My Functional Front Splitter Build
 

I've only seen a handful of other people floating around the forums with functional splitters on their cars so I thought I'd give a little preview of what I'm working on right now.

It's made out of 1/4" thick plastic, I'm not sure what kind, I found a sheet of the stuff in the garage and I'm on a budget. It's pretty rigid and durable and relatively lightweight, so I shouldn't have any problems with deflection. It replaces the bottom part of the undertray and will have four whiskers when I'm done. It extends 4.5" from the bumper and reaches back to the center line of the front wheels and uses the stock mounting points for the stock undertray. I will be using my own hardware though... not those flimsy screws.

I'm hoping the front bumper is strong enough to take the forces a splitter will introduce but I may have to run some support rods down from the front crash bar.

Here's a peek at my first test fitting, it's not fully secured but you get the idea. More pictures and details on how I'm going about building this later for anyone that's interested.

Cool...keep us inform of the durability of it.

You will likely pull the bumper off with that I am afraid. Unless you brace it off the front crash bar or the frame

I did this with abs plastic too, except mine is attached to a lip

It's not going to pull the bumper off. It's not strictly mounted to the bumper.

It's attached by the two rear bolts that the normal undertray uses, then it has 10 bolts with NyLoc nuts attaching it to the bumper. 4 of them go all the way through the lip and use fender washers to attach directly to the bumper, the other 6 are just through the black lip. I mounted the black lip to the bumper with the same type of bolts instead of those plastic clips. I've also riveted the splitter to the two upright plastic supports which are bolted to the frame. I put about 100lbs of weight on it and it was fine, only a little bit of deformation and that's without whiskers installed yet. Also everything on the bottom of the splitter is countersunk. It's completely flat and smooth.

It's all mounted up minus the whiskers. I'll probably work on those tomorrow or Wednesday.

Picture of the actual splitter is attached. More pics coming soon.

thats pretty cool dude.
getting vids of it at speed may be helpful?

Thanks man.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Going to use a GoPro to see what it's doing at driving speeds and see if a more solid mounting solution is necessary.

very nice, very interested in the progress of this!

Well, shakedown is complete. Did two events, one at Arroyo Seco Raceway in Deming, New Mexico with the Arizona Mazda Club, and the other at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in Desert Center, CA.

Splitter is still just as solid as when I put it on, it's taken a couple light impacts from some offroading but there's no damage whatsoever. After reviewing some video footage, there's almost no flex under load.

The effects weren't really apparent at Arroyo Seco because there was only one relatively high speed corner, but at Chuckwalla, the lowest gear you use is 3rd lmao. In the 3rd gear 80-90MPH flat out corners, front end grip FOR DAYS. Adjusted my sway bars to account for the splitter, went to Medium in the front and Full Soft in the rear from Full Soft Front and Full Stiff rear. Basically dialed in understeer, but the car had less understeer than the previous settings. It ended up working better than I imagined it would and am completely happy with how it turned out, both in performance and looks.

In other news, found a puddle of oil under the car while it was on the Dyno yesterday, and it Dyno'd lower than before with the addition of AEM Intake, BHR Midpipe and Tuning. Compression test incoming...

Pics:

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Looks great!!
Super kewl on its effects too!!

where did you get the wiskers?

thanks for updating the thread!!

I made them out of 8/32" threaded rod. Bent them around a coffee can in pairs then put black plastic tubing over them. It's fully adjustable by moving the nuts on the splitter.

there it a difference between front end feel with a front lip and not at about 125 mph. in a semi straight line..

long story.. :)

beers :beer:

At what speed does a front splitter become helpful?

I can feel a difference at about 65MPH. It's more noticeable at 80+.

for me in a straight line i started feeling lift at ~128 in a straight line.. that is when the front end would start to get light.. with lip, solid to 142. but the car used to get to 148.

on track the lip i have makes a difference braking into a corner at over 105.

but i have lots of mods.. and denny is way, way faster than i every could be.

beers :beer:

I was talking about in the middle of corners and how it affects understeer... not going in a straight line. I've never been on a track where I've been able to get the car above like 115 on the straight anyways... not really sure what track you're running at that you can wind the car out to 140+.

Lets see a picture of your splitter while you're at it if you're going to go around in other threads and tell me I don't know how my car handles and that aero doesn't do anything for cornering force.

And who is Denny?

diy write up? This was a sick idea. Looks great man

thanks for the info, that is a clever idea!!

Thanks dude.

I thought about a DIY thread but it's really as simple as it seems.

Unbolt the stock undertray piece, use it as a template on a strong, light material of your choice, then extend that template by 4.5" along the front curvature. (If I did it again I would use Alumalite), drill holes in the lower lip/bumper, bolt it on, drill holes in the stock undertray mounting locations, bolt it in there, drill holes in the front crash bar, drop two threaded rods down from there and bolt them in for extra support, then take threaded rod and radius it to make whiskers, secure with nuts and fender washers, boom, mad aero! :p:

looks great Aaron! I need to do one too...

If i ever take it off I'll trace a template onto cardboard and bring it to the track for you.

A friend of mine has access to carbon fiber vacuum forming tools and we've been tossing around the idea of making a few of them if you're interested. The cost would be much cheaper than something like say APR.

^Thanks. PM sent...

x2 ill take one!!!!!! pm me the info^^^^ awesome 8 btw!!!!! love the pics

If there's interest then I might be able to do a small run of them but we'll have to see.





Also here's another picture from Arroyo Seco in Deming, NM.

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well remember the name haha ill be here for this one ive tried to develop my own but funds and time seem to vanish all too quickly haha once again amazing photography and amazing car i cant wait to see that splitter on my 8 :D

I believe the Denny, he is refering to, goes by the member name olddragger.

Also interested. Keep us updated if you decide to produce a couple and ship them. Paypal payment is waiting to be sent lol

+1 I'm interested

yep i am Denny. We have ran at Road Atlanta many a time. It has a super long back straight in which 6th gear has to be used--then brake for a 90 degree left hand turn at the end of it----wooo hooo!
That can give you a hint of how interested in aero improvements we are:)
In several places i am over 125mph and for two turns I enter at 90--100 or so ( Turn one and Turn 12)
Come on down and try it out--its a hoot!
Nice low cost stable front splitter. good work---real grassroots stuff.

I'd be interested as well. It doesn't even need to be CF, could be just like the one you made. But if you are willing to produce, I will probably buy.

Alright was talking to my friend and we might do a limited run of these through a group buy on the forums.

The company I would be producing it with is Shift Fast Performance so keep your eyes peeled.

Please PM me if you are serious about throwing down for one. The kit would include the splitter with all holes pre drilled, all the hardware and instructions on how to install it.

Ballpark price?

Haven't priced out materials yet. I built the one I have with stuff laying around the garage, I'd need to source it first.

Also considering doing different versions with options for painting as well. I'm thinking plastic, like mine, alumalite, then foam core carbon fiber. Need to do some more R&D on different materials first though. I'm just kicking around ideas at this point. I'll say very loose idea of a ballpark though, anywhere from $250 to $500+ depending on what the numbers come out to and what materials make the cut.

If it were no more than $600 I would buy one for sure. GL and I hope you can produce these out of cf!

I was down there before they put that turn in. You used to fly at high speeds on that blind right hand turn under the bridge. That's why there is so much run-off area on the left all the way down to the old pit entrance.

I have had a functional Alumalite splitter for about 2 years and I have cracked 1 mazdaspeed bumper and destroyed a second and I am in the middle of a a redesign right now. So let me give you a few pointers.

1- Use splitter struts attached to the frame. This is not just for function, it is for impact resistance. That splitter WILL hit things and every impact is transfering force to your bumper. So if and when you have real impact (like digging into the sand/gravel during an offroad incident at laguna seca) something will have to give. In my case half the bumper was torn off. I suggest splitter struts to the crash bar and 1 more to the oil cooler bracket area (not easy to do with the stock bumper and oil coolers installed.

2- Do not attach to the bumper- Your splitter might be made of a cheap material but your bumper is more expensive, so dont risk your bumper. Build some sort of frame to attach the splitter to and use very light weight fasters to the bumper or better yet, nothing.

3- If your splitter isnt attached to a heavy duty frame, use a material that will bend or flex. This is why i like alumalite. It is strong but when impacted it will bend or crumble long before your frame. If you use thick ABS or CF they will take a very large impact but you can damage what every it is attached to. Just remember, something has to give. I use aluminum splitter struts that will bend before the frame. Plus in a crunch I can bend/pound them back straight.

Tegris :)

Awesome splitter product but expensive and it has to be attached to a solid frame capable of supporting substantial forces both vertical and horizontal.

great thread.... thumbs up on the R&D putting all the ideas together to have a nice finish product... in other thread u mentioned about building a rear diffuser as well I am interested in both concepts .... ur using a single sided exhaust right?

Could you build me one out of plywood like Jeremy Clarkson does on Top gear?:lol:

I would be honestly interested in a group buy for this.

A bit of a bump.

I looking at doing something like this but making out of 2 1/4 composite sheets bonded together.
On my 8 I have a replica MS front. has anyone got a splitter with an MS front? I'm planning on having it so it doesn't fasten to the bumper and having to supports from the crash bat to the front.

hopefully I will start this over the weekend.

Started the template today,

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8516/8...f687cb1b_c.jpg

That's the rough one but you get the idea. I didn't do it very accurate and done it all by eye as you can tell because it's not square at all lol.

Flipped it over and done the proper template.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8...0cd9b907_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8...0526e0bf_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8...e269d205_c.jpg

It would have been a bit easier it my bumper wasn't cable tied back together as it's a bit all over the place. If you can't read the writing it's 3.5 inches wider on the sides and 4.5 on the front. Hopefully I'll get round to cutting it out tomorrow.

I was planning on using Composite from my work, but after seeing this i might chance my mind.

Are you going to use supports to the frame? Or just have it held on by the bumper..

yeah, I'm going to use supports to the crash bar just under the tow eye on both sides. I'm also going to fasten it to the bumper for a bit more support and it will also hold my bumper together.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8...086579ca_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8509/8...0286dccd_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8358/8...dba97f7e_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8494/8...c9e6e57f_c.jpg

Just a bit more trimming and she's sweet. I'm going to use these for the support rods.

Aluminum Swedged Rods - 3/8 Inch Thread - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop
Precision RH Male Heim, 3/16 Inch - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop
Precision LH Male Heim, 3/16 Inch-(10-32) - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

Seems a bit wide to me..

Watch it doesn't pull off your front bumper....you might want to add braces to the bumper support or frame rails

^He did say he was going to add supports to the crash bar.

It's does look kind of wide but that's what i'm going for plus. it will be more subtle in black.

I've trimmed it all up, it fits lovely. I have also drilled and tapped more holes in the subframe for more support. Just need to make the real one now.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8504/8...9d23f653_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8...e7662c1c_c.jpg

I lost a genuine MS bumper because my splitter was attached to the bumper and i had splitter struts and a support bar inside the bumper that was attached to the frame.

I stongly recommend to not attach to the bumper. Come up with something else.

And what material are you using for the splitter? Looks like some sort of wood. Im not a fan. I like alumalite. Strong but cheap and it will bend and flex if hit hard.

Lastly i hate splitters for street use and it wont take ling before you will too.

Good luck.