Originally Posted by
redbones
I wanted to know if sealing the edges of a CF chassis is still necessary.
Back in the days, the production technology was not as good as today's, so de-lamination was an issue. Some people argue that this is not the case anymore, and that letting CA soak into the edges actually change the intended flex characteristics of the chassis. Is this true, and if so, how much stiffer will the chassis get? Does team drivers run sealed chassis? Would like to see a myth buster episode on this
Sealing still prevents de lamination of the material, especially at the front end of the chassis, where the bumper is and at the rear, when bad tumbles can sometimes lead to impacts on the chassis.
Rick's trick works well, it does not necessarily prevent the de lamination form impact, but it does help with some of the chipping of the material, especially if you sand after the loctite a bit.
I doubt that you would be able to tell the difference between a sealed and unsealed chassis performance wise. The changes to flex are so minimal, if any at all. After a couple of track days all chassis break in and de laminate becoming softer anyways, much more so than what the CA edge would strenthen.
The decision as to if you are sealing or not should have a lot to do with your track and yourself. Are you an unexperienced driver? Does your track have hard, tough barriers? Do you crash hard? If your answer to the above is yes, then You should probably seal it.
Personally I seal mine 99% of the time, given that I have the time. To me it looks nicer and gives me a little more durability. I don't crash often, but running mod sometimes accidents are inevitable.
When i am in a rush to build, I do the loctite trick at least.