Ok after i wrecked my car the other night i really noticed the big openspace under my car, would it be bad to make a lexan (or similar) belly pand that bolts up under the car that covers the big open space between the bumper's edge and the radiator? if i made it from something like lexan or another durable flexable plastic would that be a good idea? or does the car need the air flowing UNDER the car too to keep the radiator and oil cooler functioning properly, it'd make sense that adding a belly pan (or whatever you want to call it) would only help the car, bot in aerodynamics and cooling . . anyways lemme know if i'm on to something or not . . . i searched for this topic, and i decided to post this since its not a thread that comes up every day like "Can I turbocharge my N/A?" so yeah . .

 

You need the belly pan for proper cooling.

Don't use Lexan, it's too brittle. The stock is ABS plastic. Aluminium would probably be the easiest thing to work with, and very durable.

 

thanks aaron once again you come to the rescue "my hero" lol cool i'll go down to Lowes or Home Depot and pick up some aluminum some time, i'd really prefer a large piece of ABS though, anybody got plastic connection or know where i can pick some up. are you sure lexan is too brittle, i thought it had a good flex factor? maybe i'm not thinking of the right plastic i know acyrlic is also to brittle . . ummmmmm dammit, got find large black ABS sheet!!! I knew i needed that stupid piece. Another thing my car came without, just like a spare, madd tyte weight reduction, that currently keeping me from being able to drive my car

 

i think alluminum will be easier to use. I got down under the car to make the pan one day and realised how many different shapes you have to bend you stock to to get it to reach the proper mounts.

 

wel i dont really have a metal bender either . . .

 

If you get 1/8" thick (0.125") sheets, you can bend it with your hands or a rubber mallet. Say you wanted to bend one of the edges, then draw a line where the crease should be, then lay it over a table with the line on the edge of the table. You can easily bend it by hand or with a rubber mallet or something. Its going to be under the car, it doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work. Not many people are going to see it.

 

I do exactly that, aluminum sheets, I basically use cardboard and bend it up & bolt it in place, then I go around and draw lines on the cardboard at each bend/etc (I usually cut it up to fit/etc the way i want as well), then I take it down, trace it on, then move the lines over from the cardboard to the metal (after I cut it, made the mistake of following the wrong lines many of times), then when i have it cut I copy lines, bend it pretty much to spec using what I remember/test-fitting, then i drill the boltholes and away i go.

 

cool, yeah i forgot about the cardboard template thing . . which i've used before with succes
do oyu guys think diamond plate aluminum would be going too far? its approx 1/8" thick and plenty strong, not too heavy either . . . i know it under the car and kinda of an overkill buy the stuff is nice and thick and heel its pretty i love diamond plate, i should make an aluminum diamond plate diffuser since thos RE Amemiya ones cost a buttload!

 

bah - go to the junkyard - hahahaha
i got mine for $3 and took no time to get it

 

You can get treadplate in .100 thickness, but it will still be a pita to form up and won't look pretty by the time it is shaped.

I'd just pick a stock one up at the recyclers.

 

Lexan is actually pretty flexible, it's plexyglass that's brittle, they are two very different things. I've been wondering about making a belly pan / splitter for my car for a while but I was wondering if it needs to be closer to the ground to become effective for downforce or would it be fine at the base of the bumper (stock ride height). It would be possible to make a small extension on the bottom of the bumper to lower the splitter (made of aluminum too) but that'd take alot longer to do and would introduce new sealing issues with the rad. Does anyone have any input on this?

 

Where is this pan you guys are talking about? I have some shredded black plastic bits hanging from the bottom of my front bumper and I noticed there are some 10mm bolts back on the crossmember under the engine. I always wondered if there was some aero pan that went underneath and covered all that stuff up.

 

umm... .1"?

You aint gonna be able to bend that **** if its steel...

 

i thought lexane was more flexable, yeah plexi is ****, pure **** i bought some at Lowe's and while trying to jig saw it it cracked in half

 

Hah, one time at VIR I discovered that my pan was missing, I had just had a bunch of work done and picked up the car in a hurry, and they forgot to put the pan back on. I ended up making one out of a couple of plastic "for rent" signs I purchased at the home depot, held on with zip ties. Dropped coolant temps by a good 15 degrees with it installed.

 

.100" is less than the 1/8" (.125") treadplate that he was talking about.

I my many years of different jobs, I have worked as a millwright, blacksmith and rebuilt railroad cars.

You should see what a 750 ton press can do with a 4x8 sheet of 7/16" plate.

Biggest problem with the aluminum, is it does not like to bend without fracture and when trying to heat form, the heat dissapates too quickly.

He can probably form a steel one out of 1/8" plate with a curved face hammer and a sand bag, but my arms would tire long before the job is done.

18-22 guage tin (duct work tin) would be a better choice, plus it's galvinized.

 

^ I was talking about aluminum. Duct tin would be a good choice though.

 

i'll stick with the tread plate or plastic, unless any one has an extra belly pan?

 

Yes, you can get aluminum treadplate in the above thicknesses. I covered my shop floor in 1/8", wanted the .100, but it would have been special order and the price doubled.

 

Junkyard, unless you live by my motto of "why buy one for $25 when I can make one for $75"...then add "I can make two for 4 times the cost"

 

haha, yeah i think i'll just make the diamond plate one, bling bling, maybe see if i can make a matching diffuser similar to the RE one, only it'd be cooler b/c it'll be diamond plate

 

The tread plate or diamond plate looks good, but who will see it unless you run them over with the car?

 

^ who cares, when i have to look at it it'll look cool and all the roadkill will be like "mad tyte, and its not rice, b/c diamond plate is redneck not rice!!!", plue when i go to car shows ( . . hahaha!!) i could lay mirror aroung my car to show my clean underside . . HAHAHAHAHA

 

until you drive on a gravel road... a week later your diamond plate is rust plate.

 

ALUMINUM oh yes, rust, aluminum doesn't rust, READ