Alaskossie Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 John, Those are very close. I do not remember them as being quite that tall, but that is the general idea of the ones i tried to buy four years ago. Based on my blat yesterday, I find that with half doors and no top, angling the standard CC wings outward just an inch or so makes a noticeable difference in how much wind buffeting hits your face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Based on my blat yesterday, I find that with half doors and no top, angling the standard CC wings outward just an inch or so makes a noticeable difference in how much wind buffeting hits your face. That's what I noticed a couple of years ago on my Caterham. I made standoffs out of 1/2" clear plastic dowel and used superglue to attach them to the bottom of the wind wings. I put a soft rubber bumper on the end to protect the sheet metal. They significantly reduce the buffeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 That's what I noticed a couple of years ago on my Caterham. I made standoffs out of 1/2" clear plastic dowel and used superglue to attach them to the bottom of the wind wings. I put a soft rubber bumper on the end to protect the sheet metal. They significantly reduce the buffeting. Skip - Do you have a pic that illustrates what you did? I am struggling to imagine what you did. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Skip - Do you have a pic that illustrates what you did? I am struggling to imagine what you did. Many thanks Mike, Here's a few pictures of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Skip - Now that I see the pic I can see what a brilliantly simple and effective idea you came up with. Why didn't I think of that ..duh! :leaving: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Well, I would not call it a flaming failure as earlier suspected but anyway I was not satisfied with the results. Polycarbonate is pretty tricky to work with and I suspect even with industrial equipment it may not be possible to shape a sheet on a mold with good optical clarity. So I built a mold: http://lh6.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNLy9Nn3I/AAAAAAAACMQ/ymWvvkCXkPY/s1152/P1020474.JPG Put it into a heater box (a.k.a. oven) with air baffles: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNPNxtqHI/AAAAAAAACMU/sejQ1sdNMEA/s1152/P1020478.JPG Blew in 6 kW of hot air to get to 365 degrees: http://lh4.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNSrR0R-I/AAAAAAAACMY/7cnhBr0LZf4/s1152/P1020480.JPG Got a properly shaped sheet for the sidescreen but the optical clarity was disappointing: http://lh6.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNXBvoaMI/AAAAAAAACMc/-CFTIcWdfFs/s1152/P1020503.JPG Oh well, some things are more difficult than expected. I did several experiments with different temperatures and soaking time but eventually had to give up and go back to the previous concept with the frame (see next post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 (edited) After that thermoforming failure I formed a new sidescreen frame from thin walled stainless tubing: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNdkjxFcI/AAAAAAAACMg/mJVaRB8CLgk/s800/P1020482.JPG Put a flexible 1/16" sheet of polycarbonate on and wrapped the edges around the frame with a hot air gun: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNj_i8HLI/AAAAAAAACMk/_6mK30-bhb8/s1152/P1020486.JPG Result is much more pleasing: http://lh6.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNqz7ls2I/AAAAAAAACMs/p4JrfDXtyeg/s1152/P1020507.JPG New frame is not too obtrusive, good wind and weather protection and still the feeling of an open car. I like it.... http://lh4.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnNyN1q0JI/AAAAAAAACMw/QUiC9Sejg7Q/s1152/P1020509.JPG Edited November 22, 2010 by slomove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 (edited) More pics....This is with screens open: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnODRGYLaI/AAAAAAAACNE/qVvLcyBSYr4/s1152/P1020520.JPG And I ended up with satin black mirrors (instead of the the matching yellow): http://lh6.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/TOnN2QCP1PI/AAAAAAAACM0/IpgSzjxUIbI/s1152/P1020511.JPG Anyway, given the difficulties, I think I can not provide sidescreens to other interested parties but maybe the pictures help come up with new and better ideas. Edited November 22, 2010 by slomove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Gert, It looks great. I think I like it better with the frame. Can you make me a set for the Caterham? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hill Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Gert.... Interesting headlights. Care to share the details? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancylad Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I'd like a pair of those for my Westfield. Love the way they tilt forward for entry and exit. Mirrors look good in black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Gert.... Interesting headlights. Care to share the details? That was last year's project: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4498 In the meantime I ditched the separate swivel stem and re-mounted the headlights a little lower on the shock bracket from the newly installed Birkin widetrack kit. Looks more integrated and less vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Gert, It looks great. I think I like it better with the frame. Can you make me a set for the Caterham? Unfortunately it is not a simple repeatable molding process as originally envisioned. But doing the tube frame is actually not that difficult. It is 5/16 thin walled 304 stainless tubing that can easily be shaped with a tube bender by hand. One 6' stick plus 5" extension is sufficient for one side. It took me maybe 3 or 4 hours per side, bending, fitting, tweaking over and over until it was right. Since I don't have a jig this can only be done with frequent fitting on the car. Then I welded the swivel mounting plate, a dowel to hold on to the windscreen stanchion and a steel strap for the door sill. The swivel is a nylon ball joint in an aluminum shaft collar. Depending on the collar tightening the swivel has more or less friction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBOLT Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Next time use a high quality pooltable felt on your form we do this all the time. It is also helpful to sandwich the material between a core and cavity, this will let you lower the material temp, and improve clarity, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 Thanks for the tip. I heard about the felt method but I only found synthetic felt that would not have survived the temperature. I am pretty sure I could have a achieved an acceptable result eventually with continued experimentation. But honestly my patience ran out and at $35 per 16x32" per sheet the experimentation gets expensive pretty soon. I am quite satisfied with the result anyway. I don't regret giving the thermo-forming a try (old R&D wisdom: fail early, fail often) but the method with the frame is just much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kess Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 As a former Superformance owner (and now looking for a replacement 7) I thought the door/window that was offered on that car was a great design. The door was hard and snapped closed. It had a Lexan window that moved up and down in the door on a track. It used a knurled metal knob to hold the window in the desired position which worked great. With the door on and window down there was very little buffeting. With the door on and the window up rain was not a problem either. It sealed very well up to the top and the doors and top fit easily into the trunk. It was also very easy to lift the door off when I did not want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Ready Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 If somebody wants to do a modest production run of the deflectors, count me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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