Running hot laps at Circuit of the Americas in Q4 2024 led to a blow out at 150 mph on the back straight. Luckily, it was a rear tire that failed vs a front tire which would have been lot more hectic. Came to a stop fairly quickly after hearing lots of loud crunching noises (the tires have embedded wires that are spinning at considerable speeds that literally tear up the fiberglass rear quarter). See pic below…
What the car is supposed to look like…
So how to fix this situation? The fenders are made by RWB in Japan and are 10 years old. After contacting Nakai-san, it turns out the mold for these fenders burned in a fire and they don’t make them anymore. All that can be done is buying 4 new fenders that have a similar, but not exact, style.
So… let’s do a 3d printing project to make a new fender, using the good side!
Scanning the left fender to make a right fender model…
The next steps are to get this new fender printed. The plan is to lay fiberglass on the outside of the fender (1mm of the surface has been removed in the model) and also lay fiberglass on the inside of the fender. The reasoning here is that this “sandwich” approach will give the fender the best strength, and also keep it heat resistant. Its definitely better than simply having a 3d printed fender without the fiberglass reinforcement as those have been known to melt or crack with just sun exposure.
Will post the finish product here as it develops… stay tuned.
