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Author: Subject: Fibreglass Trumpets?
MakeEverything

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:24 PM Reply With Quote
Fibreglass Trumpets?

Why not?

Ive made a mould and started to lay up some fibreglass and it went really wll until the fibreglass resin went off too early half way through laying up!

Im convinced that i can make a suitable fibreglass product, but why dont manufacturers make them out of carbon or fibreglass?

Ive only ever seen them in ali or stainless, and i know they could be subject to flame or high temperature but im wondering if its a viable option before i go and be persistent with my prototype layup!





Kindest Regards,
Richard.

...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...

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stevebubs

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:27 PM Reply With Quote
You rally want to be using epoxy rather than polyester resin.

Claire will probably make you a set in carbon if you ask nicely...

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RazMan

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:28 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
.... but why dont manufacturers make them out of carbon or fibreglass?

Ive only ever seen them in ali or stainless, and i know they could be subject to flame or high temperature ....


erm... I think you may have answered your own question





Cheers,
Raz

When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box

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MakeEverything

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:32 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
.... but why dont manufacturers make them out of carbon or fibreglass?

Ive only ever seen them in ali or stainless, and i know they could be subject to flame or high temperature ....


erm... I think you may have answered your own question



I was wondering that, but then the brandy kicked in and i pressed the post button anyway!





Kindest Regards,
Richard.

...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...

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tegwin

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:37 PM Reply With Quote
The entire intake manifold right up to the cylinder head on the KA is plastic.... So composite should not be an issue for you





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MakeEverything

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:39 PM Reply With Quote
Cool, Thanks Tegs.

Ultimately, i was going to go Carbon Fibre, but the fibreglass was at hand and cheap rather than buying a load of Carbon to fail with!!

Ill give it another go if i can remember where i put the mould today!!





Kindest Regards,
Richard.

...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...

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RazMan

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:42 PM Reply With Quote
Ah but there is plastic and plastic Have you ever seen glass fibre go up in flames?





Cheers,
Raz

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tegwin

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:46 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Ah but there is plastic and plastic Have you ever seen glass fibre go up in flames?


True... True...

There must be high temp resins avaiable that dont burn so easily....

Anyway... the trumpets wont be that hot given that they are on the cool side of the carbs.... I would have thought normal(ish) epoxy and CF would do the job perfectly... (check the epoxy datasheet for temp limits)





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dhutch

posted on 23/5/10 at 10:58 PM Reply With Quote
I cant see any real advantage in using glass over carbon, but i would agree that epoxy would be better over polyester for temperature stability and flame retardance.

That said, i would be very surprised if it gave you any issues.


Daniel

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BenB

posted on 24/5/10 at 08:02 AM Reply With Quote
I thought about this a while back and even got to the stage of making a basic lathe for cutting down wax blocks for the moulds (I was going to use a kind of lost-wax method to make a buck). I was going to go for epoxy GRP. You ideally want a thin trumpet so epoxy glass (or epoxy carbon) is the best option.
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stevebubs

posted on 24/5/10 at 08:05 AM Reply With Quote
tart
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stevebubs

posted on 24/5/10 at 08:06 AM Reply With Quote
...of the carbon variety...no other...before someone accuses me of casting aspercions...
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iank

posted on 24/5/10 at 08:26 AM Reply With Quote
I've seen plenty of carbon trumpets over the years (on high budget race cars), but aluminium is cheaper and easier to volume produce which is why it's far more common.

Trumpets shouldn't ever get hot enough to melt/burn in an injected setup (carbs can spit back flame so probably best not to use on those).

I'd give Claire the cash rather than DIY as it's an awkward shape to get the weave looking good if you haven't had a lot of practice.

ETA: QED charge best part of £50 each for theirs (and they don't look as good)
linky

[Edited on 24/5/10 by iank]





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02GF74

posted on 24/5/10 at 08:39 AM Reply With Quote
it can be done; rover V8

that is EFI so as ^^^ says, no spit back .... but then even with carbs, unless the flames is there long enough to get the material to catch fire, you are probably ok.

and as ^^^^ said, easier and cheaper to make in aluminium and probablu lighter plus you won't see the blinkiness undr the air fileter anyway.









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smart51

posted on 24/5/10 at 09:13 AM Reply With Quote
Glass fibre should be just fine. Glass is less combustible than carbon. Think about it. The benefits of carbon are its tensile strength and its bling factor. There is no tensile strain on an inlet trumpet.

Fire retardant plastics used in manifolds are usually nylon plastic filled with glass plus a fire retardant additive. You could make yours with epoxy, glass and if you can get hold of it, a fire retardant additive.






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Neville Jones

posted on 24/5/10 at 09:52 AM Reply With Quote
I've been doing complete intakes in carbon fibre since 1989! Before the oem's decided on plastics. And people told me 'it can't be done, won't work.

It's not a job for the novice though, as many pitfalls are on the way. Take it one step at a time, carefully.

The fibre is of lesser importance than the resin, as trumpets are unstressed, as is the greater part of an inlet manifold.

Cheers,
Nev.

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