Carbon Fibre bits for engine and gearbox (Mike?)

[novarally]

I can't recall ever seeing anything, but I thought I'd put the question out there...........

Has anyone ever seen a (smallblock) Vauxhall using carbon fibre for such parts as;

Camshaft rocker cover
Diff plate cover (F10/F13/F15)
5th gear end casing (F10/F13/F15)

or anywhere else on the engine/gearbox for that matter?

I'm always looking for places to save weight on the car, Mike if you're reading this, how complex (i.e. expensive) a job would it be to mould these kind of one-off bits for me?

[mowgli]

jeez colin...thats getting hardcore... the diff cover was done in either steel or ally i'd leave it as is.. have you thought of running with less gear oil?? as your mileage is rather limited..

you could make a cam cover out of a thin sheet of ally, and do away with the filler...that would save some ounces

how about getting the dremel out on the cam carrier?

[Mike]

I can't recall ever seeing anything, but I thought I'd put the question out there...........

Has anyone ever seen a (smallblock) Vauxhall using carbon fibre for such parts as;

Camshaft rocker cover - Seen it done but personally wouldnt trust it
Diff plate cover (F10/F13/F15) - Got one already made but for an F20 (well the clutch cover plates rather lol)
5th gear end casing (F10/F13/F15) - Never seen nor would ever trust tho!

or anywhere else on the engine/gearbox for that matter?

I'm always looking for places to save weight on the car, Mike if you're reading this, how complex (i.e. expensive) a job would it be to mould these kind of one-off bits for me?

TBH Colin none of them would be to hard at all, the moulds would be pretty simple, although how well the rocker/end case would actually seal down is a different matter an me personally, Id never trust them unfortunatly.

[dhdev (Oli)]

For the diff cover and potentially cam cover too, could you cut/grind off the metal to leave the sealing face and then bond a plate of CF over. Would give the majority of the weight saving and sort the sealing issue :confused:

[GDN16v]

Would you not be better off using titanium sheet to make the parts, could be quite thin and very strong but still seal against the other surface!;)

[dhdev (Oli)]

Would you not be better off using titanium sheet to make the parts, could be quite thin and very strong but still seal against the other surface!;)

I would've thought you'd be looking at plate rather than sheet in order to get a stiff enough sealing face. The cost would be very large for the amount of material you'd need IMO

[phunkynova]

The biggest weight saving can often be made by the driver and co-drive them self.
So many time's I've see some super light weight rally car and then get in two guy's each over 100Kg's , you just have to laugh at the irony of it all. lol

P.S. not saying that you or your co-driver are fat Colin. :eek:

[MK999]

P.S. not saying that you or you co-driver are fat Colin. :eek:

No co driver, lighter that way lol

However if you're estimating 200kg that makes Colin very heavy indeed... lol