danny george is making a custom lowered knuckle in teh rear with a dual caliper option
danny george is making a custom lowered knuckle in teh rear with a dual caliper option
My DD hit 75k, time to do the timing belt and water pump. I forgot how much more cramped the Miata engine bay is compared to the Exocet. Even with engine frontwork, it's a huge difference.
I can wiggle the belt up and down with no resistance about a total of 3/4"! Don't believe the "Miata belts all last 120k mile" internet hype.
This belt looked just great at 80k. Well, except for that one spot...
In reply to Keith Tanner:
Your post on Miata.net about that same belt is what made me decide against my previously planned 90k maintenance. My '01 is a Cali car (with one of the last original 6-speeds, no less), and the maintenance schedule says 105k or something like that. Probably some stupid state requirement.
It is a state requirement. But check the owner's manual - you're supposed to "inspect" it at 60k. Which means basically removing it. And why would you put a 60k belt back on?
Helped a friend with his new to him Miata TB recently. No paperwork meant baselining all maintenance items. Timing belt looked brand new, but the accessory belts looked like they had been taken off another car at 100k, then installed on this one and run some more. Huge chunks were missing, and yet no belt squeal was heard, and all pulleys worked fine...
That water pump is no joke, pretty tedious work. Didn't realize it basically half of the front of the Miata engine. Definitely will be able to do it 3x faster next time, though.
Keith, our welder just came back from repairs (mobo done blow'd up). Now my workday can begin! Barring anything catostropic, the main structure of FM's Exocet chassis should be tacked up and ready for our weldor in the morning. Finally!
Add on: It's not worth making a new reply, but I did the half-belt trick and it worked really well. Basically I cut the old belt along its length in situ with a box cutter while spinning the crankshaft to make two skinny belts. I pulled off the front half-belt, then replicated my markings on the rear one (just in case). I was then able to push on the new timing belt with the remaining half-belt still attached. I checked that the new and old teeth were perfectly aligned, then snipped the old belt and pulled it off the engine. Then I pushed the new belt all the way back. The car started up perfectly. If you were in a big damn hurry, you wouldn't need to even mark anything.
Cutting the belt lengthwise was very stable, there was no indication that it was going to tear the belt or cut sideways. I highly recommend it.
We don't care anymore, we have XP3 
Not according to the tacking number. 
But seriously, treat it as your car for the short time you have it. I want to make sure you guys don't have any "should we ask Exomotive before we do this?" moments. If something looks weird to you and you're wondering "why did they do it this way?", it's because 12 separate people built this thing and not everyone knew what they were doing in those crazy 4 days. We were only able to have the car in the shop for a day after VIR, so only a few things got square away.
You guys know best; no toes will be stepped on. If you think it needs flame decals, by all means, slap 'em on.
The biggest problem is going to be fighting over who gets the keys. Thanks for putting my name on the box We're going to do a tech seminar with it as the star, giving everyone a guided tour. Then it will be dynoed as part of another seminar. And if we can get it in shape, it'll be on track on Friday. So it'll be a busy weekend. And I'll make sure people understand the context of the car.
Pics and video shall be provided.
Haha. The box arrived in Denver at 11:30a Colorado time. Dunno what you chances are of delivery today, but I'm crossing my fingers!
There's something between Denver and Grand Junction called "the continental divide". Not a quick trip. But if it's in Henderson (I might be checking the tracking fairly often), then we will hopefully have it early tomorrow. We'll sort it out and get it out ASAP!
In reply to Keith Tanner:
Cool. You should be able to slap on some wheels and tires, toss in a little fuel, set up some ramps, and drive it off the crate. Key's in the ignition and slightly bent from the donor's crash. 
What do I do to place a thread on my watch-list?
The car's currently on a lift at FM getting a once-over from our guys as well as a Big Spark kit. With four LS3 coils, weak spark is going to be a thing of the past.
I haven't heard yet if it's been given the go-ahead for the track tomorrow or not. I hope so...
Yes it did. It's gonna be a good day tomorrow.
P_W_Fun wrote: What do I do to place a thread on my watch-list?
Go to bottom of this thread and click the heart icon.
My biggest worry (from my email) is the exhaust. It easily falls off the back hanger, which stresses the manifold/turbo/studs. We didn't have time to band clamp that sucker, don't rely on that hanger. Should be a 5 minute fix on a lift.
Never mind, just saw your picture on FM's Facebook page. Nice exhaust!
In reply to Hasbro:
P_W_Fun wrote: What do I do to place a thread on my watch-list? Go to bottom of this thread and click the heart icon.
That did it. Thanks
I met the guys and saw this pair of cars yesterday at a local meet in Atlanta. To say that they look fun would be a complete understatement!
Figured I'd share these with y'all.
[ http://i.imgur.com/4hvmRrk.jpg ]
[ http://i.imgur.com/LHS5PgJ.jpg ]
The MythBusters grid is 1" squares. If you look closely, there are thin green lines every foot. Driver is based off of me. I'm 6'2".
Thanks. You do know how to feed us kids candy!
Why are there diagonals missing at hip level?
In reply to kreb:
They're not missing, just strategically deleted from the design. When you see it in real life, it looks correct, but the negative space there can look out of place in CAD renders. There are some good reasons and many hours of analysis and debate leading to their absense, but we will happily add them as a special option on request if you acknowledge the consequences. Here's a summary of the reasons:
1) According to all the FEA loading conditions I could throw at the chassis, they were structural dead weight. Counterintuitive, I know, but that's why we run tests and simulations. From what I can tell, the floor's relationship with the propshaft tunnel turns that whole part of the chassis into a nice pseudo-torsion-box, so the outside of the floor only really sees planar loads. Buckling resistance is substantial from that propshaft tunnel and the main arc structure. Planar loads through the floor are resolved very well by the floor tubes and riveted aluminum skin. In fact, the only reason there is a tube under the driver's knee is so you can use that tube node as a center jacking point with a rubber-padded jack. (By the way, that was tested quite brutally at VIR by an unpadded jack, and there was no deformation of the tubes whatsoever.) The driver's seat mounts are supported very soundly by the whole structure, so there's no worry of the floor tearing out in that manner. So, for a chassis strength/stiffness standpoint, they offer no benefit.
Miata and Exocet at respective ride heights.
2) The only argument remaining for adding those two tubes lies in side impact protection. There is well-braced piece of Plexiglas there to protect from most debris intrusions, and your seat itself will add another measure of protection. You would have to powerslide into an engine block to get in trouble in that manner. More importantly, impacts from a t-bone type accident are going to be located well above that part of the chassis. Since 1982, the NHTSA mandated bumper height for passenger cars has been 16-20" off the ground, which even on the highest-riding Exocet will be above that major mid tube. The 1.75" diameter swept tubes and their shared 1" triangulation tubes are designed to take that impact and deflect it around the driver. With a proper seat back brace, the driver will be isolated from a side impact. If you had a tube directly touching your seat at your hips, there is actually a chance for more injury. The structure above that mid-tube takes the impact on these cars, most people have a much bigger mental image of the Exocet until they see it in person. There have been a few crashes in the UK that have shown how the lower structure doesn't see impacts, including a direct side-impact on track. Those UK Exocets actually have no tubes whatsoever connecting the floor and main structure. For that matter, neither does the Atom. All you get in an Atom is a thin carbon tub that is too weak to step on. Just sayin'.
3) They would limit your seat choices substantially. We have 17" Kirkey 76 series seats in XP-3 (we plan accommodate a lot of different people in those seats). If you had those triangulation tubes in there, the largest tube frame seat you could fit in there might be a 15". Also, you would have a tube right against your hip, which is a big no-no. Proper racing seats are designed to flex a bit in side impacts to reduce the chance of serious bone fractures. By adding a rigid body outside of the seat's engineered support structure, you put the integrity of the seat and your hips at risk. From my personal safety standpoint, I would prefer to allow the crash structure and seat to do their jobs at absorbing and deflecting energy around me.
Again, if you still want tubes there, we'll happily add them for you.
I really enjoy the fact that you take the time to post full, thought out answers. I'm slowly becoming more and more of a Exocet fanboi. I'll let someone else pass one through Washington States (fairly relaxed) licensing process before I take the plunge.
Are you guys keeping track of where each unit is going at this point? Is there any non-rendered shots of Exocets wearing all of it's roadgoing equipment at this point (i.e. headlights, fenders, tailights, etc)?
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