LocostUSA.com

Given the recent threads and discussions on Subie-based builds and transaxle choices, this might be an interesting development to follow:
http://www.factoryfive.com/whatsnew/upd ... intro.html
While its only a "from scratch" build for the FFR factory folks and a (not-yet-available) kit for customers, it has some familiar design objectives and incorporates some interesting ideas.
You have to scroll down through the text and watch the video to see more on the chassis design.

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

That makes sense to expand into that, but it wasn't their idea. Blast Automotive was offering the same thing years ago. I'm sure FFR's offering will be a bit more aesthetic, but it isn't that bad and you can't see it when driving anyway. Blast may have an agreement with FFR. The Blast site is gone.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1557&hilit=www.blastautomotive.com

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I'm not very keen on the 818 chassis ..



.. but then I'm not too keen on the Locost chassis either from a safety point of view.

The publicity campaign on this for a small cost has been very effective.

uggh, looks like they forgot some tubes..

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Building a single seater middy BEC with GSXR 1000 power
build log: http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5899

day job: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v723/turbolimac/portfolio/

Is that really a finished chassis? Hard to tell where all the tubes go but if it's as it appears, talk about designing in a "fold up here in a crash"...

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Maybe that's the girl bicycle frame version?

Because not a race car?

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

on second viewing one can see a smallish tube supporting the front bulkhead on the front part of the cockpit side, but still doesn't inspire confidence..

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Building a single seater middy BEC with GSXR 1000 power
build log: http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5899

day job: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v723/turbolimac/portfolio/

I also have to say that I had a real close look at their "supercar" chassis, and it is a joke..

_________________
Building a single seater middy BEC with GSXR 1000 power
build log: http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5899

day job: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v723/turbolimac/portfolio/

The chassis above is what they gave out for the design competition so from that I have to assume it is the finished thing.

I am a quandry with FFR, the product isn't good enough but they are getting them out there to a market they have created and a lot of those people wouldn't have the vehicles they have otherwise so that's a good thing.

I also presume they redesigned the Hot Rod's front Aarms that collapsed under load in it's first race ....

http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/bummer-3 ... onal-race/

"The suspension didn’t fail, it was pure driver (me) error. Went into turn one way too hot and slid it off into the very rough dirt. That’s what broke the suspension, which is a good thing since it took the abuse and didn’t bend the frame. It looks way worse than it actually is.
RK"

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Yes I read that too .... Aarms should not "snap" under any reasonable conditions and I'll bet there's more people than just myself here who have had unintended off-road excursions in their driving careers and still been able to continue driving (sometimes limping away).

There's some pretty wild loadings going through the suspension when you hit common potholes, I just hope they looked hard at the design after their experience, probably a good thing that it happened.

I was on the team that did the "one week" build of the Hot Rod '33. Fun project with a great bunch of guys. Car looked great when we finished it and I was really bummed when Rob ran it into the weeds and bent it. But to his credit, Rob did man-up to the driver-error.
A good kit for the intended purpose--a modern rendition of a hot rod. But I decided I would rather build from scratch and correct my own mistakes rather than fix someone elses.

_________________
Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

Here is my Entry:



I mean, why Re Invent the wheel?

But I must admit that those kids these days can design some nifty cars.

I the kind of guy that needs something to work with, doing is from scratch is so time as consuming to impossible.

Because times have changed and people tend to be more responsible not just for their own safety but for those around them and in today's era the Lotus chassis is just not acceptable.

That they didn't have acceptable roll bars, no seat belts and fuel tanks mounted anywhere should be pointers to just some of the differences in thinking now.

I once sat in a real LeMans GT40 and was shocked that I had to climb over the fuel tank to get to the drivers seat, the tanks are the armrests (both sides)!

Does anyone know what that Lotus frame weighs? I'll bet it's well under a hundred pounds.

That FFR chassis, I just can't figure out what they are thinking. Maybe it's just something to support a body. That's an advantage we have, we don't compromise so much for our bodies

First accident I had in a race car, I went into a cement wall backwards. I was thinking about what it was going to be like on the way for a couple hundred feet or so. Especially with the Subie you got that big long transaxle hanging out the back, and it's not going to fold for you. You really don't want that motor moving up 3 feet into the cockpit. That frame doesn't seem to have the bracing right to be stiff. You look at that Lotus and it has the tubes that made my models get stiff. They managed to get the diagonals thru the engine compartment. Those nice little old motors help...

_________________
Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.