aluminum underpanel

[turboyaris]

ok guys as requested I did some research into finding out how much it would cost to have some aluminum underpanels made. We are looking at more then likely 100-125, that was for my one off piece, I didn't ask how much it would be for numerous panels. The beatrush jdm one I believe is around 200$ thats the price of just about all of their underpanels for any car. The shop where I would get them from would not be able to punch out louvers either so basically we would wind up using a hole saw and putting some holes in the panel. It could also be towards the cheap end if no bends are needed. The only other thing that would knock the cost down is for us to drill our own. That way it gives everyone their own option for installation. I can do a write up on my install but there would be numerous different ways to install the underpanel, ie nut and bolt, rivet, zip tie, or self tapping screw. Let me know how many of you are serious about wanting one. I will be more then likely making at least one for myself so you I can still do the write up and go from there.

[OxyG3nE]

it is usefull ? i have the aem intake and maybe it can help for the water not to go up?..

[turboyaris]

yea it can help that. That isnt its main function at all. The main purpose of the panel is to reduce under car turbulence caused by air entering the engine bay from underneath the vehicle. This turbulence swirls around inside the engine bay and slows down causing an increase in drag. At the same time, the air entering at a high velocity underneath and travelling up into the engine bay will cause lift this can be noticed at higher speeds +70ish when the front end begins to wander slightly. This is caused by the lift and the overall fact that the car itself is light. That being said the underpanel will keep air from entering the bottom of the engine bay instead it will proceed quickly through the underside of the vehicle and exit in the rear. The benefits of the increase in frontal downforce should be immediatly apparent, more so the higher speed you travel.

[ChinoCharles]

That is to mention nothing of the fact that it keeps things like rocks and roadkill from crapping up your bay.

[OxyG3nE]

i want one depending on the price :p ($us to $ca make thing expensive sometime..)

[punch]

what about engine cooling once the engine bay is blocked off?

also any cnc shop could make this panel, and cut out the notches you want..

and any old school body shop will have a machine to make louvers if thats what you want.

[turboyaris]

sheet metal fabrication companies are your best bet, its not heavy duty enough to need that plus the sheet metal guys have a wider array of thinner metals, as far as engine cooling the majority of that is done by the radiator not the underbody of the car, you need the openings in the underbody to allow some air to escape so it doesnt get trapped in the engine bay. as far as the louvers, yes i could get them done by taking them to another shop, i was only stating that the shop where the panels were made don't offer that, I am trying to keep the cost under the 175 for the beatrush one, not that louvers would cost much, just saying.

[punch]

sheet metal fabrication companies are your best bet, its not heavy duty enough to need that plus the sheet metal guys have a wider array of thinner metals, as far as engine cooling the majority of that is done by the radiator not the underbody of the car, you need the openings in the underbody to allow some air to escape so it doesnt get trapped in the engine bay. as far as the louvers, yes i could get them done by taking them to another shop, i was only stating that the shop where the panels were made don't offer that, I am trying to keep the cost under the 175 for the beatrush one, not that louvers would cost much, just saying.

maybe I'm wrong but doesn't air need to flow around the engine compartment to cool things also, and with your panel the air entering the rad area has no where to escape?

[turboyaris]

air around the engine bay does very little to cool the engine, it is usually warm after passing through the radiator. and thats why you need vents in the panel, to allow air to escape. There are several different options for vents, louvers is usually the most common.

[Astroman]

If someone gets a shop to make this cheaper than C-ONE it could be a potential group buy :biggrin: I'd be interested.

[turboyaris]

thats the whole point... first I am going to make the template up and have one made just for me. Then what I am going to do is run some tests to determine whether or not enough air escapes the engine bay, and to make sure engine compartment temps are around the same with the panel installed as opposed to not and to make sure engine temperatures themselves don't creep because of inadequete flow downstream of the radiatior. I'm hoping a noticeable difference in downforce will be noticed right away as well, but we will see. It is a little harder to measure those numbers though, unless someone wants to invest in suspension travel measurers (the technical term currently escapes me).

[spkrman]

I can see this being useful.

I can't see it being that expensive to produce... looks like a flat panel of aluminium to me? Should be able to be sold under $100 on a GB without any issues.

[churp]

I origanally thought you were talking about a full belly pan, but really don't know now...could you explain a little better? Checked on the price of aluminum and a 4' x 8' sheet .09 thick is close to $500 and up depending on the grade!!!! You could probably find cheaper than the quick source I checked, but still only get 2' x 4' x .09" for $78 and the same size .063 thick for $57 (cheapest grade thru McMaster Carr)!!!! :iono:

[C2AUTOSPL]

We can get teh BEATRUSH underpanel. I'll check on availability tomorrow.

[spkrman]

I origanally thought you were talking about a full belly pan, but really don't know now...could you explain a little better? Checked on the price of aluminum and a 4' x 8' sheet .09 thick is close to $500 and up depending on the grade!!!! You could probably find cheaper than the quick source I checked, but still only get 2' x 4' x .09" for $78 and the same size .063 thick for $57 (cheapest grade thru McMaster Carr)!!!! :iono:

I'm about 45 mins from mcmaster :)

Good folks.

[YarisGuy]

We can get teh BEATRUSH underpanel. I'll check on availability tomorrow.

Pictures of the BEATRUSH or C-One would be very helpful :biggrin:

[Terrorize]

Hmm...anyone know if the panel fits the Yaris sedan?? Is the placement the same? I mean the mounts points on the LB and Sedan?? Thanks....i would be intersted in this too...

[turboyaris]

here is a picture of the panel http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3807
i don't know if it would fit the sedan or not. I imagine that the points and all would be very similar. The design I am going to make will be for the sedan and I will then need to find a liftback in the area to see if it would fit or need modification.

[nick1983]

Hmm...anyone know if the panel fits the Yaris sedan?? Is the placement the same? I mean the mounts points on the LB and Sedan?? Thanks....i would be intersted in this too...


:iono: Same here.

[turboyaris]

using the best resource I had available to me.... the factory service manual, I did a little research, and it appears that the underpanels should be interchangeable from liftback to sedan, if the panel connects to the frame rail which I believe it does. Don't hold me to this, I would wait until I have the panel made up and try and fit it onto a liftback before I say for certain. However, the framerails are placed the same distance apart on the sedan and liftback, therefore I can't imagine why it wouldn't fit.

[tk-421]

turboyaris: I'm actually more interested in the template that you made for the panel, since I might be able to get it fabricated locally... Shipping usually kills off every sweet deal for me (even GBs)... Prices really go up when shipping to Mexico, plus I gotta pay taxes. :thumbdown:

Please PM me an offer on your template if you're interested. Of course. I'm only buying if the panel fits the hatchback with no issues, so I'll wait as long as it takes for you to confirm this. Take your time, bud! :respekt: