Defense of the crankcase (NEW MOD :))

[harp00n]

I live in Ukraine, and we have a lot of "bad surprises" on the roads here that could damage the engine (rocks, junk...).

So I decided to install the defence for the crankcase (made of steel by our local ukrainian shop). The only issue, that bothers me - is the weigth of it - 10-12kg (22-26lb). On the other side, I beleive the defence will make some "underbrace strengthening" effect.

The only pictures I've got is for M35x, but I guess it'll help:



"BEFORE" ---------> "AFTER"

P.S. The alternative is the defence made of fibreglass, the weight is about 5 kg (11lb), though it won't help hitting huge rock and no "strengthening" effect.

[SVTCOBRA]

You MUST have some bad roads!!! Any pics of these roads???

[pfarmer]

I live in Ukraine, and we have a lot of "bad surprises" on the roads here that could damage the engine (rocks, junk...).

So I decided to install the defence for the crankcase (made of steel by our local ukrainian shop). The only issue, that bothers me - is the weigth of it - 10-12kg (22-26lb). On the other side, I beleive the defence will make some "underbrace strengthening" effect.

The only pictures I've got is for M35x, but I guess it'll help:



"BEFORE" ---------> "AFTER"

P.S. The alternative is the defence made of fibreglass, the weight is about 5 kg (11lb), though it won't help hitting huge rock and no "strengthening" effect.

If I lived where you do I would probably do this on your 'G' and certainly on mine.

I have an 08 XS and the fact is I have thought about something like this on mine after this last winter. The powers to be never bothered to plow the roads and we ended up with huge ruts since drivers can not get the concept of driving slightly right or left of the guy in front when possible. The 'G' actually did pretty good but was a snow plow far too often and it would be nice to have a little bit more protection.

My concerns would revolve around if the mod could cause some other issues when it comes to safety. How well is it made (looks fine here)?

Perry


Modified by pfarmer at 12:32 AM 7/11/2009

[Sentientbydesign]

I've got something like this in EARLY development.

Mine will have a few goodies up it's sleeves AND will be made out of ABS or Aluminum.

[johnparkyourcar]

^ I'll be in for one once you're done

[pfarmer]

I live in Ukraine, and we have a lot of "bad surprises" on the roads here that could damage the engine (rocks, junk...).

So I decided to install the defence for the crankcase (made of steel by our local ukrainian shop). The only issue, that bothers me - is the weigth of it - 10-12kg (22-26lb). On the other side, I beleive the defence will make some "underbrace strengthening" effect.

One question. It is a little hard to see on this picture, but does this affect air flow to the radiator in anyway? I seem to remember somewhere that airflow to the back of the center grill (not through it) was critical for proper cooling?

Perry

[pfarmer]

I've got something like this in EARLY development.

Mine will have a few goodies up it's sleeves AND will be made out of ABS or Aluminum.

Sounds like a well grounded idea.

Perry

[kmckis1029]

wow... yeah it looks nice... and it looks like it would provide some extra bracing...

but yeah i was thinking the same thing... can the G get proper air flow with that on? can it release heat from the engine? Or if you do have a leak, that will delay you from noticing the leak as it pools on the skid plate before it drips down to ground... would pooling of A/C condensation be a problem?

IDK thats just my thoughts on saftey... it looks great though

[Poyzinous]

One question. It is a little hard to see on this picture, but does this affect air flow to the radiator in anyway? I seem to remember somewhere that airflow to the back of the center grill (not through it) was critical for proper cooling?

Perry

Well the lower engine cover has no airflow properties as far as cooling, but the plastic is made to dissipate heat, so I think aluminum would be good because it deals with heat better than steel. The AWD model G has 7.5 inches of clearance before anything critical is endangered. Unlike Lambo's and ferraris which only have 4-5. And unless the one in the pic has 800lbs or more of torsional resistance, It wont provide any noticeable advantages in structural rigidity. It does however look great for beat up roads and things. I would like something like that going beneath half the car's underbody components in DC or Latin America...

[pfarmer]

Well the lower engine cover has no airflow properties as far as cooling, but the plastic is made to dissipate heat, so I think aluminum would be good because it deals with heat better than steel. The AWD model G has 7.5 inches of clearance before anything critical is endangered. Unlike Lambo's and ferraris which only have 4-5. And unless the one in the pic has 800lbs or more of torsional resistance, It wont provide any noticeable advantages in structural rigidity. It does however look great for beat up roads and things. I would like something like that going beneath half the car's underbody components in DC or Latin America...

In the picture it appears that the area right up to the bottom edge of the bumper assembling ends up sealed. I was under the impression that this area is critical for proper airflow.

As far as clearance 7.5 inches may sound like a lot but in reality we had ruts much deeper than that during our last snow fall. I made a huge effort to ride out of them which was extremely difficult. In town it was actually harder due to some of the roads having large chunks of ice present. On my old Jeep which I really miss one option was a set of light weight skid plates which this seems to resemble.

As far as aluminum versus plastic versus steel the difference as far as heat is how fast it dissipates due to surface area and material density.

The last part is interesting since the greater density material will be able to absorb more energy. The less dense material will dissipate it faster. The rate of dissipation in this case would then be dependent on air flow, otherwise the higher density material may well be beneficial. In this case the airflow considered is that to and from the radiator.

Perry

[Nazc0]

wow dud just got of the flight from ukraine like 7 hours agoi notice that g's there are rare things i saw only 4 while i was ther efor a month in kiev and only 2 in lviv btw here are some pics of what the roads look like i drove my brothers passat while i was there and it was almost constant scraping when i drove off a main road onto like a side streetthe roads are terrible but its never dull

[kmckis1029]

wow and im complaining about rock chips on my front bumper here in GA...

[Nazc0]

they dont fix the roads right because if they fix it bad then they come back in a while when its all messed up and fix it again badly thus creating jobs for themselfshere in america the roads are built in layers of sand concrete and such there its sand on dirt with a mix of asfalt that was made on a budget.the main roads are decent and some like the kiev-odessa highway are actualy better then most roads here(heres a pic of the speedo while i was driving on that route last year ) but if you turn off the main roads you better know how to a good slalom between the bumps

[pfarmer]

they dont fix the roads right because if they fix it bad then they come back in a while when its all messed up and fix it again badly thus creating jobs for themselfshere in america the roads are built in layers of sand concrete and such there its sand on dirt with a mix of asfalt that was made on a budget.the main roads are decent and some like the kiev-odessa highway are actualy better then most roads here(heres a pic of the speedo while i was driving on that route last year ) but if you turn off the main roads you better know how to a good slalom between the bumps

What is wrong with this picture?

Perry

[Rivalry]

What is wrong with this picture?

Perry

KM/H?

[spacy9]

What is wrong with this picture?

Perry

It's not a G? (although he never said it was).

192km/h = 120mph?

I give...

[pfarmer]

It's not a G? (although he never said it was).

192km/h = 120mph?

I give...

I've been trying to figure out if there is or is not a problem just to the right.

Perry

[Nazc0]

wait what?im lost whats the problem?it was in a lacetti i was just showin the lack of speed limits, or more corectly the non enforcment of them the speed limit was 70 kph and there were bmw's tearing past me at 220-240kphi wish i was in my G but all the lacceti had was a tiny 1.8L engine with 120 hp but the car is not that heavy so it actualy was not that bad, but no comparion to a G

[pfarmer]

wait what?im lost whats the problem?it was in a lacetti i was just showin the lack of speed limits, or more corectly the non enforcment of them the speed limit was 70 kph and there were bmw's tearing past me at 220-240kphi wish i was in my G but all the lacceti had was a tiny 1.8L engine with 120 hp but the car is not that heavy so it actualy was not that bad, but no comparion to a G

It is a little hard to tell since there are variations in Lacettys. Various versions have either a solid red needle for all instruments or on the smaller instruments a red tipped needle. None seem to have a red tick on the target instrument in question.

Perry

[Nazc0]

hmm i dont know much about lacettys all i know that the one i drove was the newer chevrolet ones not the daewu(no idea how to spell that right)

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

wow... yeah it looks nice... and it looks like it would provide some extra bracing...

but yeah i was thinking the same thing... can the G get proper air flow with that on? can it release heat from the engine? Or if you do have a leak, that will delay you from noticing the leak as it pools on the skid plate before it drips down to ground... would pooling of A/C condensation be a problem?

IDK thats just my thoughts on saftey... it looks great though

Ok Back to topic lol

It would be smart to have holes in the bottom of it....

That way water can drain out and as well as a hole to get to the oil filter and drain plug.

DJ

[pfarmer]

hmm i dont know much about lacettys all i know that the one i drove was the newer chevrolet ones not the daewu(no idea how to spell that right)

Basically I am saying that it is very dangerous to drive at high speeds with low fuel (that is what is hard to tell in this case).

The red tick may simply be a low fuel indication (or a malfunctioning gauge). But all Lacettis I have seen either have a completely red needle or a red tip needle and don't seem to have the red tick.

Perry

[Nazc0]

its always like that the fuel gauge has a red needle but the red mark is always there it does not indicate low fuel a red light appears under the gauge and even if the needle is all the way down it means there are 7 liters in the tank left thats when you start looking for a fuel stationi took this picture after puling out of a gas station at full throttle, i just kind of got caught up in the acceleration

[harp00n]

OK, here's an update. This is OEM slim defence:



This one was hand-made (the inner side) of the armored fibreglass:



and the outer side:



It is very solid, about 12mm thick, the weight is about 8kg.