That material has raised an eyebrow for me as well. I have long thought about creating a splitter for the Viper to market but time was a big factor for me and still is. I do like Daves current splitter though.
Let me give a little background on why I did my first one like I did - flat blade versus otherwise.
I have a general knowledge of plastics and composites well past average sans over 3 decades in chemical engineering in an industrial environment. Not an expert in any one area but certainly a broad enough understanding to realize I didn't want my hobby to have to go beyond simple when it comes to processing the raw material into a part.
So I decided to go with the flat blade design for ease of fabrication, and the rest of the challenge was would it fit the car, and could it be made to look decent. I accomplished both.
I needed a sheet of something. CF, FRP, whatever it would be. I needed a sheet. I had no luck in my limited knowledge of cf coming up with something. And cf is one area of composites that in industry we use zilch. But structural frp we use a lot of. I've designed and built many structures from it, and the sheet is available. It is also kinda pricey, but way less than cf.
A few phone calls and I hit a gold mine. A vendor I use had a 48 x 96 x 1/2 sheet that had been collecting dust, for $300. Retail price near $1000. And you get 2 splitters per sheet. Sweet. The economics for my venture were good.
Without delving into all the additional things that add complexity and cost to my splitter build, any chance of making this part for other people hinges first on finding an economical material for the blade. My once in a lifetime score of that frp sheet is over, plus that stuff is heavy. Even the material in the link above is pricey (but probably way lighter than structural frp). Would 1/4" instead of 1/2" work? Dunno, and would be cheaper for sure. If they cut it would that reduce cost as maybe less scrap is generated? Dunno, but I will contact them to get a feel for things.
Meanwhile, additional ideas or material suggestions on the blade would be great.
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coiner of biggest, sprinkler boy coiner of ~TommyWesterner~ discoverer that the 2 button rep system has too many options
Dave if you decide to, or able to, get this splitter into some kind of group buy/mass production state....I want one! This, only if the Mobil 1 stickers are completely optional.
Things I have done in the past for Viper owners I have never really been concerned with what the profit is. Like in beer, food, fat ho's, or whatever. If I was able to make a production run of these, I would do so at marginal profit, just because I'm that kind of guy.
Anyway, I want to clarify (or re-clarify...) some of the economics.
-> Getting a suitable and inexpensive material for the blade is step one. Do not proceed to step two unless step one is done.
-> It could be done in the inset design like my first one, which would not require support cables.
-> It could also be done in a full design that cables would be recommended, so I'd have to design some of course. That would cost more. FYI support cables might be difficult on a TT car because of the intercooler.
-> I would not try to incorporate the Roe fascia air duct into it like I did on my first one. That was a major fabrication job and requires removal of the fascia.
-> The closure strip I fabricated on my first splitter to blend it in with the body was hand fit to my car with the splitter on the car. I cannot at this point envision having a closure panel fit as good as mine did, without having the car there to fit it to. So, likely then, no closure panel, but they do look good without it, as any Gen 2 I've ever seen with a blade type splitter, none have had the panel.
-> The supports / air deflectors at the front of the wheel wells were once again hand made / hand formed and I would probably have to keep it that way. But I would consider those to be a necessary part so it is what it is
The good news is that I have several test dummy cars besides mine available to fit things to, here in the DFW area. Fitting the blade and the cables themselves would not be a concern, but the wheel well pieces could start to demonstrate the minute differences in these cars when it comes time to make them fit another car, after fabbing them based on mine.
Dave if you decide to, or able to, get this splitter into some kind of group buy/mass production state....I want one! This, only if the Mobil 1 stickers are completely optional.
I'd love to have a CF front splitter, CF side splitters and CF rear MOPAR style wing...quality parts...but I realize this may take a number of years since I don't know anybody out there making these...high quality parts.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your project...looking forward to your solution.
I had a very productive conversation with the rep for Tegris today. Enough so to visualize that this could go to production, and not just remain another idea that vaporizes into lack of continued enthusiasm.
What I'm going to do, is continue this thread to collect some of the wants (or not wants...) from the various interested parties. People that have previously posted build me one. But not a poll, as to me there is no accountability to a poll. Just a few yes/no questions. That will probably lead to a few more.
BTW, the Tegris rep I spoke to owns a Gen 2 and Gen 4 ACR. So, um... Yeah.
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