Here are the essential materials:
Fiberglass
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/fiberglass_fabrics/31_twill.html
or Carbon Fiber/Kevlar
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/fiberglass_fabrics/42_carbon_aramid.html
You need to get the twill style of fabric, do NOT get the unidirectional fabric or the woven Roving cloth. The twill allows for compound curves, the straight weave ***WILL NOT***. This is important to note since if you choose carbon or kevlar the cloth will be expensive and once cut, you will not be able to return it.
Molding Material
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/molding_casting/92_foam.html
Latex gloves (10 pairs)
Disposable Plastic or Paper Mixing cups (8-10)
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/tools_supplies/163_beakers.html
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/tools_supplies/113_paper.html
This is to mix the resin/hardener.
Wood shaping files (a good wood rasp that has a convex side with rough and fine grades should suffice)
An electric meat cutter (the kind you used for cutting turkey on Thanksgiving) or a hacksaw but it won't work near as well.
2 Large black garbage bags
An empty cardboard box of the approximate overall dimensions that the tube will be.
A few Paper Face masks
Bondo (The Pink kind)
Clear Resin
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/polyester_resins/02_isopthalic_high.html
Surface Curing Agent (The smallest one you can get since you will only need a few drops.
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/polyester_resins/16_surface_curing.html
Mold Release
I Used car wax which worked **OK**
Commercial ones probably work better:
http://www.tapplastics.com/fiberglass/molding_casting/103_brown.html
Cheap 2" brushes they sell at Taps. Buy about 8 of them since they are not reusable. The cheaper the better.
Dremel tool with stone cutoff disks (the thick ones)
Wet Sand Paper of various grades (I think I went as low as 240)
A dowel of at least 3/8" thickness
A wood board at least 5/8” thick
A drill with drill bits
Stainless hardware
(2) 10x1 screws
(2) misc screws (Allen cap screws work best here)
(4) stainless washers
(4) thick rubber washers (at least 1/8" thicker if you can find them)
(2) stainless bracket hardware. I used the kind that you attach bike racks on Mt. Bikes. They are stainless, have a slot cut in the middle so you can adjust your distances, and they were cheap.
(I used a aluminum 'L' Bracket for one but the steel hardware will work fine here)
Optional stuff:
Black resin dye.
Plastic polish
Blue masking tape they will try to sell you
Disclaimer
This is all from memory so please take this with a grain so salt. I did this over 3 years ago and have not thought about it since.
Quantities:
First, the fabric. Buy more than you need as it is not that expensive and you will screw up a few times. If you buy kevlar or carbon, realize that your shears will be dull quickly so if you have a diamond stone to touch up your shears you will be set.
The molding compound I purchased was, I think, 1 pint cans, this will make way more than you need but I don't think they sell it in smaller sizes. (You need two cans. It is an A/B agent like epoxy so in order for it to work you need to mix the two agents.
The resin I think I purchased the medium sized can. But don't quote me.
If you have read this far you are probably interested. The rest is long and I was written from a laypersons point of view speaking as if you have never done this before either. If I were you I would read it a few times before you begin because there are a few areas that make a big difference in the end product. Reading as you go along may not work.
Instructions:
1. Jack up car, remove driver's rear wheel, and wheel liner. There will be about 4 screws and 8ish pop pins. If you have not done this before, to remove the pop pins you push the center "button" ***IN*** with a screwdriver this will release the tension, you can then pull them out with your fingernails. If you try to force the pins out, you will break them but Dali now has them much cheaper than the $8 that Acura wants for each one.
2. Remove the snorkel attached to the stock intake.
3. Get the cardboard box and line it with the plastic garbage bags. Measure out the foam and dump it into the box so that it is even. You can do it in layers so don't worry if you did not mix enough the first time. This stuff sticks to EVERYTHING so don't have anything close to this stuff when you do it. (Small children included) Once cured, the bag will peel off. If you dont use the bag, any part touching the box will be perminantly bonded and you will have to cut it off.
4. Wait till it cures. I will be very hard and cool to the touch. The stuff on the bottom will retain a bit more heat than the top so don't be in a rush.
5. Now comes the fun part. Go shove the box like shape up into the space where you want your intake. You can make fast and easy rough-cuts with the electric knife here. Cut and refit. Cut and refit. Keep doing this until you have the rough shape of the tube. If you cut off too much no big, just mix up some more foam mold material and before it cures shove the rough cut shape you already have back into the new foam mix. You now have extra foam where before, you did not.
5a. Remember the hose has to fit ***INSIDE*** of the coupler that leads to the air box. That means it needs to fit inside of the coupler ***AND*** have enough space around it that once you lay up 2-4 layers of fabric and resin that it will STILL fits inside the coupler.
5b. The front of the hose (the part that faces forward) can be larger than the side intake. It looks better if it is closer in shape and. with patience, you can easily make it look VERY close.
6. Once your shape is as close as you can get it with the electric knife (or hacksaw) use your wood file to refine the overall shape. Go slow. Considerations need to be accounted for:
1. The gas fill tube will be in your way. You will have to go under it.
2. The wheel well liner actually bows INSIDE so you need to make accommodations for that (mine bows out a bit since I made my tube a little to fat :-(
3. ! MUY IMPORTANTE! You do NOT want any sharp bends, or sharp curves. It should look like an organic item. Sharp bends are very difficult to lay fabric over since the fabric can only give so much before it buckles. You will see later.
7. If you are happy with the shape start applying the bondo to the foam mold. This will close up all the little air pockets that you opened by filing and shaping the mold down to what you want it to look like. Try to make bondo as smooth as possible since once this stuff hardens it is as hard as a rock. Try also to press the bondo INTO to pores in the mold. It will make the whole structure harder. Cover the whole mold leaving no area uncovered. This will make the exoskeleton stronger as a result. Make the side that faces the side-vent thicker than you think you need. You will see why later.
8. It will take a few applications to get the whole thing covered since you can only hold so much of the mold and apply the bondo to the other potion.
9. Once it is cured (24 hours) break out the wood raps again and file away. If you made the bondo smooth there will be less to file. If not, like me, the filling here took a while. Make sure you test fit it a few times while you are working it down. If there were imperfections in the foam you will likely have a chance here to correct it. Once it feels nice to the touch hit it with sand paper and make this as smooth as possible. I wet sanded down to about 600 before I quit. At this point you should have something that loosely resembles a mannequin arm.
10. Take your resin and hardener and mix up a batch and use one of your brushes to "paint" the resin onto the mold. The first application will likely soak into the bondo. (Now take note, I cannot remember if the resin I *listed* is the exact one as I *used*. Talk with the sales rep to make sure that the resin will not react or eat the bondo. You should be safe, screwing up at this point would suck since it took a while to get here. Apply at least 3 coats, letting it cure between coats, until your feel like there is a good layer. Mix up a last coat using the curing agent. This is like a wax barrier that float to the top of the resin as it cools. It forms an airtight barrier so that O2 cannot get into the resin. The only way to cure the resin is to starve it from O2.
11. After it cures, break out the sand paper and sand away. If you did a good job in painting on the resin, it will not take much work. Sanding here is critical since this will determine how smooth the inside of the tube will be and how smooth the airflow will be once the car is started. Plus it will be the part you see (the inside) so looks count folks. If you have a bump on the mold it will turn into a "dent" in the tube that will jut out. Not pretty. I took my time here, I think you should do the same.
12. Once you are done, coat the mold with the release agent. I used carnuba wax (paste) and it did not work that great. Do what you want, but I think I would have been happier spending the money to get the real release compound. If you do use wax, layer it THICK. Don't wuse out and put on two layers because you are excited because you are near the fun part, laying up the fabric. (this has been fun up till know right???)
13. Here is where the thick bottom will come in handy. I took a steel dowel and measured how large it was. I then took the corresponding drill bit and drilled a hole into the Thick part of the mold. (This will be the part that faces the side intake vent) Drill the hole so that the mold stands up at an angle. You want the mold to be as vertical as possible so you can work from all sides when laying up the fabric. A tight fit is a must. Take that dowel and shove it into the hole that you drilled into the flat board. This will be your work surface. Once you drill both holes epoxy the dowel ONTO the mold but not the board. You want it to be as firm as possible. This will allow you to turn the mold as you lay up the cloth making the whole job easier. When it is cured and hard, stand the whole unit by placing the other end of the dowel into the board. You will be successful if the mold stands freely with no assistance and you can turn the whole apparatus without fear of anything falling down.
14. Now the fun part. Cut the fabric in funky shapes until you get a feel for how the fabric wants to lay on the mold. Different curves will need different shape fabrics. The larger the piece of fabric you can manage the better. If you have sharp curves or angles, you will hate them now because the fabric WON'T bend around them. Remember what I said in step 6??? Ideally you want the fabric to overlap as this will add strength later.
15. The first piece is probably the most important. (You are thinking.... "Great, the first one you ever tried will be the most important. Thanks a bunch Jeff.") Here is why I want to freak you out. The first piece will be the one you SEE when you are done. So you don't want it to look like crap right? Like I said the larger the piece the better so you will see a large uninterrupted piece of fabric.
***O P T I O N S***
Here is kind of a cool point. If you a cheap like me you bought fiberglass. But it is white, won't it look like crap? Well, yeah it will
(I know you are thinking,.... well I could just paint it. Don't feel bad, I thought this as well.) But then I found the black resin dye. When you mix you resin batches you put the dye in and it turns the resin black. Now the color will be in the fabric, and in the resin. If you paint the tube, in time there will be rock chips that will make it look ugly. If anything hits it with the dye, the only thing behind the surface is more black fabric or black resin!
If you are not cheap you either a) bought the kevlar/carbon weave (cool) or b) bought the one that SOS and Dali sell.
16. Once you have your large piece on the mold, mix up your resin. Once mixed, paint it onto the fabric. The fabric will want to slip off the mold but once you put the resin on the surface tension of the resin will hold it on the mold. You want to watch for two things here. No bubbles on the resin and saturation of the fabric. So really what you want is a very wet piece of fabric that is coating the mold. Use your brush to smooth the resin and the wet fabric. You want it wet, but not so much that you have extra resin globs everywhere. Smooth is KING here as it was when you were making your mold. If at this point you are not fainting from the fumes (remember to do this in a well ventilated area) now is the best time to lay **one** more layer. Not too many since the weight of the fabric and the resin can make the whole thing slip off the mold if you have too many wet layers. If I were you, I would have the fabric precut and ready. I would also try to work from opposite sides of the mold so your layers are as even as possible.
17. Keep adding layers, 3 is probably thick enough. Remember where the pressure points are. a) at the air box coupling since you have to clamp it. b) where you plan to attach the brackets (you will be drilling holes in the tube) Make these areas thicker if you can.
18. After your final layer you need one last coat of resin with the curing agent. Remember that the beauty of the outside will never be seen except by you so if you did a good job in the inside and in the mold prep THAT is where the payoff is. So if the outside looks a little rough (and it will) no worries! Let cure for at least 24 hours.
19. Okay, you feel the end nearing. Feels good! Now here is where the mask comes in. It is not optional no matter what anyone tells you. Fiberglass or any glass for that matter is not something you want in your lungs. Your body cannot get rid of the stuff and I understand it is cancerous if inhaled. ICBW but is that really something you want to risk? Thought not.
20. The bottom of the intake will likely have VERY sharp spikes from fabric stands that have hardened with the resin. They are sharp and tough, brittle as they may be, they will impale you the first chance they get. Take your dremmel with the cutoff disks and make as nice of a cut as you can on the open ends of the tube. You can clean it up later with a file and sand paper. The saying stands, measure twice - cut once. Leave extra if you are not sure you have enough. You can always cut it off later but putting it back is impossible.
21. Once the ends are cut out you can now destroy the nice mold you spent so much time on. There is no easy way to get it out. Getting it out intact is impossible. I used a 3/8" chisel and a small ball hammer. Start from the middle and work your way out to the glass. At some point all you will have is the bondo shell on the inside of the tube as you have removed all the foam.
22. If you did your release agent right the bondo shell will chip right out leaving a very shiny inner tube. If you suck like me, most of it comes out but some of it is attached like glue! Take your time and chip it out with a chisel. The fiberglass is tough stuff, as long as you don't gouge the surface, it will be fine. Whack away, just not too hard.
23. Once all the bondo is out the tube looks pretty bitch'n huh? Test fit it and see if you need more cuts. If not sand paper the edges to remove any sharp edges or strands.
24. If the inside has any bubbles (it will) you can wet sand it. With a few minuets of work the inside will be smooth, but it will look white and cloudy. Plastic polish here works great. A few minutes and bam (looks shiny) and if you used fiberglass and the dye, looks just like carbon fiber but for 1/10th the price.
25. I used to brackets two hold the tube on. Hopefully the pics come out. Drill the holes carefully in the tube. Use the allen cap screws and the rubber washers with the allen cap on the inside of the tube. The rubber washers on either side of the tube are there to give some give if the tube gets bumped or the engine cants when it is started. Just a precaution. Use self locking nuts for these fasteners. You don't want to synch down onto the fiberglass since it is kinda brittle. You want it snug, but you don't want things coming off. This is where the rubber washers and self-locking nuts come in.
26. Bend the brackets into positions where you can used the existing bolt holes. They are 10x1 metric thread pitch so you will need those.
27. Put the rest of the junk back on the car and throw away one of the two pieces of crap Honda put onto our cars, the snorkel. (The other is the sorry excuse for a header (actually a collector) on the exhaust. Well then there is the window regulators, and.... I digress.
28. E-mail me if you actually take this on. I may be able to help you over the phone or by e-mail if you get stuck and need help. I have never worked with bondo, fiberglass, resin, or any of this crap before. I think of myself as mechanically inclined and I can think in 3-D shapes. If this sounds like you, I am sure you can do this. It is not hard, just a little time consuming. Total work time (not including cleanup showers , and prepping the car) was maybe 10 hours. 3ish to get the foam how I liked it, 3ish bondo-ing the mold and prepping it for the layup. 1 laying up the fabric. (Once you get the hang of it, it takes less than 10 minutes to put a layer on, but it takes overnight to cure.) and 3ish hours releasing the mold and prepping it for install. The install took a whooping 30 minutes.
29. All told I spent $100 since I had some of the tools but NONE of the materials. So that is materials cost only.
I love it, its cheaper than buying it, and I had a ton of fun doing it. I also have the pride of being able to make stuff,.... I sit around thinking up crap I can make all the time, car and non car related.
Good Luck, and may the release agent Gods be with you.
Jeff
Here are a few pics, if this does not work LMK.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289991095&congratulation_page=Y
