6 months to live build thread

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

i'll disagree with that. regarding rigidity of the boxster chassis, you have two concerns - (a) rigidity of the front subframe, and (b) rigidity of the front subframe relative to the rear subframe.

in the front sub-frame, the only opportunity for relative movement of the various components is at the strut top mounts. specifically, they may try to spread apart when subject to cornering loads. this is where a strut brace comes into play - it stops that from happening (which is why they can be made of carbon fiber - they don't need to deal with compression, only tension). they may also try to move a bit forward/backward if subject to caster loads, but note that there are already triangulation braces in the car. to support those braces i would also note the quality of steel used in that area as per the following:



regarding relative motion of the front and rear subframes (typically a torsion or twisting force - that creaking you get when you drive over a driveway lip unevenly for example) is not going to be impacted by your windshield or the presence of any strengthening along the upper forward cowl. to address this, look to reinforcing that big flat open space between the front and rear wheels - which is why you keep your door structure in place unless adding a cage.

rollover protection, front impact protection? yeah, keep your windshield. and your airbags. and your factory seats. and seatbelts. not certain that's what this is about, however. do check your regs; the broomstick test looks different without a windshield - oem rollbar probably not high enough.

Well, i think you have looked to long on that technical drawing. You should also take into consideration that your chassis has also doors, windshields and side windows. Especially the closed doors with closed side windows in combination with the front window frame and front windscreen add a lot of rigidity. That was what i'm talking about. If you remove the windscreen under that aspect, you have a lot more torsion and a less rigid chassis. If you want a fast and stable car, you need a ridgit chassis. I think we both agree on that.

Regards, Markus

[itsnotanova]

Here's a shot of me smoking one Hankook R-S4 tire for about 100 feet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRFV_rATtF8

Another thing to remember is that I'll have at least 1000lbs less weight to be moving around. less weight = less structure stiffness needed. I've taken so much weight off the front end that the car under steers like crazy. I might be taking the front sway bar off because of it being so light.

I moved the battery and used a much smaller Miata battery. The Miata battery was in my other boxster for about a year. I took it out because I kept burning through them. Not so good on a street car but seems to work fine for the beater boxster.

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Here's a shot of me smoking one Hankook R-S4 tire for about 100 feet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRFV_rATtF8

100 thumbs up!

I think you need a locking differential.

Regards, Markus

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by Anker

That's so frigging cool, Woody! I'd love to do something similar. 1000lbs is HUGE!

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

100 thumbs up!

I think you need a locking differential.

Regards, Markus

Thanks guys. I'm hoping for a total weight of 1500-1600 lbs. I'm going to go get it weighed next week to see. I'm half tempted to throw a Lincoln locker in it. I'm too cheap for a real LSD.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get to take it to a real track, but if I do I threw on some tow hooks in case. As you can see, one is a nice manufactured tow hook specifically made for a Porsche, and the other is Woody engineered from scrap. I took the factory bumper shock and cut off both ends of the shock. I then welded the mounting bracket to what was left of the shock tube and then welded a clevis shackle to the tube.


I also decided to throw a quick $10 paint job on it. I liked the blue but there are areas that are not painted at the factory. I figured it would look less ugly if it was one color everywhere. Plus flat black adds 15 horsepower.


As you can see I painted everywhere and almost everything. Besides looks, the paint will protect items from the elements. Mostly the sun! You'd be amazed at how quickly the sun will destroy plastics and wiring on these cars. The brake reservoir turns to dust and the wiring gets brittle in only a few months. I also changed the radiator mounting up a little bit also. I wanted it off the bottom because I'm sure the front area will be get a little abuse.