wheel pant reinforcement

I'm finishing up fitting the pants on my 8 and was curious about what, if anything, others have done to strengthen any particular weak areas in the pants. I've enlarged the tire opening clearance to 3/4" all around and have read about how repairs were done on damaged pants. Although I'm not looking to modify my pants, I was intrigued by Dan Horton's galoshes and Bob Axom's sub pants for air racing. At least one builder has suggested adding glass or carbon fiber to the areas around the screw holes and around the perimeter of the tire opening. Any other areas I should pay attention to?

I have the grove airfoil gear and have permanently attached the pant leg fairings to the pants themselves. They are seamed in line with the front and rear halves of the pants and fit tight around the gear leg. Should I expect any cracking where they terminate against the leg?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated!

Jim Baker
RV 8 Finishing

Jim,

When I fit my wheel pants there was a bit of a gap between the inner aluminum support and the interior wall of the pant. I measured the gap, and added about 7- 9 or so layers of glass in that area on the inside both as a spacer and additional support for the screw holes. I did this both front and rear halves.

You can always make a rough measurement, knowingly add a bit much and then sand it back down if you need to. Mine worked out almost perfect, or as I would say "Good enough".

Don