Phoenix F1K-07 Images

[Matt Conrad]

We are pleased to release a few images of the design for the new Phoenix F1K-07 Formula 1000 car. We'll be releasing more information regarding the complete car specifications in the next week, but here's a few standard features we think will differentiate us from some other offerings and make our car a great value for this exciting new class:

• Race-proven wing design from Pennon Composites. Front wings are the Aero-Avant design with single-element main plane and secondary elements for maximum adjustability. Rear assembly consists of a single plane lower element and a high-downforce, adjustable, dual-element upper assembly.
• Penske 8100 double-adjustable shocks custom-valved by Chris Harrison of Harrison Auto Dynamics of Phoenix. Option available for 8760, triple-adjustable units.
• Adjustable Anti-Roll Bar for the front and rear of the car. Option available for cockpit adjustment.

By including these features as standard on the F1k-07 we feel we're giving our customers the tools they need to have a competitive package right from the start. As I don't want to cross the line and make this a retail post I'll stop now, but I have inquired about becoming a sponsor of this site....so look for our "official" ads soon.




Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[carnut169]

Looks great Matt.
A little more conservitive than the Speads or Stohr designs.

[Matt Conrad]

Coming from one of the pioneers of F1000 I appreciate your comments.

As a former Formula Continental competitor I chose to use elements that I know produce results and that most of the competitors want (and use) on their cars. One thing I should mention (and there will be many more over the next few months) is that the "wanna be" driver in the car is 6' 2" and weighs over 200 pounds. This car is being designed for "real" drivers. Personally, I'm looking forward to driving one myself.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

Attached is a PDF file with the current specs for the Phoenix F1K car. As with everything, these specs are subject to change.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

We had wanted to post the CAD drawings of our chassis for the Phoenix F1K-07, but decided that we would start to show some in-progress photos of the actual chassis build....so here's a few to start.....




A few details on the chassis....

• CAD-designed by our engineer, Dustin Wright. Dustin has degrees from the University of Arizona in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering.
• Fully TIG-welded 4130 space frame design (square floor tubes are .065 Mild Steel) with Aluminum stress-bearing panel floor.
• Removeable rear section (behind rear roll hoop) for easy engine removal or major service. Four bolts seperate the entire chassis.
• Custom engine mounts available for many different motorcycle engines. Engine is NOT a stressed member of the chassis.

We'll try to post some new images each week as we progress. Our goal is to have the roller complete for display (and pictures, of course) by the holidays....we'll see.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

As promised.....updated photos....





A few things to note...

1. Side Impact Protection. Notice the extended side tubes which provide substantial protection from side impact. These tubes also support the side pod bodywork so you have a place to sit in impound after your most recent race win.
2. Front Half. The front section is about 75% done. The tubes supporting the bell crank pivot are omitted as we've made a design change and the new machined parts are in process. There are also a few tubes that attach to the main roll hoop omitted as we need to wait for the machined chassis connectors (muff type) to be completed.
3. Back Half. The back half of the car (behind the main roll hoop) is completely removeable in one piece (and 4 bolts) to make engine changes or major service very easy. All engine covers (GSX-R1000) are accessible while in the chassis and the engine could be removed if needed without "splitting" the car. The image shown is with about 25% of the back half complete.

As for the rest of the car....

1. Wings. The Pennon Wings have started to arrive and they look nice.
2. Body. We're hoping to have the body buck created on a large format 5-axis CNC machine, but have a "contingency plan" to do it the old fashioned way....either way it will begin this week.
3. Engine. A 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been procured and will be built to F1000 specs by George Dean.
4. Pieces, Parts. Most of the parts are sitting on the shelf patiently waiting the assembled chassis and are ready to bolt on.

It is our goal to have a complete "Roller" ready for display at the SCCA Arizona Region "Snowbird Double National" which is scheduled for January 12-15, 2007.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Mark Beckman]

Congratulations Matt, I appreciate what effort it is to get to that stage.

[Matt Conrad]

I'm getting alot of questions on this, so I'd like to make a clarification in regards to the chassis for the F1000 car....

This is a completely new design and has no "relationship" with the Merloy Racing-derived chassis we've been using on the Phoenix C/DSR cars. I've attached a picture of the latest version (for the SR07 C/DSR) of the "old" chassis for comparison with the above images of the new chassis.



A few quick observations to compare/contrast the two....

• The old chassis weighed 125 pounds. The new chassis will weigh approximately 90 pounds. Even with this difference, the new chassis is much stronger than the old one.
• The old chassis was a "non-SCCA compliant" design (note no forward roll hoop bracing) which required a Professional Engineer to sign off on the design. The new chassis meets the current GCR and is being built specifically as an F1000.
• The old chassis had a cavernous cockpit opening which made torsional rigidity a challenge (notice the side bracing added to the SR-07 version to help out in this area). The new chassis still will accomodate larger drivers, but the cockpit opening has been sized down a bit, and we've used side bracing again to assist with torsional rigidity (and for side impact protection).

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

This week we spent most of our time finalizing the body and floor design as the rules seem to be for the most part finalized. We did have to make a small change in the amount of floor that sticks out past the sidepod, but really no big deal. We did made some tweaks to the bodywork as well, and we'll show those off soon.

Attached are some photos of the chassis with a GSX-R1000 and the diff assembly "mocked up" in the car. This is a "ventilated" motor so it's really nice to move around and check the design. As we work on the "back half" of the F1K car we can't avoid comparing to the Maloy-based car...

The Maloy.....

1. Had to remove the engine through the bottom of the car.
2. Removal of the head from the engine was extremely difficult (if not impossible) in the car.
3. Clutch cover could not be removed in the car.
4. The back half of the chassis was overbuilt (this was the roll hoop support) and made access to the "workings"of the car difficult.
5. The differential carrier assembly was extremely complex, heavy, difficult to get wrenches on, and truthfully....didn't work all that well.

The F1K-07.....

1. The engine is easily removed either through the top of the car (tricky) or by splitting the back half of the chassis (most formula car guys know this drill).
2. The engine head can be easily removed while the engine is in the car.
3. All covers can be removed from the engine while in the car.
4. The back half of the chassis is much simplified as the chassis meets the SCCA GCR requirements for front roll hoop bracing.
5. The new differential carrier is simple, lightweight, easy to get to, requires half as many bolts to secure, and will work much better.

Here they are.....sorry if they're a little dark this time....





Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

....and the wings have begun to arrive from pennon....heres the front....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

Here's a shot of the airbox for the new F1K-07. It's really the same airbox (we'll need to shorten it about 1.5"-2") as on the Sports Racer, but with a different filter design. Also notice the notches...that's where it connected to the Maloy roll hoop...well forward of where the new F1K hoop is.




This airbox has been proven on George Dean's dyno to add 5hp over the stock GSX-R1000 unit. And not just at certain revs...through the entire range of the engine. I've heard of another manufacturer claiming his car design adds 10hp due to the air intake being high above the car.....pure poppycock if you ask me....show me the dyno sheet and the video of the wind tunnel session and I'll believe it.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Dave Belz]

First, what will be the provisions for towing/lifting the car if necessary? I assume that the rear bodywork will completely cover the main hoop.

Second, what if anything is done in a bike engine installation such as this to insulate the fuel cell and driver from the heat of the header pipes?

OBTW, I'm leaving for Big Sky on Wed. morning.

Dave

[Jonathan Speed]

Hello Matt,

First, nice looking car and the progress looks to be swift! The front wing pictured is actually the wing that pennon shows on their web-site for F2000. Is this the wign that is going to be used??

[Matt Conrad]

Dave,

I'm jealous....to me....Montana is what America used to be.....

Towing...On the Maloy there was an aero-tube inserted between the roll hoop that was used for towing, but on this car that won't work so we're going to have to get creative.....by the way, this would also be a good question for the new Stohr car as well.

Header Heat...First, we coat our headers with a Jet-Hot 2000 ceramic coating which cuts down the heat substantially, and then we cover the aluminum panel between the header and fuel cell with a 2000 degree aluminized insulation material...We've had no issues doing this.

Jonathan,

Very observant...but it is similar if not the exact wing we're going to use. The exact wing we're using is called the "Aero Avant". Our unit shipped last Friday and all of our wing assemblies are now completed and either on th shelf or on the way....I'll take pics of everything once it's all here.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

Only one image this week....



Just because the F1K is a totally new design doesn't mean we can't use parts and features from off the Maloy-based sports racer.

This image shows the rear engine mount plate for the GSX-R1000 engine. The chassis has large steel tabs which holds the custom plate, while custom spacers position the motor in place to ensure perfect chain alignment. The plates and spacers are custom to each engine and can be easily swapped if a different engine package is desired. (FYI...the front motor mounts, which are also custom to each engine, are not yet welded up, but you should be able to see the steel bucket bolted to the motor).

We currently have plates for the GSX-R1000 and the Yamaha R1....as well as the Kawasaki ZX12R (From the Maloy CSR)...wouldn't that be fun....

Also note the extensive triangulation in the engine bay....no chance of using the engine as a stressed member here.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[formulasuper]

First, what will be the provisions for towing/lifting the car if necessary? I assume that the rear bodywork will completely cover the main hoop.


Dave

If the air scoop is not going to extend forward of the main roll hoop you can run a lifting strap under the two forward braces to lift the car as I do with my Ralt SuperVee/FS.

[Dave Belz]

...by the way, this would also be a good question for the new Stohr car as well.

Certainly true, but your project is the one getting all of the posts lately. Maybe Lee won't read this

If the air scoop is not going to extend forward of the main roll hoop you can run a lifting strap under the two forward braces to lift the car as I do with my Ralt SuperVee/FS.

From the images in Matt's original post, the main hoop will be completely enclosed, as is the Stohr. All of the cars that I've owned had exposed hoops to lift and tow by.

Dave

[Matt Conrad]

Here's what the GCR says.....

GCR 17.31 Towing Eyes. "All cars without an exposed roll bar shall have a towing eye or strap, front and rear that does not dangerously protrude from the bodywork when the car is racing, to be used for flat-towing or hauling the vehicle. A removable towing eye carried inside the car is not acceptable, except in formula cars or sports racers."

There's more, but I think this covers most of it.

When the car hits the track it will have towing and lifting eyes per the GCR....but for right now we've got plenty of other tasks to accomplish first.....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

Another update....

We started on the body plug this week and will post some images as soon as the progress warrants it....probably by next weekend. Use of the large format 5-axis CNC machine didn't work out, but we've come up with a fairly creative way to still use some modern technology to assist in the task...more later....

All of the Pennon wings have arrived except for the upper front. That unit should have been here last week....but the holiday slowed things down. I was going to go ahead and have them painted, but I think we'll leave them the way they are for now so people can see them in the state they'll be delivered.

Here's a shot of all the wings parts we have now.....



I'd also like to show another piece of the F1K that made its way over from the D/CSR, which is our custom hard anodized, billet aluminum (2024) upright. These are well-engineered and durable units that are designed to work on all four corners of the car....no need to purchase a seperate front and rear unit for the spares package....one will do.



More next week.....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

As I stated last weekend, the plan to use a large format 5-axis CNC machine for the body plug didn't work out. Our back-up plan was to do it the old fashioned way and start cutting profiles out of wood and filling the gaps with foam until we had the shape of the car.....but our engineer had a pretty good idea for a different plan of attack.....

Using the computer, he took 155 (or so) "slices" of the car (see below) which we could then have waterjet cut out of 1" foam. Each part has the number cut into it as well as pilot holes for PVC pipe to be used to perfectly align all the parts when they are assembled.

Yes, we'll still have some sanding to do, but I'm confident we've shaved several weeks off the build time doing it this way. The cost? About 10% of what the 5-axis CNC process was going to be, and probably not a whole bunch more than if we were to have used the plywood and 2-part foam.

The parts are being cut today and we should be able to post some photos of the nose section by the weekend.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[TimW]

If you want your foam plug to last longer, you might want to try stereolithography to make it out of plastic rather than foam. Also, check http://www.repliforminc.com/home.htm for someone who can coat the plug to allow it to be both strong and have better wear characteristics. He currently 'plates' stereolithographs of wind tunnel model components for a good portion of the Formula 1 grid. Not sure if the process will work with foam or not but chat him up and find out. Full disclosure, owner/founder is a relation.

[Wright D]

I think the plug will be covered with a thin layer of fiber glass, and special mold "paint"

After these two steps a female mold will be laid up on the surface of the plug, and well, you guys know the drill.

The water jet cut foam technique enable a higher level of accuracy then the plywood and 2 part foam technique, and cost less too!

Accuracy is important when developing body work from CFD derived designs; however, I think the 0.005” accuracy of the 5 axis is way over kill for what we are doing.

[preform resources]

Matt ,that sounds like a neat idea for building the rough shape of the model,particularly since you have all the cad data ,it would be interesting to know what the difference (cost wise) would be if you took the cad data and had the foam cut in one piece then finish to suit?BTW; what density foam are you using?Is 10% a valid number?that is phenominal if so.
Dave Craddock

Also ,stereo lithography in it's many forms is prohibitive cost wise particularly in view of the sizes involved compared to 5 axis milling and depending on the density of foam used can be surfaced not unlike surfacing your car for paint .

[Matt Conrad]

Here's the first batch of "car slices" pieced together to form up the rough shape of the nose for the F1K-07 car.....



For the most part, it came out exactly like the computer said it would. We haven't started gluing them yet as we wanted to make sure everything looked right first....and we're pretty pleased. The rest of the pieces for the car are also here now so we'll start on getting those put together tonight and I'll post some images of the whole car then.

FYI....Yes, the nose has been tweaked some since we posted the original computer images of the car. In fact, there's a few areas on the car that have changed that you'll probably notice when we post the rest of car.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Matt Conrad]

Here are images of all the pieces assembled....



The wing is mainly shown just to give some perspective. Here's another from a front view....



We've obviously still got some work to do to get it ready, but this is a pretty good look at the overall shape of the car. The kick-ups in front of the wheels will be molded seperately, so they're not shown here.

...and now the gluing and sanding begins....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Stan Clayton]

Matt, what are the specs on that foam? Tooling foam? Urethane? Density? Nice technique! Stan

[Matt Conrad]

Stan,

The composites house we use recommended the foam and the process we will be using to finish the plug, but truthfully even the place we picked up the foam from didn't have any specs on it. What I do know is that it is an EPS foam and it was pretty inexpensive compared to some of the tooling foams and other foams we looked at. It is the same foam the home builders use in the lath and stucco process popular down here, and can even be found in some home improvement stores.

We will be using two layers of 7500 glass and an epoxy resin over the top of the foam (obviously, once it is sanded to shape) and then we will coat it with a layer of a mold finish "paint" that can be sanded smooth and then buffed out to provide the final finish.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Stan Clayton]

Very cool...thanks Matt! Be sure to post more pics as you go along. Stan

[Matt Conrad]

I couldn't resist doing this....



Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Dave Belz]

Oh, that looks nice! I may have to go get a real job to buy one of these!

Matt, trade for some Big Sky lift tix?

Dave

[Matt Conrad]

Dave,

Let's see.....$32,900 divided by $69.....equals around 477 days of "Skiing the Cold Smoke!" With all that skiing there's no way we could fill orders for the cars though....

FYI....when I was attending Montana State in 1980-something we were paying $8 to ski at Bridger Bowl and Big Sky was $17....

Also FYI....I'm taping the Bobcat game on Tivo...I'll watch it later tonight.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[MJM]

Using the computer, he took 155 (or so) "slices" of the car (see below) which we could then have waterjet cut out of 1" foam. Each part has the number cut into it as well as pilot holes for PVC pipe to be used to perfectly align all the parts when they are assembled.

Yes, we'll still have some sanding to do, but I'm confident we've shaved several weeks off the build time doing it this way. The cost? About 10% of what the 5-axis CNC process was going to be, and probably not a whole bunch more than if we were to have used the plywood and 2-part foam.

That's the same process I have used before for aircraft wind tunnel models. Hell of a lot cheaper but lots of sanding!

Matt Merrill

[Dave Belz]

Dave,

Let's see.....$32,900 divided by $69.....equals around 477 days of "Skiing the Cold Smoke!" With all that skiing there's no way we could fill orders for the cars though....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

Matt,

I skied 117 days last season - I'd spring for four season passes for an F1K-07!

Dave

[LAJ]

117 days WOW and I only got 64 days(they were only open 108days) in last year on our small hill but I do live next to the slope walk on and ski home!!They are blowing snow as I write!! Great looking car so far!!
Lee
Happy Holidays

[Matt Conrad]

Just wanted to publicly acknowledge Dale at Carter Machine (Forum Advertiser) for their contribution to the F1000 build....the differential carrier plates. Pictured here.....



Because we're on a short timeline I've searched out additional vendors for parts for the car and we're happy to support companies that support sites like this.....plus, they do really nice work! Probably not the only parts they'll do for us.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[dc]

And a very close, personal friend of the owners of ApexSpeed, too!

[preform resources]

Nice work Doug!
Dave Craddock

[Matt Conrad]

All the foam pieces are glued together and the snowstorm in Phoenix is over as we've gotten about 95% of the foam sanded to shape.....



....again the front wing is only there for some perspective. You will probably notice gaps between the foam at periodic intervals. This is because the foam didn't quite measure up to the 1" inch mark and had slight variation from sheet to sheet and we needed to place .125 shims every so often to keep the length accurate. Here's a closer shot of the air intake....



I'm going to start laying out glass and hopefully start covering it later today......

.....but meanwhile....

The chassis continues to make progress as we're working on some of the more tedious tasks of attaching tabs, brackets and other misc. items. I'll try to post some updated pics of the chassis this weekend.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.

[Marc Miller]

Matt-

The car is looking great - keep us all posted!!!

How soon before the running prototype will be done?

[Matt Conrad]

Even though we've been pretty busy on getting the body plug into shape, we have made some progress on the chassis as well. Attached is an image from the rear of the car showing the rear Penske 8100 shocks, bell cranks, and the diff assembly. We also have most of the tabs attached for the a-arms and for the rear aluminum crush structure/wing mount. Sorry for the clarity...or lack thereof....it'll have to do for now. Once we get it "rolling" we'll light it a bit better and get some good clean shots.



As you can probably see the diff assembly is not quite complete but you can see the tensioners at the top and the beefy aluminum side plates (shown in an earlier photo). The area between the tensioner tabs is where the Anti-Roll bar mounts. The a-arms are being fabricated by Ray Germaine of ProTech Engineering here in Phoenix. We'll be using a true streamlined tubing design instead of the "compressed" round tube design seen on many other cars. More to come....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Cars, Inc.