Newbie - Advice needed on Spoiler/Wing mount project please


Author
Message
robjohnson
robjohnson
Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)
Group: Forum Members
Posts: 10, Visits: 55
Hi there, this is my first post - I am 33 years old Car enthusiast from South London, the car is a Mazda RX7 and my challenge is to fit the rear Spoiler. 

The mount needs to be exceptionally stiff and strong, the wing is 1710mm and I estimate it will create extreme forces at higher speeds, therefore its essential that the mounts are extremely sturdy.

I have been thinking and researching about how to fit this wing for over a year looking at examples on pro time attack cars and competition vehicles, most of the solutions I saw were either beyond my engineering skill or ability (CNC/cad etc) or just looked inferior, unprofessional or just plain ineffective. 

I decided on composite layup because of the uneven working surface and awkward angles involves, my plan is to lay up carbon by hand - in the photos the Carbon is represented by the Cardboard template I have made up. 

I will then release the structure from the car and trim to shape before attaching to the car in final form with bolts, as you can see in the pictures I have the wing uprights (these will be scrapped as the dragon design is a bit lame imo) positioned pretty much where I want them to be - I will use the alloy uprights in the pic as a mold effectively to get the shape of the mount - I plan to make new uprights in Carbon sheet as you can see on the picture of the white car. 

I need you guys to help me out with any tips please, I am anticipating a lot of overlap/mechanical locking problems which might stop me releasing the mount, I have no power at the Garage.

I also need some help with the shopping list please, this mount will be subject to downforce of maybe 200kilos but also twisting and tearing forces, my concern is that the resin will crack because of the constant flexing forces. 

I am not so bothered about finish as it will be hidden by the boot hatch and the wing upright which will be a carbon sheet made by Carbon mods so will look perfect from the outside - my main concern is strength so what is the shopping list please - do I need Kevlar? what type of CF sheet do I need please. 

I also need to move the carbon riveted mounts from the underside of the wing outwards as it was originally designed to mount to a steel boot hatch - my hatch is GRP skin so not at option, my concern is that these mounts are resin infused and therefore much stronger than the hand lay up techniques I have available (no power at the garage) - I dont want to make new mounts with hand lay up and have them shear off at high speed which could cause a hideous accident - tempted to bolt through from the very top of the wing which would be unsightly but possibly the strongest and safest option.  

Please review the pics and video and give me some tips, I fixed a bumper with fibreglass from Easy Composites once but that is the only experience I have and I might a right mess of it. 

Reply
robjohnson
robjohnson
Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)Forum Guru (70 reputation)
Group: Forum Members
Posts: 10, Visits: 55
Thank you so much for your answer and expertise, really appreciate the help. 

As you say the area of the car body around the boot hatch/1/4 panel gap is very stiff and strong, no chance of denting or flexing that area - I can put my whole weight on it and it compresses the shocks which are sprung for the track so pretty solid. 

I am not sure what you mean by channel out the side of the boot opening, the only issue I can see with that is the fact that on the RX7 the outer lines of the boot hatch actually angle outwards from the center line of the car, the wing mounts are normally fitted facing directly forwards as you can see from the angle created between bodywork gap and actual wing mount as seen in this pic - 

http://s1144.photobucket.com/user/orangefd3s/media/photo4_zpsc70fceeb.jpg.html?sort=3&o=19

So I could mount to the channel but if I did the wing mounts would effectively splay outwards by a few degrees rather than facing directly forwards, I do not wish to do this - 1, because it just looks odd and 2 because I intend to have solid plate uprights rather than machined frames, the reason for this is that I understand that plate wing mounts not only have less drag than frames but also have a stabilizing advantage compared to frames like the dorsal fin of a fish or the tail fin of plane - they are both solid and facing directly forwards for the purpose of straight line stability, this is an effect I wish to achieve the wing mounts - so aesthetically and dynamically I feel its important they face directly forward rather than splay outwards as they would do if I mounted to the boot hatch/ quarter panel channel. 

Solid wing mounts - http://s1144.photobucket.com/user/orangefd3s/media/CRAFTCO_zps7feae669.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6

Regarding the vac back suggestion, thank you for this - I could easily hand lay up one sheet of CF, release the cured units and return home for further layers and if I did this I would have access to power so I could vac bag - but what would be the advantage of this please? - less resin/mess = more strength?  I might need to take it home anyway because it might be too cold for the resin to cure in the garage. 

Really appreciate your helpful suggestions thank you 
Edited 12 Years Ago by robjohnson
GO

Merge Selected

Merge into selected topic...



Merge into merge target...



Merge into a specific topic ID...





Similar Topics

Reading This Topic

Explore
Messages
Mentions
Search