I've had an idea kicking around in my head for a while about building an S2000 prototype racer. Why? I don't no the sound of it just interests me.

Here is what I'm thinking:

- put a stock s2000 in a jig and take all of the critical measurements.
- design and fabricate a compete chromoly tube chassis around this points
- shell the front end in a single CF panel, the trunk would be carbon panels as would the qtr panels.
- the floor and interior spaces and door would be done in CF and titanium.
- Stripped out of course.
- F22C engine and tranns, m4 ECU, cams, Toda flywheel, race clutch and 4.57 or 4.77 final drive
- GVW < 1200 lbs

The rest of it would be basically sock so serve as the benchmark.

It would look like an S2000 from the outside but pure race inside.

How big a project are we talking about here? Could a group of say 2-3 put something like that together?

All we need is someone who desires such a project. Glasswork I've got covered ad would be happy to kick in the panels. I know there are plenty of builders out there. and we can lease time on machines we don't have (CNC) etc.

I'f you've thought about such a project let me know. If there is enough we might actually pull it off.

 

and 150k later you have a 300 hp car.... its already been done by opera for the guy that made grand turismo. there was a post about it not too long ago. not sure the cost though. You wouldnt use the s2000 frame as a reference point. your talking about building a car from the scratch up and using a fiberglass or carbon fiber shell. If your buildig a car from the ground up, like this the frame would be designed for pure racing and chassis stiffness, I assume by taking the reference points your trying to keep the same car dimensions and wheelbase but you would benifit from running a slightly wider wheelbase. The cost and time it would take to build what you are talking about can cost a lot dependiong on what you want done. And if you build it then what. are you going to start a race team for this expensive car or simply take it to an autocross? Usually you dont undertake this big of a project unless you have much bigger aspirations like starting a racing team or running some major races with the car. and is you crash it then what? anything is possible, just depends on how much time and money you have. And since it appears in s2k talk you cant even treat your paying members right how are you gonna treat the people helping you build this money pit?

 

 

The wheelbase is the distance in between the front and rear wheels. The track width is the distance in between the left and right side wheels.

 

If you guys can't keep the personal attacks out of here then you'll be shown the door. I won't put up with that crap in this forum. Period.

 

Talk to Sam Platt. He's built a beautiful tube-framed autox (EM?) 'vette. Honestly, what you're doing sounds a lot like the Trans-Am and GTO/GTU cars I've built. If you're going to go to those extremes, why bother with "critical points"? Look at the IMSA GTU Dodge Daytona - carbon/kevlar everywhere, no frame past the bulkhead behind the driver, just a Hewland transaxle with the suspension bolted to it, a la current formula car practice. Can something like that be with an S? Sure. But why?

 

[QUOTE=Ludedude,Jun 14 2005, 10:20 AM]If you guys can't keep the personal attacks out of here then you'll be shown the door. I won't put up with that crap in this forum. Period.

 

It's really nothing but a hypothetical exercise brought on by a bit too much

GChambers you bore me, bye bye and say hi to duderick for me.

I'm not talking about a $150K chassis. If my old man was still in the steel fabrication business I'd seriously consider doing it. The concept I had was for an ultralight chassis similar to WCM or other chassis but designed to look *almost* entirely stock. The CF body panels already exist.

It's not magic. It's a tube frame. To construct it you need a jig, saw, welders, hydraulic pipe bender and a plan. It's a cool project to think about and that's it but who knows you throw it out there and see what happens.

 

If that's the route you want to take (and it's an interesting hypothetical), why not use either a)thin-wall steel or b)aluminum large diameter tubing to replicate the current structure? From there, build in triangulated bulkheads, and then wrap/bond the whole thing in fiberglass/carbon? For relatively cheap, you'd have some pretty high torsional rigidity #s.

Based on other cars I've built (the Dodge was 1440# when it came off the chassis plate) I think you'd have a tough time coming in under 1500# or so with any increase in rigidity.

 

Well, the easiest route is probably to purchase a WCM Ultralite and simply fabricate mounting brackets for fiberglass body panels. Some of the dimensions are probably off, but many of the tube-frame cars I've seen have only a passing resemblance to the actual cars they're supposed to represent.

If you want something that from the outside looks entirely like a stock S2000... Well, I don't think you'd need anything so precise as a jig. Just get the wheelbase, front and rear track, seating position and body dimensions, then design a tube frame using those constraints and do the body panel bracket thing. (I'm assuming that's how most tube-frame cars get their shape - there's no sturctural element.)

I'd guess that a good balance of ease, cost and DIYness would be to get a bare frame from WCM and finish the build yourself with a custom body. (I'm not much of a fan of the Lotus 7 look.)