badgerman

To be honest I don't really know. I did a swop with Jackvine for my shonky G60 in November last year and I think he only had it for a few months. I haven't seen any receipts for shocks so I guess they could be boned. Is light front end a characteristic of this ailment? I will give them a check tomorrow - I saw a thread earlier about identifying knackered top mounts!

I noticed the other day my steering was feeling a bit odd, almost like I had I boot full of bricks making the nose feel light and vague. There was also a fair bit of body roll which wasn't there before and at one point I did wonder if I had a flat. So I took it to the garage and they replaced a knackered bush on the suspension arm. Having collected it I went for a spin to enjoy what I hoped to be a rejuvenated car and at low speed the steering was more positive and a vast improvement. However at higher speeds it still feels like there is no weight on the front wheels and it feels quite unstable. Bad times. Before I take it back to the garage for an all over check, has anyone had this with their C or give me any advice on things to go check myself.

Cheers buddy ;)

I don't really know much about the stuff really, I will have a read up about it. Sounds like a fairly good plan and I don't see it being too perverse! I hadn't really considered the variation in colour through sunlight and everyday wear - its possible that I might not be able to match the colour well enough for anyone meaning they too would need to furniture clinic their seats to make it all match properly. How about this, if i send you a swatch card and you see how they compare - maybe even peeling off the swatch and take a pic or two of it directly compared to your seats. This would get me close enough and I could then buy a full hide. I am fairly sure that if I made another set or two I could shift them on the forum so I wasn't left with the rest of the hide. Did you catch the bit in the thread where I said about trimming spare parts instead of your own? I would feel a bit better if it wasn't your original parts just in case something did happen to them. I could source them and add the cost to your bill or you could supply me with them. Are there any differences between storm trims and standard?

The difficulty is the colour match on the leather and then getting it. I can send a swatch sheet to you to match the leather so this is no problem. However, at the moment I buy leftovers from furniture manufacture at the company I work for and it is nearly always black. Cream would mean I would need to buy a suitable hide and thread to do the job. This may not be out of the question if I can use the rest of it to cover more tunnels or even pillar trims but it would be at a higher price because I would be buying the hide at its proper price and not the reduced price I currently achieve from using offcuts. I would have to look into the cost, but if I had a couple of people interested it would mean I might use more of the hide and not end up sitting on the remainder of a skin ;)

Thanks DG, I am really pleased you like them! I was a little concerned about the leather match as older leather has a distinctive look compared to new but they look sweet! Thanks for going to the effort of posting the pics mate.

Thanks for the kind words buddy, it's appreciated. I look forward to seeing them in the car.

cheers mate, I will look into it.

Nitro vapour in the eyes is a weirdly satisfying experience following the bone shaking that is a top fueler getting a good start. I go to the European finals every year and in the last couple there have been some impressive turbo street legal cars.

So, limited progress on all this although there has been a fair amount of information gathering. After a load of freelance work to boost the pennies up a bit, I am not the owner of a Canon 40D DSLR camera. This may not appear to be relevant to carbon moulding but it is in fact essential. With the Camera I can now begin the process of creating a rig that will allow me to 3d Scan or digitise real world objects in about 2 seconds. Once I have got this process sorted I can do the work for 'Kayak guy' in exchange for corrado front wing tooling. I reckon mid January and I will have the system going and should be able to do the work for this guy. So this started me thinking. Layup carbon will achieve little or no weight saving making the parts little more than chav chariot decoration wings. I am not really up for that and I suspect neither will most of you. I think the 'arch rolled' wing suggestion is a winner and this could be GRP and kevlar as its primary function is not dependant on weight. So if I could get matey (kayak guy) to make tools suitable for layup but also with properties suitable for Autoclave fun then I would be laughing. So I rang around some companies recommended to me. Only one seemed to be answering or returning phone calls so I had a long chat with their tech guy. Turns out if I make the mould using a vinyl resin instead of polyester it will be happy to sit in a 200 deg Autoclave and if it were of solid construction it would be able to handle the vacuum pressures too. The only downer to this conversation was that they have just moulded some wings - and each piece costs about £400. Sh*t. This was made from the lightest most expensive carbon they use and may not be an entirely accurate comparison but I think it gives us an idea of the cost of excellence! If we want the most super light weight carbon wings for our corrados - there is a price. A minor car park shunt at this price will make you want to get out and deck someone. Anyway, it was quite enlightening chatting to this guy and he is happy for me to harras him in future if and when I have more questions. I feel happy to plod on developing the 3d Scanner setup - to do the work for 'Kayak guy' - in exchange for tools - that can be multi use and then if all goes to sh*t at least I can replace my front wings with pristine kevlar panels ;) Watch this space for more progress and if not just random brain waffelings.

Oh, ideal! I would happily do that for you mate. I will Pm you my adresse.

Cool buddy. I might do one in preparation over the crimbo if I can get one. Whats the age of the car?

Hello mate, I just skimmed through the thread and it is amazing mate. One question though, what ever happened to the aluminium seat you were welding up? Sorry if you have explained in a latter post - I wasn't reading so much more like looking at the pretty pictures!

Holy sh*t!! Think how many panels you could fit in there. . . . . Shouldnt that be Corrado's :lol:[/quote:2x72lcnl] Ambitious, I like the way you think!

Holy sh*t!! Think how many panels you could fit in there. . . . .

Great info dude, I was familiar with the process overall but the detail is great. So todays final thought is that lay-up is only going to make cosmetic components, proper lightweight carbon needs to be done properly! I will investigate the sub contractors I have been recommended and see what prices I will be looking at for the parts and also their tooling requirements. It's a shame really as I was quite up for getting hands on with moulding but if i cannot achieve substantially lightweight parts then there isn't much point. I will make a couple of calls tomorrow and get things moving on that front.

You've confirmed one of my fears mate, that the resin is the main weight or the part. Lay up was the plan but I can try an sub to a company that has an autoclave to achieve the weight saving I am looking for. Looks like I should continue the investigation into tooling for autoclave and pre-preg shizz. So what characteristics does an autoclave tool need to have? Is it something that kayak man could still do or is it more specialist? Solidworks is great, I am a complete CAD dork and am happy to admit it!

I thought I would also mention (not specifically to you Kip!!), as I have written a bit of an essay, my motivation to doing all this. No doubt some of you have made the connection that I am also doing a bit of trimming and I don't want to be seen as someone only trying to make a business on the forum - because really thats not what this is about for me. I like to make things as my job affords little creativity and hands on work. I am a designer and so I am naturally inquisitive and I sit engineering passneger terminal seating for a living which ,as a graduate from a car design course, doesn't really light my fire! The things I design in Solidworks are subbed out and when they return if i have done a good job they should fit together. There is no craft - which is why I am doing this stuff. Now we have shared, tell me something about yourself. . . . . !!!

Cheers Kip, thanks for your input, I am properly on a journey of discovery right now! Everyone I have spoken has a different perspective to add to all this - it's fascinating. For example kayak guy was adamant that moulding in kevlar would create parts significantly lighter than steel (maybe not as light as carbon) but for a fraction of the cost of carbon. Bold claim, I guess the only way to see if he is right is to have a go! I did think that some of the more 'out there' scene junkies might enjoy a black and yellow weave front wing!! There is an argument to say that there is a market for comparative (to steel) weight GRP front wings with inner lip cutaways for low low cars as much as the super light weight racing parts - especially as front wings in good condition seem to be in demand. I want to explore the material properties and hopefully be able to tailor different types of product for different applications. Another good example is a friend of mine that makes drift kits for a Jap tuner with his own team. All he wants is disposable relatively low cost bumpers, skirts etc as they will probably only get ripped off at some point! As I understand it, a 120g (for example) sheet of any material weighs the same (obviously . . . ) so ultimately it comes down to how many layers of that material and the amount of resin required to achieve the desired characteristics. I won't be able to gauge this without making panels. So I think at the moment my priority is to sort some tools and kayak guy is a good bet (as I can exchange CAD work for tools). The benefit of this will be that it can happen without my input as I am mega busy right now! Once the tools are made, and I have developed a working relationship with the guy then I will experiment with lay-ups of different materials to truly understand the benefits of each with a view to cost, weight and strength. If these fail to impress, then I can always ship the tools to a carbon moulding specialist. I am keen for you to keep an eye on the thread Kip and welcome suggestions and experiences when you have them ;) Thanks again.

If you get a chance I would be really interested to see comparison shots of your two wings - as you have both!

Hmmmm, without startin parallel threads here, I would welcome any further knowledge on the subject. . . hang on, I will go check the other thread!

Yeah dude, thats about it. All the bits below (except the gear shift gaiter. I could do the gaiter - I just haven't tried yet!). If the wheel is like the one shown below, then I could do it all for £200 + 10 postage. I sold the last wheel for £60 so there is a little saving ;). If it is another type I will need to have a look at it. As mentioned in the thread, my only 2 provisos are - one - I don't really want to work on parts from your cars I would much prefer that they are spares so that in the unlikely event that I bugger them up beyond repair you won't want to deck me because you can't use your car. two - I am mega busy at the moment with work, freelancing and the trimming I do. I will endeavour to complete the work by certain deadlines but sometimes things slip - I can guarantee communication but I hope for a bit of understanding should things not happen to schedule ;)

Sorry mate I have had a mental amount of freelance design work in that needs to be completed for thursday. I was hoping to tweek the one in the photos and send to your good self in the latter part of this week.

Hmmm, bugger.

Had considered that, It will also help in the moulding process to reduce the depth of those edges anyway. Good call.