TABrinn Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I love the look of the MSA III kit for my 77 280Z. When I called and asked what all it included he said is was basically an empty shell. I'd like to have the peace of mind knowing that if someone bumped into me that it wouldn't crush half my car! The MSA II kit for the ZX uses the factory supports. Is there any way to beef up the MSA III front and rear? Or is the shell alone tough enough to take a low speed impact? Help me out guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIM73240Z Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 its just a empty fg shell. will save you from a shopping cart but nothing else i guess. i have them in the garage ready for install. jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Bumpers aren't there to protect you, just to keep car damage in down 5 mph bumps, later was raised but not much. If you want safe get a big Japanese SUV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 and a large crack in fiberglasss isn't going to cost a whole lot more to fix than a small crack in fiberglass. The re prep and painting is going to to be the bigger cost and to do it right you will be repainting the whole part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoorenc Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I am getting the MSA type III also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chino 240Z Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 MSA Type III-Front Stay away from curbs, speed bumps and animal road kills... no supports, light weight, but works. The fiberglass has done well taking stones and rock impact on track for about a year now. Test fit, trim and prep before painting then bolts right on. I'm happy with ours. Additional sheet metal tin work required inside if "aero" is a concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Bumpers aren't there to protect you, just to keep car damage in down 5 mph bumps, later was raised but not much. If you want safe get a big Japanese SUV Most accidents are in parking lots below 5 mph so that would be fine. I wouldn't mind sacrificing the bumper to save the hood, quarter panels radiator, condenser, etc. By the way Clifton, love your car! I work in aviation and nearly all the composites we use are a honeycomb sandwich (ex. fiberglass/ core/ fiberglass). The aluminum honeycomb core gives incredible strength yet is very light. Modern cars use a plastic "egg crate" which gives a little more strength but not nearly as much as the honeycomb. Has anyone used this in their car? Do you guys think it would be worth trying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 Does anyone have a clue what I'm talking about? Or has everyone lost interest already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 My biggest fear are door dings. Atleast if someone hits me I know who to kill I reallt don't think too many are concerned about the what ifs, if I get in a low speed bump. Chances are "IF" it ever does happen it will be with something bigger than an S30 Z as just about everything is and it will take out your tail light panel or dent you hood anyways. I don't think a bumper would have helped here, just would have been one more damaged item. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=110600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Chino240z.............Man that's a nice looking car. Can you post more pictures for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I guess I'm in the camp that would still like to have some amount of protection for my intercooler, rad, etc., in the case that I am in a low to medium speed accident. I just changed over to a Fiat X1/9 aluminum bumper to at least save some weight (it weighs 9 lbs). Anyway, with the MSA III setup above I'd be mostly concerned about the airdam - is there any support for it? I think I'd want something supporting it to give me a warm fuzzy feeling that it wasn't going to collapse at 100+mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Mine Motors Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 i got one of the lower air dams from msa and when it arrived at my door i chose not to install it. so it's sitting in my garage now just taking up space. i think it would fall of if i went over a speed bump or one of those parking blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 i think it would fall of if i went over a speed bump or one of those parking blocks. It seems that is what most people on here think of the MSA kit. It's a shame it looks so good! My solution is as follows. 1: Rivet a piece of sheetmetal on the bottom. This would give some strength to the air dam and help with aerodynamics (somewhat) . 2: epoxy on a layer of honeycomb to the interior of the bumper/ airdam. Here is a pic hopefully it will stay up! This is 1/8" cell Kevlar honeycomb, available to the public through Aircraft Spruce www.AircraftSpruce.com. A sheet 4'x 8' is $139.95 and should be plenty to cover the whole interior of one bumper/ airdam, if not both. After the honeycomb is epoxied to the bumper and dry, apply a couple layers of fiberglass over the honeycomb. 3: If any of you are handy fabricators you could also incorporate mounts and possibly a few struts for additional rigidity at high speed. If you are patient and have a little skill with fiberglass nobody could tell the difference. The part would be 100 times stronger and you only add maybe 16 ounces weight! What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 sounds like an expensive part lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chino 240Z Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I would think Most Z cars using an MSA type III front air dam would probably be lowered and more worried about going under another street car these days. The honeycomb idea or a light weight bar can easily epoxied on the inside of the front piece for extra protection. Thanks Mayolives, it's a 71, 2.4, dedicated track car we have fun with. Okay, there ya go, put a bunch of old and new pics in my photo album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 sounds like an expensive part lol. If you just spent $500 on a body kit, what's another $140??? Especially for the guys who bought it and never installed it because it's so flimsy! Just a little checking (on the MSA site) and you will see that with this addition you'll only have spent 10- 20 bucks more than the other kits. Not to mention you'll look Way better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Just to give you guys an idea of what this stuff is capable of, the engine cowlings on the helicopters I work on are about 3/8" thick. When opened up they double as a work platform that is rated to withstand 500 lbs. The hinges would break before the composite would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONY C Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 that honeycomb can be got from Plascore also and they will make it in any size and thickness. they also have it in plastic, paper, kevlar, stainless, and aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABrinn Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Thanks for the info TonyC. Does anyone here have experience with honeycomb? I've made flat HC panels and simple curves but this would require several compound curves. About a million pie cuts in all those little cells would work but there's got to be a better way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 maybe PVC piping cut up and glued together. Much cheaper, more work and harder to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.