jim_chung

iTrader: (2)

I thought I'd start a new thread in light of new developments.

Fortune favours the bold because it certainly did for me early this morning.

I was heading downtown just after sunrise to take some portraits of the car in uber retro look against the backdrop of some seedy graffitti strewn cobblestone lined alleyway. I had just entered the freeway and going about 120 kph (75 mph) when I saw (and heard) in the rear view mirror the side panels of Targa band fly off shortly followed by the center panel. Luck was with me because traffic was lighter than normal and the panels didn't hit any cars behind me and there was time for them to bounce around and land on the side of the road instead of being run over. And because I had just exited the on ramp I was still in the far right lane, closest to the shoulder.

And as luck would have it, there was a rare breakdown lane to park the car safely out of traffic's way.

What shape would the panels be I wondered as I tracked them down one at a time?

Aside from some road rash to the fiberglass requiring some sanding and repainting, they all survived well. The passenger side panel came off first, followed by the driver's and then the center panel. Even the emblems came off from the force of impact but I managed to find them!

So this calls for a radical upgrade in magnet power, larger ones and more of them. If I can keep the side panels on, I think there's enough retention to hold the center panel in but all three panels will need massive magnetic upgrades. Who would have thought that there was such strong aerodynamic forces back there able to affect such low profile shapes. Well, some of you guys did!

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

I'm not going to say it ...

You could use 3M emblem tape to put them on but that will be semipermanent.

Good news you could recover it all and take it back for a redo.

lwrobins

A good story! I have thought about adding a rear spoiler to my 85 but just cant come to the point of drilling any holes.. Hope this second round of magnets works.
Cheers to Toronto, great city! spent some time in Mississauga playing hockey..

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

Have you thought about the magnets they use in hard drives? Those suckers will pinch your finger if you get it in between the magnet and metal.

jim_chung

iTrader: (2)

Happy to announce that the panels stayed on up to 130 kph. This time I used an empty country road for my initial speed tests and then confirmed in freeway traffic. I upgraded to the highest grade N52 neodymium magnets and also increased the size of them from 0.5" diameter disc to a 1x0.5" rectangle. I placed a dozen per panel and clamping force is about 3x previous attempt.

jim_chung

iTrader: (2)

Alleyway Rx7:


https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Rx7Im...j4b3UouOKaMzgw