Ground clearance for driveways etc.

[Bicyclops]

Having had the front suspension collapse and put the nose on the ground and having hit some streets pretty hard coming out of driveways, the bottom of the front corners are getting pretty beat up. Tore the bolt out that attaches the fender to the nose piece on one side. I'm looking at a couple of fixes.

1 Put a plywood skidplate under the corners. Maybe apply some steel wear strips at the front. Downside is that it'd put some flex on the fender when it scrapes. Like that hasn't already happened. I'm not in paint, but maybe someday.

2 Mount a couple of wheelie bar rollers under there. The problem with that is they'd need to be somewhat inboard of the scrape zones to be under any semi-solid structure. A buddy of mine did that on his C5 Vette, and he had some nice frame members to mount to. All I've got is the forward (very light duty) radiator frame. That said, I don't think I need to carry the whole front of the car, just take some of the load off the springs for a moment.

3 Avoid steepish drives or hit them slowly at an angle. Already doing that, but have taken damage anyway.

Another thing that's bothering me is that air coming in the lower inlet below the height of the radiator isn't guided in any way. It flows back to where the main frame hangs at about the same height as the bottom of the nose piece and into where the battery lives. I've got a bunch of road gravel and stuff in there. It doesn't make sense to me and seems very draggy. I'm thinking about fabbing up some sheetmetal and figuring a way to duct that air to the front brakes.

Any ideas?

Ed

20240613_173744.jpg20240613_173806.jpg

[Bicyclops]

This thread has the pictures I wanted.

Ed

[J R Jones]

Ed, F1 cars have skid plates of various materials including fiberglass and titanium. The sparks are startling.
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10...1-skid-blocks/

In motorcycle road racing we used high density plastic pucks on the frame to minimize damage if the bike went down.
The rider leathers have similar plastic pucks at the elbows, knees and shoulders. Not just for crashes, as the bike leans into a corner the rider does come in contact with the pavement, sometimes saving a slide from becoming a crash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcaH1FLqGh4

We used Nylon or Delrin.

Wood IMO would wear away quickly. Wheels take up vertical clearance and will not tolerate road speed and load.
jim

[Bicyclops]

Thanks J R, I didn't think of plastic. It does sound more durable than ply and lighter than steel. There are drawbacks to the wheelie idea, for sure. They would be too close to the center of the car to work for the corners unless they where mounted lower which would, as you said, reduce ground clearance - say in a dip.

Ed

[Bicyclops]

Lance said:
Personally I’d raise my ride height and possibly look into some air pucks to raise the front. I’ve got a fully covered bottom , most of which is 16 gave aluminum except for the floor pan, which I switched out for some 9 gage steel sheet. I’m hoping the smooth bottom will yield more mpg and possibly raise my top speed (which I’ll never get to).

Howdy Lance,

I'm over 5" on ride height. I don't think I want to keep going higher. If you make a scrape proof car, they'll just make better scrapes. Don't want to wind up with a rock crawler.

I saw an air puck system for $1300. Seems like a lot. Do you know of any more reasonable setups?

How did you go about fully covering the bottom? I'd love to see some pix.

Ed

[lance corsi]

Agreed on the 5” ride height, that’s what I’m running when finished. I bought a street CF splitter and from there to the main chassis used 16 gage 3003 aluminum for panels. I added tabs onto the frame to screw the under panels on. The rear was similar except for trailer hitch attachment points that I had to work around. I also added an access hole for oil changes so I don’t need to remove any panels for oil changing. I’m going to look into some air pucks and maybe try to make my own version.

[Slow and Slightly Angry]

Have you thought about air cups. On demand height adjustment. I have stanceparts tankless. Erik the creator put the same system on his gtm.

[Bicyclops]

Can you give me a part number? I don't have my coilovers off the car for measuring right now.

Thanks,

Ed

[Slow and Slightly Angry]

I bought the 14mm version from kuya auto (ships direct from stance). If the coil tower is the same across builds, it should work. I had to mount mine on the bottom for clearance.
Sorry, I did not notice you mentioned cups before I posted.
They are $760 + shipping or something close to that.

[Bicyclops]

I bought the 14mm version from kuya auto (ships direct from stance). If the coil tower is the same across builds, it should work. I had to mount mine on the bottom for clearance.
Sorry, I did not notice you mentioned cups before I posted.
They are $760 + shipping or something close to that.

Did you mount the cups upside down with the spring inside?

Ed

[Slow and Slightly Angry]

Yeah, the spring sits inside the cup.

[Dave 53]

My ride is 4.25" which isn't too bad for me. It's a low sports car! Note that there is no structural support forward of the radiator. If you put something on that support, you're just changing what will get damaged. I have the same scrapes you have. I assume we all do. I can't see them unless I'm under the car, so I don't worry about it anymore.

[Bicyclops]

Howdy Dave,

Mine scraped so hard that it wore right through the corner of the fiberglass. Pretty sure that happened coming out of a stoplight turning left off a downhill where there is also a nice gutter at maybe 10 or 15mph. Hit pretty hard. When I came through the same spot yesterday, I did it at about a half mph and an acute angle. I got away with that one.

Agree about the scrapes other than real damage. I figure if somebody is going to crawl around and look under there, they deserve what they see. It's a go car - not a show car.

Congrats on your 20k and all the track days. I've been/still am dreaming about doing track day. I've got 3500 miles on since my overhaul and about 4500 total mostly on SoCal canyon roads. They're a lot of fun, but not all that high speed. Please give me some tips on how to get into the HDPE.

Ed

[driveslikejehu]

jumping in on your thread... I'm a huge HPDE/track day fan so your request caught my eye. I like "motorsportreg.com"; you can subscribe and get updates on all events in your area, HPDE, racing, autocross, etc.
And I use "hpdejunkie.com" to find events and tracks.
I would go to an event (just showing up to watch should be free or nearly so) or talk to somebody who does it and find out what its about. Go to the drivers meeting, sit in on a class. You want to start with a group that has instructors riding with Novices. Most organizers are considerate of Novices, with a good attitude and learning focus.

[Bicyclops]

I'm going to look at helmets tomorrow.

Ed

[Dave 53]

Howdy Dave,

Mine scraped so hard that it wore right through the corner of the fiberglass. Pretty sure that happened coming out of a stoplight turning left off a downhill where there is also a nice gutter at maybe 10 or 15mph. Hit pretty hard. When I came through the same spot yesterday, I did it at about a half mph and an acute angle. I got away with that one.

Agree about the scrapes other than real damage. I figure if somebody is going to crawl around and look under there, they deserve what they see. It's a go car - not a show car.

Congrats on your 20k and all the track days. I've been/still am dreaming about doing track day. I've got 3500 miles on since my overhaul and about 4500 total mostly on SoCal canyon roads. They're a lot of fun, but not all that high speed. Please give me some tips on how to get into the HDPE.

Ed

A great first start to HPDE is to do a car club school. What's great about it is you get some great classroom time and usually do some car control exercises before going out on the track. My first track day with my 818 was a weekend with Alfa Romeo Owners Club at Willow Springs. I'm not seeing anything on their schedule for the rest of the year. I just looked and Audi Club So Cal has some great HPDE beginner info on their web site and a class in November. Check with other car clubs too. They all allow cars other than the club's car make. Maybe there's a car club school of some make coming up not too far away - maybe in NoCal.

Most HPDE companies have some sort of beginner's program. Hooked on Driving is the undisputed best for beginners because the instructors are trained and vetted to teach the "HOD way" which, without getting into what that is, is what you want. They have a very well thought out and formal beginner's program. You get an instructor riding with you all day (and lunch). But, they are also the most expensive. Worth it if you can afford it for your first or first few HPDE days. The beginner programs with other HPDE companies are hit and miss. SpeedSF has a good program with excellent classroom time, follow the leader laps and some instructor ride along. On Grid is good too. If a HPDE company doesn't have some sort of beginner program, I'd avoid them to start. Many offer private coaching, but I'd be cautious without knowing who the coach is. Often, it's just some track junkie trying to get free track time. My last track day was with Track Time and it was for advanced drivers only. The last thing anyone wants is a beginner on track with a bunch of advanced drivers. But, Track Time also does days with ONLY beginners (which they did the day before) and that would be great. No rules against just showing up as a beginner to an event with no beginner program, but I'd advise against it.

The 818 is a very competent track car and a good HPDE beginner program of some sort will be safe, fun and give you a good launching off point.

Have fun!

[Bicyclops]

I got my helmet. Need to sort a brake issue and a couple of other niggles and I'll be ready to go. Maybe I'll do the 9/2 hooked on driving event at Willow. Thanks for the suggestions, Dave.

Ed