DIY Carbon Fiber Intake Manifold: Part 2 Making the carbon fiber plenum. 

"just a guy in a garage" - certainly respect the humility here. Well done!

You do phenomenal work. I started working with fiberglass and resin a few years ago. Lots of mistakes made at the beginning, but I've been quietly following your videos this past year or so and they've been helpful. I've built a few custom electric motorcycles during that time and have been casting the fiberglass fairing parts by hand. It's a lot of work, and waste as you probably know. You'd probably cringe watching it LOL. I hope to work up the nerve to try vacuum bagging someday. I use vac injection to encapsulate axial flux turbine stators, but that's relatively simple. Just a flat circle. Complex parts with compound curves and flanges to deal with is a completely different story. Anyway, just wanted to say that I appreciate the content. Your channel deserves far more attention.

I know im not the only one that gets excited when the parts pop out of the moulds, btw that manifold is a work of art even the parts that wont be visible

This Volvo will be closer to a Koenigsegg than to any other car. I love it!

install a cathode grounded or can purchase a pulse device they use in Hawaii to keep cars rust free. seen it on a few customers cars usually Military as free to Fairy over. some kind of PWM frequency modulation thru the chassis.

Just learned that carbon and aluminum together with cause electroless. Have you experienced that?

I love how thoroughly you explain everything

How many layers of carbon do you think would be the minimum for strength?

So honestly, how much have all your composites cost so far? Under 5k?

The joint for the two parts can be filled with a black carbon paste that has chopped strands. Ii adds strength also. Look at the Street Bandito youtube page it was about 2-3 weeks ago.

as you were moving the camera around the part I kept saying "let's see that curve on the back side with the cuts.. come on... come one..." then you did and damn did it turn out nice! That's the kind of area that has always made me wonder how to make it look good. That adhesive you have coming is commonly used in diy plane builds for bonding parts together, namely in the wing ribs and wing strut, so it should be quite fine for yours. I'm sure someone might ask about the galvanic corrosion, but if you think about it, this isn't a structural part and second, by time any corrosion happens to the extent that it would cause an issue will be so far into the future as to not be a concern. Too many people make out corrosion concerns like that as if it happens and fails overnight, or even within a couple years. If I hadn't been through corrosion training (aircraft related) I might have wondered myself. The adhesive will also act as a layer between the parts for the vast majority of the surface area as well.

Did you take any extra steps besides fillet wax to seal the mold flange, so it will hold vacuum?

Great ,amazing work. Please i need a catch can similar how the unit of your work . Where can I purchase

I have a question about the autoclave bit. To my understanding, it is simply a pressurized oven. If the pressure can be achieved by pulling a sufficient vaccum, would putting the part into a simple oven be anywhere as effective as using a purpose-built autoclave? I remember seeing something from the channel Technology Ingredients about making heating chamber/oven from just insulation foam sheets, aluminum tape, and a heat lamp (I cant find the video now, i think it might have been a tangent within a video titles something else). Would something like that be useful at all for curing parts?

Holey crap that plenum turned out perfect!

PPL GLORIFIED by GOD7 thru SON & Me hve greatest laditude reasonable working run rate room, not baby sitting any more. Those still here working it out owed, near as I can tell no1 but Me more time will b under diff terms & run room just like life 10yr old has diff rules than 15/16, or 18yr old or 30 yrs old kick in the pants needed.

Not sure which is better: watching the evolution of this project car; or watching the evolution of your beard.

In high school wood shop we glued something like 4 sheets of 80 grit to a piece of smooth plywood. That way you can flat sand large projects. I know that some 2 part epoxies you can cut with denatured alcohol for few benefits. It extends the off time, removes moisture from the mix, allows you to apply thinner coats and virtually eliminates the risk of air bubbles (because it’s thinner and the moisture has been removed). Also it’s absorbed into wood easier

this is better cool neat tech I'm impressed w/it. This hobbie modeling thing could turn into real buss, ppl employed taxes paid but youtube whoring for beast corp & fictional beast pay & non employee of beast corp sale force & hving everything locked into 1 supplier shipper channel is ungodly evil, 1000x worse than hitler & ss. We r not down here to b slaves or whores for beast corp, or play things for elites or your fetch it burger work force. Empowering tech, I would never do it too tooo many steps but glad some ppl like this type of work same w/programmers. WILL B flattening youtube & your followers & videos & all of it wicked fiction, digital bs, so if still breathing U will want to hve copies of your videos. If u r still prt of humanity & content not deemed satanist filth u can reloaded on new pppl form platform. Deal will b radically diff than devil smack false elite rigged wicked shit like youtube. This is what I had for lunch pay Me & elite pay Me for script reading & we will bs it all to keep it going.

I have learned more from you regarding carbon fiber applications than any other channel. I love your freeform way of presenting the content, you include a lot of little tips that the other (overproduced) video leave out. Those tips are where the gold is. Thank you and keep up the good work!

Hysol 9462

most construction & weaker type prts has ribs or banding or stiffeners not smooth finish all the way around but carbon is strong. We don't want stuff in the environment made to forever last unless basic reuseable building block or only thing we can use rare case carbon needed, or it will hold up enough so that prts in junk yard won't stay there but b reused long lasting ti life of 2 cars ,30yrs sun baked apart.

Could you fill the void with water to help get the bag to push right into the mold when pulling a vacuum?

carbon smack has its place same as foam insulation grand won't mold or wear out or sag, but not much else foam bad carbon expensive & bad unless saving lives & building planes strong.

If the carbon fiber came in tape rolls w/just enough glue to place hold till u laminated it would b way easier to use. Diff width tape roll, or big sheets.

If they made PVC paint u could add to prts so they glue weld up prts quick & easy.

The whole u lose a day & peel off & seal up time deal is mega suck prt of equation. A box chamber vacuum vs bags

Some kind of quick clay or some such thing mold whack w/hammer out of mold & clay not able to really stick to it well.

MAn i wish i could make one for Toyota 2rZ motor !! help !!

Awesome job! The question is how much boost? Will you gonna pressure test before installing?

some kind of universal shape like a puzzle piece for butt edges is a good idea, slide tap easy add after the fact to both butt pieces. U tape & weld seams & add slide tabs to b double sure won't tear at butt edges.

old plastic gutter pvc type material for repeated molds same prt, bc it flexes but don't break to easy.

Geez that came out nice. Time to start the project all over and do it in raw carbon! ;)

Wow, great video.... I can use all of your work in my project. That is awesome.... I am working on building a carbon fiber flight case. Thanks mate.

I've had peel ply release issues using the cheaper kind, doesn't seem to happen with the peel ply that has the red lines through it

Did you post the Catch Can Video ?? With your new learned expertise of vacuum bagging, will a pump capable of pulling 22Hg be enough to do a fender ??

Amazing work. The manifold looks perfect

meagain....... the back face of the trumpets is really important, your face plate illuminates them.

How could I build a more basic mold that would be for NA use only? I have a 3 rotor RX7 that I would to build ITBs for and then do a nice big carbon air box. Im struggling figuring out how to build flanges without an aluminum base like that.

@18:19 that look when you made something way better than you thought could. That's real, non-scripted stuff right there or else you sir deserve an Oscar. I was always under the impression that carbon fiber needed to be cured regardless of whether an epoxy was used or not which is why I never worked with it. This was many, many years ago. Is this no longer the case and modern epoxies can cure just under vacuum?

Wow, nail biting moments. Dramatic music didn't help either. On to part 3...

Beautiful work. Commitment to work. Cant imagine the cost of all of the tools and chemicals to get yourself situated enough to be comfortable doing this.

Great job. Pretty ballsy to mould the outside of the plenum, and hope the inside fits the aluminum flanges. I think most would've just wrapped a destroyable plug to make sure the i.d's were bang on.

This video played randomly, and I told my wife, that looks like a T5 plenum. This is to be the next upgrade to my t5, I assume this is for the Amazon?

This is really beautiful. You can be very proud of the result. I hope to be as good as you when I eventually get the guts to make the parts that I'm going to need. Thank you for sharing.

Dont use PeelPly, use perfurated film

From my little research that i did a couple of months ago i found that Sikaflex 292 is good for carbon to aluminum bonding

Every carbon fiber project needs to have at least one carbon finish part, just for the shock and awe effect. It does look really cool, and if you put it in the engine bay, then it doesn't mess up your exterior aesthetics.

I just subscribed the part you made looks like it was manufactured buy a complete professional

drop your all of using materilas pks

So a couple of holes or pockets where the carbin glues to the aluminium? not all the way through but as like something for the epoxy to grab on? That might prevent the carbon blowing apart from the machined piece ?

Hey, BINGE WATCHED YOUR VIDEOS, THIS IS ABSOLUTE STUNNER. The skill you have acquired, incredible. When do you expect to ignite the engine?

I swear I could hear the looney toons theme the whole time this guy was working... would you turn this guy loose in your garage with a gallon of epoxy and dye? hahahaha... it actually turned out nice though so what do I know. im finding out myself the more times I do this kind of thing the better it turns out

I suggest you drill recess holes through both carbon and metal parts where the epoxy can fill those holes and will be a mechanical locking mechanism also.

One day I hope to try some of what you've taught me...

Is Throttle Stop Garage situated near or does it have any association be it direct or indirect with that very clever mechanic at Ichiban Moto ? :-)

25:13 that’s what she said lol couldn’t help it

the over lapping is important and i guess you have 10 times more surface area. Still

Wait, you're not bagging the whole mold? Are the flanges really airtight? I could certainly be wrong but ideally wouln't you wanna bag the whole mold? Did you do a leak-down test before infusing? [EDIT] Ah, you're using the wax as a sealant. I'm honestly amazed with how well it worked. Great looking parts.

So slick man. Did you cnc that plenum flange? Or send the file off

The whole mold deal is crazy, aluminum foil release dirty & fast & recyclable not foam bad for earthly- heavenly work in progress home.

Can a carbon fiber withstand the heat if its turbo manifold lets say like if its for T66 turbos?

I have a CF intake on my 1989 M3. It looks like they airbrushed the seams with black paint before applying the clear coat. It hides them well enough. Maybe give that a try. Your parts do look great and since you have put in so much work already... I have been enjoying watching for awhile and I finally subscribed. Thank You!

I can't help thinking that you're leaving money on the table. The Amazon is a loved car, and there are more people wanting those carbon parts. Shipping's a bitch, but set up a simple website, do the SEO and wait for those longail orders coming in.

I don't really think you need it in your current application, bonding the aluminum flanges to the carbon manifold but just for future reference.. In aviation we place scrim cloth between the two surfaces when bonding metal to composite or metal to metal to prevent to much squeeze out. Love your channel!

why not using unidirectional carbon inside twill carbon ?

3D print yourself a bellmouth nozzle for the shop vacuum. It'll due much better than that narrow nozzle. Aside from that, the parts look absolutely killer! Nice work.

Awesome parts. Can you put the whole thing in a big bag and not have to worry about pleats?

Why i use silicone bags

Totally blown away at your end results! Kudohs!!!!

Luv it.....Think Wagner was a good choice for the epic unwrapping

Do you make custom air intake manifold. For any car.

Compressed air helps to remove the Peel ply, great work!

👍👍😊👍👍

Well done Would have done a 3 piece mold though (with the front being a separate piece)

As a fellow Canuck, where the hell did you manage to find the fileting wax?

Are you gonna make the complete car out of carbon fiber?

Many years ago I worked with Dr. Windecker the designer and builder of the Windecker Eagle airplane. I was working on the experimental International Harvester plastic Scout SSV. We found through testing that when you have to fasten to aluminum using epoxy that it helps to sand the wet epoxy into the aluminum using 80 to 100 grit cloth backed sandpaper. A much tighter bond is achieved when doing this. We were using that process to adhere the aluminum grommets to the epoxy/glass body. We found that when doing our crash tests we had a much higher success rate of not pulling the mounts out of the body. You may want to try this on your plenum. I’m really enjoying the series and your build. Great work! Thanks!

Nice video, I'm about to do a manifold myself for the first time so looking for any tips and tricks. To be fair to easy composites though-- they don't have an autoclave and have never used one in any of their videos. They just do vacuum bagging and an oven

Haven't seen a post from you in awhile, I hope everything is all right.

Wondering about the aluminum/fiber connection - will fully hardening epoxy be in joint of dissimilar materials as reliable as rubberizing polyurethane glue? (Edit: subscribed. Excellent work!)

So completely AWESOME.... you are making me think about doing my 04 v70R hood in carbon. Excellent work!

Hi there, i have a few questions for you buddy. Awesome work btw! What program/software are you using to draw up the 3D prototype?

what glue do you use to keep fibers together

Thats One beatiful piece!

This guy phenomenal I've contracted at Aston Martin and Bentley working on supercars and this guy is such a craftsman not alot out there doing this sort of thing themselves "properly or adequately" enough at least to call the car "customised" not like the usual hothatch sports model with different alloys exhaust and a racing stripe etc this guy legitimately makes everything he touches better. I mainly like how you reverse engineer everything you've done back to us not guessing at the time then saying afterwards "don't do this" you explain everything In full detail some of us technical people adore no extremely simplified "everybody cando this" type of project. Hands in the air and pray more are like you in the future from a mechanical engineer and keen garage diy'er 👍😉🤫 might be slightly medicated much love 🤨😁

So nicely done!! Terrific work! It must be so satisfying to produce such a quality part yourself. It certainly speaks to why carbon parts are so expensive. Beauty👍

I may have also broken a sweat when you were wrestling with that bagging material, but your efforts and attention to detail payed off in a very pro final part! High compliments once again! I just recently spoke to a carbon fibre user who told me about a resin impregnated product (NOT auto-clave cured prepreg!) but room/elevated-temp cured prepreg, which is (must be) kept refrigerated and cures without an autoclave. Handling is otherwise similar with vacbagging required to form it tightly to mold, but the resin measuring and infusing steps fall away. Resin amount and saturation are always perfect because it is preapplied perfectly!... the material is more expensive (no surprise there!), but he tells me it forms and holds its shape into the molds very nicely with plenty of "working time", so is a pleasure to work with, and the upcost is totally worth it for the messy resin steps that simply fall away, plus ease of handling. ...just thought I'd mention it if you weren't aware of it...I can get manufacturer and further info if you're interested (I am NOT their salesman!...just interested in a simpler, cleaner way of getting into, and working with CF). Cheers

stunning final project

Love this, looks awesome 👍🏼

This is legit! wow, great job

Where are you getting the filler wax. I have searched with no luck. Awesome looking part you make!!!

For patterning complex parts, what also works pretty well, is directly applying (masking) tape onto your positive, finding your cut lines, cutting it of along those and then sticking it e.g. on aluminum foil. Pretty quick and you get very accurate patterns.

Being that this part is going to be exposed to elevated temperatures, what are your plans for post-curing?

I just made patterns using cheap peel ply (white w/ red stripes). It will move/ conform to a curve a little. Once I had it where I wanted, I marked the edges with a sharpie. Then I flattened/ straightened it out, trimmed the edges, and spray glued it to some heavy paper to stabilize it. Also, end cutters/ nippers are great for getting that stuck peel ply off.

Wicked job! Very impressive, thanks for your videos! Cheers, Doug

Excellent work again Craig. We use a perforated film between the peel ply and the infusion mesh. Much easier to remove, especially for me as im in my sixties and not as fit as i use to be. We sand our parts with 800 grade wet and dry paper and then spray three coats of clear to give good u.v protection. Ian in G.B

looks awesome... however easy composites didn't use an autoclave for theirs, just a curing oven for out of autoclave prepreg... I plan to get one of those ovens soon myself... other than that, awesome results!

Really nice work! Looks amazing 👍 May I ask why you didnt use a ”inside plug” and laid the carbon on the outside? I didnt see episode one so maybe I missed that info.

Looking good!