Aluminum Flooring

[cooldaddy]

i am planning to replace my current flooring with aluminum.

 

pls let me know on the things to watch out for or the do's and don'ts on this.

 

thank you.

 

I'm on the process of making my ke25 racer a little lighter

[mikeys toy[RL]]

DON'T the electralisis between the steel/alum will cause more corrosion and any rivets you use will pop for just this reason, AND i'm sure it's not legal.......

[cooldaddy]

DON'T the electralisis between the steel/alum will cause more corrosion and any rivets you use will pop for just this reason, AND i'm sure it's not legal.......

 

thanks dude. actually aluminum flooring is legal here. i really want to copy those lightened 11 sec hondas with yep... aluminum floors...

 

i may not be able to run 11s on the quarter but i have this feeling that a little anti-corrosion spray and rivets might just work.

 

i don't know man... just a little anxious to lighten my car i guess..

[Rolla__Boy]

Why don't you spend some time making it have some f@$kin horsepower. I have seen full weight cars run 10's.

[cooldaddy]

Why don't you spend some time making it have some f@$kin horsepower. I have seen full weight cars run 10's.

 

thanks rolla boy. ill take note of that. cool ride by the way...

[Toycrash]

Forget the aluminium, use good old steel like fellow of mine here in Finland http://jalanen.photosite.com/Album2/IMG_0413.html

Respect to those who earn it :D

[Super Jamie]

alloy is about 40% lighter than steel. it's also 3 times as expensive, and about 1/3rd as malleable. so making an alloy floorpan with anywhere near the structural strength (due to folds) of the original item is going to be difficult, if not impossible. and unless you can do it yourself, very expensive

 

where steel and alloy join, you are supposed to have the steel galvanised and the alloy coated to prevent contact corrosion. you also need to place some sort of physical non-metallic barrier in between the two metals. bmw use a titanium/zircon coating on the alloy, and an adhesive bonding agent as a barrier, where they join alloy and steel on their newer cars

 

you could rivet it, but i think it would be better to bolt it. if the tolerances between the new floor and the body change due to flex, you'll probably just pop rivets out, whereas with high tensile threaded fasteners (aka: nuts and bolts) the fastening would be stronger, and you could tighten them up again or threadlock them for a stronger join. this would also make the whole thing alot more serviceable, if you do have corrosion issues in the future

 

it really depends on the purpose of the car and what you want to achieve

 

if you have a dedicated track-only racecar with no interior to worry about and a cage to maintain structural integrity, and you really do feel like this is the next stage of development, then it would probably cost alot but be worth it because it's all you can do and is the cheapest option available. given that you don't feel your car could beat an 11 second honda (which is probably up to a similar stage of development as a 9 second rwd car), i don't feel you are up to this stage yet

 

if you just have a road-registered streetcar that you want to go quick in a straight line or around corners for fun, i agree with the others that you could take the large sum of money an alloy floorpan is going to cost you, and spend it better elsewhere (such as engine and driveline improvement or development of suspension, or better tyres) to achieve the same result

 

good luck

[Rolla__Boy]

thanks rolla boy. ill take note of that. cool ride by the way...

 

I try :D

[cooldaddy]

thanks guys...

 

the floor can wait.

 

super jamie, i am so grateful you invited me to rollaclub. muchos gracias amigo. by the way, i use my ke25 only for the quartermile. my daily ride is an AE111.

 

you might be asking why am i so concerned for my KE25's overall weight. its because i want to hold on to the title of having the quickest old school in our locality. hold on to the title just a little longer...

 

any idea how i can max out my 2T engine? i already have 89mm Wiseco forged pistons on it.

 

p.s.

 

thank you. this site is very informative.

[Rolla__Boy]

alloy is about 40% lighter than steel. it's also 3 times as expensive, and about 1/3rd as malleable. so making an alloy floorpan with anywhere near the structural strength (due to folds) of the original item is going to be difficult, if not impossible. and unless you can do it yourself, very expensive

 

where steel and alloy join, you are supposed to have the steel galvanised and the alloy coated to prevent contact corrosion. you also need to place some sort of physical non-metallic barrier in between the two metals. bmw use a titanium/zircon coating on the alloy, and an adhesive bonding agent as a barrier, where they join alloy and steel on their newer cars

 

you could rivet it, but i think it would be better to bolt it. if the tolerances between the new floor and the body change due to flex, you'll probably just pop rivets out, whereas with high tensile threaded fasteners (aka: nuts and bolts) the fastening would be stronger, and you could tighten them up again or threadlock them for a stronger join. this would also make the whole thing alot more serviceable, if you do have corrosion issues in the future

 

it really depends on the purpose of the car and what you want to achieve

 

if you have a dedicated track-only racecar with no interior to worry about and a cage to maintain structural integrity, and you really do feel like this is the next stage of development, then it would probably cost alot but be worth it because it's all you can do and is the cheapest option available. given that you don't feel your car could beat an 11 second honda (which is probably up to a similar stage of development as a 9 second rwd car), i don't feel you are up to this stage yet

 

if you just have a road-registered streetcar that you want to go quick in a straight line or around corners for fun, i agree with the others that you could take the large sum of money an alloy floorpan is going to cost you, and spend it better elsewhere (such as engine and driveline improvement or development of suspension, or better tyres) to achieve the same result

 

good luck

 

 

Mo Fo should be writing books :D

[Toycrash]

How about fiberclass on hood, doors, fenders and trunk lid. Polycarbonate on all windows. lighter rollcage(aluminium or cromo steel)

[cooldaddy]

How about fiberclass on hood, doors, fenders and trunk lid. Polycarbonate on all windows. lighter rollcage(aluminium or cromo steel)

 

toycrash, i already have fiberglass hood, doors. custom lightened trunk lid, we used a very very thin g.i. sheet. fiberglass front fenders on the works. i didnt touch the rear. windshield, still the original glass, and flexi-glass for the rest. its cheaper than polycarbonate.

 

got no rollcage.

[Toycrash]

Then all you need is powah :jamie:

I assume your sweetie weights allready about 700-750kg :D

[cooldaddy]

i hope it's weight is already in that range. when i got the car, my brother told me that they had 12 gallons of putty on it after they worked on the body. the paint job was really awesome- original purpose was to participate in a car show.

 

the expenses on this car is really taking an arm and a leg.

 

hahaha.

 

p.s.

 

hood and doors weighed 60 kilos!

[Super Jamie]

TWELVE GALLONS!!?!?!?!?! that is like, 50kg of putty (we call it "bog" here in australia), that's insane! you'd be surprised how many "show cars" are actually totally dodgy like that, i never believe anything i see at shows or in magazines anymore

 

and hey, no problem on the invite, i'm glad you joined :D

 

check out the puerto rico piston team. they have old corollas like ke70s with full tubeframes and 3T-C motors with efi, turbos and nos running eight and SEVEN second quarter miles!

 

from what you've said, i think you've already made the body light enough, it certainly is going to weigh no more than 750kg in that form. get it on a weighbridge and see for yourself :jamie:

 

you could spend a heap of money on an alloy floor, but if you want to go quicker down the quarter, let's look at what else you could do, which would cost less but achieve the same result:

 

tyres: i notice you're still running treaded street tyres. how about getting some slicks for the back? you can fit an 8" slick under the back of a ke25, maybe even a 9" tyre if you bash the inner guard in a bit (this is called mini-tubbing) and space the leaves in a bit. you could also get skinny front runner rims (such as 13x4.5" mazda 808 steelies) and run very skinny tyres on them to reduce rolling resistance at the front of the car

 

suspension: what suspension do you have in the thing? alot of drag cars run specialised shocks that have high rebound + low bound in the front, and low rebound + high bound in the back, this enables the weight to shift to the rear better, giving you more traction at the back wheels

 

engine: what exactly has been done to your motor? if it's just a fresh motor with big pistons, you have a WORLD of potential to unlock. camshafts would be a good idea. what carbs are you running? are they tuned properly? if you change the camshafts, have the distributor regraphed to suit the changed ignition requirements of the engine. you could get the head ported, put bigger valves in the head. one thing i think will be of advantage to you is lightening the flywheel, this way the engine has less drivetrain mass to spin up, and more power goes through the driveline as the car accelerates, it will also rev quicker as you go through the gears

 

you could fit a nitrous oxide system. any engine in any car should be able to take a 50 shot of NO2, and that will make a huge difference down the quarter! you could also turbocharge or supercharge the engine, you'd certainly have the potential to run 11s and even 9s then

 

you could also go to efi, which will give you a larger torque band and make perfect tuning alot easier, though for a dedicated drag car, i don't really think that is worth the expense. a decent set of twin sidedrafts (weber dcoe or dellorto dhla) will perform just as well for your application

 

there's just a few ideas for you, all of which will make your car quicker over the quarter, and are probably alot easier and cheaper than an alloy floorpan

 

out of interest, what does the car run down the quarter now? what else has been done to it? if you're going to get REALLY serious about it, then get a rollcage. if any car runs faster than 9.99 (or is it 10.99?) in australia, they're not allowed back on a dragstrip until they have a rollcage which is approved by either our drag racing or motorsport regulatory body