SoundGuyDave
This Space For Rent
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2007
- Posts
- 1,978
- Reaction score
- 29
Thanks, Ed! The steering shaft is my concept, executed by the cage builders. It is indeed 3/4" solid rod, Heim joint with shaft collars for support and location. We cut the stock shaft right at the flex coupler, then welded the rod onto that. We did that to retain the factory telescope section inside the car, just in the event of a MAJOR out-of-talent incident.
The whole idea is to keep the rod from launching into your chest, so we have the stock telescoping section (slip joint) between the rack and the firewall, footwell intrusion bars from the firewall to the A-pillar uprights on the cage, then the other stock telescoping section in the column between the firewall and the solid rod. I feel pretty safe with that setup, despite having the tech at Woodward describe it as "street car junk." OTOH, he was trying to sell me not just a column, but the intermediate shaft AND a rack as well... Bottom line is that it's stock from the flex-coupler (for the tilt) all the way forward to the rack.
ABS: Interesting. I was ASSuming that with the CAN bus there was bi-directional communication between the PCM and the ABS to do the traction-control nonsense, and I could see all KINDS of hell breaking loose there with the different PCM. Maybe I'll just cut the CAN wires and see if everything mysteriously sorts itself out...
It has been a fun (and frustrating!) build. The cage came out great, I think, and everything passed tech first time through. I have a TON of room between the door bars and the seat mount, and in general, overbuilt wherever I could. Full-length A-pillar and B-pillar gussets, gusset bars from the halo to the main hoop, as well as from the halo to the A-pillar. Single diagonal in the rear stays, and the tubing itself is 0.125 wall, rather than 0.120. I did the design with the AI rule book in one hand, but flat ran out of money to really optimize the setup in terms of power. With a weight of 3338, I *THINK* I'm in range of hitting "the numbers" with just cams. I just don't see pouring cams/heads/etc. into a 4.6 when the 5.0 is so cheap to swap in. Bone stock motor, with just intake/exhaust bolt-ons netted me 313/331. The weight (at the 9.5/9.0 with the ABS) would give me a max of 351/370. If I come up a touch short on the dyno, I know where I can find another 35 lbs or so, to bring the numbers down to 347/367. I think that should be a viable target. Comp 127500 perhaps?
Now I will admit, I am NOT building this as an AI car: my focus is on the endurance series, but AI is currently the most open rule set in the E0 class: 9.5:1 power, 9.0:1 torque, essentially unlimited aero and suspension, but a max of 275mm DOT legal rubber. If not AI, then I'm fighting the PTB or ST3 rule sets. Who knows, though, I might slap on some Toyos and come out to play once in a while!
The whole idea is to keep the rod from launching into your chest, so we have the stock telescoping section (slip joint) between the rack and the firewall, footwell intrusion bars from the firewall to the A-pillar uprights on the cage, then the other stock telescoping section in the column between the firewall and the solid rod. I feel pretty safe with that setup, despite having the tech at Woodward describe it as "street car junk." OTOH, he was trying to sell me not just a column, but the intermediate shaft AND a rack as well... Bottom line is that it's stock from the flex-coupler (for the tilt) all the way forward to the rack.
ABS: Interesting. I was ASSuming that with the CAN bus there was bi-directional communication between the PCM and the ABS to do the traction-control nonsense, and I could see all KINDS of hell breaking loose there with the different PCM. Maybe I'll just cut the CAN wires and see if everything mysteriously sorts itself out...
It has been a fun (and frustrating!) build. The cage came out great, I think, and everything passed tech first time through. I have a TON of room between the door bars and the seat mount, and in general, overbuilt wherever I could. Full-length A-pillar and B-pillar gussets, gusset bars from the halo to the main hoop, as well as from the halo to the A-pillar. Single diagonal in the rear stays, and the tubing itself is 0.125 wall, rather than 0.120. I did the design with the AI rule book in one hand, but flat ran out of money to really optimize the setup in terms of power. With a weight of 3338, I *THINK* I'm in range of hitting "the numbers" with just cams. I just don't see pouring cams/heads/etc. into a 4.6 when the 5.0 is so cheap to swap in. Bone stock motor, with just intake/exhaust bolt-ons netted me 313/331. The weight (at the 9.5/9.0 with the ABS) would give me a max of 351/370. If I come up a touch short on the dyno, I know where I can find another 35 lbs or so, to bring the numbers down to 347/367. I think that should be a viable target. Comp 127500 perhaps?
Now I will admit, I am NOT building this as an AI car: my focus is on the endurance series, but AI is currently the most open rule set in the E0 class: 9.5:1 power, 9.0:1 torque, essentially unlimited aero and suspension, but a max of 275mm DOT legal rubber. If not AI, then I'm fighting the PTB or ST3 rule sets. Who knows, though, I might slap on some Toyos and come out to play once in a while!
Jeez.... Get "meatballed" a couple times in a day for a self-ejecting hood pin, and you act like it's important or something! 
