The frame
The construction of the frame is the cornerstone of the design of the car and is the first point that influences the performance of the car!
The frame
The construction of the frame is the cornerstone of the design of the car and is the first point that influences the performance of the car!
First of all you have to consider the following things:
- wheelbase
- Lightweight construction
- Weight distribution
- Stiffness
- Modularity
Introducing space frame
Wheelbase
The wheelbase is the distance between the front axle and the rear axle. This decides how agile the car is at what speed.
A short wheelbase is recommended for a winding route.
- the car becomes more agile and maneuverable
- but is more difficult to control at high speeds.
A long wheelbase is recommended for a route with long, fast straights.
- the car becomes more sluggish
- but is much more stable at high speeds and is easier to control
I simply based myself on a 1:10 touring car and a wheelbase of 257mm chosen.
The general thing to say here is to start with real RC models. They work and make it easier for us to build the car
Lightweight
Lightweight construction is a fundamental building block of the entire car. It influences the car's entire driving physics and many components.
Lightweight construction brings the following advantages:
Better acceleration
Better braking
More agile behavior when changing direction, overall much more dynamic
Components such as the drive train, suspension and engine are subject to less stress
and therefore last longer
The advantages are apparent. Every gram counts!
Weight distribution
In general, it is important right from the start to have a balanced distribution of left and right, as well as front and back.
This ensures that the car drives smoothly in all situations. A little more weight on the front axle is recommended, this results in a little more traction on the front axle in all situations. But also a little less traction when braking on the rear axle. Here you have to understand that when accelerating, the car decompresses at the front and compresses at the back. The opposite happens when braking.
The weight of the car shifts while driving. If the weight distribution is poor, this happens very slowly and the car becomes sluggish. The following applies here: weight down and weight in the middle of the vehicle. The car also becomes much more agile here.
Stiffness
is essential for a good car for many reasons. On the one hand, it must be ensured that the gears in the drive train are always perfectly aligned with one another. On the other hand, you want the driving dynamics to have an impact where you can adjust and control them, on the chassis.
The frame is the first step to a high-performance car. A frame that twists while driving can destroy a perfectly coordinated chassis. Damage caused to other components by twisting the frame is difficult to trace and therefore difficult to repair permanently.
Modularity
It's not a must, but it's very helpful if you make changes later.
One should also keep an eye on maintenance. Even a very good car needs to be disassembled and serviced.
The Spaceframe
The most innovative, simplest, lightest and at the same time most torsion-resistant frame. The idea behind it is as simple as it is innovative.
The small number of parts in the basic structure, which takes place exclusively with axle connections, makes it possible to build a very light, very stiff and very easily modified frame. Weight distribution, mounting points for holders and drive can be moved anywhere on the axles and are very easy to adjust. Since half lift arms can be installed, the possibilities are endless.
Another advantage is that you have a very rigid structure for the drive train with very few parts. The result is that the gears are always perfectly aligned with each other, which drastically increases the service life and efficiency.
It is currently installed in the First Prototype and the Fast Dirt. If the current drivetrain tests are successful, I will build a larger car. The lightweight construction will have even more of an impact there. I am confident that with this construction technology I can build a very high-performance 1:8 car that weighs less than 2 kg.
Torsion-resistant with just a few parts
Very easy
Easy weight distribution
Modular
Easy to maintain
The frame consists of a base plate and the top deck. The base plate consists of 1:10 scale, 4 axles which are connected to half 5 stud lift arms. The inner axles determine the overall length of the car as they pass through the front and rear axles. Unfortunately, these can no longer be made of carbon on a scale of 1:10 because the available length is not sufficient. Here I used aluminum axles from Metal Technic Parts.
The base plate is then simply extended outwards with the second pair of axes to provide a basis for the components. In order to make the car as light as possible, these are made of carbon. Carbon axles are almost half as heavy as aluminum axles!
Since this area hardly influences the structure of the frame, you can also get creative here.
The top deck also consists of 2 axles, they are connected to the base plate and to each other with half 5 lift arms. Here are again Carbon axles was used. Also to keep the center of gravity of the car as low as possible. This creates a square that is very torsion-resistant. This square is large and stiff enough to permanently install a drive train.