this was for our formula sae car, i'm planning on making a similar one for the civic

 

thats not finish product is it?

so whats under the carbon fiber? sheetmetal? is the carbon fiber suppose to keep the heat off the manifold?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lam.N &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats not finish product is it?

so whats under the carbon fiber? sheetmetal? is the carbon fiber suppose to keep the heat off the manifold?</TD></TR></TABLE>
no not a finished product, and yes its a thin layer of aluminum with a carbon fiber shell supporting it. mostly for weight concerns

 

is taht what the finished product is gonna look like? Are you guys professionals at composites?

Im honestly not that impressed with it. I think if I were to build a box style upper, I would have molded the aluminium, and built the upper in 2 pieces. Use vaccuum infusion (or standard bagging, then joined the top and bottom sections. The runners could be drilled out of the base and the runners could also be done 2 piece. The end result would be a much nicer finished product...and stronger

 

Formula SAE is a college engineering design/race competition. This is student work, give the guy a break.

Edit: but yea... you guys need to get your act in gear. I hear the UIUC team is looking pretty good this year.

 

You really shouldn't have posted pics of that....that's pretty damn rough.

As far as saying it's student work....my first carbon fiber lays in my spare bedroom didn't look nearly that shot. No offense to you (original poster), just saying that's a pretty rough effort. Time to get to work and update with some pics of the finished product.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RC000E &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You really shouldn't have posted pics of that....that's pretty damn rough.

As far as saying it's student work....my first carbon fiber lays in my spare bedroom didn't look nearly that shot. No offense to you (original poster), just saying that's a pretty rough effort. Time to get to work and update with some pics of the finished product.</TD></TR></TABLE>
i'm open for suggestions on how to improve it... if you have any tips

 

look up a few posts...

Do you have vaccuum baggin capabilities? I would use a dense cloth (more than 2ktwill) for it due to the strength factor. Carbon fiber is made for purpose, not looks... having an aluminium base kills the whole point of a carbon fiber intake. Stick to all aluminium or all cf

 

do you have a layer of fiber glass between the carbon and aluminum? if not you have created a battery!!!

 

just curius as how that would make a "battery"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integrawhat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just curius as how that would make a "battery"</TD></TR></TABLE>
ditto

 

Good luck this year man. Here is the one I did for our car back in '03.

 

the CF intake manifold on the psu car this year is gorgeous... wish i had a pic for you guys

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blackcivic44 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the CF intake manifold on the psu car this year is gorgeous... wish i had a pic for you guys</TD></TR></TABLE>

When I was over at the learning factory I saw the one on the car from last year. It looked pretty sick, I was quite impressed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2muchboost2blow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no not a finished product, and yes its a thin layer of aluminum with a carbon fiber shell supporting it. mostly for weight concerns</TD></TR></TABLE>

What is the point using CF laminated over AL?

Aren't you concerned with the AL expansion and contraction?

 

"(handmade carbon fiber intake manifold... please dont drool all over it )"

seems like the only person drooling over that thing would be the person making it and to quote Carlos Mencia I am giving you a big "DEE DA DEE"

I am sorry to make fun but I had to get that out ..keep working at it and look into diff ways to work with that stuff


Modified by autosport7 at 12:01 PM 3/20/2006

 

it looks like a pretty short design, will that work well from an efficiency standpoint? also are you using any sort of velocity stacks inside? if you are it looks like your plenium will be too short to give enough air flow to each cyl. i agree with what others have said. sheet metal is great, cf is great, but together is somewhat useless.

but don't mind what they say about the exterrior look, just as long you don't enter into any asthetic competitions you will be fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2muchboost2blow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i'm open for suggestions on how to improve it... if you have any tips </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well there are a couple of ways you could have approched this project. It looks like this is an overlay really with lots of extra resin. I think the easiest way to build this part is to build a 3D plug or pattern from foam or tooling board. Then shot it with a thick filling primer and then polish up to the finish desired. Then create a parting flange(s) which will allow y uoto pull two mold halves from the plug. Then lay up into those sections using wet layup and a vacuum bad at min. or even vacuum infuse the part. Infusion might not be the best if you've never done it before. Now you have two parts that can be bonded together to create your finished part. You could probably have a IM flange with pre0runners that would accept the ends of each carbon runner tube. I think using something like this would make you happier with the finished product. The next step up might be bladder molding but then you're talking about more cash and time. For one piece it really isn't worth it. Good luck, I know hard hard you guys work on your cars

Oh yah I almost forgot, a guy on my foprum is doing something similar, you can see his plug here and a couple of vids of the machining of the plug.

http://www.racingcomposites.net/unt?id=374

 

wheres the finish product...right now it doesnt look so great..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integrawhat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just curius as how that would make a "battery"</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well when two dissimilar materials are touching you can have a problem with galvanic corrosion. Aluminum and carbon can have issues but throwing a thin layer of fiberglass between the two materials in the layup will avoid the problem. The problem can also be solved by making sure the bond gap is sufficient, use resin as an insulator but this requires more precision. You just don't want the open end of any fiber touching AL.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2muchboost2blow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i'm open for suggestions on how to improve it... if you have any tips </TD></TR></TABLE>
did you guys vaccuseal it? or use prepreg rolls, you can cut down on the epoxy use considerably.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dasher &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

What is the point using CF laminated over AL?

Aren't you concerned with the AL expansion and contraction?</TD></TR></TABLE>
not to mention the electro-chemical reaction between the two.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ash J. Williams &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
not to mention the electro-chemical reaction between the two.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmmm, and those are fuel injector bungs too huh? I wonder what if...

 

The out side dosent matter at all you got to make sure the inside it right. Your going to have to make a mold and cut it in half and to a two piece job.

 

1. choose either all aluminum of all cf - either will work, both is just dead weight
2. epoxy bonds like **** to Al because the surface has a weak oxide layer - read this book to educate yourself more on composites: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/...s.php
3. do a better layup - you have way more resin than you need. Extra resin = weaker and heavier
4. why CF? You're only using one ply, with a fabric that's maybe 6-8 ozs./yard - you could use FG and have a part that is only 2-3 ozs. heavier per yard (you probably aren't even using a quarter of a yard) and much more drapable and shitloads cheaper.

lastly, what's up with all the blingmasters talking about the finish for a race car - who gives a ****