i would think with a fiberglass replacement, it would be fine as long as you used some large washers or other type of support to distribute the load over a greater area at every bolt.
Finally lost my engine undercover...
- Thread starter pparrigo
- Start date
JustAnotherVictim
Supramania Contributor
AGlobalThreat;1073344 said:
yes i know this. but this is what i did. because the bottom of my ic is right up aganst the ac condensor or very close to it and the sheet metal over laps the ic to the bottom of the radiator anyways.
I would think using rubber washer between the fiberglass and metal washer would be the best security.
I bought a new one from a local toyota dealer oddly only cost 55.00 including the dealer shipping fees, I was shocked I've heard as high as 180 for them thru dealers so I was leary but I got lucky.
I wasnt worried about the cooling issues as my buddy has a 90 hes had for years without one but mroe so about debris getting in the engine bay
I wasnt worried about the cooling issues as my buddy has a 90 hes had for years without one but mroe so about debris getting in the engine bay
Mine just arrived and it seems like a very basic, flimsy piece for 120. If anyone likes, I can make TONS of measurements and attempt to make a few engineering drawings of it.
Let me know if anyone would like that/benefit from it.
Let me know if anyone would like that/benefit from it.
That would be sweet.
Refine all the bumps on the origional and put in a trap door so you can access all the dam sockets and bolts that have fallen through the years.
ooh,a piece of candy...
Refine all the bumps on the origional and put in a trap door so you can access all the dam sockets and bolts that have fallen through the years.
ooh,a piece of candy...
who eats candy while working on their car?!?! Don't you know that all work is to be done in a sterile room with protective sheets by gloved men in white coats?
<looks at his dusty garage and driveway> Oh, wait...
I'm starting to hash out a couple solutions for hatches in the cover that don't screw with airflow too much or rattle at speed... I am also wondering what is taking my brand new one so long to get here.
<looks at his dusty garage and driveway> Oh, wait...
I'm starting to hash out a couple solutions for hatches in the cover that don't screw with airflow too much or rattle at speed... I am also wondering what is taking my brand new one so long to get here.
suprarx7nut;1074784 said:
If you could do this, I'm sure heaps of people would greatly appreciate it!
Even a couple of high quality images and measurements between the mounting points would be very useful.
I plan to fabricate one of these in the very near future.
this should be "easy" enough to make a mold for either Fiberglass or whatever type of composite you want. Add bigger washers on the OEM one to prevent it from cracking to bad.
suprarx7nut, I'd like if you could do that. I'd like to have and use that information to try something out soon, thanks
DeSloth;1074925 said:If you could do this, I'm sure heaps of people would greatly appreciate it!
Even a couple of high quality images and measurements between the mounting points would be very useful.
I plan to fabricate one of these in the very near future.
figgie;1075204 said:
Guyana00;1075221 said:suprarx7nut, I'd like if you could do that. I'd like to have and use that information to try something out soon, thanks
Ok, cool. I'll try to get to it as soon as I get back from my weekend getaway.
I'll start by just posting pics and basic measurements and then I'll see if I can remember how to do anything useful in Solidworks.
suprarx7nut;1075302 said:Ok, cool. I'll try to get to it as soon as I get back from my weekend getaway.
I'll start by just posting pics and basic measurements and then I'll see if I can remember how to do anything useful in Solidworks.
People keep saying "you'll see overheating issues in the future." Why wouldn't the overheating issues be immediate? Wouldn't the cause of the overheating be that the flow of air isn't the same anymore and thus the effect should be noticed immediately and not sometime down the road?
The engine will run hotter without an undercover. You will notice the difference with an aftermarket temp guage after it is removed.
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It may still be okay (meaning not ideal, but not bad enough to cause a problem) for normal driving, but every once and a while you'll run into a situation that really pushes your cooling system, and without the undercover to help out it can't dissipate enough heat and you begin to overheat.
AGlobalThreat;1076416 said:
Quin;1076418 said:
I have driven my car like a race car on two or three occasions. I mean full throttle, full brakes, full throttle, full brakes... rinse and repeat for about 20-30 mins each occasion. My temp needle NEVER moved once. NOT AT ALL. It stayed just below halfway the ENTIRE TIME without an engine undercover.
The turbo car I have with a shitty radiator and shitty cap and no undercover also does not change temp under consecutive full throttle pulls.
I don't think the difference is noticeable at all using the stock water temp gauge unless you have other cooling system woes that the undercover is helping to mask.
IJ is the only person I have heard that has recorded temps in the bay and documented the difference.
All that being said, I know their is a temp difference with one, which is exactly why I just bought one. It irks me when people say the cover is vital to proper functionality of the car though. It's there to keep more air flow going by your engine/rad/IC, not keep your car from overheating.
suprarx7nut;1076434 said:
I have also.
Obviously you will not see the difference with the stock temp guage.
Nobody said it was vital.
Having an undercover will also improve highway gas mileage.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
I can vouch for the temps, and the mileage..
I've also thought this out, but never made anything... (Yet.)
Fiberglass is nice, but not very flexable, and you WILL hit this on something.. So, a material with some resistance to cracking is needed if you want it to hold up over time.
The best thing I've found is a sheet of PVC material.. (Same stuff as the stock one, but only this sheet is 1/4" thick and flat as can be..) You can get this material in thicker sheets too.
Another option is a sheet of lexan or other "flexable" plastic material.
Here are my thoughts on areodynamics, based completely on my car, and a few runs to redline in 5th gear.
1) The stock undertray helps to keep the nose planted at high speed.
2) It helps with cooling for sure, especially as the speed goes up on hot days.
If your car is lowered, it's going to scrape on stuff.
It can be either single, or two part. (Single sheet is fine with me.)
Strakes can be designed into the undertray that direct air at the brakes on both sides. (Might as well push whatever air goes under the car out at the wheels if you can.) The strakes can add to the strength of the design in many ways too.
So, here is where it leaves the stock realm for me.
I want to encorporate a splitter that removes the stock lower cover skirt/lip. The new longer splitter/cover would be about a full 1/2" to 3/4" thick where you could see it, about what the stock lip trim is on the ends... That would stick out about 4" longer than the front bumper edge.. This would in theory, force more air through the grille area. The stock bumper impact bar will be trimed up into a triangle, so it forces more air over the intercooler. (IJ has done this to his impact bar, and it's basicly what I'm talking about.)
A few well placed air flow guides here would do wonders for air through the intercooler.. Keeps the air from flowing around the sides of the FMIC..
My car would also need a guide plate between the FMIC and RX7 oil cooler that I tig weldedto the end tank on my FMIC. Only the brackets on the cooler are on the FMIC, so there is very little heat transfer.. and there is a pretty good air gap between the cooler and the FMIC... A simple plate there would direct air through the lower grille over the intercooler, and the upper grille area air over the oil cooler.
That's just the start.. and there is no fiberglass this way to crack and require repairs too..
I've also thought this out, but never made anything... (Yet.)
Fiberglass is nice, but not very flexable, and you WILL hit this on something.. So, a material with some resistance to cracking is needed if you want it to hold up over time.
The best thing I've found is a sheet of PVC material.. (Same stuff as the stock one, but only this sheet is 1/4" thick and flat as can be..) You can get this material in thicker sheets too.
Another option is a sheet of lexan or other "flexable" plastic material.
Here are my thoughts on areodynamics, based completely on my car, and a few runs to redline in 5th gear.
1) The stock undertray helps to keep the nose planted at high speed.
2) It helps with cooling for sure, especially as the speed goes up on hot days.
If your car is lowered, it's going to scrape on stuff.
It can be either single, or two part. (Single sheet is fine with me.)
Strakes can be designed into the undertray that direct air at the brakes on both sides. (Might as well push whatever air goes under the car out at the wheels if you can.) The strakes can add to the strength of the design in many ways too.
So, here is where it leaves the stock realm for me.
I want to encorporate a splitter that removes the stock lower cover skirt/lip. The new longer splitter/cover would be about a full 1/2" to 3/4" thick where you could see it, about what the stock lip trim is on the ends... That would stick out about 4" longer than the front bumper edge.. This would in theory, force more air through the grille area. The stock bumper impact bar will be trimed up into a triangle, so it forces more air over the intercooler. (IJ has done this to his impact bar, and it's basicly what I'm talking about.)
A few well placed air flow guides here would do wonders for air through the intercooler.. Keeps the air from flowing around the sides of the FMIC..
My car would also need a guide plate between the FMIC and RX7 oil cooler that I tig weldedto the end tank on my FMIC. Only the brackets on the cooler are on the FMIC, so there is very little heat transfer.. and there is a pretty good air gap between the cooler and the FMIC... A simple plate there would direct air through the lower grille over the intercooler, and the upper grille area air over the oil cooler.
That's just the start.. and there is no fiberglass this way to crack and require repairs too..
JustAnotherVictim;1073912 said:
Attempted clever...Me???
I was just trying to distill and clarify... simplify if you will.:sarcasm: