coated with the 1/4 inch. Of course, there are special cuts and spacings to be made there too. And, the under plates have to be shaped to avoid catching any ground, road or excess amounts of mud and debris which racing.
Let's not forge the MOUNTS. Steel plates and mounts have to be welded onto the bottom of the car to accept the new skids and hold them in place. I bult my mounts to accept large button head, hex drive bolts that are tapped into the mounts and chassis. These done have a head that can grab debris or the ground and adds to the overall "slickness" of the kit.
Also, some consideration must be given to the exhaust line. Even though the PolyE has an extremely high flash point, it will melt if it sits right up agains the exhaust. I have about a 1/3 of an inch between my Poly and the down pipe in one particular place and it's got nothing but a little discolored. It's not really going to burn but it might get stinky if it actually TOUCHES the exhaust for a long amount of time at race pace.
The reason for Polyethalene rather than aluminum or steel plating is that the Poly is smooth and slick allowing the car to easily slide over any obstacles yet is strong enough to take the toughest of hits. Plus, the flxible nature of the stuff allows it to actually help absorb the hits.
Metal plates take the hit and dent. Then they are shaped that way. The next hit you take, then, does the damage. The poly, even if it is pushed in, pops right back out as if nothing has ever happened.
Those of you that have seen me run, know just how strong this stuff is!!!
If anyone want to drop by and check my kit out, I'm happy to share. In fact, I still have my templates and such for making more if anyone's interested.
Best,
Scott "DKOV" Kovalik
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