Project Dragon (Drakan Spyder) Update #12: More Track Testing &Improvements

We are working hard with the Drakan and a few weeks behind on our updates.  We been back to the track earlier in April for additional testing and up to Palatov/Lancair for body fitment two weeks ago.  We go back again next week to begin building the first official production car.  Keep reading to learn the latest...

More Track Testing

Joe and Dave went out to Spring Mountain once again to verify some changes that were made to the car. We had to test our new oil pan baffle, front suspension arms, and HRE wheels. 

Our previous test on SMMR's East Course 2.1 showed oil pressure dropping to 11 psi when the car was subjected to two quick successive left hand turns under hard braking. This drop in oil pressure was unacceptable to us - Dave is a pro and is driving the car hard so we know this is an extreme case. In all of our previous testing with Dave, oil pressure data was acceptable.  In fact we posted about our good performance on this blog entry.  Clearly this specific combination of left hand turns was too much for the stock pan to handle.  We got in contact with Improved Racing and had them send us an oil pan baffle and crank scraper kit. With the new baffle installed, our lowest oil pressure in the same corner was 24 psi. The Improved Racing baffle will now be standard on all Drakan Spyders with a Dailey Engineering dry sump offered as a future option.

We had a few handling related tweaks to try out as well; a new set of front wishbones and our new HRE wheels. The steering was a bit heavy on our test mule - even compared to similar cars with no power steering. Palatov redesigned the new front wishbones with different geometry that has less caster built in. These new arms are a drastic difference, the steering is now much lighter, and this should contribute to less driver fatigue both on the street and track.  Dave appreciated the reduced effort at the end of the test day!

The new HRE wheels were also slightly different. The front wheels have a bit more offset and the rears are 0.5" wider than what we were running in previous tests. Dave was pleased with the new wheels, he said the wider front track provided more grip. Admittedly, some of this improvement may have been due to fresh rubber, but the wheels definitely did not hurt the handling. 

Ultimately we turned 1:28s time on this circuit.  This compares favorably with a new Lotus V6 Cup R that is running slicks and a sequential.  This car is turning 1:27s at the hand of our good friend & Lotus Cup champ, Jack.  With slicks, we're sure we can shave a second or two off of our time.

Other updates

The new switch panel is in and operational. The backlighting looks awesome and the switch location and action is spot on. The ignition switch is locking so you can't accidentally shut off the car.  The horn and turn signals can be actuated without removing your hand from the wheel and all the rest of the switches are well within reach. The left hand panel which is home to our master kill switch and brake bias knob turned out well also.

The switch paneling is nice but the new dash from AiM has certainly stolen the show.  We posted a quick video on our Instagram page: HERE.  The MXS is now in production and it is a bolt in swap from our old MXL2. Functionally, it is almost exactly the same; visually, it is in another league. The MXS features a beautiful TFT display that not only looks gorgeous but offers more flexibility for different page displays. There is a street page with a conventional style dial tachometer, a race page with a sweeping tach, and a test page that can display 11 different parameters at once.  We are really pleased with this kit.  The Drakan will will be ready for AiM video so owners will be able to add any of AiM's cameras easily.

The other notable upgrade since our last post are the new rotors. We decided to up the braking performance of the Drakan with some 12.88" rotors from Girodisc, the same people who make our ULTRAdisc rotors for the Elise/Exige, Evora, and soon Alfa Romeo 4C (testing now). These disks are high quality, well proven pieces that add to the performance and reliability of the Drakan. Another plus of our rotor setup is that they are the same front to rear, this ultimately means that replacement rotors are going to be less expensive.  We are thinking about you guys who keep spares and are properly prepared...8^)

Track Testing the Alfa Romeo 4C

We spent a couple of days at Spring Mountain running the new Alfa Romeo 4C. It is a fun car that offers real performance for a broad range of drivers.  These cars are designed to work in all kinds of weather conditions so naturally some weaknesses are found on the track.  Overall it is a fun car and I think that Alfa have hit a homerun.  In a nutshell: Good Handling, Good Brakes and Excellent Acceleration!

Two different tracks were run the 2.1 East and the 2.9 mile Stewart A.  We ran the 2.1 with the bowl in the morning and then as shown above in the afternoon.  The 2.9 mile course is a fast course - maybe not the best for this car but it did well.


Check out the video:
 


I ran the car in Dynamic Mode for two sessions and then switched to Race Mode for the remainder of the testing - though I did forget on one session.  I wish it could be left on permanently!  Even a beginner will be able to drive this car well as it has approachable performance and electronic aids that will step in.  When I turned on Race Mode, traction control was disabled.  The car remained very benign at the limit and easy to control.  I have experience driving Atoms, Monos and our new Drakan Spyder so this car was a sweetheart in comparison.

We had two clients out having fun with us, one in a highly modified FRS and the other in his MP4-12C.  The FRS was quick with uprated everything so Jack was able to give me some heat under braking (he car was better) and with cornering speed.  Straight acceleration was no comparison though - even with his E85 tune.  The Mac was in another league.  I took a few laps in it and wow, it was awesome.  At least until the carbon brake rotors started to have problems.  This was the second time Chris brought out this car and the second time it failed.  He keeps his Elise with us as it is fun and more reliable - and clearly cheaper to maintain!

4C track parts are still in the works and this testing has revealed a few items that are needed. We have already begun working with Girodisc on lighter rotors - much like our well proven ULTRAdiscs. We have also started to look for more aggressive brake pads. Track wheels will also be welcome. The exhaust sounded good on track but the drone on the way to the track became overly tiring. Race seats and harnesses will be a welcome addition for any serious track work.

 We've begun offering some products for the 4C and have a few on our website now. We'll continue to follow the proven path we paved for the Lotus Elise. The 4C is a true alternative to the Lotus and we'll develop a pile of molto tasty bits.

MPG on the 4C was 27.5 up until I got to the track - it then plummeted to 7.5 MPG.  8^)

Project Dragon Update #5: Wiring

This past week/weekend was devoted to finishing the wiring on Project Dragon.  We removed the D2 bodywork and started running wires.  We have placed reliability as a very important criteria for us with this car so Ryan has been using OE connectors and other high quality components for the harness.

The car has a couple of inline Delphi connectors being used between the firewall to ease any changes we need to make during our development process.  We decided to to use the GM fuse/relay box that comes with the eRod engine.  It is a tried and true component that has all the functionality that we need.  We have located it at the front of the car above the battery.  Owners will have quick access to it by removing the hood of the Dragon - using quarter turn fasteners.

OE fusebox

Wiring switch panel

 Ryan wired up the switches for the car, which we tested and then finally mounted this week.  These switches are not representative of our final interior.  They are simply developmental parts so we can proceed to test the mechanical aspects of the car.  Our final design is coming soon.

Checking continuity

Tools of the trade

We wired up the Hella lights - Bi-Xenon headlights and LED turn indicators, taillights and reverse lamp.  We will also include a rear rain light to add additional visibility - a smart choice for small and low cars.  We created some simple temporary harnesses for these lights as we knew changes would be required once the final mounts were developed.


The Cosworth dash features a configurable display that we are now sorting.  We will be data logging water and oil temp along with oil pressure during our track testing.  We are running the GM calibration so don't expect to have any air/fuel ratio related problems.  Running the car at SMMR, in the heat of the summer, will be a good test of its durability.  We expect the street reliability of the car to be assured if we can make sure it lives after track abuse.  Wide open throttle for extended periods of time - as experienced on track - it an excellent way to test the durability of a car.  Dave T. will be testing Project Dragon for us this month.

Dry Sump Track Testing & More

We conducted track testing this past Sat. at Spring Mtn with the Lotus Cup racers.  We tested a few products:

1. S111-Dailey Dry Sump
2. ETHOS 16x8 & 17x9 wheels
3. DSbrace - affordable toe link brace
4. TRACKpipe - track muffler

We made a quick video to share some info:

Overall we had great results with the Dry Sump and are ready to release it to other race teams and shops.  Amazingly we ran the car with no oil coolers.  Oil temps slowly climbed over the course of the day to about 280degF.  Clearly a small cooler will be a good idea when the ambient temps are hot.  I think a laminova oil cooler will be perfect and should allow us to delete the front coolers.  We think the complexity of a Dry Sump does not lend itself to the average shade tree mechanic.  If you are interested in a solution, give us a call so we can discuss your needs.

The TRACKpipe is our new track muffler.  We've been running it for a few weeks and have shown sneak peeks of it and sound clips in recent videos like this and this.  The sound is not loud and has a great tone to it.  We think track guys are going to be pleased with the price and quality.  

The DSbrace is our new affordable toe link brace.  It uses the same components as our tried and true RTD & RTVbraces.  We eliminated the central brace and added lower cost, but still effective, brackets to place the toe link joint into double shear.  This product also bolts on with absolutely no modifications to the chassis. This kit delivers the highest joint strength of any solution we are aware of.  

The ETHOS wheels ended up coming off the car as we experienced some rubbing at the rear.  We ran 245 Hoosier A6s at race ride heights and experienced some rubbing on the outside fenders.  We took them off and installed our back up wheels/tires.  We think these will work with Lotus that are running flares.  They are perfect for their primary application: the Ariel Atom.

We recruited our good friend Dave T. to push the car hard.  He turned some of the fastest times of the day with only 211s beating his times.  This allowed us to push the car hard and see how it would perform. He turned 2min56s times on the 3.5mile config.  Overall it was a long but productive test day for our team.