would this be good to use making custom controll arms and tierods, spliters and so on?

 

Splitters yes, although very expensive.
No market for that unless you own a team ,and have money falling from your behind.

Suspension parts i dont think id trust that quite yet.

 

isnt that what f1 cars use? idk i was just asking cause i can get some sheets for free from a buddy. but what if i used steel rod or aluminum rapped in kevlar? just to see if it works? i would have to vaccum it with the resin though.

 

IDK... Im assuming you have knowledge of carbon fiber, and kevlar fabrication?
If you have the means to prototype something, and test it, why not try it.
It would be a first for street versions im thinking?

Thats how millionaires are made.

 

A little experience in composites...

If you're getting sheets and cutting and shaping them for suspension parts you're really asking for a WHOLE lot of trouble. You're weakening the material in the very stresses you're needing them to be strongest against. You'll need to wrap the material around a core, think golf club shaft but larger.

I have a few hobbies that can be dangerous without a full understanding of techniques. Some questions are warning signs.

FWIW my best friend has a customer that works in one of the F1 shops and was sent some of their carbon fiber to use. Toughest carbon we've ever tried to shape. Had to use lapidary saws to cut it into usable blocks.

 

yeah that was the plan, wrap it around aluminum. idk ill see how it goes if i do this ill post some pics.

 

most places people race hondas won't allow aftermarket control arms. so the market for such an item is small. as it stands now, only drag racers and hard parkers buy those bling rear lca's

 

Control arms on formula cars exist only in pure tension and compression and cannot be compared to a production car that has bending moments with shocks, sway bars, and such attached.

 

Please don't..... and if you must find an engineer and a fabricator. This isn't something that people should just "see how it goes" without a lot of background.

 

STL can use them but outside of Super Touring its not allowed in most normal production classes.

Its a very small market in general but hey if you can giev it a shot why not.

 

if i wouldnr be alowed to use them i wont i was just thinking its cheaper than cf so its turned out okay then maybe i would do a hood and spliter too.

 

question? why wrap kevlar around aluminum and not just leave the aluminum alone. What is the advantage of wrapping it. Just for looks?.
And suspension parts made out of kevlar alone, I don't think I will be touching those.

 

Only thing kevlar/Arimid does is keep things light and so they dont shatter like carbon. Kevlar lets things streatch and bend something I wouldnt want for a suspension part. Kevlar is alot more expensive then carbon but you can wrap carbon around aluminum because it reacts to each other. In my opinion it would be a waiste.

 

Unless you know how to properly engineer any part, it is best not to use any material whether it be kevlar or steel. The OP should not pursue any use of the this kevlar for any suspension or other stuctural part without consulting someone who could tell him how to properly implement such material. That said, kevlar is not the best material to use for suspension members. Kevlar is typically used for its crack arresting properties rather than for its strength. In aircraft, we use carbon fiber mostly and only use kevlar on the underbelly of fuselage structure to protect against gear-up landings that would otherwise damage the carbon structure.

 

DO NOT just "idk ill see how it goes" Right there you state you have no idea what you're doing and putting critical components with no engineering design will get you or others hurt.

Don't mess with this stuff. And really, there's no point in designing/building kevlar suspension components unless you have a $500,000 car to go along with it.

 

No - you can't just use it for anything - what Billy said above.

How is this not locked yet? Adam must be on a binge somewhere

 

Again..."That's how millionaires are made..."

 

speaking of composites... i know someone will be announcing this year (very close now) full CF wheels. :-) yes, entire wheel is CF. not just the barrel like those dymag ones... i haven't seen it myself yet. and like most of you, i won't believe it until i see it.

if anyone could do it, this man can. he's got several autoclaves at his facility include one big enough to drive the whole car in. can't wait to see it.

 

There's a ton of them in Fsae actually. That I know of, they're not legal for anything other than that competition, and there is an allowance in scca solo for them on Fsae cars only.

 

This type of question is what scares me about most aftermarket companies. Do these places even have 1 real mechanical engineer designing the parts? That doesn't mean drawing a picture in CAD or Solidworks either.