SSmoked

i dont race my 4tec i just bash it, well i keep getting rocks stuck all over!! and its pissing me off, so i fabed up a little thing that so far has stopped all the rocks.. this cost about 3 bucks. i went to home depot and got a piece of .093 thick lexan plastic... i wouldnt suggest using this one, if you can find a thinner one do it!! this one cracks a little bit. the lexan from a car body works great.

heres the sheet before


cut the sheet down to size like this



and then unbolt a few screws and bolt them back in to hold the plastic on... i found on the 4tec the front 4 screws are very long and work great... and the back 4 are decently long and worked good too!

i havnt had a single rock problem yet, but because i used to thick of a lexan i have cracked it once. im on my second one now, it hold up pretty well but a thinner more flexible piece of lexan would be industructable!!!

5iN

You're my hero. Nice job man.

Joe Chaplow

tight work, but for anyone else who wants to try this, make sure you have a pull start engine (the starter box type of engines will not work with this set up due to the fact the plastic covers the flywheel).

SSmoked

yes sorry you cant use a starter box or a bump start, ez start or pull start only!!

Jonathan Repp

iTrader: (8)

You think these would have any effect if they covered the entire underbelly with the exception of suspension clearence?
(In otherwords, seal off the underside to prevent unwanted air travel)
I would think it would keep the cars planted better, but you would have to have some form of air-channel to keep the engines happy.

Good work.

SSmoked

not sure what your asking, didnt i cover the whole thing? i just layed it across the bottom of the chassis. so im a little confused. are you meaning extend it clear out to the body? if thats so yes u can, u will just have to cut out slots for the wheels, i was thinking about doing that my self.

by the way .093 thick is too thick!! i just cracked my 2nd one, deff need to find some thing thinner, or atleast more flexible! bodys are made from .043 i think? and thats the perfect thickness for this.

Jonathan Repp

iTrader: (8)

Yep. I would imagine it would keep air from causing lift, while at the same time, cutting through it better.


You might try using a ski-skin material. (Basicly like a thick clear decal) That'll keep the rocks out without lossing much ground clearence.

Phatkat

iTrader: (14)

Monster truck bodies are generally .030-.060, and TC bodies are usually .020-.025.

SSmoked

well if anyone finds a place to find a flat sheet of something less than .05 let me know! i still cant find any. ive looked all over. next time im in portland ill try to check out lowes and ill check my hobby shop and see what they say. other wise im stumpped.

asw7576

I think you have invented ground effect & no more chassis scrathces

B.LaFrance

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK955&P=7

Will that do?

SSmoked

yes it does stop chassies scratches... but that isnt ground affects... dont konw where u got that... and that tower hobbies link YES!!!! i just ordered it!! thats exactly what you need! mine is on the way!

asw7576

It's still ground effect because the lexan plate cover almost the bottom of chassis. As you increase the speed of the car, the air moving underneath the chassis is moving faster than the air moving outside the body. The pressure underneath of the car drop and thus the ground effect begin. This is why F1 cars are built totally flat underneath the car so they can drive faster in high speed corner. Arytonn Senna died because his car lost ground effect ( his car chassis was too low to ground ) at Tamburello, a 200mph corner

Why don't you try it ? Make sure the car's ride height is low enough so the ground effect is existence. You can take a high speed corner faster you know

Sorry, my explaination is technical.

Clegg

iTrader: (9)

F1 cars arent totally flat underneath... they have a series of very complex strakes and diffusers to move air around under the car and maximize the effect. Its quite a contoured uder"wing" on most F1 cars now. But a flat bottom WILL induce some ground effects.

And NO... Senna DID NOT die due to ground effects... he died due to steering failure. I read the accident report and final verdict from the trial over it not too long ago, and the theory was that the steering rack broke, or some part in it busted.

asw7576

I watched How Senna died from Discovery Channel " Second from Disaster ". After further investigation by Discovery channel, it was concluded Senna's car was losing ground effect at Tamburello bent due to low tyre pressure ( lower ride height ) and cold tyre ( less grip ) after long period of pace car on the track. Williams F1 team were released from steering incident because it wasn't the real cause of his death. The real cause of his death is actually the impact itself against the side wall. The side wall so close to the track, thus it was not wide enough sand traps to stop a loss control car. After the incident, San Marino track were ordered to renovate the tamburello bent so it has less entry speed, more sand trap, and further away the wall from the road.

The picture depicts the current tamburello corner today.