EOI: Clear Timing Belt Covers

Hey Guys,

After the good response in the Z Non Technical forum I though I would move the discussion to a dedicated thread.

After a few weeks back and forth with the moulders/manufacturers we've come up with an estimated price of around $10,000 AU for getting the prototypes, moulds and first production run completed.

The price almost doubled due to the size of the mould compared to an RB25 style cover as we pretty much have two... (So typical of a Z isn't it?).

My plan is to form the two OEM covers together and chop off the bottom left side to make a seperate small cover.... This should allow easy removal for cleaning and access to cam gears, etc. Please see picture below.



OK, now the visuals are there... I wanted to get feedback from the people who are genuinely interested in such a product. I want to make a product to be proud of... not a quick dodgey job that is just see through.

A few items I would like to discuss:

• Design - do you guys think it would look better and be more functional with the covers joined and cut as per the example above?
• PTU location... I would suggest we remove the threaded holes and keep it plain and clear. This would allow more visible area and looks a lot cleaner.
• 'Heat Sink' style grooves in OEM cover between the passenger side intake cam and CAS. They have been shaved off in the picture above. Keep them or leave them?
• Price? Depending on the amount of confirmed buyers for the initial run.. I think we would be looking at the $325 mark. I'm happy to put in around $5000 into the project but we would need another 15 - 20 buyers for this to get off the ground.

Anyway guys, I'm open to comments, suggestions, etc.... I am going to trial fit the design (pictured above) with OEM covers on a motor and ensure the covers can be removed without removing the water pipes.

 

I think that is the best way of doing it, splitting it up the guts. Have you made sure that you can remove it with all the water pipes on? I personally like the little 'heat sink' bits, and the PTU mounts are good for people such as myself who still have it mounted there.

I would definately be in for one buuuuuutttt I won't have a VG for long.

 

Can't we have transparent heads too ?

I used to tune the Jag MK2 with one of those see-through spark plugs.

Magical !

 

numbers shouldnt be a problem...also since this is a new product.....im sure overseas will show some interest in this as well....in terms of design im not to good as i dont even know what your on about...lol...

 

Sounds good

ease of removal is the big thing as they will need to be cleaned. in regards to ptu location imo it should be moved elsewhere anyway and would look far cleaner without it there.

 

Im no experti n this field but i seriously cant understand how and why a mould would cost $10,000?

 

tools, testing and prototyping......im no expert but im sure there are lots of other reasons that could be added to that list

 

The mould itself is a structure that is estimated to weigh approximately 1500kg. Anyway, I'm happy to put up the majority of the costs, I just need numbers!

 

what sort of numbers are we talking about tommy boy, what are you aiming to get and if you get that 'acheived' number, what sort of price are we going to be looking at for a set -estimately- i know its hard to judge a price without numbers, but you could get heaps of peoples attention with the product then they may look the other way once its been made because of the price tag. I know you'll put a great price to it, so I am deffinately interested.

 

Okay, Tom i must say this is a brilliant innitiative on your behalf, a while back i searched high and low to no avail to get a set of clear timing covers, and the way your cusomising them for easy removal (without removing waterpipes) is the way to go i beleive, also no ptu and ditch the heat sink thingies in my opinion. Should come up a treat and im down for this when it gets rolling!

 

i agree with all of that

no heat sink bits
remove the ptu bolts

and in regards to the 2 pieces, just make sure that if there is overlap (I presume you'd want a little so that stuff can't get thru the small gap) that the top piece overlaps the bottom piece, so that nothing (including dirt) can fall from the engine bay and then get stuck in the overlap groove if u get what i mean

 

wait.... explain more how its done...

why on earth would a mould for a cover weigh 1.5tonne.....

 

We're getting off topic so I'd ask that we stick to what is relevant.... however to answer your question.... due to the size of the products we are moulding, the size of the actual mould has to be 'to scale' so to speak...

The mould will be a little bigger than this example:

 

What about the lower cover?

Anyways, I'd purchase a set in the future, pending successful creation of the product.

You can be sure the US guys will be interested. Is there any differences in the timing belt covers because last time I looked quite a few were listed.

Cheers

 

Looking at Tom's pic I'm guessing that these clear covers will be injection moulded in either clear acrylic or clear polycarbonate. As such the moulds are usually big, heavy steel items to withstand the clamping pressures involved, which could be 400-800 tonnes for these size parts. For comparison, the moulds we use to make plastic bumpers for Ford/Holden/Toyota weigh in the vicinity of 30-40 tonnes each, cost over $500,000 each, and operate at clamp pressures of 3000 tonnes.

The concept of fibreglass type moulds and resins can't be considered because we need a clear plastic. Similarly, the cheaper and lighter style moulds used to make polyurethane parts via the reaction injection moulding process can't be adopted because clear resins are not available for that process.

 

just weird that it takes 1.5tonnes of solid steal to make 1 cover...

im sure its all true and spot on, those people do it for a living, dont get me wrong.. lol.. im just used to making pressure vessels and tanks that have 10,000tonne pushing on 5mm plate thats all lol

 

I'd be in for a set as long as their easily removable.

 

wouldn't vacuum forming be suitable? (I used to make take away food containers)

it'd have to be cheaper, I just wonder about whether the thickness can be uniform throughout.

 

Tom,

Do you have any estimate on how often you would need to remove the covers to clean them.

Obviously we don't see how quickly they get dirty on the inside.

 

I really don't think you would need to clean them all that much.... unless you have a leaking intake gear or some other problem... It's just an ease of use thing.

I'm still trying to work out if the design I have posted will work.... At this stage it's still up in the air.