question?

one quick question... i went ahead today and made a cai cover from 1/4 inch plexiglass and when i screwed it in i noted not to screw them in to tight to avoid cracking it, so i used tread locker. drove it around and then checked it out, it starting to splenter and crack around the holes where i drilled threw the plexiglass, they where not there before i drove around... so i going to make a new one... so back to my question, what do you use to avoid cracking it? i also used stick on 1/4 inch foam for an air tight seal... is this necessary?

 

Why plexiglass? It's going to crack with all the vibration.

 

well i like the way you can see threw it !

 

Good for you, but it's still going to crack. And it's through, not threw. Threw is the past tense of throw.

 

Exactly, that is why companies make the shield out of aluminum or metal.

 

It did crack because i did not put any rubber washers in. Went and bought some so now ill give it another try.

 

yeah, thats a thought. a lot of people have done this, so i gave it a shot. Besides it does look a hell of a lot better clear then with the aluminum in my point of view.

 

Also you need to reduce the stress by counter sinking the holes. You don't want any rough edges cause microscopically they are 'cracks' and then you have the engine vibration and the crack propagates. This is why they polish the insides of race and aircraft engines, connecting rods, etc, to reduce small cracks to larger cracks and then, you know BIG CRACKS!!!

 

will do that as well, was talking to my dad about it earlier, and he said the same thing!

 

heres a pic

 

ok ill do that tomorrow, and we will see what happens. this was just the first attempt. hahah

 

you can always pick up a sheet of clear LEXAN from a hobby shop and cut to fit. Lexan is tough and takes a beating.

 

thats what i started with, but when i went to drill it, it cracked.. so i switched to 1/4 inch plexi and it held up for a bit. i did not install it right so it cracked>>>