Tuned

[ronin]

  Oh I know .... There will be as little filler as possible left on the body since I want it as light as I can get it. The body is now 80% carbon fiber, blocked and reblocked and then blocked again since the painter wants his name on this project 

The front and rear clams can easily be picked up by one person..

 

I just wanna drive the dam thing now..

[ronin]

I added some more support to the roll cage since I needed something to use to push myself up out of the car. I figured I might as well redesign the shifter since I always liked the click from a shift gate..

 

 

Edited December 23, 2012 by ronin

[Günter]

from firts view .. " it looks strange "

 

 

 

but it is there for a reason as we see ..so it's great -reminds me on the Spyker cars

[ronin]

Thanks, I almost went with a solid rod linkage but desided against it.

Here is the car in primer for finish sanding..

 

The entire body weighs in right now at 162 lbs.

Edited December 24, 2012 by ronin

[Bee]

It looks seriously fast just stood in your garage! You decided upon the final colour scheme?

[Guest surferphil]

The entire body weighs in right now at 162 lbs.

 

Is that you or the car ;-D

 

Take it really easy when you test drive this with that huge wing, its quite far back so you will get a lot of lift on the front.

 

Any idea what the overall weight is?

 

Looking good Frank! 

[Bibs]

That is going to look the nuts when it's done

[red vtec]

What are the regs in the states for modifying cars? do you have to have it inspected before it can be used on the road?

 

Looks great

[ronin]

Thanks guys, I'm still leaning on a super bright high gloss white for the body unless I can get a few better ideas. If you guys wanna photo shop some ideas I'd be a happy camper..

 

I'll weigh the entire car when I do the geo. No need to worry about the regs since the car is still titled as an 05 Elise.

If the aero balance is too great on the rear I have a plan to make the center section of the wing adjustable..but my average speeds will be below 100 and it's all about canyon speeds for me.

 

 

I'm workin on the personal weight reduction after tryin to get out of the dam thing with all the body panels on it. My old torn rotator cuffs are barkin at me now. I have to shape in a hand pocket on the left inner panel so that I have a better grip position to push up from.. This ergonomics thing was easy for driving position but I forgot about gettin out of the dam thing.. 

Edited December 24, 2012 by ronin

[Günter]

pure white ?  ..so more like a racecar without sponsors ..are you sure ??

 

on the color question:

 

I would go fo a stunning 'light steel-blue ..with crome/mirror finish' ..so something like the of the robocop-look

 

..as with this and the reflections on it, if it is parked up, the car will look fast and like   on the move   everytime

 

on the technical side of it:

 

..what is with the front brake-ducts  ..and those open wheels -who create some iritations as soon as the wheel spins ?

 

so covered tires and an separated intace ducting for the brakes -this would seem to be an improvement on the overall flow, just from my impression

I know that there is not much of rain going down in California ..but -ist this 'Lexan shield' there in front of you meant as a static 'one piece' guard against road debris & flies .. or just a prototype for a three piece version that is also part of the doors ??  ..looks like it is just hanging into the cabin now ..  will there be any notable interiour of some type later on ?

[ronin]

If Lotus want to give me a few nice big decals I would put them on without charging them for the marketing..

 

Color choice if based on the practical side of driving in the canyons ..stone chips, this is for go not show..

 

The lower front air dam and canards are not on in the pics posted.... There will be a mesh behind the front wheels to keep the large rocks from doing damage along with a stone shield behind the mesh.

The windshield is just placed for visual reference, I have something in mind.. Doors ? I wish..

 

I'm still thinking about the interior finish since it is a open car and has to deal with dust and sun.

 

This front end will generate some serious down force traping air on it at any speed..

Edited December 24, 2012 by ronin

[Moxie]

Frank,

Saw this and immediately thought of you: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/12/backyard-formula-one/

Matt

[Günter]

good story Matt ..and it isn't so far off I say

 

So you haven't seen this car here for real, I guess ?

http://www.imagenetz.de/f53adabbf/LotusLola_1.jpg.html

http://www.imagenetz.de/f116e5886/LotusLola_2.jpg.html

http://www.imagenetz.de/f84940cba/LotusLola_3.jpg.html

 

(I have, and it was great fun to see that it is alive and hear how it wakes up)

[ronin]

Testing the tilting clam and articulation of the rear diffuser for clearance...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejH3vvV1BFY

 

 

[Iconic Ride]

Awsome geometry management, Frank.

[ronin]

Thanks, now that I had to lengthen the diffuser 6" I'm planing to add a few good sized NACA ducts to create a blown diffuser effect, up over and out. I also added a third canard to the front end, what the hell they were just sittin around, might as well use em..

 

 

[TBD]

Frank, could neither ca Ards, dass ducts nor diffuser will do you any good as long as the car is in the shop. Get it on the road!

[mr.oogieboogie]

Liking the exhaust

[ronin]

I know, I know but I keep thinking about the dam car and up pops things to try while on the 65 mi. from the shop to my home every night.. My buddy Mike hates it when I keep coming up with more shit to do the next day...

So far I think I've got all bases covered..

Liking the exhaust

Thanks, it will siphon air under the wing at speed for increased downforce and should toss a nice flame on over boost since the wastegate dumps in after the muff.

[ronin]

Here is the diffuser..

[Guest surferphil]

Nice diffuser, looks very light have you weighed it?

 

That is definitely the best use for a chair in a workshop. 

 

If you aren't happy with the amount of down force this produces then the channels could work better without NACA ducts, as they will spoil the vortices. Smoothing out the ridge a bit more will prevent stall at higher speeds. The vertical fins could fan out as they go back (making the channels increase the vortex volume and reducing the density/air pressure) they will spin faster to fill the larger space and reduce the air pressure more as they get towards the end of the channels. You could try keeping the fins squarer at the back edge so you don't loose control over the airflow until it leaves each channel right at the very back edge. 

 

Just a few thoughts to add to the mix. 

[ronin]

Thanks for the input Phil. I need to have the back edges rounded in order to make it up the driveway and dips at road intersections since it is extended 8" rearward and now extends 2" past the wing's trailing edge.

I'm going to extend the gates forward another 12" and will be covering up as much area as I can under the lower wishbone.

The diffuser is adjustable and can be lowered another 2" for the track...

 

 

I'll post up pics of the finished bottom when done...Keep the input coming mate.

[Guest surferphil]

That's probably why Lotus rounded theirs off then. Keep up the good work! 

[ronin]

As I said I'll be playing with diffuser height as well as upward angle since it's forward mounting is with a piano hinge and adjustable upright suports in the rear...

 

I found some great reading here....http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/diffuser.html

 

 

I'll be supporting the diffuser much like this GT3 Lotus pic I just found. Have a look at it's side skirts, try putting a jack under that...it's air jacks better not fail..

Edited January 13, 2013 by ronin

[Guest surferphil]

You can see the reinforcement on the diffuser between the struts, gives some idea of the downward pull this will have on the car.

 

I have been reading these books (just the bits I'm interested in so far, they are pretty good reference to understand how and why, but not easy to read unless you are a genius (sadly not) or maths geek (gladly not).