Porsche Wind Deflector with Edge Lighting [from CAD, prototyping to finish]

[Nine8Six]

A few weeks ago my friend (987 owner) and I are sitting in the back of a cab (i.e. taxi lol) and we see this BMW Z4 standing still right next to us at a traffic light. During that 5 secs long silence and awkward staring moment there weren't any words to describe how beautiful this thing was (frozen x2 lol). On the 6th second, we both say at the same time: "I need that" (that, illuminated edge wind deflector thingy)

So beautiful. With its Look & Feel possibly amplified by the surrounding lighting, urban environment, the car, the Z4 logo, the hot shanghainese gal driving....... I have no idea what it was. And until today I still can't figure out what made this thing standout so beautifully, why the obsession, etc etc... so I guess we'll have to put some on our Boxsters and find out by ourselves.

We actually found a few made-to-order kits and the nearest available for the boxsters was in JP. Unfortunately > $375+shipping way too expensive for what it is really. Fair enough but since we have all of that advanced tooling in-house already and easy access to all the materials locally, there is not much stopping us designing our own

Fun-cool-easy project on the engineering scale so using the same format of another DIY thread, I'll try my very best to entertain and document all of the steps we've taken to get this designed, installed and shining like no other wind deflectors in-the-world!



^ Here goes a (poorly 3D rendered) visual of the wind deflector when illuminated in red. In reality the top "edge" should be illuminated. I'll learn all about 3D rendering software and their adv light refraction features in another life maybe.

I am still unsettle on the etched graphic I'll be borrowing; maybe PORSCHE, maybe the badge, both or maybe something completely out of context (tribal, tattoo, sun, unlimited really). However, I am 100% convinced that the red color is exactly what my guards red boxster car needs

Stay tuned and who knows, if there is a demand I may manufacture a few made-to-order kits for you guys as well

[kjc2050]

Subscribed!

[Nine8Six]

^ First thing first, get the Boxster 986 wind deflector assembly 3D modeled. The organic glass, the bracket, the clips, literally everything and all that within a tolerance of (+/-) 0.05mm.

Before someone ask... nope I haven't gone crazy (I think). The reason I was sooo picky RE the details of the bracket is because I plan of designing some durable clips made of aluminum (comes with a 25 years warranty lol). I am a bit tired of replacing my plastic clips every 2-3 years (changed them 4 or 5 times now I think... lost track). Sorry but those stock plastic clips sux big time so this will eventually need to be 'fixed'.



^ The 4mm thick glass slides in/out of the bracket pretty easy. Slam it inside a commercial grade digital scanner and off you go. 2D... can't be hard to model lol
The slot and two holes are there to accommodate the edge lighting module that I have prototyped. Below visual is a quick preview of what it will look like:



As things develop I'll update. If any of you guys have advice or any special requests, please shoot

[particlewave]

Yep. I want one. Just not sure what I'd want for design and color.

[Dlirium]

Yeah, pretty dang cool!! subscribed as well!!

[JayG]

Fred. You are crazy....
In a good way!

Do you have too much time on your hands? LOL

I might just be interested in one as well
I would go with

PORSCHE
LOGO
BOXSTER (S)
986 (S)

Personally I would weant something subtle, maybe no more than 1 in high along the bottom

[rick3000]

Great idea!

Not sure if the metal clips you plan to use would solve this, but I drilled a very small hole in my deflector so that I can secure it to the roll bar with clear fishing line. Perhaps you have a more sophisticated way to make sure it doesn't fly off at 80mph. Just a suggestion.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!!!

[BFeller]

Oh Yeah. Great idea. Especially the clips for the windscreen. The plastic windscreen parts on the car and the windscreen are not going to last forever. They get brittle with age which is how I broke a clip. To avoid a repeat - I always leave the wind block in place. Metal replacements will be perfect.

[gomarlins3]

I wanted one of these years ago for my S2000, but the guy making them couldn't get the design I wanted correct.

[clickman]

AAAAAARGH! Fred's at it again!

Might as well set aside some cash right now. Sigh...

[rfuerst911sc]

Subscribed ........ for me I'd like a subtle Porsche crest or just 986 S.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by clickman

AAAAAARGH! Fred's at it again!

Might as well set aside some cash right now. Sigh...

Norm - can't think of anything costing a whole lot of dosh in there mate. Beside, I plan on giving a cracking deal to those who've supported and trusted me during the dev of those bi-xenon headlights. I owe you, Charles, and many others here

Quick update:
As silly as this look, it is a awful lot of work. Just selecting the right materials can be a pain. That perfect organic glass is hard to find. Plenty of manufacturers but when asked for quality cast acrylic samples (read standardized pmma), they send you sub standard acrylic with impurities or something completely different hoping you'll just get on with it (e.g. plastic/acrylic, PC, extruded acrylic). Had it all already. Not fun.

So I'm off to do site visits this weekend. To see how the stuff is manufactured just to ensure we are getting that apparently hard-to-find quality "cast" pmma stuff that we deserve, not the extruded one or "more plastic".

Quality LEDs/PCBs are other things I am having great difficulties finding. The locally made strips are 'okay' but man... when you look under the hood and test those you guess they could be done better e.g. the PCB on those common LED strips are as thin as 0.2mm (loosing volts like crazy). Yes it works some will say but I'm after something a little more 'robust'. Good news is I know of someone here who gave me a sample of what we need (3528smd, 5mm*0.7mm pcb, imported from Taiwan). I am in discussion with the manufacturer atm... basically trying to convince him to ship me over a small (micro) qty lol A sml qty for these guys is a full container :/

You guys wait until you see this thing finally lit up on the Boxster car. It will be absolutely stunning x100,000 and will worth every bits of effort I promise.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Subscribed ........ for me I'd like a subtle Porsche crest or just 986 S.

Nice. So I guess we can say most agree we need a subtle look & feel for our boxster car.

No stupid bright LED (imagine the arch/rays above the car when let's say driving in fog or dust lol) and NO full window etching (I'd say a 20% of its surface area max). All positioned mid/lower.

Color wise.... the red will be a challenging one. Red will definitely need to be 'subtle' I fear. Just hope it won't conflict with the other less important DOT safety equipment of the car lol. Blue, warm/cold whites and "amber" should be safe and look pretty awesome

:dance: Amber edge lighting... you guys with yellow box should love this one

Any advice, by all means, share in

[rfuerst911sc]

Another idea and I have no idea if this is feasible because I know basically nothing about LED technology. But I believe for anyone that has painted roll hoops they may be interested in the LED's matching the color of the roll hoops...........or I could be way off. For me my roll hoops match the car which is arctic silver so silver LED's would be cool. Just a thought.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Nice. So I guess we can say most agree we need a subtle look & feel for our boxster car.

No stupid bright LED (imagine the arch/rays above the car when let's say driving in fog or dust lol) and NO full window etching (I'd say a 20% of its surface area max). All positioned mid/lower.

Color wise.... the red will be a challenging one. Red will definitely need to be 'subtle' I fear. Just hope it won't conflict with the other less important DOT safety equipment of the car lol. Blue, warm/cold whites and "amber" should be safe and look pretty awesome

:dance: Amber edge lighting... you guys with yellow box should love this one

Any advice, by all means, share in

I think your original posting with the crest and the PORSCHE looked amazing. Very classy and a good size IMO.

Red lighting might cause some issues, being on the rear of the vehicle. Maybe some of our law experts can speak to that? Blue would be pretty sweet. Can you do a silver led or would it just show up white?

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by Giller

I think your original posting with the crest and the PORSCHE looked amazing. Very classy and a good size IMO.

Red lighting might cause some issues, being on the rear of the vehicle. Maybe some of our law experts can speak to that? Blue would be pretty sweet. Can you do a silver led or would it just show up white?

The cool white would be the nearest to artic silver type match. Silver boxster, white boxster. Charles has this awesome blue interior lighting... can't wait to see what the blue edge lighting would do for his (I also have the green you like, Charles!)

The module will be held by two little screws so it could be fun for some to source out their own led filters/diffusers (cheap, available online in most photography store) and do their own shades if required - just add a strip of that material on top of the LED strip and you get a totally different tone.

To start with I aim at using the primary LEDs (RGB), warm and cool whites. Warm white could be nice for those tan interiors... I'll try them all and snap a few shot no worries

Also have strips of "UV" lights (black light, call it what you want...). All good fun

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by clickman

AAAAAARGH! Fred's at it again!

Might as well set aside some cash right now. Sigh...

LOL! That is pretty much what I thought Fred, I am sure what ever you come up with, it will be first class! I like your original rendering, which is more or less what I have now, without the LED's of course. I would love blue or white lighting. Maybe a module that can do multiple colors?

[kjc2050]

Arctic Silver box here; am thinking white or off white would be beautiful, and understated.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by BruceH

LOL! That is pretty much what I thought Fred, I am sure what ever you come up with, it will be first class! I like your original rendering, which is more or less what I have now, without the LED's of course. I would love blue or white lighting. Maybe a module that can do multiple colors?

I know what your deflector look like Bruce. In fact I got the idea from one of your pic and laser cut myself some sticker autumn '13 - Very same. Still got them

I know what you mean by using the RGB switching color handheld thingy. Problem being we don't want to have 4x wires coming out of that module. Forgot the name of those interior trims that snaps onto the boxster roll-bar. The module's power cabling will snake under these, exit from behind the headrest and go tap into the clam's brake light 12VDC (or where ever you guys fancy tapping current from... electric seats, rear defrost plug.. if not using the mirror defrost?).

I think those roll-bar trims will do just fine with only 2 small gauge RED+BLK wires without any issues. Add more wires and most likely that snap-on trim will need some glue to hold on instead

Dunno... most likely I'll have to order rolls and rolls of those LED if I want them from Taiwan. What I can do is give spare strips in all colors so you can chg them as you like. Mood lighting lol .....not paying much for LEDs these days I tell you ($2~3 each 200mm long strip? something like that....)

[boxster6354]

Awhile back we had a sponsor of the board that did the same thing, now their site is called WindRestrictor.com, at the time they did not offer the LED lighting on the Boxster but did the laser etching. Seems they will be producing soon.

http://www.windrestrictor.com/boxster_gallery/imgs/boxster_3b.jpg

How will yours be compared (Costs/Style) ?