I'm loocking to making my own radiator panel but was wondering what thickness should I get?

 

Which panel...top, bottom or else? Something like the corksport one (search)?

 

if u are doing that one that u visably see when u pop the hood it depends on the material.

aluminum maybe 1/16"-1/8"
steel 1/16-1/8"
fiberglass 1/8" min
carbon fiber 1/8" min

 

1/8" steel or aluminum is such ridiculous overkill. 16 Ga or thinner will be fine.

 

thus why I said 1/16"-1/8"

 

pardon my incompitence but where would one be able to get sheets of aluminum, etc?

 

It would be going on the top, while i'm at it i'm thinking of making a shield for my intake.

 

1/16 was borderline too thick

www.metalsdepot.com
www.onlinemetals.com
www.metalsupermarket.com

Good ole HomeChepot but I prefer Lowes. Any good hardware store or buy mine

 

well I am one for sitting on that part of the car or setting things on it and if it is to thin and it gets hot it could warp or bend...

its not to thick.. it wont hinder it and weight if u buy aluminum is not much at all

 

Hey OP I just started a similar theard except I am looking for the measurements. If you need a picture of the panel just go to my thread.


JP

 

+1 for the aluminum - steel I think would be though

 

What about carbon fiber? My buddy has one on his ride.

What advantage does this give to cooling?
Doesn't the stock setup direct air?

I'm asking cause I currently have this area gutted and I'm intrested in getting better air flow.

 

Well it would direct most of the air to your radiator.

 

if u have that area gutted then u will get a NOTICABLE amount of cooling back to the radiator...

carbon fiber wont cool any better then any other material.. it is not the material doing the cooling all the panel is there for is just to stop the air from going up and over the radiator..

 

so the best thing would be to remove those plastic trays in there and then install one of these panels and call it a day?

 

The plastic baffles accomplish the same task. It's doubtful that the upper rad panel provides more cooling airflow then the stock plastic baffles, but it certainly cleans up that area visually.

 

For sure...when the hood is closed that area is pretty well "sealed" anyways. Not ideally, but the air certainly isn't going to go over the rad or anything ridiculous so long as the hood's closed.

I noticed zero difference before and after making mine.

The belly pan is another story though

+1 - my only motivation for making it.......along with the thought that it would help cooling. But the thought never materialized into reality

 

What else could I do to increase air flow. I plan on relocating the horns and cutting the brackets. I'll tape the wiring behing the Metal tube.

I have an N/A that has the front bumper crosses cut out. I figured mazda designed those for better airflow but at the same time they put horns in the way.
Should I keep them or will it help removing them?