Light Armour 2


bumper

This is on the front of my car now.  I found it pretty tiring this winter, constantly ripping the OEM urethane undertray and sideskirts off when blowing through snowbanks and ice chunks.  I’m not asking it to protect my oil pan from boulders, but hopefully it will hold up to solid water, and maybe even give me a bit of an aero advantage.

splitter-under

It was fun and easy to make, bolting very easily to existing holes in the lower radiator support and cross-memeber.  Total weight is 4.2kg, and it cost me $35 as constructed from 12mm aircraft plywood.  Certainly not the most exotic material, but note that it’s lighter than aluminum, stiffer than UHMW, stronger than FRP and like a quarter the cost of all three.  Ultimately I would have DIY sandwiched it between some carbon fiber, but it didn’t seem worth the cost and effort.


Leave a comment

2 thoughts on “Light Armour

  • fixbroke

    Looks pretty tidy. So tidy, in fact, that I think you might run into airflow problems for the radiator and intercooler! A few holes to exhaust hot air might be in order.

  • Q

    To exhaust hot air downwards eh? I have seen that here and there on NASIOC. It’s an idea that goes against the primary concept of a splitter… I’m not sure I’m completely on board, but maybe it’s worth looking into more.

    I’ll probably front mount that intercooler and exit air out the top before going down. Silly TMIC… does Subaru really think air goes in that scoop, through the intercooler and out the bottom? I need to do more reading and examining.