The building of AMS TA X! BACK ON TRACK!
Dec 23, 2008, 10:14 AM
#212
Looking good, I guess you guys have read the rule book. But just incase you may want to take a look at this one below.
4.2.2 Factory firewall must remain intact. Exceptions to this rule would be alterations to the firewall to allow for roll cages to extend into the engine bay, for service oriented reasons or to create clearance for engine exhaust tubing. (i.e., installation of custom engine/transmission assemblies). Modifications cannot be performed to the firewalls that are considered by Redline to be primarily for weight savings reasons or for the fitment of custom suspension systems. Firewall must be appropriately re-sealed.
4.2.2 Factory firewall must remain intact. Exceptions to this rule would be alterations to the firewall to allow for roll cages to extend into the engine bay, for service oriented reasons or to create clearance for engine exhaust tubing. (i.e., installation of custom engine/transmission assemblies). Modifications cannot be performed to the firewalls that are considered by Redline to be primarily for weight savings reasons or for the fitment of custom suspension systems. Firewall must be appropriately re-sealed.
Eric
Dec 23, 2008, 06:31 PM
#214
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The front is aluminum and fairly light but the stanchions that attach it to the frame rails are steel and weigh a bit. I think the front weighed 21 lbs with stanchions. I fabbed up a lightweight replacement out of chromoly that saved 15 lbs on the front. This was just in case a tire barrier was bumped or something along those lines happened. There may be plans to make the lightweight front bumper bar for public sales in the future.
The rear is MASSIVELY heavy. Over 40 lbs if I remember correctly. I removed it but the license plate light bracket attaches to it. To keep it street legal, I used some DEI LED license plate bolts to hold the plate in place and light it.
Dec 24, 2008, 05:58 AM
#216
The factory firewall is intact and will remain so. The only thing that was removed were some studs that locate the factory dash. Also the windshield wiper tray has been modified. This has been done just to allow for some more access to the rear of the engine. Thanks for looking out though Doug...we are pretty excited about next season!
Eric
Eric
Dec 24, 2008, 08:44 AM
#217
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Gotcha... Seems I need to read up on the X's body structure. I personally could care less to what the rules say, but it would be a shame if some other team started crap over it. Next year is going to be a blast for sure, will be nice to have the east coast competition again.
The box for the windshield wiper mechanism was removed from the front of the firewall to gain some room for maintenance and turbo kit fitment. On the X, the overhang into the engine compartment for this piece is quite large and has cut me quite a few time while working on the back side of the motor.
Justin and I both have hard copies of the RTA rules and refer to them quite often. We have also discussed all of our proposed mods with Nick at RTA to get rule clarification when we had any doubts.
I am really looking forward to making more progress on the car. Right now things are a bit slow with the holidays and all.
Dec 24, 2008, 10:18 AM
#219
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But I too, Would donate some only slightly needed body parts for this vehicle
Jan 6, 2009, 03:02 PM
#222
lol we will get some more pictures up here soon. Ivan and Justin have been busy with the cage and taking even more weight out.
Rich should have some pictures up tomorrow.
Eric
Rich should have some pictures up tomorrow.
Eric
Last edited by AutoMotoSports; Jan 6, 2009 at 03:05 PM.
Jan 6, 2009, 08:46 PM
#225
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Sorry guys. It has been hectic here. Having nearly a week off between Christmas and New Years holidays and then inventory.... anyway...
With the help of Shane and Shaun, we have been able to get quite a bit of weight off the chassis. The running total of weight removed is 153 pounds in the boxes and ? pounds in the vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, some of that weight is going to go back in (trunk floor, rear seat area floor and lower core support) but it will "net" a loss in weight.
Justin has been working on getting the cage in the car. Planning and fabricating the cage is not going as quickly as we had wanted. We are trying very hard to keep the cage to a minimum while maximizing driver protection and chassis rigidity. We are being very creative with the cage as you will soon see. Keep in mind that we need to incorporate a support for the steering column, mounts for the seat, a mount for the pedal box, and mounts for the fuel cell into the cage structure. We have had several changes in our design that have been taking up a lot of Justin's time but will be worth it in the end.
Justin and I modified the subframes to help correct suspension geometry that is changed with a lowered stance. These both came out very nice. I had to reinstall the rear suspension and make some modifications to the frame rails to get full suspension travel. I am pretty happy with the end result. A 295-35-18 tire will now tuck all the way up till the top of the wheel is even with the top of the wheel well.
I spent a bit of time trying to decide what to do with the rear doors. Doing the normal "gut and cut" is just not going to work for this car. I wanted to do pin on rear doors but I just couldn't find a good way to modify the stock rears that was tasteful. We ended up ordering new rear door skins from Mitsu and I already have one pinned in place. I am pretty pleased with the looks. The door skins are 8 lbs each so this will be a significant weight savings. I wish we could do the same for the front doors....
I think that tomorrow we are going to make a good bit of progress and have pictures to prove it!!
With the help of Shane and Shaun, we have been able to get quite a bit of weight off the chassis. The running total of weight removed is 153 pounds in the boxes and ? pounds in the vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, some of that weight is going to go back in (trunk floor, rear seat area floor and lower core support) but it will "net" a loss in weight.
Justin has been working on getting the cage in the car. Planning and fabricating the cage is not going as quickly as we had wanted. We are trying very hard to keep the cage to a minimum while maximizing driver protection and chassis rigidity. We are being very creative with the cage as you will soon see. Keep in mind that we need to incorporate a support for the steering column, mounts for the seat, a mount for the pedal box, and mounts for the fuel cell into the cage structure. We have had several changes in our design that have been taking up a lot of Justin's time but will be worth it in the end.
Justin and I modified the subframes to help correct suspension geometry that is changed with a lowered stance. These both came out very nice. I had to reinstall the rear suspension and make some modifications to the frame rails to get full suspension travel. I am pretty happy with the end result. A 295-35-18 tire will now tuck all the way up till the top of the wheel is even with the top of the wheel well.
I spent a bit of time trying to decide what to do with the rear doors. Doing the normal "gut and cut" is just not going to work for this car. I wanted to do pin on rear doors but I just couldn't find a good way to modify the stock rears that was tasteful. We ended up ordering new rear door skins from Mitsu and I already have one pinned in place. I am pretty pleased with the looks. The door skins are 8 lbs each so this will be a significant weight savings. I wish we could do the same for the front doors....
I think that tomorrow we are going to make a good bit of progress and have pictures to prove it!!
