[patsgarageonline]

So, I did this thing to my i8. Every car event, car people were asking me to see the engine. Now, we can all see it, dressed up in carbon fiber. The metal and leather engine cover parts were from salvage i8's. The idea, design, prototype and fabrication were by me. Everything was done with lowest cost in mind I bought angle aluminum at Home Depot, ordered laminated glass from a local glass shop, got the carbon fiber fabric and polyester resin online, got windshield adhesive online, got the contact cement from Lowe's and got the faux leather from Jo Ann fabrics. A brand new engine acoustic cover and oil cap were from BMW. Cost approximately $300 US. It took 7 months of anxiety and stress, testing, messing up, trying again and finally completing this. This was a one time thing and I won't be making any more of these. I don't do this for a living (I do IT Security work). But, I wanted to try to make it and am glad it is done.

I decided to upload a YouTube Vlog video of the final installation of my engine display project parts and a montage of some clips, at the end of the video, showing the progress. I'm always interested in feedback, ideas and suggestions for my channel. Please consider checking this video out and subscribing. It means a lot. Thank you.

[ericsi]

'bought the wrong car' is all i can think of.

[skiboarder72]

That looks awesome! You did such a great job!!

[Coastali8]

Nice job.
Too bad there is nothing to see.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by Coastal i8

Nice job.
Too bad there is nothing to see.

This.

[Mr. Body Massage]

Great job Pat. I watch your videos and am soon doing the shifter paddle mod. Looks great. We need more tinkerers for this platform.

[1SIK_I8]

Looking good. Great videos. I'm thinking about getting those sides skirts that you installed in one of your videos. But we'll see. Keep up the great job. "Subscribed"

[Swiss tone]

Thats dedication! Such attention to detail and top marks for effort. Whether the view of the engine was worth all that hard work, i'm not sure?
Perhaps some phoney bits of two intakes might have made it more interesting to give more the R8 look might have worked but not an 'honest' job like you have done!

[patsgarageonline]

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to comment. I agree that there's not much to see and I've been quite reserved at car events, not trying to show it off, but people are noticing it, taking pictures and no longer saying "That's an electric car." Not sure what I'll do to make things appear more robust, but I like having the ability to make changes or put it all back to stock if I need or want to.

One thing that is a negative is that every 300-400 miles I have to remove the glass cover and clean because the top of the engine gets dusty. One positive is that in Comfort Mode at full throttle, the engine noises are just a tad quieter than Sport Mode. At idle or at highway speeds under very little load, I hear a little bit more of the engine but it's not significant.

[AF]

I give you a lot of credit for taking the time to do this, it is one heck of a project but even better is your wife is right there with you helping you out ... Awesome !!

[evanevery]

Why?