civic splitter

[k.civic.f4i]

anyone?

[Christ]

The general consensus seems to be one that: "It couldn't really hurt anything."

I'd try it with something cheap first, like a junk piece of metal. I wouldn't spend too much money on it until you can prove it's a decent mod.

[k.civic.f4i]

thanks.will do

[pstrbrc]

Been meaning to jump in here, but all that rabbittrailing about wings just made my eyes roll to the back of my head.
I intuitively like the idea of a splitter that becomes the front bellypan. The splitter front edge minimizes how much air is pushed downward and then becomes the flat surface that stabilizes (no, that's not the right word, but my brain isn't thinging "engineerese" tonight) the turbulent air heading "south" below the car. In fact, I'm not sure that on a car with a fairly "clean" bottom, that a splitter/front bellypan (say, back to the front control arms) and then fairing from the rear suspension back to the bumper (to get good transition to the wake) wouldn't be better than just bellypanning the whole car. When I get caught up on hunnydo's that's my plan for the Escort.
For the vertical air dam I'm planning on using 4" rubber baseboard molding, and using a piece of ABS sheet I picked up at the local aircraft mfg surplus store for the splitter/bellypan. Screws going up through the abs into the fat part of the baseboard molding, baseboard molding screwed to the lower part of the plastic bumper cover....
(yes, dear, I'll finish the cabinets first...)

[k.civic.f4i]

man..pstrbrc: you are a scatter brain(not a bad thing). the splitter/ belly pan is what i had in mind from the beginning. the only problem though is that functional splitters are usually made from plywood and usually require additional support.

you might want to make sure that you heat protect the abs plastics because they are known to melt(motorcycle fairings not protected from heat)

[pstrbrc]

Originally Posted by k.civic.f4i

man..pstrbrc: you are a scatter brain(not a bad thing). the splitter/ belly pan is what i had in mind from the beginning. the only problem though is that functional splitters are usually made from plywood and usually require additional support.

you might want to make sure that you heat protect the abs plastics because they are known to melt(motorcycle fairings not protected from heat)

Ummm... I prefer to think of myself as suffering from Minimal Brain Dysfunction. (That was how we with ADD were referred to back in my childhood.)

The second gen Escorts had several small overlapping splash shields, with mounting points pretty evenly distributed around the front of the car. So there's plenty of places already there to attach the bellypan. And, yes, I'm planning on making the part of the belly pan under the engine and around the exhaust out of aluminum flashing. And the biggest reason a "functional splitter" is made out of something structural is that at high speeds it's being sucked downward, which is where the downforce generated by a splitter comes from. But that takes a splitter closer to the ground than I'm going, and higher speeds than I'm travelling. At 70 mph a splitter 5" off the ground isn't going to experience much downward force. The most downforce will be right around the front edge, and if the rubber baeboard molding isn't strong enough, I'm planning on running short cables from the bumper cover to through the splitter to a washer-and-pin setup, but put this behind the rubber baseboard to minimize the visual impact.

[k.civic.f4i]

sorry man. i didnt mean that as an insult. i think ill create the splitter separate from the belly pan just in case it doesn't work. im gonna use the material that clipboards are made of(not sure if its wood or hard pressed cardboard). $5 for a 4'x8' sheet at osh hardware.

[pstrbrc]

Originally Posted by k.civic.f4i

sorry man. i didnt mean that as an insult.

None taken. Just 'splainin' that I almost always sound scatterbrained, and I think it's normal.

i think ill create the splitter separate from the belly pan just in case it doesn't work. im gonna use the material that clipboards are made of(not sure if its wood or hard pressed cardboard). $5 for a 4'x8' sheet at osh hardware.

Tempered masonite? Are you gonna epoxy over it? Even though the surfaces are kinda waterproof, the edges you cut won't be. But, yeah, making them separate pieces will make it easier if the spoiler gets biffed.

[k.civic.f4i]

yeah that stuff. im gonna test to see if it has any mpg benefit. if it doesnt than maybe just primer and spray flat black