New undertray/flat bottom idea

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Tulok

So my friend has this carbon fiber roll that he has to keep in the fridge. Basically, when you take it out you have a few minutes to cut it to size, wrap it, lay it, whatever you want, and then heat it with a heat gun to harden it completely. I was trying to find out where he got it from, but he's really busy and I don't live next door anymore so it's hard to keep in touch.

Anyways, I was thinking of making flat undertrays by fastening it in between the frame rails of a car with large rivets or bolts or something, then I realized that I could probably just use heavy duty fabric.



Why couldn't I use some fire proof canvas or fiberglass cloth and make a whole undertray? By stretching the fabric tight and bolting or by making wedges to pinch it along the edges it should be strong enough to not flap in the wind.

I know isn't 100% air tight, but it's also not 100% "heat tight" so it may be a good compromise between ventilating transmissions and exhausts and not letting air get all turbulent underneath the vehicle.

Another Idea I had was to make the thing, then coat it in resin with a brush, a few layers to firm it up. then I would be able to cut out or louver it in areas that need venting. it would also retain it's shape when taken off of the vehicle that way

Thoughts?

Even if you dope the fabric,unless you have stiffeners built in every so often,it will be subject to aeroelastic effects and will eventually fail from flexure fatigue (flutter).

[Otto]

The carbon fiber, fiberglass, or bedsheet with resin ideas will all work, but require a smooth flat table to lay up on to get a smooth, flat surface. They'll also require stiffeners.

And, they'll also require a LOT more time, money, and work than Coroplast sheeting, and probably won't work as well.

Contact a loser politician from the last election and see if they have used 4X8 sheets of Coro, for free.