Exocet XP-3

hahaha i wish both of you were running 100%. i would like to see it

Still, with ~60% of our anticipated power, the car is mind-blowingly fun and fast. Massive success in my book. Still can't believe we pulled it off in 4 days.

agreed

Warren v wrote: Turns out the 818R was making 340whp. Wow! According to the R&T Article, their weight for the single-seat 818R is 2012 lbs. Without the front wing, XP-3 is >500 lbs lighter. We'd only need 260whp to beat that power/weight of the 818R. Should be easy for the FM2.

I've been following the Exomotive Exocet since the redesign as well as the FF 818 for the last few months. Awesome work and really elevating the kit car industry!

The 818R was definitely kicking out big horsepower this week as they used a larger turbo than in testing. They said the weight was right around 1900 pounds during UTCC (R&T article was with absolutely max fluids). That being said, the FF guys blew 3rd gear during warm-up! They did all the rest of the sessions without 3rd gear and apparently the other gears were being finnicky. John George (race driver on the day) says he expects 2:04 around VIR without issue and probably lower.

Hoping to see both cars running their full potential anywhere they can in the near future.

Great stuff guys!

Will exomotive be coming out with their own kmember for an lsx install or will they use one that is already on the market? I did a little research and it looks like the lsx install will add about 200 pounds to the exocet. Do you think the weight is worth it? The turbo setup and 1500 lbs sounds great to me.

When you get around to planning the LSx build, please consider using the 4.8 crank in a whatever bore aluminum block for extra rev-happiness.

Congrats on the showing at UTCC!

That 200 lbs comes with a big bucket of torque and power - it more than makes up for the extra weight It would be a pretty extreme car.

As one of the many guys who got to see this thing in person (I was the guy with the camera, floppy hat, and blue "The answer is always Miata" shirt, btw) I was very impressed seeing it in person. Going back through this thread and seeing the work that went into it? Holy E36 M3. The car guy in me is impressed at how this thing looks/sounds. The race car nerd in me is impressed that a ~170hp exocar with relatively large wings (not exactly the textbook definition of "aerodynamically clean" by any stretch) and ignition gremlins did a 2:15.something on such a big aero track. The wrench-monkey/ADHD-ten-billion-projects-at-once guy in me is floored that this thing was banging out 2:15s one week after being a mere pile of Miata bits and a pretty picture on a computer. And of course, the engi-nerd in me is geeking out about the self-jigging tubing and the general level of precision you guys achieved without needing to use a TIG or do any grinder fitment. If I don't end up selling my '94 street/CSP autoX car, I know what it's going to turn into as soon as funds allow.

Slyp_Dawg wrote: The race car nerd in me is impressed that a ~170hp exocar with relatively large wings (not exactly the textbook definition of "aerodynamically clean" by any stretch) and ignition gremlins did a 2:15.something on such a big aero track.

I was disappointed we didn't' qualify for fastest brick.

Great to meet you up there and spread the gospel of Exo-goodness. Sorry if I was a zombie; I was a bit tired at the time.

In reply to Warren v:

Incredible showing.. You guys have got to be stoked

BBC

Slyp_Dawg wrote: And of course, the engi-nerd in me is geeking out about the self-jigging tubing and the general level of precision you guys achieved without needing to use a TIG or do any grinder fitment.

THIS

I would have never considered a kit car before seeing this type of work. You guys did amazing things there and I'm impressed that the kit is high quality enough that you guys did so much in so little time. The only thing that went wrong was wrong in the Miata you started with, too.

v8exocet wrote: so uhhh keith. wanna do a LS version?

my car is in woodstock GA waiting.. so if you want one tearing up the local nasa scene.

once i give it the mti treatment i should be around 500whp

In reply to MTI_Racing:

Waiting for what? Have you ordered one yet? The only customers with V8 plans that I'm aware of are in TN, SC, and VA. That said, I don't handle leads/sales. Something local would be fun to have around!

That needs to be an Exocet, like, right meow.

This is the first time I'm seeing this, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzMTNueHpu0

This was the first session, which we treated as a shakedown. No setup on the car other than toe and cornerweights (on a sloped hill). Shocks were just put at the middle of their range. We planned to only do two laps and then check on the car. Bob did a few more than planned.

Edit: wish I had my GoPro mic setup ready... oh well, it will make future video dramatic.

Double Edit: Hah, 12:30 is where he remembered it was a shakedown session and he was only supposed to do a couple soft laps to bed in the brakes and break in the turbo. When he got back into the pits, he said it felt so familiar and fun, he just got in the groove and forgot it was the initial shakedown. The only thing we changed was reducing the rear bump damping. I can't think of better praise for an untested setup. This is a guy that has flatout refused to drive Spec Miatas due to bad setups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF87GkLo2I8

Finally managed to get the timelapse assembly video put together - really glad to hear it did well.

Nice! Just watched all 3 track sessions. It still passes everything easily even with the power problems.

iscariot wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF87GkLo2I8 Finally managed to get the timelapse assembly video put together - really glad to hear it did well.

Wow, came out great! Thanks for doing that man!

This will be my winter project. Currently selling some toys for funds and room in the garage. I will be going the turbo route and want a simple proven turbo system. Definitely leaning towards fmII. I plan to build it in stages. Turbo kit after a few months so I don't kill myself. This will be my first car build and it looks to be very simple build as far as kit cars go.

Nice! I wish my finances would allow it. Only way would be if it was an only car lol.

The stop action video should be your build manual.

I was a little disappointed that the music wasn't Yackety Sax.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

http://bennyhillifier.com/?id=QF87GkLo2I8

How did you think the COT wings and mounts performed on the car? Any observable flex?

Are the wing mounts made only for the COT wing? Are there any other wing options for the exocet?

Front mounts were definitely flexing on the straights, but they were designed to. They're made of 101ksi DOMEX, but the modulus of elasticity remains the same as mild steel. This lets you build in a lot of "give" for the inevitable impacts a front wing will see. For long term use, some UHMW polyethylene or delrin sliders can be installed on the bottom of the front wing mounts. We actually had a trailer loading incident after UTCC that did a really good job of proving the design, as it ruined the front wing mounts but left the front chassis unharmed. The rear mounts were quite sturdy. I didn't get a chance to sit on the wing, but I felt confident that it was possible.

Fun fact: Exocet hoods can generate a considerable amount of lift at speeds of ~20 mph. About 20-25ft of lift in the form of a graceful flipping motion, in fact. Whoops.

My only regret is that we don't have pictures. Hood got a few more battle scars, but it is actually still usable. Gotta love a job where "the boost made me do it" is an acceptable excuse for giving it a quick bootful after unloading the trailer.