# Belly Pan material?



## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

I don't know if it is best, but it is cheap and free: Big campaign signs work great on my car. Make sure the polls have closed first, and then grab some late on Nov. 2 if you are in the U.S.A.

Not only are you making your EV more efficient, you are recycling and cleaning up!


sailfish11 said:


> Hi all, I'm thinking about using a belly pan on my car and I'm hoping for advice from people that have done it. What's the best material to use? Any other tips/advice?


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## sailfish11 (Sep 15, 2007)

DavidDymaxion said:


> I don't know if it is best, but it is cheap and free: Big campaign signs work great on my car. Make sure the polls have closed first, and then grab some late on Nov. 2 if you are in the U.S.A.
> 
> Not only are you making your EV more efficient, you are recycling and cleaning up!


Ha -- great idea. But I'm looking for something a little more permanent. I could use regular plastic sheeting, but I'm worried it wouldn't last. Maybe kevlar? That's probably pretty expensive......


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

Coroplast seems to be the standard, also what those campaign signs are made from. I used it, fairly cheap, light, durable. I used 1" square plastic strips as battens to hold it in place without using 100's of screws.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

I have not installed mine yet, but got a sheet of 1/8" ABS plastic... not very expensive, easy to heat-form, glue, or heat-weld. Should be pretty durable.


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## sailfish11 (Sep 15, 2007)

dtbaker said:


> I have not installed mine yet, but got a sheet of 1/8" ABS plastic... not very expensive, easy to heat-form, glue, or heat-weld. Should be pretty durable.


I actually just ordered the same thing. ABS -- but I'm using 3/16" to get a bit more durability. We'll see how it goes!


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## Alexander_B (Oct 19, 2010)

maximum durability would be HDPE, the material used to make cutting boards and such, very puncture and wear resistant, they use the stuff too to make industrail bump rails and such.
coroplast, abs, thick PE (usually, thats already HDPE in disguise) or w/e plate you can find should all work well 
[edit:] oh right! and steel/alu ofcourse, see the nice alu pan below


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## etischer (Jun 16, 2008)

Here's a belly pan I made for my subaru forester (gas car)


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

Alexander_B said:


> maximum durability would be HDPE, the material used to make cutting boards and such, very puncture and wear resistant, they use the stuff too to make industrail bump rails and such.
> coroplast, abs, thick PE (usually, thats already HDPE in disguise) or w/e plate you can find should all work well
> [edit:] oh right! and steel/alu ofcourse, see the nice alu pan below


Unless you're making a skid plate weight should be a concern, and coroplast is probably the lightest choice.


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## Frank (Dec 6, 2008)

Where did you get the 1/8" plastic material? Does anyone make 1/16"?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

most of the plastic supply houses on the yellow pages have or can get anything from .020" to 1.250", with 1/16 to 3/16 usually in stock


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