i built a car

[alex.s]

Link to original page on YouTube.

[alex.s]

took a few passes to get the cooling system worked out. but the car now has about 4 miles under its belt and it's doing pretty well. the bump steer is kinda scary. i need to set the front shocks a lot stiffer. and i need to get the alignment better. and i need a better throttle cable. and better tires.

[alex.s]

oh yeah, its really fast.

[Racer x]

Congrats on the first drive.
Bump steer is a common problem on lowered cars. You gotta get the rack level with the tie rod ends.

[csmith12]

That is awesome alex!!!!!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

oh yeah, its really fast.

I envy your persistence and problems solving force !!!

[alex.s]

thanks you guys. it's a lot of fun. i'm gonna try to work out the bump steer today. aside from the bump steer and a few little things it really doesn't drive bad at all. with some more love i think it'll make a good little track car.

[alex.s]

so i got seatbelts in the mail today. but the weather is terrible and everything is hiding in the garage. i spent some time playing around with the steering rack. i'm going to make little pieces that mount to the end of the rack and move the rod mounts down about an inch.

got distracted though. i started making a straight edge razor. (i want to start using one but a quality blade is like $300. yowch) i'm just doing stock removal on flat bar. i cut one out and hollow ground it and sharpened it and then went to drill a hole in it for the scales and i snapped it in half. damnit. should have annealed it first and then rehardened it after, but i don't have a good kiln, so i would have to send it out to get hardened. kinda expensive. i think i just need to get better drill bits.

[Braden07]

that is pretty dope dude.. finishing building it and sign me up for one haha im sure your neighbors love your car going down the street

[alex.s]

so i've fixed the bump steer, and i installed a real 5 point harness, and i have better gauges and i think the cooling system worked out. i also found a few ghosts in the suspension linkage (wrong size things causing play) so now its got no play. very nice and stable. i also secured the rack a little better, but it still needs to be better. so i will build a second mount for it further out toward the right to have more torque because it wants to just bend the inner mounts. hopefully i can do this today and get a test ride in

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

............ so i will build a second mount for it further out toward the right to have more torque because it wants to just bend the inner mounts.............

Consider one or two torque links, like the one in our rear brakes:

[alex.s]

i like it

[alex.s]

so i put in an order for a custom throttle cable by motion pro. i think it will cost around $60 or $70. but it will be much nicer than the cable i made. the cable i made sucks.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

so i put in an order for a custom throttle cable by motion pro. i think it will cost around $60 or $70. but it will be much nicer than the cable i made. the cable i made sucks.

Why not using any motorcycle or hood actuator cable?

[alex.s]

has to be 13 feet long

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

has to be 13 feet long

That is extra long !!!
That length may cause some friction resistance.

For straight long runs, airplanes have used push-pull systems, which can be combined with Bowden cables, for moving control surfaces:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraf...control_system

http://www.mindspring.com/~rellis2/rcpattrn/ppull.htm

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...1&d=1375485614

[alex.s]

interesting idea, two cables on the sides of a mechanical linkage to cross the large gap. the people from motion pro haven't responded yet so when they do i will ask them about friction and what they think about the run. maybe they have a fancy cable that will allow me to be lazy

[Motofool]

Friction for a straight line is seldom a problem, but it can be sometimes when the cable has many turns and is poorly lubricated.

I just showed the idea as an alternative; hope the cable is going to be good.

You are getting closer !!!

[Hero Danny]

This thing is great alex! You should get a go pro so we can see it first perons style!

[alex.s]

i have a go pro

[alex.s]

so i drove the car today with the new seat stuff and the new suspension stuff. seems good but revealed new problems... i can't reach anything! crap. i can't reach the top gears with the shifter when fully buckled in and i cant reach the key tumbler. hmm.... gonna have to make some changes. maybe sit on a phone book

[sharky nrk]

That is AWESOME

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i have a go pro

Then mount dat somabish to your helmet and take another test ride!

[alex.s]

i can't find my case

[corksil]

Dude.... Alex...

We can't help you if you don't show us what you are dealing with.

Post up some pictures. I think I speak on behalf of most of the ppl in this thread who don't know how to ask you directly [and politely] for pictures.

I'm not the only one holding my breath.

[MrAtom]

^You can't imagine what a throttle cable looks like...?

[alex.s]

lol sorry sorry. i'll try to get a first person video on my next test drive

[alex.s]

[MrAtom]

When I see an update to this thread with pics(Slightly nsfw):

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/...96/065/168.gif

[Klondike1020]

@corksil .... To ask for pictures.
Step one. Compliments / lots of compliments
Step two. Ask "can you post a pic of (specific ) parts"
Step three.... Beg and or grovel if need be.

Or my favorite option.

Show up at said persons house with a six pack. Four beers in, take mad photos of his projects. Then post said photos all over social media so people know you hang out cool places with cool people building cool shyt.
@alex.s - I am wondering if a marine cable would be sufficient for a throttle line. They are available in longer lengths. I think the motion pro is the best Bet. 70$ is
cheap for a custom made part.

As far as the reach issue goes. Can you just estimate the thickness you want to add and then carve a seat liner out of some foam cushion. Hit it with some 3 m spray adhesive and cover it with fabric.

Just some ideas.

So when will you be offering rides for people who want to fill the passenger seat?
I'm no super model.... But I will pay for beer lol

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Klondike1020

As far as the reach issue goes. Can you just estimate the thickness you want to add and then carve a seat liner out of some foam cushion. Hit it with some 3 m spray adhesive and cover it with fabric.

this is what i wound up deciding to do.

[Klondike1020]

Originally Posted by alex.s

this is what i wound up deciding to do.

If you spend a track day in it your rear end will thank you for that extra cushioning.

[alex.s]

My brother test drove the car for the first time

Link to original page on YouTube.

[alex.s]

i have decided to go with an all electric throttle control with a built in MCU for inertial traction control. i've spec'ed it out with built in redundancy and safety kills if it malfunctions past a certain degree. total cost will be about $100 and should be done soon i hope. maybe this year. we'll see. i'll be using two hardened atmega arm processors running relatively low rates but that means high voltage thresholds in the logic systems which means much less chance of screwups. though the MCU itself is relatively less reliable so each processor will be doing its own internal safety maintenance on its own mcu and then the two results will be compared and if they ever disagree more than a certain amount then the system goes into safety mode and the lesser of the inputs is chosen. and a standard mechanical return spring if it hits full power failure

[MrAtom]

Hey, I've always wondered. Do those things use potentiometers, or rotary encoders to measure the input from the gas pedal?

[alex.s]

almost every throttle position sensor is a potentiometer but the throttle output sensor will be both potentiometer that is then vetted against the results from an encoder in the servo mechanism

[MrAtom]

I think I can visualize it. I think electronic throttles are overkill, anyway, except in your specific situation. The task is to move a little disc. It's not something that really calls for using a metal-geared servo and a microcontroller. It's all to appease investors by seeming "high-tech" or something dumb like that.

[alex.s]

nah, it's all about giving the ability to alter the throttle to the computer. otherwise it only has spark kill and fuel reduction which gives only last-resort TC and makes cycling between TC cuts very rough. with the combination of throttle damping and traction cycle adjusting (as in individual cylinder ignition cuts) you can get a much smoother TC cut without having to destroy the brakes or do full cuts to ignition but you still have the option to do full TC cuts.

i think the biggest advantage is the ability to dampen the throttle press without damping the release or giving any wonky throttle pedal feeling

[MrAtom]

The conversation has exceeded my understanding of cars. I trust you.

[Motofool]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-by-wire