Arragonis' Fabia Mod Thread

[Brillig]

At the risk of thread necrophilia, I would like to object to the previous comments re: Young Mr. Grace, as some of us on this side of the pond do indeed take note of things British and Humorous.
On a more aerodynamic note, ABS plastic is excellent for aero projects, easily cut with wood working grade tools, not brittle, and has excellent thermal properties. Quite suitable for 'baffles' of the sort being discussed, as well as air dams, and kamm-back. Heat treated will bend and if 'shocked' with cold/iced water will take a set.

[Arragonis]

I'm not sure about the Young Mr Grace comment, but if it offended then apologies it wasn't meant to, just to be funny

Materials wise I have made an initial version in foam board - not waterproof but what I have to hand and easily modified just in case. I also have some reflective insulation stuff which I may add to block heat some more.

I'll probably leave the grill blocked for the moment to monitor intake temps and then put some holes just in front of the air intake to encourage colder air in.

The Intercooler is harder to get at as it is behind the right hand side (from the driving seat) fog light, but the good part is that any heat from that will also be shielded.

But... all that tapped I was out doing gardening duties last night to create some mod-time at the weekend and discovered a broken roof tile - damn! So I have to get a tile cut and fitted before any rain and obviously that became a no.1 priority...

[Brillig]

I also, was but making an attempt at humor. '...Being Served?' is well known to fans of British humor this side of the pond. No offense taken, friend.
I am concerned - certainly, the 'broken tile' only becomes an issue when it rains - and surely you do not propose to fix it in the rain? Defer, defer.
Speaking more Aerodynamically, foam board aka 'foam core' can readily be made waterproof with an application of epoxy or epoxy paint. Works quite well. Paper element absorbs the resin, stays smooth (thin applications are best).
I am making 'compartments' in the radiator area after the example being discussed, using 'foam core/foam board'. I have a 'NACA duct' type arrangement on the lower front deflector, pushing air up in front of the radiator, already, this 'compartment' will make that more efficient, so I think, we will see. NACA ducting is not really intended for applications where a 'diffused' air stream is used, but it seems it works well, and is perhaps cleaner than a conventional 'leading edge duct'. Looks neat, anyway.
Nice thread, an idea I had not really thought much on.
Will

[Arragonis]

I have a replacement tile but it is one at the end of the roof and therefore needs cutting to fit, roughly in half. The tiles are clay / concrete / pot / whatever they are made of.

Being not of the DIY clan I do not have the required Stihl saw however I do have a small angry grinder so I have purchased a diamond cutting disk for that and a concrete saw (it was on clearance at the DIY emporium) to slice a spare tile to fit. I plan to fix that later tonight, it rains here in Scotland - a lot. I have a few spare tiles too, luckily

Thanks for the tip of the foam board, my other (wife induced) weekend project is some painting and seeing as I will have the brushes and stuff out...

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Oooo, this I'd like to see. What kind of camera are you going to use?

I've also got a camera in the car - a Contour HD 720p - but I'm not that impressed with image quality.

It's mounted on the windshield using a custom-made angled support, and sits in front of and slightly below the rearview mirror.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Oooo, this I'd like to see. What kind of camera are you going to use? My current method of recording (webcam+laptop) is now obsolete because of the battery's age - only 20-30 minutes of juice

Prepare to be disappointed...



Its basically a cheapo camera from fleabay + an 8GB micro SD card. The mount on the windscreen broke (did I mention it was cheapo) so I rigged this up instead. I actually bought two but both mounts broke in the same way...

I am looking at editing my trip home (72 MPG average ) and will post a link later or tomorrow.

These are cheap on ebay and not too bad, in fact cheap enough to risk it (mine was £10 each) even though the support email is ignored. The Micro SD card I got for free via work so I can record about 90 mins.

The video is shaky though, the headrest moves a lot.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Prepare to be disappointed...

I am - I can't see the image Its url appears to be invalid, but I didn't contact the forum's administrator this time

A Snr (I can call you that since your son is A Jnr? Or does it make you feel too old?), do you have some pics of your engine bay, with and without decorative plastics? Maybe if we cheer you on then you'll get it done sooner?
If these pics are already posted then plz just give me a link and I'll go whip myself...

[Arragonis]

I am experimenting with Ubuntu, amongst other things so I failed on the pics.

On the plus side though I did manage to complete my roof repair including the angry grinder, and most of the scraping for painting - so I have more time for the mods this weekend. I will post loads of pics.

Including the one that has gone missing....

[euromodder]

This is my camera set-up, taken from the passenger side so Arragonis Sr will feel at home

The 8GB microSD will hold 2 hours of recording in 720p.

[Arragonis]

PS- Ubuntu on an Asus 1201N which I really really like except for the fact it freez..

quite a bit under Windows 7.

No idea why.