CF Gurney flap/Wing Extension

[RPM]

Latest Update:


I will now be taking names. Please email me at: josh.quiroz@gmail.com if you are interested in buying a gurney flap.

Final price will be $220 shipped within the US. Please inquire for international shipping.

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What is the level of interest in getting the below carbon fiber gurney flap reproduced for ITR wings? I have access to a composites manufacturer and I am throwing around the idea of having the part reproduced if there is enough interest.

Price of the part will be determined by cost of mold, wholesale cost for each item, and how much interest there is in the part. It doesn't make sense to have the part produced if I am going to be in the hole for the upfront costs of producing the item.

If you have strong interest in buying the part please post. This is just a feeler to see if the part is worth reproducing.

Thanks!



UPDATE- This afternoon I met with the manufacturer, here are more details on the part. It will be made from aerospace grade pre preg carbon fiber and it will be cured in an autoclave under a vacuum. It will be lighter and stronger than the original copy. It will be made from a single piece of CF.

Those of you that have the original product will notice the carbon is laid up wet and is backed by some sort of dyed fibers, possibly fiberglass. The quality is not that great. The fitment of the original wasn't that great as well. It looks to be a two piece design glued together on the sides.

I probably won't start production of the mold until next week or the beginning of Feb. Once the mold is complete I will have the first batch of 12 made. This is the lowest number I can have produced.

Since the quality of the piece is pretty high the lowest price point I can go is 210 not including shipping and handling. I think this is pretty reasonable considering used original ones were going for $150-200 and the quality of the part was sub par.

If I get 12 firm people interested in buying the part I will give the word tomorrow to start production of the mold. I will not accept any funds until I have the parts in hand and ready to ship.
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Update 1/20/2008-

I will continue to move forward with producing the product regardless if there is another manufacturer in Hong Kong. I can say with confidence that the quality will be top notch and it will be a competitive price.

Sorry for the quick change in mind yesterday, thanks for setting it strait Meots98ITR.

EDIT:

I took a few pics of the original gurney flap to show you the quality deficiencies:

The below pictures displays the fitment on an ITR wing. Note the gap on the trailing edge of the wing and the corner of the part isn't flush. I plan to fix these fitment issues:





The below pictures show the seam on the sides and trailing edge of the gurney flap. Note the product was produced in two pieces and bonded together. I plan to produce the part from a single piece of dry carbon:




The below pic shows that the product is reinforced with a thick layer of fiberglass, adding weight and the possibility of separation of fibers and resin over time. This is done to add reinforcement to low quality hand laid carbon fiber. Again, I will be using pure dry carbon baked in an autoclave. This means there is no yellowing or deformation over time:



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Update 1/29/2008-

We thought we can build a one piece mold however it now appears that the mold will have to be produced in two pieces. We are NOT producing two pieces and gluing them together like the original part. The two piece mold is designed to attach together during the curing process. When the part is cured the mold will come apart in two pieces to release the part. This is more expensive and time consuming than just producing two halves and gluing them together, but it produces a much higher quality part made from a single piece of dry carbon. I'll see if I can snap a few pics for you guys. As this is now a two piece mold I am looking for it to be completed by the end of this week.
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Update 2/2/2008-

Slight snag-

As the mold was curing the original part yellowed and warped, causing a slight delay in completing the mold. We expect the mold to be completed by Tuesday. I should be able to show you pics of the mold on Tuesday and production of the part to start immediately after the mold is completed.

Sorry for the delay, I knew the original part was poor quality but I didn't expect this! The mold is baked at around 80-100 degrees with the original part encased in the mold. High quality carbon should easily be able to withstand 100 degree temperatures without breaking a sweat.
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Update 2/5/2008-

The mold is complete!!! The mold is made of high strength spectra cloth which will produce thousands of parts with no degradation in quality. As you can see this is a two piece mold which comes apart to reveal the finished product. The next step is to create a prototype part with the new mold, if no tweaks need to be made to the part/mold production of 20 gurney flaps will begin immediately.

I know the pictures are crappy, sorry about that, but please look closely at the quality of the parts/mold. This is not cheap stuff, i'm sure you guys can appreciate quality when you see it. Note the high quality racing parts and equipment in the shop. This is the real deal guys.

Enjoy:







This is the mold bolted together:




Here is the walk-in autoclave where the parts are cured under vacuum:





Here are a few items in the workshop. These parts are being designed for open wheel vehicles:





This part is designed to go into the nose of a formula vehicle. It is designed to absorb the impact of a crash at high speeds:







My wing!!!


Here is a mustang that is being mocked up for carbon fiber parts. This is the design room:



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Update 2/7/08-

The prototype is complete. Production of the parts will begin tomorrow. Here are a few teaser pics, i'll take some nicer ones tomorrow when the sun is out:






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2/7/08-

Although I have not set the price in stone, I expect aprox $220 including shipping within the US. When I have the final pieces ready for shipping I will create a new post on purchasing them with final cost.

I will accept paypal or if you are local to the bay area we can do the exchange in person.

All shipping will be via USPS priority mail which is usually 2-3 business days for delivery. If you require international shipping I will post contact information for your inquiry.

I am not posting any purchasing instructions till I have the products ready to ship.
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2/16/08 -

Hey guys,

We have produced 5 items, production is a little slow because the medium sized autoclave has to be used and it only cures items at 150-200 degrees. I am hoping to have all items produced by the end of next week.

Weights:

Original HK version: 11 oz

My improved version: 5.4 oz!!!

My version is 5.6 oz lighter than the original version. I know the weight difference is negligible but for such a small item that's a huge weight difference. I appreciate your support, I will do my best to get the products in your hands ASAP.
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Update 2/27/08 -

I have 5 gurney flaps in my hand ready to ship. The remaining ones will be completed tomorrow and ready to ship on Friday.
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Update 2/20/08:

I am targeting the first batch of 10 to be completed by this Friday, if I don't get it completed by Friday they should be completed by Monday at the latest.

Here are some more pictures of the prototype. Don't mind the small piece of tape in the middle of the wing, I just used it to hold the gurney flap on the car temporarily to take pictures:





















Here is the fam. The little guy is getting an early head start learning stick shift:




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Here are some more pics of the CF Gurney Flap with black tinted resin. Its hard to capture the true color on a camera, the differences in person are much more significant. The black tinted gurney flap doesn't reflect as much light:
















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Update 2/27/08 -

I will now be taking names. Please email me at: josh.quiroz@gmail.com if you are interested in buying a gurney flap.

Final price will be $220 shipped within the US. Please inquire for international shipping.




Modified by RPM at 9:08 AM 3/3/2008

[Ahh Vtec]

I'm down.

[nautica_t]

lol another person trying to do it.
i remember Composite Fab try to do it too, but they eventually just went out of business.

[get RIGHT]

Here we go again.

[RPM]

Yes, that's true. I'm an individual so I wont go out of business and I have the flexibility to go to any composites manufacturer I please.

FYI- I will be meeting with the composites manufacturer today or tomorrow to get an idea on the cost of the mold and production of the part. I'm serious about this BUT there has to be interest before moving forward.

[crxgator]

i would love to have one because i like the looks of em. but im not a serious buyer at the moment. what range are you looking at selling these? $120-150?

[jgirard]

IMHO I wouldn't be interested, I'd probably spend $100-150 on something else or save up for a m00gen wing if I thought I needed to make a change

[eksteve]

I'd but it!

[RPM]

I can probably come up with an amount after getting a handle on production costs. I should know this within the next couple of days.

[citrus3000psi]

I don't think I'd spend 120 bucks on that. Maybe 50.. And does this little piece actually do anything beside adding bling.

[azn_ignite]

i'm in also, i was so disapointed with composite fab when they got my hopes up

[RPM]

Google gurney flap.

Here is an excerpt from wiki:

The Gurney Flap (or wickerbill) is a small flat tab projecting from the trailing edge of a wing. Typically it is set at a right angle to the pressure side surface of the airfoil,[1] and projects 1% to 2% of the wing chord.[2] This trailing edge device can improve the performance of a simple airfoil to nearly the same level as a complex high-performance design.[3]

The device operates by increasing pressure on the pressure side, decreasing pressure on the suction side, and helping the boundary layer flow stay attached all the way to the trailing edge on the suction side of the airfoil.[4] Common applications occur in auto racing, helicopter horizontal stabilizers, and aircraft where high lift is essential, such as banner-towing airplanes.[5]

[JjuuN R]

I say do it.

[neo_]

Originally Posted by JjuuN R

I say do it.

You putting one on your Mugen 2nd gen wing or what?

[The Dude]

I got a Gurney flap on my wing.
Better than that monstrosity pictured above, which according to your defininition is not a Gurney flap.





Modified by The Dude at 1:58 PM 1/17/2008

[itr1244]

i wonder how much whp this will increase due to more downforce

[JjuuN R]

Originally Posted by neo_

You putting one on your Mugen 2nd gen wing or what?

Naaaw, are you nuts? LOL!

I'll take one for the stocker though.

[The Dude]

Originally Posted by JjuuN R

Naaaw, are you nuts? LOL!

I'll take one for the stocker though.

Why, it'll make you slower?

Oh yea... a crown for the King 0' Bling.

[CW-ITR]

It will mostly be determine by quality, the look and the cost. We "R" guys and gals don't mind to spend money on our caRs. But, I'm sure none of us want to throw away money at a low quality ugly looking part either.

[CW-ITR]

Originally Posted by itr1244

i wonder how much whp this will decrease due to more downforce

I know and you know that was what you meant

[CW-ITR]

Originally Posted by The Dude

Why, it'll make you slower?...

Slower in straight line but probably faster in the corners

[The Dude]

Originally Posted by CW-ITR

Slower in straight line but probably faster in the corners

Nope slower in the corners.

[meots98itr]

why dont you guys make them, then sell them. thats the only way you will know if you have people interested in having this product. there have been so many disapppointment in here about many people/company promised to make/sell their product/s. some fail and some succeed on riping other/s.

so why dont you just pm me and sell me your wing extension and i'll have it produce with no b.s. drama/excuse to it.

[nautica_t]

hah its true its true.

well "often replicated but never duplicated"

[CW-ITR]

Originally Posted by The Dude

Nope slower in the corners.

How fast you can go in the corners is not determine by the speed that carry the car through. But, mostly determine by how stable the car is through the corners and down force is part of the that stabilization