Tubs!!!

[joecar]

I know theres an engine bay thread but, I am plotting to tub my front wheel wells. And pics Ideas, trailer fenders that you've cut to fit?

[slider2828]

I think most use sheet metal..... cut and weld....

[murda-c]

trailer fenders! lol.

[repda916]

Originally Posted by murda-c

trailer fenders! lol.

hilarious huh
Im pretty sure it would work.. and im also pretty sure mini truckers use fenders for their tubs.

[Walperstyle]

Originally Posted by murda-c

trailer fenders! lol.

Yeah, its so much easier to take something thats already made.

[TurboSE]

Originally Posted by Walperstyle

Yeah, its so much easier to take something thats already made.

plus Summits are so thin...the trailer fender I got were nice 16 (18 maybe) gauge steel...

[GSXRJJordan]

Originally Posted by Tearlessj

Ok yea lets move on.

Does anyone have tubs with the factory fuse box in place? I would love to get this done to get rid of my rubbing issues, but I don't feel like relocating my harness.

Wouldn't recommend it. Take the opportunity to relocate the fusebox inside the cabin, or replace it with a smaller fusebox and separate relay panel. Save weight, space, and you'll lose that huge fucking mess of wiring that goes over the driver's side wheel and under the core support.

Originally Posted by thefro526

Steel.

The tubs have to be steel so that they can be welded to the chassis. (also steel)

Yup, common sense.

Originally Posted by TurboSE

plus Summits are so thin...the trailer fender I got were nice 16 (18 maybe) gauge steel...

16 or 18ga steel is fine. It's the curved shape of the steel that gives it it's strength, not the thickness. I used .030" 4130 steel on mine.

I had the "standard" curved tubs when I was SR (I ran 18x10 +0 with 245/40/18s and rubbed all over, back and front) and made a few sets for other people, but didn't have enough room for the intake tube/filter next to the charge piping because they came so far forward. Decided to do something new with the RB25 setup, came out awesome... one of the most complimented parts of the car.

Started by mounting the wheel/tire, turning to full lock, and giving myself another 10* and 1" of space in front (that's about how much I had on top at full compression). Fab'd a 1/2" sch 40 square tube structure and used thin-wall steel (.030") to fully box it - extremely strong finished product, definitely stronger than the strut tower->firewall section of the frame.



Measure twice, cut once, swear, debate cutting again, use helping hand to nail fitment:


Cardboard template:


Bare metal:



Inside pass wheel well (after some evercoat z-grip, before rubberized undercoat):


Mid painting:


Finished:

[altalti]

WOW!!! gsxr that looks amazing.

[bejota180sx]

there was a thread with some info on this... i remember most people bought some from jegs or summit that sale them by pairs and different sizes, i've seen people use those metal trash cans... cut out yours and weld in either those or shaped sheet metal (there are a few examples in the fabrication thread also... search around a bit and u'll find the info u want...

[MavericStephenc]

here's mine. Fuji crew hooked it up for me.









The finished product:

[rps13drift]

I made mine with my buddy out of sheet metal doors that were garbage at work. What we did is we made the tubs first out of cardboard than traced the shapes on the sheet metal. Cut the shapes out and than welded them in place. Not too bad!

cardboard


metal


Done for now. Gotta paint the bay

[C. Anderson]

Trailer fender for real. You just cut it in half and hammer the outer rolled edge flat.



and I bought them here. Carry-On Trailer Single Wheel Steel Fender with Skirt — 32in.L x 9in.W x 15in.H | Trailer Fenders | Northern Tool + Equipment

[drift_limo]

Originally Posted by 95drifto

Trailer fender for real. You just cut it in half and hammer the outer rolled edge flat.

thats it?

so i would just have to order one tubfor both sides??

[repda916]

Originally Posted by drift_limo

thats it?

so i would just have to order one tubfor both sides??

yesssssiirrr

[joecar]

I picked up some 9x32 trailer fenders from a local trailer supply store with the skirts and already cut them in half.Im stumped how far are you guys cutting on the strut tower? I want to cut out as much as possible without messing with the structure. Heres where im at right now.

[Slip&Sliden 240]

[VinceDude]

Originally Posted by C. Anderson

Trailer fender for real. You just cut it in half and hammer the outer rolled edge flat.



and I bought them here. Carry-On Trailer Single Wheel Steel Fender with Skirt — 32in.L x 9in.W x 15in.H | Trailer Fenders | Northern Tool + Equipment

You just mig welded it? Looks pretty clean man.

[Beejis60]

Originally Posted by VinceDude

You just mig welded it? Looks pretty clean man.

I MIG'd mine. Had problems burning through on the strut tower since the OEM metal is so thin, even on the coldest setting on my welder.

[VinceDude]

Originally Posted by Beejis60

I MIG'd mine. Had problems burning through on the strut tower since the OEM metal is so thin, even on the coldest setting on my welder.

Did you stitch weld em or did you just draw a straight bead? Prolly why you were burning through. I assume tig welding it will surely burn through everything?

[Beejis60]

Originally Posted by VinceDude

Did you stitch weld em or did you just draw a straight bead? Prolly why you were burning through. I assume tig welding it will surely burn through everything?

No, just 1/2" bead stitches or so.
And TIG won't burn though.

[initial_jc]

tubs look real nice

[Matej]

[irax]

what tubs are those? thats pretty hot I like it!

[joecar]

does anybody have any pics of the inside of the wheel well, underneath. Im curious to see what you guys did. I already did all the cutting now Im trying to figure out the best way for structure at ther top of the strut tower. I was thinking about trying to fold some of the remaining strut tower under the top of the tub and tach welding underneath to add some rigidity.

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by irax

what tubs are those? thats pretty hot I like it!

The two red cars I'm assuming you're asking about are the Exceed Moat s14 engine bays.

[JDMSTYLE]

that red s14 has some nice tubes. subtle and functional.

[ch1873857]

cant find pics of the finished product. it was all filled and made smooth and painted.. this was my buddys car. its still not together but the tubs turned out great. i dont like some of the other ones where its squared off and comes out passed the strut tower.

one trailer fender wasnt wide enough. so i welded them together hotdog style. flat edge to flat edge. cut them in half, hamburger style. trimmed as needed. welding on the nissan steel is always a bitch, ive done way to much.

[TurboSE]

maybe a dumb question, but what are the benefits of this? Does it really give you that much room for bigger wheels/tires?I'm swapping an RB26 and I think that engine bay space is more important than tire room....I'm not flaming or arguing, just wondering what everyones motivation is for this.

[TurboSE]

Originally Posted by TurboSE

maybe a dumb question, but what are the benefits of this? Does it really give you that much room for bigger wheels/tires?I'm swapping an RB26 and I think that engine bay space is more important than tire room....I'm not flaming or arguing, just wondering what everyones motivation is for this.

I notice these are mostly S14's as well, is this mainly a problem that plagues them?

[95KA-Turbo]

Originally Posted by sonomadrifter

I'm surprised how little you guys are cutting out and replacing. I rubbed the front and top so I cut in hard?

Trailer fender for $20 and a couple bucks of 16 gauge.


I'll have to find some inner shots.

^^^ This guy was nice enough to help me out with his design and I made his style fender tubs, I thought they looked really nice:









I wanted maximum clearance so we cut up really high on the strut tower - even cut the back and hammered it up and rewelded it. Then proceeded to cut up the fender rail to allow for more clearance overall.




Finished product:



You can see all of the room - there was barely two fingers worth of room in there before and I lowered it another inch and a half.

Originally Posted by TurboSE

I notice these are mostly S14's as well, is this mainly a problem that plagues them?

I think mostly S14 owners do this because most S13 owners I know are cheap and are more worried about getting their ebay taillights and body kits to fit right then make it so they can run a wider wheel up front. S14s have significantly more room up front then S13s from the factory, so tubbing a S13 would help quite a bit.