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Old 11-22-2008, 04:30 PM   #95 (permalink)
trebuchet03
MechE
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,151

The Miata - '01 Mazda MX-5 Miata
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tasdrouille View Post
Roughly how much are we talking about? You can put me on the list. Maybe posting a link in the fuel economy forum over at TDIclub.com would get some more interested. Having seen some of your prior work I have no doubt it'll be done right.
I'll have to look into it... I'm hesitant to post any numbers as of yet until I get some documentation and a final thing working I'd appreciate it if you didn't cross link just yet (if they find by themselves, that's cool) - I don't want anymore hype than already exists

As a reference, last year's HPV had a plug and tooling cost around $1500, but that included a lot of foam but didn't include a few donated supplies. This thing isn't as big as that vehicle, but there's a few thing I'd do differently to ensure quality.

If I were to do it....
* It would be fiberglass - at least two layers of an undecided weight/weave
* It would have a few light (foam?) stiffeners
* It would have a few hard (aluminum or wood) mounting components laid up inside
*It would be vacuum bagged - because I can and it reduces weight and increases finish/quality
* I would target a weight under 10 lbs
* It would be made for kit purposes - you get a glass shell, that's it. No window cutout, nothing. You'd need to come up with a mounting scheme (copying me or otherwise). MAYBE I'd pigment the resin white or black.

The materials cost alone aren't so bad.... Probably under $100 if certain items are bought at bulk rates. Shipping would suck.

But again, this is all speculation - I need working prototype first to document any gains... That means, it's installed - tested with what I have available.
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