Struggles of Design: Alfa Harness Bar

We developed our 4Corsa Harness Bar for the Alfa 4C knowing that people would like to track these cars.  This blog entry discusses our harnessbar development process, a mistake we discovered AFTER we had began production and the solution that we came up to fix it.  We are happy with the final product but it took some extra effort to finally get it 100% right.

Brainstorming A Solution
Getting a bar into the Alfa presented some challenges as the chassis and seats did not give us much latitude.  We've designed harnessbars for over 10yrs for Lotus Elise/Evora and Mini Coopers.  Some of our design requirements for the 4C included:  be economical, 100% reversible, require minimal modification, and most importantly, be safe. Safe means it must be strong AND correctly position the shoulder belts.  Solutions we've seen in various cars, including the 4C, position shoulder belts too high.  After MUCH head scratching and going through a number of concepts, we landed on the one you see for sale today.  We hit our targets for safety and reversibility. 

Joe (our engineer) earning his paycheck.

Measurements were taken inside the car, a rough 3D model was made, and a prototype was fabricated. Making a one off piece is actually relatively easy. However, we needed to take this part and make an accurate 3D model for our fabrication vendor so they could make a batch of bars. We took measurements from this bar and had some tubes laser notched, they were off a bit, so we had some more tubes laser notched, these were correct. We basically remade our prototype with these laser notched tubes (the originals were notched by hand) to verify the design. It fit so we kicked off production.

Prototype bar in place. It fit our car!

Fitment Problem
Great! Right? Well, when dealing with these low volume cars, sometimes it is difficult to get your hands on a single car for testing, much less multiple cars. Before production, we identified a potential issue. We assumed there would be some variation in the distance between the seat belt mounting points that the bar bolts to. We did some estimation that the variation would be 1/8" or less which the bar was designed to deal with.  We were wrong.  After we started selling our bar, we found out we were wrong. It turns out the variation from car to car is more. This may be due to the introduction of a new model called the 4C Spider - though we are not sure.  Regardless, small volume cars generally have much more car to car variability and that must be considered in the design of any hard parts.

Problem Resolution
 We needed to get creative again and come up with a solution to take up the car to car variation. Our current bar fit some Coupes but not Spiders (2 so far). Most cars have 'slip joints' to take up build tolerances.  This gave us an idea.  We decided that the best way to allow the bar to accommodate the width variation is to allow it to telescope.  We brainstormed several different approaches to make this happen and finally landed on a solution.  Obviously safety was critical and we are happy that it is probably now even stronger than before.

TSSJ Technology
Our solution is a slug and sleeve arrangement to give the bar some telescope ability in the width direction. We cut the bar in half, insert and bond a slug inside the tube and slid a sleeve over the top. This sleeve is also bonded to one side of the 4Corsa.  The other side of the 4Corsa bar slides into this joint.  This arrangement is total overkill. The slug in the center is a piece solid steel round bar and the sleeve, being bigger than the tube it is covering, is even stronger. The both of these parts combine make sure that the bar is not any weaker than the original design.  We came up with the acronym, TSSJ (Telescopic Slug Sleeve Joint) because necessity is the mother of all invention and why shouldn't we have some fun at the same time?!

TSSJ Technology:
Section view of slug and sleeve retrofit.
Slug is red, sleeve is blue, original tube is grey.

Though we had considered adding additional adjust ability, earlier in our development, we ended up tabling it.  In hindsight this proved to be a mistake.  Ultimately our TSSJ solution makes our bar a product that will work on both models and offer a degree of adjustment that a small volume car truly needs.

Secure Your Hips in Your 4C!

We've come up with a simple way hold a person in their Alfa 4C seat.  Though we are big proponents of race harnesses, we know that some people don't race their cars on track or frankly don't want to add a harness bar and belts.  Our idea is a half step that does make a difference.  

This should only be done in conjunction with the stock 3pt belts.

We have installed our BLBmount kit and the waist belts from our Schroth 4pt Profi II belts.  This solution can be clicked in before you place the stock 3pt.

Step 1: click in the race waist belt first

Step 2: Click in the factory 3pt belt over the race waist belts

This should only be done in conjunction with the stock 3pt belts.

I ran our 4C with this exact set up on a recent canyon run with a few other Alfas. It was a simple and quick way to keep me better anchored in the seat.

This should only be done in conjunction with the stock 3pt belts.  We can't stress this enough!!!!!

Placing your Alfa 4C onto 2 or 4 Floor Stands

Working on a car can be dangerous when it gets lifted.  We like to place our cars securely onto floor stands whenever we need to get under a car.  This blog shows how to safely place an Alfa 4C onto four floor stands so that you can easily pull all wheels and/or work under the car.  This is especially convenient with brake jobs, oil changes and mechanical inspections - especially before AND after your track/AutoX events.  We also show how to place the car safely onto two rear stands.

Suggested tools:

• flatJACKS - qty 4
• 4CLIFTkit 
• Alternative: LIFTjackPACK combines 1 set of flatJACKS + 4CLIFTkit
• Floor jack
• wood pieces (2x4 are great) 

Placing the car onto 4 Jack Stands

Step 1:  Jack the car from center jack pad that is located on the chassis

jack from the center pad that is located on the chassis (small red rectangle)

drive rear tires onto wood to raise car 

Notes:

• The center pad is rear of the front pad
• Use a low-profile floor jack or drive the rear car tires up onto pieces of wood to provide clearance for a normal floor jack (as shown)
• We use a small piece of wood between the floor jack and the chassis - we like being sympathetic to our babies...and the rubber pad fell off our jack years ago. 8^)

Step 2: Place a flatJACK under the rear jacking point and one under the front jack pad

rear jack point -  car is NOT resting on stand

front jack pad - car is not resting on stand

Notes:

1. The rear point is ribbed and in-line with the arrow molded into the side sill
2. The front point is pad molded into the chassis and is in-line with the arrow molded into the side sill.
3. Lower the  car onto the stands slowly

Step 3: Lift the opposite side of the car from the center jack point

Left side is elevated and resting on floor stands

Notes:

• Carefully lift from the center jack pad
• Lift the car just enough to clear the flatJACKS (floor stands)
• Slide the flatJACKS into position
• rear jack point and front jack point
• slowly lower car onto floor stands

Step 4: Remove car from floor stands

• Reverse the above process

Placing the car onto 2 Jack Stands

Most maintenance tasks required usually only need the rear of the car lifted and placed onto stands.  We do NOT recommend attempting to place the 4C onto 2 front stands as the car will not be stable.  It is safe to place the 2 stands on the rear of the car.

If you follow the above Steps 1-3, you can safely place your 4C onto two rear stands.  The process below shows a quicker process to placing the car onto 2 rear stands but requires our 4CLIFTkit - or your own DIY version(see previous blog).

Step 1: Install 4CLIFTkit

Step 2: Place floor jack under diffuser at the seam with the undertray

• Lift carefully

Step 3: Place floor stands under rear jack points

• remove the floor jack

Step 4: Get to work!

These are a couple of safe ways to get the 4C onto stands.  Use the safest method possible.  I can't over stress the need for you to be safe.  All of the above assumes you are working on a flat stable floor and you know how to use the tools/methods described.  If in doubt, call us, your mechanic or a trusted friend!  

Inspecting your car before and after your driving events is critical.  Light-weight cars are a joy to drive on track but track use will quickly loosen joints.  These loose joints must be caught and tightened otherwise parts may begin to fall off your car...

Jacking Up The 4C

One of the first things we did when we got our Alfa 4C was to assess how to jack the thing up without jacking it up. Upon pulling the diffuser and engine tray, it became apparent that like the Lotus, there is not a real good way to jack up the rear of the car without destroying something. The way the diffuser and engine tray bolt up to the car leaves an air gap between the thin pieces of metal and the structure of the rear subframe. If you simply put a jack on the diffuser and lifted the rear of the car, you would successfully lift the wheels off the ground only after you crushed the diffuser and engine tray...

Luckily, I have no pictures of Alfa damage.
So here is a picture to remind you to pay attention to how you lift your car!

The solution to this problem is a simple one, all you need to do is fill in the gaps between the panels and the subframe. We happened to have some stuff laying around the shop to prototype this concept. The first air gap is about 0.25" between what I will call the subframe extension bit for lack of the official term. This plate is bolted to the subframe and by way of rivet nuts, provides the places for the diffuser and engine tray to bolt to. We cut out a 5" x 5" square of 0.25" plastic to take up this gap.

Here you can see the 0.25" piece of plastic we placed between the subframe and the plate.
It sits flush once put in place properly.

The second gap is between the engine tray and the plate pictured above. This air gap measures about 0.125". We cut a 2"x 9" rectangle from some 0.125" plastic and used some double sided tape to fix it to the engine try. 

The black part is the piece we added.

Everything bolts back together just like stock and you can not tell this stuff is there. However, now you can jack up the rear of your car easily.  Our flatJACKS are the perfect way to then stabilize the car so you can safely work on it.

As indicated by the above picture, we will make a kit available for those who want to do this mod. We posted the details in this blog for the DIY crowd to make their own.

Exhaust Development: Lotus, Alfa & Now Drakan

We have been working with an exhaust specialist who designs and manufacturers systems here in CA for many years.  We've had them make the RACEpipe for the Lotus, our new Alfa 4CRpipe and now have handed them our Drakan to develop a track system.  Chuck designs each system and has a keen ear for good sounding systems that don't drone.  He started back in 1983 so has tremendous experience.  Sound is tested on each car and then undesirable frequencies are tuned out.  The Alfa system he developed for us is excellent as it kills the annoying drone that exists with the factory 'race' exhaust.  Each system is built from T304 Stainless that is either MIG or TIG welded.

I dropped off the Drakan this week so they could develop a track oriented system that would delete the catalytic converters and add a more melodic/sporty sounding muffler.  The Drakan is designed to use the eRod LS3 with the factory cats from GM along with a larger off the shelf muffler that is quiet enough to meet sound at Laguna Seca or Lime Rock.  This new track system will be louder but we requested a sound that would also be a bit more exotic.  The stock LS3 exhaust manifolds will be used to maintain reliability.

I snapped a bunch of random pictures.  I was asked not to shoot everything as they produce exhausts for many tuners including some popular German-focused tuners.

Naturally, I can hardly wait to get our Drakan back to hear it roar!

Alfa 4C Update: New Race Exhaust & Brake Rotors/Pads

Our 4C has been racking up some miles and we are finding things we like and others that we don't.  The Launch Edition 4C comes with the factory 'race' exhaust - which drones like crazy.  We had to fix this.  The brakes on track, can be improved, so we started to develop some options.  We now have a couple of solutions that we have been able to test and are under development.

Race Exhaust:

The factory race system has no muffler.  It is a turbo car that does a decent job at killing dBs.  Since it has catalytic converters, it is not as loud as you might think.  It sounds great at idle and when you are really going for it.  It is loud and won't pass noise limits at Laguna Seca - as Eric@SuspensionPerformance found out.  But the real issue for me is the the drone that the car creates when cruising on the freeway.  When you are in 6th gear, anywhere from 2250-3500 rpm, the car creates a resonance that hums so loudly in the cabin that you need ear plugs.  Forget listening to the stereo.  I dreaded having to take the car anywhere that required freeway travel.  Luckily we have a great exhaust partner who knew how to fix our issue.  

We lent them our 4C for about a week so they could measure the frequencies inside our car.  They use sophisticated equipment to map out the frequencies and identify the offending range.  They then employed Helmholtz principles to kill the range that was causing the drone.  This Helmholtz Chamber is a canister that sits outside of the main flow of exhaust and does not interfere with the straight through design.  This allows this system to keep power as stock and not create any additional back pressure or power reduction.  Sophisticated exhaust suppliers are now employing these Helmholtz principles to great effect.  Learn more about this: HERE  

I brought another fellow 4C LE owner, Martin, along with me to pick up my 4C.  See his car above compared to our 4C - note the exhaust tip difference.  We took the car with the prototype system installed and were shocked at the difference!  The car has no drone when cruising.  The only thing you hear is wind and tire noise.  The difference is amazing.  Watch the video we made of the car:

We are now putting the system into production as we know there are many other 4C LE owners who share our opinion.  We believe that once standard 4Cs (with actual mufflers) start getting delivered, our system will become a great choice over the factory race exhaust option.  Now we have to decide on the size of the exhaust tips.  Unfortunately we have to send the prototype system back so they can measure it for production.  The stock system is getting reinstalled until our first production part arrives.  Where are my ear plugs...




Brake Rotors:
Finding unsprung weight savings has always been one of our goals with all of our cars.  The 4C is heavier overall than the Elise/Exige so we would like to find any savings that we can.  We have had great success with our ULTRAdiscs on the Lotus.  Our partner, Girodisc, has been a key ally in our attempts to find weights savings while delivering excellent performance.  The factory rotors are a one piece rotor but are made in a innovative manner that frankly is fairly light.  We had Martin make us some ULTRAdiscs to fit the 4C and found a 1.25lb savings on the rear and .5lb savings at the front.  This is per rotor.  We installed them onto our 4C and ran them on track.  We still had the stock pads and they performed well.  Unfortunately we discovered that the front stock pads were already at about 30% life after 3 track days.  One of our brake pad suppliers worked to get us pads but they did not arrive in time for this test.



Brake Pads:
The pad shape on the 4C are not made by anyone other than the OE supplier so we had to get them specially made.  The pads arrived a day late so we did not track test them.  We received a compound that is not a strict race pad so it should work for aggressive street use.  Stay tuned as we will report back soon.  Looks like we have to go back to the track for more testing...what a rough life!  ;^)

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^)

Alfa Romeo 4C - Introductory impressions of our newest car

We took delivery of a new Alfa Romeo 4C last week.  As many of you know, this car fits perfectly into our specialty - lightweight sportscars.  It is very much like the Lotus Elise/Exige so we have been anxious for its arrival for years.  Boutique sports cars tend to suffer from delayed introductions.  This one is no exception as it has been expected for 2+ years.  Early reports from some of my auto industry friends was that the 4C has the size/performance of the Elise but with the refinement of the Evora.  This blog will discuss the car and our initial impressions.  In a nutshell, the wait has been worth it!

We've partnered with Suspension Peformance in Mountain View, CA and purchased this car so we can jointly develop some molto tasty bits.  We've worked with them for years and know several great solutions will result.  We bought the car from Findlay Alfa in Henderson, NV as they were willing to sell us the car at sticker.  John and Greg at Findlay were great to work with.  I met some more of their staff and they truly made the delivery a great experience.  Give them a call if you are in the market (702)982-4888.

So what are the specs on this beauty?  It is expected to weigh approximately 2465lbs.  We will weigh on our scales soon and report in a future blog.  It has a 240 hp inline 4 - turbo with 6spd Auto/Man - twin clutch.  2 seats and mid engine.  The car is a Launch Edition (56/500) car so it was optioned to the hilt.  The Alfa Rosso color is a really rich red that dials up the sex appeal to 11.  

Our first stop with the 4C was to our local clear bra installer, ClearPro.  We had Lance and his team install some protection film to the front of the car and some other vulnerable areas including trunk and interior areas.  These type of cars see a fair amount of stone impingement so it is good to protect it sooner than later.

I took the 4C out for a full day of driving up to Los Angeles.  Obviously this is not the ideal first trip but I wanted to get some break-in miles on her and visit several of our vendors to get a start on product development.  Several products are in the pipeline as a result.  My driving consisted of mostly highway but I did manage to drive one canyon up in the Valley.

Driving impressions:

• Handling
• The car handles well.  The ride is very firm - much like a Sport Pack equipped Elise/Exige.  The suspension coupled with big wheels/low profile tires resulted in a stiff ride that I would not choose for a daily commute on rough roads.  This car was tuned for performance driving and I will take her to the track and canyons this coming week.  I suspect the standard wheels/suspension may be the better choice for cars that see more use on rough streets.
• Brakes
• The brake pedal felt firm and works well.  I did not attempt any panic stops but pushed hard in the canyon and they felt fine. 
• Ergonomics
• The seats were supportive.  The switches are all good.  The stereo has Bluetooth so it added some convenience.  I made a few calls and the performance was OK.  I was able to stream music from my phone so that made the traffic a bit more bearable.  The dead pedal is excellent. Visibility is poor to the sides and rear as expected. The dash works fine.  I still prefer old school gauges with needles.  This modern dash was good and the display changes based on the driving mode selected.
• Shifting
• Auto mode shifting was not very smooth.  Not sure if this ECU is learning my driving style and then will get better?  Switching into the Manual mode was far better.  Shifts were fast and smooth.  Though I did appreciate Auto while stuck in LA traffic jams.  
• Acceleration
• The car is fast!  Mid-range torque seems excellent as the car is always willing to accelerate like a scalded cat.  It feels as fast as any stock Elise/Exige.
• Comfort

• Seats are comfortable.  The car is loud inside.  It is not as quiet as the Lotus Evora - much more like an Elise.  Tire noise and frankly exhaust drone was the biggest contributor.  I think that 6th gear cruising on the freeway with this exhaust was not great.  Lack of interior storage is a clear issue with the car.  This car is really focused on being a fun to drive toy than a daily driver - no surprise.
• Fit & Finish
• The 4C has a very nice interior.  This is the Launch Edition so it has several carbon parts that really make it look great.  The interior carbon tub was much better finished than an early model I had seen.  The quality of the interior materials is good.  Panel gaps are OK.  The wheels look good to me though it seems the younger crowd does not like them as much as older guys like me - they remind me of older wheels found on other cool sportscars.
• Sound
• The exhaust sound good at idle.  After that it is not really that exciting.  Wastegate and turbo noises emanate from the rear of the car.  I think folks who like these sounds will be happy - I'm less enthusiastic. 

We placed the 4C on the lift and began discovering other things that will get covered in future blogs.  I plan to take her to Spring Mtn next weekend and run on track.  I expect it to be plenty of fun!  

Overall I am pleased with this car.  Alfa have struck a good balance.  Yes, it is heavier than the Elise/Exige but it still feels much lighter than an Evora.  The car feels small and nimble and performs like a true Elise alternative.  The lack of a manual is a drag but the future is paddle shift and frankly, it helps broaden the market appeal for a car as narrowly focused as the 4C.  Good job Alfa - thank you for bringing a light sportscar to the US!