I've Drilled Through My Carbon Bonnet

[abcent]

I've installed some bonnet pins on my 33. Part of me getting towards track days venture.

to do this i carefully drilled through my carbonfibre bonnet, what i need to know is what should I use the seal the edges of the hole so moisture doenst get into my bonnet.

any suggestions?

Berin

[abcent]

i'll try to get off my ass an get some pics up soonish

[Mr. Oizo]

this sounds stupid, but would that clear bathroom sealant stuff work?

[abcent]

yeah I considered silicon or silastic, but thought there might be a better stronger option?

if not that'll be the way I'm going. has to be done before friday nights cruise.

[ylwgtr2]

use an old car tube and cut yourself a nice neat gasket

[cowie165]

^^ cool idea Troy

Another fix could be a carby gasket. They come quite small and have a groove on the outside, the opposite to a thermostat gasket, if you follow...

[GTRgeoff]

So what's the problem? Scared of moisture ingress??

Your bonnet is not really a proper structural element so moisture absorption affecting the glass transition temperature is not relevant, nor is sudden snap freezing of the interlaminate moisture going to crack the material apart unless you take it from +20 to -30 in a matter of minutes.

I would expect a little top coat clear sprayed into a container and brushed on gently would see you clear.

[D-limo]

$5 tube of that epoxy you mix urself

[someonestolecc]

All good ideas, I'll add sikaflex perhaps to hold the tube or seal the bonnet pin to the bonnet.

[Shitbox]

goto clark's rubber, get little rubber grommets that fit nicely over the rods, may have to widen the holes in the bonnet. then get some bathroom towelrack mounting ends, circle thin metal (once you see em youll know what i mean) to fit around the hole on the bonnet, makes it all look a lot neater, also stops the pins stratching the bonnet although you might have got these when you bought the pins

N.b. to all beginners ... put you pins in lengthways to push in and pull out towards front of car .... circle end towards front of car pointing towards rear (if that makes any sence), so that if you crash you can still pull your pins out

[JCMarshall_Law]

If your just worried about moisture getting into the carbon fibre, then worry no longer it will not be a problem. The epoxy that the carbon is imbeded in will not take on water and the carbon cant because it *should* be completly encased in the epoxy.

If your worried about water getting into the engine bay... some of the above ideas sound ok.

[Scotsman]

Yeah I'm just a red neck, so I didn't even bother about this.

Drilled my bonnet pins in about a year ago and it seems there has been no warping or expanind in the layers from moisture. But I have got some slight fractures in the top layer from the pressure I have placed on the pins.

However, Don't be a c0ck like me and drill holes in places they aren't required. But if you find yourself in this predicament, you can just as easily pass them off to your friends as 'speed holes', and you will find that the following week everyone will have random speed holes drilled into their bonnets.

[abcent]

If your just worried about moisture getting into the carbon fibre, then worry no longer it will not be a problem. The epoxy that the carbon is imbeded in will not take on water and the carbon cant because it *should* be completly encased in the epoxy.

This was my main concern, it's not gaskets I need as the area I want to seal is the sidewalls of the hole through the bonnet, something a flat gasket wont fix. I paid near $2K for the bonnet so I really am very cautious of what I do to it. (look in my gallery if you wanna see it).

Might get a small tube of epoxy and smear it round the inside of the hole, just to be on the safe side.

Thanks heaps everyone. all good advise as per usual

As far as the direction of the pins, I looked at as many race cars as possible to see how the pro's have em, an yeah, put em that way (same as V8 Supercars)

[Ronin 09]

Fat looking bonnet mate... who made it / where from etc etc

[PranK]

Not sure if this got suggested as I cbf'd reading all the replies.. But you could easily just get a little rubber grommet and then seal it. It would look much nicer and if you have ever tried to do a 'clean' seal with any type of sealant, you'll know its easier said than done.

Also, if its proper carbon and/or proper fibre glass then moisture wont really harm it. It would need to be submerged for a long time for any damage to occur.

C

[Shitbox]

yes i suggested sompin similar, not what he was talkin about

misread the question, my bad lol

[abcent]

Fat looking bonnet mate... who made it / where from etc etc

Thanks, I'm damn happy with it. It was made my customcarbon in Virginia QLD, its a customised version of one of there off the shelf ones. Top Quality!! would recomend them to anyone.