Skid Plates, Low Cars, Aquaplaning, Pride & Prejudice

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by Matej

I'm pretty well aware that "Matej" and "performance" are words that do not belong in the same sentence together. Well, unless the word "poor" or similar is attached to the word "performance".

[Brian]

Which type of skidplate is best for performance?

[Brian]

Matej - I think if you rub a bunch of rainX on your skid plate, you will have no problems. The water will just glide by it and won't even have a chance to "stick" to it.

Problem solved.

[Matej]

Originally Posted by Brian

Which type of skidplate is best for performance?

Originally Posted by Brian

Matej - I think if you rub a bunch of rainX on your skid plate, you will have no problems. The water will just glide by it and won't even have a chance to "stick" to it.

Problem solved.

Would relocating the rear window wiper to the skid plate work?

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by Brian

Which type of skidplate is best for performance?

Manhole cover...

[Motary]

Originally Posted by racepar1

Race cars have swaybars dude. There is NO performance advantage to taking out at least the front swaybar. Although I used to run without a rear swaybar. As a matter of fact you want a stiffer front swaybar.

Stiffening up the front increases understeer and roll bars increase lateral weight transfer so they are not all that great

[Matej]

Originally Posted by racepar1

I'm pretty well aware that "Matej" and "performance" are words that do not belong in the same sentence together. Well, unless the word "poor" or similar is attached to the word "performance".

You are the one whose oil pan is above the cross member. Do you even care about center of gravity?

[OBEEWON]

Originally Posted by aga

i was thinking of installing some bookshelves by the rear passenger seats...for long journeys, you know.

Hahahahaha

Originally Posted by Brian

isnt this about hydroplaning?

Originally Posted by Brian

Matej - I think if you rub a bunch of rainX on your skid plate, you will have no problems. The water will just glide by it and won't even have a chance to "stick" to it.

Problem solved.

This whole thread made me spend more than 10 min on Zilvia today.

Matej
Mike
Brian
Racecarpar1234

Thanks guys.

Also this one time I made my splitter out of some stuff I found in the woods. It was some type of plastic that smelled like lady crotch. Didn't matter because it broke off the first trip I took.



I should have used wood, but it was 2003 and I was more worried about lady parts.

[Brian]

The only problem with making the splitter panel so perfect at cutting through the air is that it almost becomes too slippery and you actually LOSE downforce. The air can't even "grab" onto the panel to create the downforce effect.
When you are out on the track and every tenth of a second (and sometimes smaller measurements) matters, this becomes quite the important thing to consider.

So, even though some of you guys think you are a great garage mechanic, I'd think about leaving this one to the real engineers.

[OBEEWON]

When winning matters.

[hellion240sx]

this thread.... lol. oh zilvia and its zilvians. in for more info and shenanigans

edit: I win obeewon

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...ilvia-S13.aspx

[racepar1]

Originally Posted by Motary

Stiffening up the front increases understeer and roll bars increase lateral weight transfer so they are not all that great

That COMPLETELY depends on the car. There are multiple reasons for understeer and oversteer and multiple solutions. 240's don't have much issue with understeer. The PRIMARY concern is limiting on-throttle oversteer. Thanks, but I understand pretty well how swaybars work.

Originally Posted by Matej

You are the one whose oil pan is above the cross member. Do you even care about center of gravity?

Yes, the higher the better. I was planning on mounting my engine ABOVE the hood for maximum oil pan protection.

[OBEEWON]

Originally Posted by hellion240sx

edit: I win obeewon

Nerd's Eye View: The MCA Suspensions "Hammerhead" Silvia S13

Dang.
Checkmate. The better sir won.

I use my oil pan to protect my engine from hitting the earth.

[InsTanCeZ]

What if you made an oil pan out of wood? Would that work?

[ayuaddict]

Originally Posted by Matej

The sway bars from my vehicle have been discarded for race car purposes.

I feel that leaving the front sway bar on is beneficial for protection, was the issue binding or lower strut clearance?

[lflkajfj12123]

My sway bar was pretty much ground down flat. When I would hit things the whole front end would jump and you'd feel it in your tailbone. I removed it because I have stiff springs which basically takes over most of the sway bars job. Now my underbody has more clearance and the car feels like a Lexus with my superior Bride seating. I can now hit 130 on the wangan without fear of breaking my back on a bump. Any under panel would reduce my ground clearance. Raising the car is simply not an option because it would raise my race car's center of gravity, which would make me an idiot.

[Matej]

The sway bar end links kept breaking or ripping out of the LCA's.
One time I discovered that the end links were ripped out on both sides and I did not even know how long I had been driving with the sway bar disconnected, so I guess it did not make much of a difference to me.
It did work well for protecting the pan though, but then I raised the engine anyway.


Every aftermarket oil pan should have a skid plate. With a NASA-spec layer of rubberized synthetic material underneath, for excessive cushioning capabilities.

And plywood.

[InsTanCeZ]

Hey s0ap, what's your spring rates? What kind of coilovers? Do you guys remove rear sway bars too?

[xoxide]

Originally Posted by Matej

Would relocating the rear window wiper to the skid plate work?

I hate to admit this, but this was actually a local jax person.

[Frank_Jaeger]

What about pegboard splitters? I've got one in my garage I'm gonna be throwing out.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by S14DB

That's Jabroc not plywood.

...and nobody else caught this.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...p?Product=6180

Jabroc is what the pros actually use and it's actually not cheap at all. They are not buying sheets of plywood from god damn Home Depot.


With that said. Whatever. If it keeps the stanced-kids happy they who cares.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by Matej

Every aftermarket oil pan should have a skid plate

Not sure how that would help. Stock pans crush under their own weight. I'd envision the pan ripping off, tearing or being pancaked still.

Building some off-road style rock protection might work better.

[NoPistons!]

Originally Posted by Matej

The best protection would probably be one or two round metal tubes connecting the radiator support and crossmember, going under the oil pan.

I'll be the one almost 30 year old in here that isn't going to act like a fucking snob child and say this.

1. H brace. Tie the tension rod brackets together and then link those to where your lca's fit to the crossmember. Profit. Dude friend of mine had one on his integra he dumped and i told him that shit was a waste of money until we rode around in it a ton. His oil pan was saved on many occausions. H brace has taken one hell of a beating.

2. I could see having a plywood splitter on a kitted/vented hood car that drifts being super beneficial for cooling.



3. Telling people to build a car how you want it built is fucking lame.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by racepar1

I still don't understand what exactly you guys are protecting your oil pans from. More than that I am wondering if there is something wrong with all the 240's I have ever owned/worked on. On all the 240's that I have seen the oil pan is ABOVE the crossmember and behind the swaybar. IMO that seems like pretty damned solid protection right there.

Give up man.

No one putting a plywood "skidplate" on their car cares.

The point is they stick out an inch from the bumper and deflect cones at drift days and help the car skid over curbs, dirt and rocks when you go off the track. We're not talking about pros or even well pre-paired tracks. Shit happens.

We can debater to no end it's actual effectiveness, but if people think it works, well trusting your weapon is half the battle.

Let them have fun and in 5 years maybe they will go "god that was dumb".

[KoukiGeorge]

Originally Posted by Bushido

hydro drift championship

^^^^^ LMAO!!!!!!!

[hellion240sx]

Thanks obeewon! Might sig that lol.

[chriskilla2]

Originally Posted by NoPistons!

3. Telling people to build a car how you want it built is fucking lame.

Sigh.........

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by xoxide

I hate to admit this, but this was actually a local jax person.

and that is after he launched it off a dirt jump...

[xoxide]

Yes. And Had a bicycle helmet on.... Cant remember the guys user name, but he posted on here awhile back and on my local 240 forums.

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by Corbic

...and nobody else caught this...

Yeah. 5 pages and no one caught this

Originally Posted by racepar1

We use a produck called Jabrock, which is plywood impregnated with resin and compressed at high pressure. Yeah, that's not cheap either. Plywood is NOT strong enough, and it does NOT work fine. It is ghetto, cheap-ass, backwoods, redneck bullshit.

Originally Posted by S14DB

Hot Jabroc shots...

Originally Posted by S14DB

That's Jabroc not plywood.

Originally Posted by racepar1

I would be REALLY interested in knowing more about that material. I would be willing to bet that it's extremely expensive hardwood and probably specially treated to be more durable, similar to jabroc. That pic was posted in another thread with a similar topic a few years ago though.

Originally Posted by zerodameaon

Bet you it is just jabroc



EDIT:
A reverse image search reveals it is rosewood(supposedly) and no doubt just turned into jabroc from veneers.

Originally Posted by S14DB

Key is hardwood(Jabroc) not soft wood like pine.

Originally Posted by racepar1

Jabroc would be ideal, but that shit's expensive.

Originally Posted by racepar1

I LOVE Jabroc.

Originally Posted by aga

as for jabroc etc, they say it has weight to strength ratio better than steel, but you gotta use like a 1 inch thick plate, while if you made it from steel you would use 2mm...

Originally Posted by tiggertsi

jabroc, oh the irony!

Originally Posted by Def

And you people are seriously making me facepalm - jabroc is not used because it has high strength or anything - it's used as the WEAR SURFACE on the bottom/sides of splitters and planks because it's tough, wear resistance, and solid.