Splitter Leading Edge Reinforcement

So far I’ve been loving the new splitter, however because of the nature of the DiBond, the leading edge is a bit soft and has taken a few licks. I borrowed an idea from a couple people in other classes, and put a reinforcement / trim strip along the leading edge of the splitter.

Lowes sells aluminum channel to “trim” 1/4″ ply (which happens to be the same size as the dibond my & their splitters are made of)
This will make the leading edge much less of a wear surface. Bending and pie-cutting this stuff in a way that doesn’t cause stress fractures, and slotting it to clear the mounts is a royal pain, but it will add a ton of longevity.

I reinforced both the front and rear edges. The front is to protect the leading edge of the Dibond. The spar across the rear is to add a little more rigidity along the ‘long’ side of the splitter.

The fact that it looks a little Mad Max-ish doesn’t hurt either 😀

Split Lip Bumper Repair

My front bumper has had a split in it for ages, that’s been progressively getting worse. Honestly, it’s impressive that it’s lasted as long as it has, through nearly 10 years of dedicated autocross use.

I found a piece of *cough* scrap sheet metal to make a patch to strengthen the area:

I figured 10 rivets would be a nice, round number. It obviously doesn’t need that under static conditions, but when you hit a cone at 50 mph, more is probably better.

 

After a couple minutes on the drill press, then belt sander to debur, I positioned it on the bumper to transfer the holes through.

Final positioning before riveting it in place.

 

And the rivets in. Job done. And just picking up the bumper I can feel that it’s far stronger now, with a lot less flex overall.