DIY: Custom Brake Ducts

Mozen · 08-11-2013, 03:45 AM

So take this with a grain of salt but ive decided to experiment a bit with the idea of making some custom brake ducts for my 370z. The issue is i have a Zele front bumper which has excellent vent holes in the side but there are not really any options to use them for brake ducts as they are an unusual size and i didnt see any cheap options online.

These are just the first prototypes modeled after the NCAA ducts but have a bit shorter length. The next version will match the lower half of the holes on my zele bumper.

My idea here is to build something for cheap and...to build reliable custom parts for my own car which on its own has an appeal to me.

You will need:

Fiberglass resin
2 types of fiberglass matt, i went with 3 but its your call. One needs to be a thick weave and the other should be a bit smaller and tighter.
Some styrofoam or something else with which to make your mold.
Masking tape
Assembly fluid or petroleum jelly (to keep the resin from sticking to the tape)
Sandpaper (you can also use a dremel with a sanding wheel.)
Razor or hot wire gun.
10 Ft of 2.5 IN Diameter SCEET or similar tubing. I went with the stuff from aviation spruce .com.
2 T Flanges with an O/D of 2.5 IN. Again i got mine from Aviation spruce.com.
Blind Rivets
Rivet Gun
Aluminum sheet metal. I went with 6065. You only need 1Ft Square and honestly you dont have to have this. Ill use it near the end to reinforce the bracket on the dust shield.

To start out make your mold from the styrofoam. If you have to glue together a few sheets and then once they have dried then you can cut them up. Be advised it will make a mess! You can use a razor blade to cut the foam or if you feel like spending some money go out and get a hot wire gun from a hobby store. The whole idea here is to build these for cheap tho so that almost defeats the purpose. Your hose connection point needs to be close to the size of the hose you want to use but don't sweat if its not perfect. The only major requirement here is to make sure you dont go bigger. I will be using a 2.5" hose due to space.

If you are in a rush, sand at the end then add a final layer, if you have time and you are trying to make it perfect, sand after every layer and then wipe the pieces back down to keep them smooth.

Next you will take the mold you have made and tape it down to a piece of card board. You will need the carboard to A.) keep the mess down and B.) provide you a mounting surface if you are going to mount these flat somewhere.

Next step is to coat your mold with the assy fluid or petrolatum then lay down your first layer of fiberglass matt. Use the thicker weave as this is the strength layer.

Dont worry about creases here and there, for the most part you can smooth them out when you put the resin on. Mix your resin and USE A SCALE to ensure your ratio of resin to hardener is correct.

You will notice i did not bother wrapping around the back portion where the hose will connect, that will come later. You want to be able to use the mold again to make the second piece so it has to be able to release. You can join the pieces together later. Once you have both 1st layers made and you no longer need the mold i then laid down a second layer of the finer mesh. You can see it here.

At this point while the second layer is drying go ahead and cut the back part of the mold off, i left enough that id have some space to join the two pieces and i added a few layers of tape to the mold to make it bigger where it will connect to the original piece. That will allow my second piece to fit over the first and keep bumps inside where the air will be down to a minimum.

Once you have created your second pieces (which dont have to be pretty) you then join the two. Use your head here...you will want to put layers to connect them on the outside and the inside. I did the outside first, let it dry, and then added layers to the inside.

I will post more as i go. I dont expect these to fit on my car but it was a project to teach me the basics and i had fun. I will work on the actual ones for my bumper some time next week or so.

Mozen · 08-11-2013, 03:46 AM

OK i started work on the version 2s today. In the end i made a 2.25 inch diameter aluminum circle for each duct for the hose to connect onto. What ill do is make a mold, create the ducts and build that loop into each side. That will give me a solid place to hook up the hoses to and it was easy to knock out.

Taped off the area to mold. I will only be making a piece for the lower part of that vent because i have my fluid bottle in there as well. the idea will be to keep these fairly small so that they dont take up much space but still channel the air.

Laid down the fiberglass on top, i mixed the resin better this time so i had longer to work with it. Ill trim the pieces once i get them out and they dry the rest of the way.

And here are the two pieces. Still need to dry a bit before i trim them up. Im happy tho!

18 Aug 2013

Managed to finish the molds, not very big but should fit pretty well. The other option is to turn then down where the pipes connect. to make it easier for routing the hose. You will note that each mold is not identical...sue me. Im making my own car parts lol.

19 Aug 2013

Taped them off during lunch. Ill try and lay the first layer down tonight so yall can see what they will look like.

Sanded them down after pulling them off the molds.

21 AUG 2013

TEST FIT TIME!

31 AUG 2013

I fiberglassed them onto the car then started making the turns. It takes a while :/

Here you can see the differences in the two sides. On the right side of the car i have to deal with my windshield washer fluid bottle and it forces some changes to the angles.

Here shows the left side tubing being routed. You can see i had to cut a bit of that panel up but no big deal it fits great.

End result, its very hard to notice them unless your actually looking for them and thats just the way i wanted it.

MORE STILL TO COME. I was short 2 feet of tubing so im waiting on the last little bit to come in before i hook them directly onto the brake dust shield.

Wonka2581 · 08-11-2013, 03:53 AM

Subd

Mozen · 08-15-2013, 03:05 PM

Had some free time today so I sanded them down in prep for final layer.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

Mozen · 08-17-2013, 07:02 AM

Check out post #2, started work on the Version 2.0s.

370Zsteve · 08-17-2013, 07:42 AM

Subscribed

Mozen · 08-18-2013, 02:05 PM

And finished the molds, next is to tape them off, lube them up, and lay the first layer to see how they turn out. See post #2 for pics.

cdoxp800 · 08-18-2013, 02:10 PM

Very Cool..

Mozen · 08-20-2013, 06:20 AM

Got the pieces off the molds. Due to a poor customer service issue I will not be using the stillen duct and hub connection and will be building my own for cheap.

More to follow and ill test fit these today.

**IMAGE ON POST 2**

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

chknhawk · 08-20-2013, 07:31 AM

Subd

OMGWTFBBQ · 08-21-2013, 12:42 AM

This.. is pretty badass!

I'm interested!

Mozen · 08-21-2013, 03:02 AM

I appreciate it!!! Test fit today and it went well. Need to modify just a little bit.

**IMAGES MOVED TO POST #2**

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

Mozen · 08-21-2013, 05:45 AM

So looking at the pictures its clear they are not at the correct angle What i intend to do is fix up the insides of each piece and then fiberglas them onto the bumper. It will make it a tad harder for people to copy this but to be honest the fix is clear. When you make your molds remember that they really sit at an angle on the bumper to begin with so when you make the mold adjust the final angle of the tube opening appropriately.

Mozen · 08-31-2013, 03:04 PM

Ok, today was a big big day. Got the pieces on the car, realised they wont fit due to a lack of space behind them where they were in the corners. Solution was to cut them up and on the spot fiberglas some new bends into them which took some time to get right. They are not pretty or perfect but you know what, they work, and i did the work myself from start to finish.

I am very proud of how they turned out and id actually like to thank Stillen for having poor customer service because if they had not blown me off id have never attempted this myself.

CHECK OUT POST 2 FOR PICTURES!!

DEpointfive0 · 08-31-2013, 03:46 PM

Wow, awesome

08-11-2013, 03:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	DIY: Custom Brake Ducts So take this with a grain of salt but ive decided to experiment a bit with the idea of making some custom brake ducts for my 370z. The issue is i have a Zele front bumper which has excellent vent holes in the side but there are not really any options to use them for brake ducts as they are an unusual size and i didnt see any cheap options online. These are just the first prototypes modeled after the NCAA ducts but have a bit shorter length. The next version will match the lower half of the holes on my zele bumper. My idea here is to build something for cheap and...to build reliable custom parts for my own car which on its own has an appeal to me. You will need: Fiberglass resin 2 types of fiberglass matt, i went with 3 but its your call. One needs to be a thick weave and the other should be a bit smaller and tighter. Some styrofoam or something else with which to make your mold. Masking tape Assembly fluid or petroleum jelly (to keep the resin from sticking to the tape) Sandpaper (you can also use a dremel with a sanding wheel.) Razor or hot wire gun. 10 Ft of 2.5 IN Diameter SCEET or similar tubing. I went with the stuff from aviation spruce .com. 2 T Flanges with an O/D of 2.5 IN. Again i got mine from Aviation spruce.com. Blind Rivets Rivet Gun Aluminum sheet metal. I went with 6065. You only need 1Ft Square and honestly you dont have to have this. Ill use it near the end to reinforce the bracket on the dust shield. To start out make your mold from the styrofoam. If you have to glue together a few sheets and then once they have dried then you can cut them up. Be advised it will make a mess! You can use a razor blade to cut the foam or if you feel like spending some money go out and get a hot wire gun from a hobby store. The whole idea here is to build these for cheap tho so that almost defeats the purpose. Your hose connection point needs to be close to the size of the hose you want to use but don't sweat if its not perfect. The only major requirement here is to make sure you dont go bigger. I will be using a 2.5" hose due to space. If you are in a rush, sand at the end then add a final layer, if you have time and you are trying to make it perfect, sand after every layer and then wipe the pieces back down to keep them smooth. Next you will take the mold you have made and tape it down to a piece of card board. You will need the carboard to A.) keep the mess down and B.) provide you a mounting surface if you are going to mount these flat somewhere. Next step is to coat your mold with the assy fluid or petrolatum then lay down your first layer of fiberglass matt. Use the thicker weave as this is the strength layer. Dont worry about creases here and there, for the most part you can smooth them out when you put the resin on. Mix your resin and USE A SCALE to ensure your ratio of resin to hardener is correct. You will notice i did not bother wrapping around the back portion where the hose will connect, that will come later. You want to be able to use the mold again to make the second piece so it has to be able to release. You can join the pieces together later. Once you have both 1st layers made and you no longer need the mold i then laid down a second layer of the finer mesh. You can see it here. At this point while the second layer is drying go ahead and cut the back part of the mold off, i left enough that id have some space to join the two pieces and i added a few layers of tape to the mold to make it bigger where it will connect to the original piece. That will allow my second piece to fit over the first and keep bumps inside where the air will be down to a minimum. Once you have created your second pieces (which dont have to be pretty) you then join the two. Use your head here...you will want to put layers to connect them on the outside and the inside. I did the outside first, let it dry, and then added layers to the inside. I will post more as i go. I dont expect these to fit on my car but it was a project to teach me the basics and i had fun. I will work on the actual ones for my bumper some time next week or so. cv129 and critical like this. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 09-01-2013 at 02:02 PM.

08-11-2013, 03:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	OK i started work on the version 2s today. In the end i made a 2.25 inch diameter aluminum circle for each duct for the hose to connect onto. What ill do is make a mold, create the ducts and build that loop into each side. That will give me a solid place to hook up the hoses to and it was easy to knock out. Taped off the area to mold. I will only be making a piece for the lower part of that vent because i have my fluid bottle in there as well. the idea will be to keep these fairly small so that they dont take up much space but still channel the air. Laid down the fiberglass on top, i mixed the resin better this time so i had longer to work with it. Ill trim the pieces once i get them out and they dry the rest of the way. And here are the two pieces. Still need to dry a bit before i trim them up. Im happy tho! 18 Aug 2013 Managed to finish the molds, not very big but should fit pretty well. The other option is to turn then down where the pipes connect. to make it easier for routing the hose. You will note that each mold is not identical...sue me. Im making my own car parts lol. 19 Aug 2013 Taped them off during lunch. Ill try and lay the first layer down tonight so yall can see what they will look like. Sanded them down after pulling them off the molds. 21 AUG 2013 TEST FIT TIME! 31 AUG 2013 I fiberglassed them onto the car then started making the turns. It takes a while :/ Here you can see the differences in the two sides. On the right side of the car i have to deal with my windshield washer fluid bottle and it forces some changes to the angles. Here shows the left side tubing being routed. You can see i had to cut a bit of that panel up but no big deal it fits great. End result, its very hard to notice them unless your actually looking for them and thats just the way i wanted it. MORE STILL TO COME. I was short 2 feet of tubing so im waiting on the last little bit to come in before i hook them directly onto the brake dust shield. 370Zsteve, cv129, DEpointfive0 and 2 others like this. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 08-31-2013 at 03:09 PM. Reason: updates

08-11-2013, 03:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
Wonka2581 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 3,083 Drives: MY WIFE CRAZY.... Rep Power: 2611	Subd __________________ "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat""Winston Churchill"

08-17-2013, 07:02 AM	#5 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	Check out post #2, started work on the Version 2.0s. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE

08-17-2013, 07:42 AM	#6 (permalink)
370Zsteve A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Gold Coast CT Posts: 10,599 Drives: 2019 Corvette G.S. Rep Power: 43	Subscribed __________________ SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

08-18-2013, 02:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	And finished the molds, next is to tape them off, lube them up, and lay the first layer to see how they turn out. See post #2 for pics. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE

08-18-2013, 02:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
cdoxp800 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2009 Location: FL Posts: 1,337 Drives: 2011 Nismo Rep Power: 19	Very Cool.. __________________ 2011 Brilliant Silver NISMO 370z. #: 0046. PPE LTH \| MillSpec Cats \| F.I Exhaust \| Akuma Intakes \| Rotora 6/4 Brakes

08-20-2013, 06:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	Got the pieces off the molds. Due to a poor customer service issue I will not be using the stillen duct and hub connection and will be building my own for cheap. More to follow and ill test fit these today. IMAGE ON POST 2 Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 08-31-2013 at 02:59 PM.

08-20-2013, 07:31 AM	#10 (permalink)
chknhawk Track Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Kentucky Posts: 541 Drives: Like a batouttahell! Rep Power: 14	Subd __________________ \| AEM \| INVIDIA \| GREDDY \| STANCE \| NISMO \| SETRAB \| STOPTECH \| HAWK \| TOYO \| HANKOOK \| BRIDE (wishlist) \|

08-21-2013, 12:42 AM	#11 (permalink)
OMGWTFBBQ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: the OC Posts: 1,886 Drives: 08 SGM IS350 Rep Power: 4549	This.. is pretty badass! I'm interested!

08-21-2013, 03:02 AM	#12 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	I appreciate it!!! Test fit today and it went well. Need to modify just a little bit. IMAGES MOVED TO POST #2 Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 08-31-2013 at 03:01 PM.

08-21-2013, 05:45 AM	#13 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	So looking at the pictures its clear they are not at the correct angle What i intend to do is fix up the insides of each piece and then fiberglas them onto the bumper. It will make it a tad harder for people to copy this but to be honest the fix is clear. When you make your molds remember that they really sit at an angle on the bumper to begin with so when you make the mold adjust the final angle of the tube opening appropriately. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE

08-31-2013, 03:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mozen Track Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 820 Drives: Nissan 370z PW M6 Rep Power: 18	Ok, today was a big big day. Got the pieces on the car, realised they wont fit due to a lack of space behind them where they were in the corners. Solution was to cut them up and on the spot fiberglas some new bends into them which took some time to get right. They are not pretty or perfect but you know what, they work, and i did the work myself from start to finish. I am very proud of how they turned out and id actually like to thank Stillen for having poor customer service because if they had not blown me off id have never attempted this myself. CHECK OUT POST 2 FOR PICTURES!! 370Zsteve and DEpointfive0 like this. __________________ PW 370z \| AEM \| MISHIMOTO \| ARK PERFORMANCE \| WHITELINE \| NISMO \| STILLEN \| FORGESTAR \| BC RACING \| AMS \| NON STOP TUNING \| CARBONETICS LSD \| 4 Point DOM 1.75" SCCA Spec Roll Bar + Harness Bar CHECK OUT MY BUILD THREAD HERE Last edited by Mozen; 08-31-2013 at 03:10 PM.

08-31-2013, 03:46 PM	#15 (permalink)
DEpointfive0 Premium Member Bitches Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: SoCal Posts: 14,824 Drives: a lot Rep Power: 17151	Wow, awesome __________________ Do YOU want to know what/where I got my username from? ( Click to show/hide ) NSFW due to language:

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