Carbon Fiber Trunk Spring?
Jun 4, 2007, 03:50 PM
#16
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Renton, WA
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I totally agree with Mitsuozboi, I first took out just 1 spring and (with the wing on it) it handled the opening/closing almost perfectly, but when you close it the gap on the side with the spring pressure acting on it was very small (closer than stock) and the other side was huge (from inside the trunk I could see light outside)
After some attempts to 'heat' the stock springs to reduce their tension (which worked somewhat) I decided I was still not happy with the way they acted and just removed them. I will put in a hydro-assist lift kit like Mitsuozboi did somewhere down the road.
For now I'm loving my new look and the fitment on the Seibon unit is top notch. Other than not having to reshape or drill a few of the interior holes to get rubber stoppers in, the trunk is totally awesome!
Thanks for all your help guys!
After some attempts to 'heat' the stock springs to reduce their tension (which worked somewhat) I decided I was still not happy with the way they acted and just removed them. I will put in a hydro-assist lift kit like Mitsuozboi did somewhere down the road.
For now I'm loving my new look and the fitment on the Seibon unit is top notch. Other than not having to reshape or drill a few of the interior holes to get rubber stoppers in, the trunk is totally awesome!
Thanks for all your help guys!
Jun 4, 2007, 03:57 PM
#17
just to mention.. I have the Seibon as well.... The fit and weave is flawless but it is a very deep yellow now. Twice as yellow as my seibon hood and I have had the hood much longer. The clear on my trunk has also started cracking. There are probably 100 cracks all over the top of the trunk. each one 1/2" long. Heres pics of the cracks. Just a heads up. You might want to get some extra coats of clear sprayed on if its your DD.
Jun 4, 2007, 05:06 PM
#20
1. If you don't mind, what exactly do you mean by heating?
2. When you say "worked somewhat," what do mean by "somewhat?" TIA
Jun 4, 2007, 05:10 PM
#21
Im not sure what to tell you other then from my experience. Seibon CF trunk with Cerious CF evo wing and lancer oz trunk bars. The trunk flew up fast enouph where I was worried about the trunk ripping off the hinges.
As far as warping,
What you say does make sense and when I installed it I figured I would be fine. But, my only real guess is that the evo wings weight is at the very edge of the trunk.. The tension bars were warping the trunk just in front of the wing. The wing adding weight to the rear of the trunk possibly could have even helped the warping process since the weight wasnt even across the trunk. it was heavy in the rear.
Last edited by mitsuozboi; Jun 4, 2007 at 05:14 PM.
Jun 4, 2007, 07:04 PM
#22
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Renton, WA
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looking at the operation of the trunk spring (two metal rods being twisted around each other creating 'spring' force), when the trunk is in the fully upward position, there is almost no twist on the bars (about 25% off 0 tension) just enough to hold the trunk up. When the trunk is fully down it’s at 100% twist. At this level my SWAG (based on how fast and with how much force the stock trunk lid opens) is that the spring is producing about 55-60 lb/ft of force.
Based on this highly speculative assumption I took out my heating torch and raised the trunk to the 50% (half open) position. I put down a whole ton of left over heat shielding blankets and aluminum foil overtop the springs so as to not damage anything else. I heated the springs for about 2 minutes per spring (the idea behind heating is to reduce the tension on the metal by getting it hot and setting it in the new position when it cools down).
After heating what I got was when I pull the latch the trunk pops open with medium force (still more than I would like) but only goes up about 3/4 way and does 2 or 3 oscillations. Basically it would spring open and bounce back and forth in the air and settle at about 1/2 open. You would have to hold it by hand at the fully open position. Also when closed the springs still pushed up the gaps on the trunk to larger than I would like to see.
For these reasons I decided to just remove the springs. I think if someone could figure out a more scientific and accurate way to heat them in the fully downward position to reduce their tension, this could work allot better.
Hope this helps
Last edited by Adamk24; Jun 4, 2007 at 07:08 PM.
Jun 4, 2007, 07:07 PM
#23
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Renton, WA
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Good info to have mitsuozboi, thanks. Also I think the reason for the warpage is just the total amount of pressure the stock spring puts on the trunk. It only presses on the trunk arms, which are only attached at the very edges. The latch is in the middle of the trunk, so basically when the trunk is latched the springs are pulling on the outside edges while the middle is secured. It's easy to see how warping could occur with too much spring force in this situation.
Jun 4, 2007, 07:33 PM
#24
Looking at the operation of the trunk spring (two metal rods being twisted around each other creating 'spring' force), when the trunk is in the fully upward position, there is almost no twist on the bars (about 25% off 0 tension) just enough to hold the trunk up. When the trunk is fully down it’s at 100% twist. At this level my SWAG (based on how fast and with how much force the stock trunk lid opens) is that the spring is producing about 55-60 lb/ft of force.
Based on this highly speculative assumption I took out my heating torch and raised the trunk to the 50% (half open) position. I put down a whole ton of left over heat shielding blankets and aluminum foil overtop the springs so as to not damage anything else. I heated the springs for about 2 minutes per spring (the idea behind heating is to reduce the tension on the metal by getting it hot and setting it in the new position when it cools down).
After heating what I got was when I pull the latch the trunk pops open with medium force (still more than I would like) but only goes up about 3/4 way and does 2 or 3 oscillations. Basically it would spring open and bounce back and forth in the air and settle at about 1/2 open. You would have to hold it by hand at the fully open position. Also when closed the springs still pushed up the gaps on the trunk to larger than I would like to see.
For these reasons I decided to just remove the springs. I think if someone could figure out a more scientific and accurate way to heat them in the fully downward position to reduce their tension, this could work allot better.
Hope this helps
Based on this highly speculative assumption I took out my heating torch and raised the trunk to the 50% (half open) position. I put down a whole ton of left over heat shielding blankets and aluminum foil overtop the springs so as to not damage anything else. I heated the springs for about 2 minutes per spring (the idea behind heating is to reduce the tension on the metal by getting it hot and setting it in the new position when it cools down).
After heating what I got was when I pull the latch the trunk pops open with medium force (still more than I would like) but only goes up about 3/4 way and does 2 or 3 oscillations. Basically it would spring open and bounce back and forth in the air and settle at about 1/2 open. You would have to hold it by hand at the fully open position. Also when closed the springs still pushed up the gaps on the trunk to larger than I would like to see.
For these reasons I decided to just remove the springs. I think if someone could figure out a more scientific and accurate way to heat them in the fully downward position to reduce their tension, this could work allot better.
Hope this helps
Also when closed the springs still pushed up the gaps on the trunk to larger than I would like to see.
Too, when did you and Mitsuozboi begin to notice the warping/extra gapping, time-wise? I've had mine for ~2 weeks and it seems fine in that respect, but as you can tell I'm concerned.
Last edited by FJF; Jun 4, 2007 at 07:55 PM.
Jun 4, 2007, 08:21 PM
#25
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Renton, WA
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just installed in last night so no warping or anything for me and yes I was talking about the gap between the fenders and the carbon trunk side sills. I also had to remove and shim the latch hook (on the bottom of the trunk body) to raise it up to try and get it to fit better/reduce the gap when I had the springs on. Without the springs the shims helped but are not nessisary.
and yes I was talking about the gap between the fenders and the carbon trunk side sills. I also had to remove and shim the latch hook (on the bottom of the trunk body) to raise it up to try and get it to fit better/reduce the gap when I had the springs on. Without the springs the shims helped but are not nessisary.
Jun 4, 2007, 08:49 PM
#30
Evolving Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Renton, WA
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
its funny because I had to type it into google to make sure I spelled it correctly, then went onto wikipedia to look up the history to see when they were actually used