Now that the car is back in the workshop we can finally survey the damage from the race last Thursday.
Most of the damage has come from the collision with the Penair car, both right hand wheels are buckled and will have to be trued, right brake disc is coated in a melted layer of solar film and the left hand front axle is bent from where it was forced into the cones.
There are also a few bumps and scrapes which will need attention as well, the rear cowling needs a touch up where it hit the road after flying off mid-race as well as a new fixing system! The seat back also has a crack in it which we will replace before it has a chance to fail.
Our next race will be The Somerset Heat @ RNAS Merryfield on the 17th September 2011, this sounds like its a long way off but it only works out to be four weeks of school time so we had better get to work!
On a more recreational note, the team will be going karting next week as a well done for their awesome performance at the heat last week. The level of professionalism and Independence shown by the team is one of the reasons that Richard Lander Racing is such a great flagship project for the school.
Showing posts with label axle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label axle. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Back on the Road, Well Almost!
With the Southwest Regional Heat approaching fast (23rd June, be there!) the car is almost back together after the major overhaul that's been going on since we got back from Silverstone. The most striking new feature is the new slimline look,
This has been done to save both weight and rolling resistance and with a track of over 600mm should have a minimal practical effect on stability. Other weight/resistance savings have been made in the drive train. We have switched from two cantilevered axles to a single transaxle at the rear which has let us get rid of two bearings and their supports. We have also simplified our drive train by removing the CVT gearbox, replacing it with just a regular cassette hub to act as a lay shaft. This has saved us loads of weight and resistance but we do lose out on flexibility on the the track with only a single gear.
The brakes are now mounted on the front wheels. The regulations demand two wheels be independently braked so we have had to mount them up front. This means we take a bit of an aerodynamic hit but this is more than made up for by the weight savings at the back.
The car has also had an aesthetic spruce up with a new coat of paint and brand new decals, just to finish her off properly. There are still a few more tweaks and nudges left to do this afternoon but she should be ready for a pre-race shake down at the end of the day.
This has been done to save both weight and rolling resistance and with a track of over 600mm should have a minimal practical effect on stability. Other weight/resistance savings have been made in the drive train. We have switched from two cantilevered axles to a single transaxle at the rear which has let us get rid of two bearings and their supports. We have also simplified our drive train by removing the CVT gearbox, replacing it with just a regular cassette hub to act as a lay shaft. This has saved us loads of weight and resistance but we do lose out on flexibility on the the track with only a single gear.
The brakes are now mounted on the front wheels. The regulations demand two wheels be independently braked so we have had to mount them up front. This means we take a bit of an aerodynamic hit but this is more than made up for by the weight savings at the back.
The car has also had an aesthetic spruce up with a new coat of paint and brand new decals, just to finish her off properly. There are still a few more tweaks and nudges left to do this afternoon but she should be ready for a pre-race shake down at the end of the day.
Friday, 20 May 2011
More Modifications
With the experience of the Season Opener under our belts and now knowing how we will be affected by the battery change, the team have been making some modifications to the car to improve the performance ahead of our local qualifying race in June.
One of the major changes, due to the overall reduction in speed is that aerodynamics has become slightly less important but weight has become more important. With this in mind we have put the car on a crash diet. We have removed as much material as possable from the rear sub frame without compromising its strength. This includes the replacement of the cantilevered drive shafts with a single through axle.
This allows us to remove two bearing blocks and theirssupports from the frame but it does mean moving the braking system to the front wheels. One of our kind sponsors, Teagle, have offered to make our new steering assemblies which will now include the necessary mounting points for the brake calipers and also give us much more control over the precise geometry of the steering system.
While the car has been stripped down the team have also been working on the surface finish. We are trying to get a perfectly smooth finish to reduce turbulence as the air flows over the surface. With only a few weeks left until our next race we will have to get cracking to get all these mods completed but we will be working every lunchtime until the car is back on its wheels once more.
One of the major changes, due to the overall reduction in speed is that aerodynamics has become slightly less important but weight has become more important. With this in mind we have put the car on a crash diet. We have removed as much material as possable from the rear sub frame without compromising its strength. This includes the replacement of the cantilevered drive shafts with a single through axle.
This allows us to remove two bearing blocks and theirssupports from the frame but it does mean moving the braking system to the front wheels. One of our kind sponsors, Teagle, have offered to make our new steering assemblies which will now include the necessary mounting points for the brake calipers and also give us much more control over the precise geometry of the steering system.
While the car has been stripped down the team have also been working on the surface finish. We are trying to get a perfectly smooth finish to reduce turbulence as the air flows over the surface. With only a few weeks left until our next race we will have to get cracking to get all these mods completed but we will be working every lunchtime until the car is back on its wheels once more.
Friday, 11 June 2010
Crash!
We got the car out testing yesterday and it was AWESOME! Then it crashed. While we were testing on the tennis courts one of the drivers mis judged the corner and hit the chain link fence. This was his first drive in the car and he was a bit over exuberant behind the wheel! The damage looked worse than it really was with a bent front axle and track rod; an afternoon of tinkering and it was good as new. The biggest damage being the ego of the driver involved.
Back in the workshop, the nose cone is coming together. The foam block, made from the paddle board blank from Home Blown, was glued up on Wednesday and the shaping is now almost finished. Both the rear cowling and the nose will be given a layer of the bio-resin to stiffen them up and protect them from dings as well as giving a nice aerodynamic surface.
Back in the workshop, the nose cone is coming together. The foam block, made from the paddle board blank from Home Blown, was glued up on Wednesday and the shaping is now almost finished. Both the rear cowling and the nose will be given a layer of the bio-resin to stiffen them up and protect them from dings as well as giving a nice aerodynamic surface.
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