Front felt undercarriage

[kaede]

Originally Posted by husks002

Mine has ripped off and been replaced multiple times. My friend who is an aerospace engineer is working on an aluminum undertray that will have the same dimensions (albeit lighter and stronger) for my car.

If there is interest on the forums for him to create more, would be happy to get some reproduced and sell on here.

Interested!!! However, it all comes down to price as well. If its going to cost 5x the price of the felt ones, then i am sure most will take a chance with the oem option and replace it every year or two if needed.

Aluminum lighter than the oem part? Interested in the finished product and want to see how it holds up against the road lol.

[crypticc]

Would not aluminium risk destroying the mounting points themselves instead of sacrificing themselves like the felt ones? I.e. if you went over a speed bump set a bit too high?

[ra2289]

Originally Posted by husks002

Mine has ripped off and been replaced multiple times. My friend who is an aerospace engineer is working on an aluminum undertray that will have the same dimensions (albeit lighter and stronger) for my car.

If there is interest on the forums for him to create more, would be happy to get some reproduced and sell on here.

I'm also having these fabricated in aluminum. I get the concern some have with the metal over plastic but I'm just tired of having a common wear item be so expensive to replace. My biggest concern where I live would be road debris but we'll see how it works out.

I've tried to attach pictures of the prototypes. The pieces are not ready yet, the next step is ensuring fitment is good when I have a chance.

[husks002]

Originally Posted by ra2289

I'm also having these fabricated in aluminum. I get the concern some have with the metal over plastic but I'm just tired of having a common wear item be so expensive to replace. My biggest concern where I live would be road debris but we'll see how it works out.

I've tried to attach pictures of the prototypes. The pieces are not ready yet, the next step is ensuring fitment is good when I have a chance.

This is exactly what we are going for! Let me know how that works out and if you are ready to sell one. Would save me a lot of hassle and time

[admranger]

Originally Posted by ra2289

I'm also having these fabricated in aluminum. I get the concern some have with the metal over plastic but I'm just tired of having a common wear item be so expensive to replace. My biggest concern where I live would be road debris but we'll see how it works out.

I've tried to attach pictures of the prototypes. The pieces are not ready yet, the next step is ensuring fitment is good when I have a chance.

Nice! Interested

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by ra2289

I'm also having these fabricated in aluminum. I get the concern some have with the metal over plastic but I'm just tired of having a common wear item be so expensive to replace. My biggest concern where I live would be road debris but we'll see how it works out.

I've tried to attach pictures of the prototypes. The pieces are not ready yet, the next step is ensuring fitment is good when I have a chance.

Absolutely interested in these. Just hoping they won't have a hefty M tax like the felt ones.

I did this on my g35 and 37 and it was like 120 bucks. Hoping to see these out soon.

[ra2289]

I'll definitely keep you guys posted. The pieces are off getting powder coated black then we'll shoot for a fitment test.

[Shredicus]

Interested as well if the price is right. My undercarriage is looking pretty ragged

[-BEASTMW-]

Originally Posted by ra2289

I'll definitely keep you guys posted. The pieces are off getting powder coated black then we'll shoot for a fitment test.

Those look awesome. I've never felt the, um, felt stock ones but might these shave a little weight as well?

My main concern is noise from pebbles and other road debris bouncing off of an aluminum panel like this.

Regardless, very interested.

[bmwfool]

also interested if the price is right

[///mawana]

Originally Posted by bmwfool

also interested if the price is right

This ^^.

[Jive]

Also interested.

In the mean time, could anyone tell me what the part number is for the part in the linked photo? Looks like it ripped off another part but I'm not sure what.

View post on imgur.com

[0-60Motorsports]

The Alu ones will be great.

[ra2289]

Originally Posted by -BEASTMW-

Those look awesome. I've never felt the, um, felt stock ones but might these shave a little weight as well?

My main concern is noise from pebbles and other road debris bouncing off of an aluminum panel like this.

Regardless, very interested.

No weight figures as of yet but was told it will be negligible. Most likely won't be lighter as compared to stock since we're going from plastic to metal, however, with them being aluminum I don't see them being pounds heavier piece for piece.

As for road noise I'm not sure on this either since I don't have any real world experience yet, on this car at least. I don't foresee there being much of a difference, if any, during most day-to-day driving situations where there would be no noise from the stock plastic pieces. Now, if someone is driving down dirt roads or something on a normal basis then some increased noise versus the stock pieces is probably likely--rocks pinging off metal vs. plastic. I had and aluminum front undertray on my lowered 350z and never noticed increased noise.

No update on prices yet guys, sorry.

[husks002]

Originally Posted by ra2289

No weight figures as of yet but was told it will be negligible. Most likely won't be lighter as compared to stock since we're going from plastic to metal, however, with them being aluminum I don't see them being pounds heavier piece for piece.

As for road noise I'm not sure on this either since I don't have any real world experience yet, on this car at least. I don't foresee there being much of a difference, if any, during most day-to-day driving situations where there would be no noise from the stock plastic pieces. Now, if someone is driving down dirt roads or something on a normal basis then some increased noise versus the stock pieces is probably likely--rocks pinging off metal vs. plastic. I had and aluminum front undertray on my lowered 350z and never noticed increased noise.

No update on prices yet guys, sorry.

The OEM piece is actually really heavy so I agree the weight should be negligible since aluminum is quite light. Interested to see how yours comes out looking and also when my buddy is done prototyping the one for me! Looking forward to upgrading from this crappy plastic.....

[ra2289]

Originally Posted by husks002

The OEM piece is actually really heavy so I agree the weight should be negligible since aluminum is quite light. Interested to see how yours comes out looking and also when my buddy is done prototyping the one for me! Looking forward to upgrading from this crappy plastic.....

Ditto on moving to something more sturdy.

As an aside, I could better justify the price most vendors charge if it was an actual permanent piece like you and I are having done, but to charge so much for what amounts to a wear item is a little silly to me. Especially when it can, and most likely will, break in fairly short order.

[SSJVegita]

omg i been wanting this forever! subing for info and i would deff be down as well

[WhatsADSM]

Interested as well for all 3 pieces. The OEM felt pieces would be fine if the whole set didn't cost an arm and a leg to replace, for something that gets punctured if you look at it wrong.

[code7rpd]

Interested as well.

[Bx Tpr]

Interested. Is there anyway the two corner pieces can be made flat like the middle piece? I'm actually enjoying driving around without the felt pieces on. I don't rub anywhere lol

[///M3Fresh]

Originally Posted by Bx Tpr

Interested. Is there anyway the two corner pieces can be made flat like the middle piece? I'm actually enjoying driving around without the felt pieces on. I don't rub anywhere lol

This is exactly what I was thinking. The purpose is to keep debris out more than aero so a flat sheet of aluminum (one piece or three would be ideal).

[vastano]

In for the aluminum replacement.

I had one of these on my Evo X. The vendor ended up cutting it down the middle and adding bolts holes instead of having 1 big solid plate in order to save on shipping, just something to consider.