Master

well in ur case if ur only makin some one off bits for a play around then you can use high density foam/ MDF/ wood but ur surface will have to be either painted n polished in the case of the MDF/wood or sealed in the case of the foam. The high density foam also disolves in acetone so be careful there. This process will form whats known as a pattern and from this pattern u get ur mould and then off ur mould u get a part... to be really cheap n simple id go with the MDF, u also have patten forming clay... Look im sure there is alot more stuff out there that i dont know off, but to start with these are very do able options. Maksure ur mould is thick and rigid, use a lot of chopped strand matt to bulk it up....

Well as ur gona find out soon enough, when things are'nt as simple as flat panels and u have tight corners to get around the fibres dont always wanna play ball n stay where they should. So after u finish laminating ur part you then put on a release film, then some breather (which basically spreads the suction around ur part and absorbs excess resin too) and then bag it. So what u end up with is the better part of 1 Bar of pressure all over ur part. For a flat panel what id do is have another flat surface that is waxed to put on top (make a sandwich of the laminate) and then add some weight on it, this basically gives u a thinner better consolidated laminate. The vacuum bagging method is great but it also means buying the extra's that go with it. (Release Film, Breather, etc) Clearly money well spent if u wanna make trick bits. All the best !!! Make sure u use gloves n have some acetone handy to wipe up the spills.

Also depends on the mould, if its a composite mould to begin with, it should ideally be sealed with a sealer and then mould released... If ur makin a few bits then id be using something called Frekote. Alot less labour intensive than buffing the wax, however it is more expensive. As a general rule once you have a good mould and its sealed, the first time you take part off it ud use have 3 coats of frekote and after the first parts are off the mould just a general clean and one or two coats depending on confidence levels!!

Hi Jason, the direction of the fibres on the first layer is upto ur preference as far as what u think looks better, certain weaves a 0/90 orientation is the ticket.. What happens after that layer is critical. U have to have a balanced laminate, which is to say if ur laminate is 5 plys thick n they are all carbon then ud go....0/90, 45,0/90,45,0/90 ...if u did 0/90, 0/90,45,45,0/90 or along those lines then an unsupported straight section could turn out to be not so straight.... For something like a stereo surround that did not need to support anything id be inclined to go with 3 layers. Also remember to have the trim lines and mounting for ur components given good thought. For example you could as part of ur lay up have an Ally insert that u can drill n tap into rather than have holes that are visible from the outside. or bond on a metal fabricated brkt .. the message is for thought to go into the entire manufacture n what happens later... no point havin shinny nice bits that then get drilled into just so u can mount em!! I am a FSAE graduate too...

Hi, im sure ur going to find alot of do's n dont's on the web with regards to carbon work, but since ur new to it and wanna make some relatively simple stuff, just remember a few simple rules... if you want reall good shiny bits, try using metal moulds that are well polished and free coated. N remember to have draft angles to be able to pull the thing out , otherwise it results in alot of swearing n heartache. It would seem ur interested in making non structural bits in which case u could get away with a non epoxy based resin (cheaper!) . Also remember the direction the fibres run in make a significant difference , the 2 options are a 0/90 orientation or a 45degree orientation. If u can actually vaccum bag ur wet laminates, u will end up with a nicer quality laminate. Try avoiding sharp corners in ur mould design, if its gotto be there then take added care when u actually lay it up otherwise ur gona end up with whats known as bridging. Id first be laying up a few flat panels to get a feel of what its like n then go from there. N yes working with glass fibres is very similar, many people use carbon as their first layer and bulk up the middle layers with glass then finish up with carbon again, this way they get their desired thickness, etc n it works out a lot cheaper than just layers of carbon... i could go on about this...dont wanna confuse u..

I think what u mean by the electronic one is also known as a cylinder balance test. Where as the car sits at an idle the tester will systematically shut down a cylinder at at time and then measure the drop in RPM. Quick n clean way to get a general idea on how things are in there.

Correct me if im wrong but if a clutch was slipping, u would not be goin from 5k DOWN to 4700rpm... It would be the other way round cause ur affectively reducing load on the engine.... Maybe some sort of engine management issue for a certain load condition and rev range. U'd have to play around with diff Throttle positions once u reach that condition n see if it makes a diff, id imagine these ECU's get their load readings off the TPS.

Not an expert, but as far as most production based stuff goes its largely governed by packaging contraints, steering and suspension geometry..etc etc. N as far as the 6 o clock position goes yes it does lower CoG, which then helps reduce the rolling moment, n the story goes on.... All things being equal id imagine a caliper mounted at 3 o clock will cool better than one mounted at 9 !

Hello, as someone that knows very little about dyno's it should be common knowledge that the following factors have a major influence on what the dyno spits out... a. the way the car has been clamped down on the rollers b. Tyres used.... c. accurate speed reading (i.e working out what correction factor to key in to match roller speed to road speed) d. As someone mentioned earlier entering accurate values for temp, pressure, etc... I think any modifications done to a car can only be quantified by doing back to back dyno runs, its only then that ur comparing apples with apples... I can't wait to get my first skyline!! Cheers.