Air Dam & Splitter attachment Points & COA

[JLawton]

Maybe Andy B can give us some advice on attaching air dams??


(he, he, he)


.

[JeffYoung]

I'm not the quickest when it comes to rule interpretation, but is anyone else reading this to say you can cut holes in your splitter to duct air to the RADIATOR?? The decision specifically mentions brake ducts and oil coolers, but what about an opening between the attachment points in the bumper cover and the "vertical plane" for radiator air?

Or is it saying ALL air must be ducted so that none of it spills over into the engine compartment?

[tom91ita]

radiator is Prego (its in there).

i did an edit to highlight in the section from the GCR up above.

[JeffYoung]

Thanks Tom...so next question, does the ducting have to be "air tight" so that no air spills into the engine compartment? That's what I am reading the decision to mean.

I've got my air filter in a different location so that the air that misses the radiator is not getting to it, but I certainly don't have air tight ducts to the radiator/oil cooler...the opening in the spoiler/splitter just fart in their general direction......

[tom91ita]

i think i better understand your question.

my intention was to add a plywood "splitter" using the bumper/cover as my outline and attach that to the factory tie-down points with maybe a vertical rod or two from the front bumper.

then bridge the gap from the factory body work to the plywood with some thin aluminum (4" gutter). i was not doing anythng higher up than that.

[tom_sprecher]

...the opening in the spoiler/splitter just fart in their general direction......

I've been contemplating using this fart technology you speak of. How big of a fart and how close dare you be to the orifice?

Yes, I am serious. The stock radiator ducting had some pretty good size holes in it and I wanted to relocate my air filter closer to those holes, and when I say closer I mean hover right beside and over them.

Is that not legal?

[seckerich]

Actually this ruling specifically allowed the attachment points to the body. Anything above the floor pan licked by the airstream is fair game. If it is on the outside of the car it gets licked. The ruling was that the openings in the air dam were not used for legal purposes. The first ruling on the attachment points was just to get it to the COA for a definitive ruling. That was overturned and the attachment specifically defined as legal.

[tderonne]

I'm confused on this ruling.

I've always read the airdam rule as allowing me to add as much or as little airdam as i want as long as I stayed inside the x,y,z, dimensions allowed.

If my car is 5' wide, and I put a 3' spoiler in the middle do I have 2 1' unducted openings at the sides? I don't think so. The ruling talks about a horizotal plane. If I have a splitter that has a "U" shape when viewed from underneath is the inside of the "U" an unducted opening? Again, I don't think so.

The rule is written kind of dumb. It basically allows any airdam. It then goes on to allow openings for DUCTING air to a couple things. They were already allowed under any airdam. I don't follow how they then starting talking about "unducted openings". Must my airdam also now be sealed to the bumper and/or body? Are those leaks unducted openings?

[Knestis]

Evidence of why we've never done an airdam of any kind on Pablo. I can NOT imagine one lasting 12 hours in the real world and the carnage would undoubtedly take out something else - PS belt (which is RIGHT there), cooling hose, brake line.)

Interesting info in the finding though...

K

[Greg Amy]

I can NOT imagine one lasting 12 hours...

Try 45 minutes... :sadbanana:

[Andy Bettencourt]

Maybe Andy B can give us some advice on attaching air dams??


(he, he, he)


.

That's why they blow up dude! Just attached to the bumper cover. The poblem with the ones I run (ran) is that when you go off, there is no flexibility. New and simpler design coming soon.

[quadzjr]

The poblem with the ones I run (ran) is that when you go off, there is no flexibility. New and simpler design coming soon.

Problem solved... don't go off

Care to clue us in on what is the basis for your better more flexible yet efficent design?

[shwah]

Mine just bent the heck up when I went off. Downside being that one side was right at, middle 1/2" over and the other side 1/4" under legal height afterwards. I'm waffling on making a stronger one that won't deform, or a weaker one that will deform but bounce back - leaning towards the latter.

I never considered extra openings for radiator flow, but also never considered not fully ducting the radiator so that all the air has to go through it. This made a bigger improvement in cooling than any other single thing on my car.