Whats the car look like with the bodywork off?
Our woodworking begins.
The splitter extends forward about 2 inches from the edge of the fiberglass.
We're fitting the splitter prior to painting it black.
Some head-scratching here. We'll have to work out some longer ramps.
Why plywood? Two reasons: It’s strong and it’s cheap. Besides, wood is a carbon-based fiber, so we’ve got that joke going for us.
A splitter is an aerodynamic device that extends horizontally from the leading bottom edge of a car. As its name implies, it cleanly splits the air traveling over or under the car, increasing front downforce or front grip at speed.
We made a splitter out of half-inch hardwood plywood and installed it on the nose of our LeGrand. Aside from the aerodynamic benefits, it also will strengthen the nose against pylon-inflicted bangs and bruises. Why plywood? Two reasons: It’s strong and it’s cheap. Besides, wood is a carbon-based fiber, so we’ve got that joke going for us.
Since the installation, we’ve run into one problem: The low and long nose is creating clearance problems when we try to load the car onto our new enclosed trailer. We bought a 7x14 tandem axle Pace Trailer from The Car Shop that is a good size for a sports racer like the LeGrand. We’re going to have to work out a setup that will block up the back of the door ramp. We’ll also need additional ramps to get the car safely into the trailer without damaging the splitter.
It's an aluminum monocoque.
Here's a guy that's restoring a LeGrand here in Florida.
http://www.caseyhaddock.blogspot.com/
Nice! Slather it in some resin and shoot it with some semi-gloss black and you'll be Mad Tyte YO!
Personally, I would look at making the nose quick release and just pop it off before loading.
Also, a Formula Ford buddy of mine had the same problem with his FF and vowed to never buy another trailer with a ramp tailgate. He said next time he'd build longer, collapsible ramps or have a liftgate (keep in mind the FF only weighs 1200lbs) Another thought was to put air shocks in the back of the tow vehicle and to raise the front of the trailer slightly.
Per,
You may want to look at either recessing those splitter bolts a bit or maybe using a carriage bolt. I took my old splitter off the Legrand and had to cut my bolts off as the heads were all worn beyond recognition or use. Price you pay for low cars.....
Displaying 1-8 of 8 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.