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.

White Rascal Update #7: Becoming an ArtCar

The White Rascal is now mechanically running and sporting a new tune.  The mismatched bodywork was screaming for some attention.  We contemplated getting a quick paint job or have the car wrapped.  We posted up a pic on our Instagram account and one of our old partners in crime, reached out to us.  Neil painted our original ArtCar and was interested in taking on this project.

Neil has been pursing painting and has built up a cool collection of work.  See it on his: website.  He has been venturing into a new style that I really like.  He sent me a very cool rendering of what he would like to do and I was immediately stoked.  See the teaser below.  Follow our Instagram for more teasers.

We struck up a deal and I trailered the car to his studio.  So in a couple of weeks, we should have our new ArtCar v2...

Elise/Exige ECU Tuning Update

 We have been making good progress on our new calibrations for Lotus/Alfa.  We have released the Lotus Evora NA and Alfa 4C tunes. The Evora S is getting additional testing along with the tune we have just completed for the Elise/Exige NA cars.  

We now have a new tune for these naturally aspirated cars  with the Cup Airbox + Larini Decat pipe + TRACKpipe.  This airbox is found on the S260 Exige - and our KATANA2.  This is a factory airbox and flows more air than the original airbox found on the Elise/Exige. Our calibrator was able to find about 10hp with this tune. See dyno graph below.

One key objective with this tune was to turn off the second O2 sensor so that a decat could be run on track cars without tripping the MIL on the dash.  We have succeeded as our Elise has been run enough times now without the Check Engine Light turning on.  We will continue to rack up more miles and if everything goes well, plan to release the calibration in June.

The next tune we will develop, for these cars, will have a cold air intake and header.  Expect it this Summer.

gPAN - Enhanced Safety

One of our clients, P.Chuddy, sent over a great suggestion that adds another level of safety to our gPAN - but could be used on most of the oil pans.  He adds a carplug over the drainplug fitting and secures it with a hose clamp(not shown in pic).  This is a simple way to ensure that your drain plug does not vibrate out of the bung - which is not something we have seen.  Better safe than sorry.  Thanks Paul for your suggestion!

Lotus Shifter - Latest Update

Here is the latest progress on our new Lotus shifter.  We are getting the first prototype built to begin in-car testing.

Drakan Aerodynamic Testing

Since day one, people have been requesting an aero package for the Drakan. We finally had some time to work on this project and we think the result is pretty awesome.  Naturally the wings needed to work and look good.  Ensuring that they were safe and offered proper aero balance to the car was critical to us.  The best way to do this was to go to the track with our driver and test.

Rendering of the car with wings and proposed mounts.

We decided to use a standard top mounted straight wing up front with F1 style mounts. The rear wing is a top mounted style as well, the lower surface of the wing is the most important for generating downforce so moving the mounts to the top and using a "swan neck" mounting solution is theoretically the most efficient. However, due to our car having a wind shield and roll hoops in the way, the effectiveness of the center portion of the rear wing is likely a bit diminished anyway. We chose this style anyway since frankly it just looks so good.  Due to the windshield, we raised the rear wing as high as we could to give a good balance of form and function, we did not want it looking like an F1 car from the 60s.

Lotus 49 from 1969 

Our goals for this test were: 

1. Test aero balance the of car with and without wings
2. Ensure the mounts were stout enough
3. Determine a good front wing mounting height. 

The production mounts will be made from CNC'd 6061-T6 aluminum, but for this test we simply water jet some parts of the same shape and thickness.  We designed three different height mounts for the front.  These prototype parts were installed onto a car at our shop to confirm fitment and position.  It met our expectations so we called our Ride&Handling Engineer, David Thilenius and headed to Spring Mountain.

Dave ran a total of 12 sessions and covered 93.5 miles on track. We tested on Spring Mountain's West 1.5 mile course. While not a particularly fast track, we did have at least one good 100+mph corner in which to judge the wings.  Since this was our first test of these wings, we felt it would be prudent to run at lower speeds to confirm the aero balance.  Not that we were concerned about our driver's safety!.  8^)   

Our wing mounts have fixed Angle of Attack positions that can easily be changed.  We tested every wing configuration and landed on a good setting.  We could not make the handling of the car dangerous. (We consider a tendency to oversteer a dangerous situation). The wings definitely helped to plant the car in the faster sections of the track and raised overall grip levels.  We hit tops speeds of 115mph and lateral acceleration of 1.5gs.  

Watch our video below.

Our mounts did appear to be plenty strong and stable so we have signed off on the design. We tested the different height positions for the front wing and we found that our lowest proposed position was just a bit too low and saw some minor scraping of the leading edge of the end plate. We put on different mounts that raised the wing 1.5" from the ground and never saw another issue, this will be our "track" mount going forward. We will also offer another mount that raises the wing 1.5" further from this position in case someone wants to run the front wing on the street.

Tufts and Smarty Cam

We also did some testing with an AiM Smarty Cam and some really high tech pieces of string to see what the air flow was doing around various parts of the car. We were happy to see that the strings for the most part behaved how we had expected and showed good air flow going into the radiator ducts and engine oil cooler.  Integrating the SmartyCam into the Drakan was easy since it is prewired for adding it.  We are big believers in using the data and video to improve driving on track and monitoring your car.

Overall it was a good test and we think Drakan customers will appreciate the performance of this upgrade.  The balance is safe and adds enough performance to make our gentleman racer clients feel even more confident on track.  Of course we know that it also looks superbly aggressive - and that never hurts!  Our next step is to head back to SMMR and test on one of their faster configuration and our man, Dave is ready - as soon as he gets back from racing at the Nurburgring.

Nose off for a quick inspection

Tech Tip: Coilovers

One of the single biggest improvements you can make to your car is proper suspension setup. Light weight cars are very responsive to suspension setup changes and that applies to a good setup as well as a poor one. The stock Lotus suspension is very good, however, anyone who has done suspension design and setup will tell you that the entire thing is an art in compromise. The Lotus engineers had to consider the cost of each component as well as the fact that they were building a road car, not a race car. For those seeking better performance from their cars, especially on the track, you can not make a much better upgrade than a coil over suspension system. Coilovers allow you to make spring rate changes relatively easily in order to suit specific road or track conditions, rebound and damping adjustments allow the ability to fine tune not only the ride quality of the car but its handling characteristics, they allow you to lower the car (thus lowering the center of gravity), and they just look awesome! We carry the full range of Nitron suspension from street to track.

The best you can get, Nitron 46mm triple adjustable shocks

A few years ago we posted a blog showing where to measure the ride height on the Lotus Elise and Exige. That post can be found HERE. To add to that, here are a few tips when setting ride height.

1) Know the goal and the limits. When setting ride height, you are not really just setting ground clearance, you are setting where the suspension sits in its travel. Ride height is just a more simple way to do this than measuring an exposed shock shaft or the angle of the a-arm. The Lotus engineers spec'd the stock ride height not only to provide adequate ground clearance, but also to put the suspension in the ideal spot in the travel. If you want to set ride height much below about 120mm, it is best to do this with raceUPRIGHTS these allow a low ride height (and CG) but leave the suspension geometry closer to stock. We do not recommend these for the street. 

2) Settle the suspension. When you jack up the car and the suspension droops, the tires actually move inward toward the center of the car. When you lower the car back down, the tires stick to the ground and do not push outwards, this causes the car to sit artificially high. We use hubstands with built in rollers to stop this but you can settle the car back down by bouncing and rolling it back and forth a few feet. It is important that you do this the same way each time, I prefer to push the car down and allow it to rebound on its own (we also set the rebound and compression damping to full soft). 

3) Care for the threads. It is critical that the threads on the shocks are clean before you make any adjustments, dirt and grit not only make adjustment difficult, it can damage the the threads. If your suspension setup demands that you preload the spring to achieve the desired ride height, it can become very difficult to turn the spring collar. Resist the urge to grease the threads as this will attract dirt and nastyness. We have been experimenting (with good results) with using a dry graphite lube. This provides plenty of lubrication to the threads without making a mess.

We use a lube like this, it also comes in smaller bottles and spray cans. 

4) Tender springs. Certain spring rates and lengths make the use of tender springs necessary. Sometimes when trying to achieve a low ride height, the spring collar is backed off so far that when the suspension is in full droop, the spring becomes loose. Adding a tender spring to the mix will keep the main spring in place and prevent it from making noise or damaging the shock. If you need some tender springs, just give us a call and we can get you setup.

Set of 4 tender springs and spacers.

I could probably write a book about suspension setup and adjustments (there are already several on the subject written by folks much smarter than I). I believe this entry has gotten long enough as it is. If you would like more information you can give us a call, email us at tech@sector111.com, or you can do some research on your own (Carroll Smith's Tune To Win is an excellent resource).

Drakan Performance Test Results from MotorTrend

We met with three of the Motor Trend staff to conduct testing on the Drakan Spyder at Auto Club Speedway.  Nate Martinez was a our point man along with Kim Reynolds and Chris Walton.  Kim and Chris conducted the dynamic testing which was done at the end of the drag strip and in a large parking lot.  The car was instrumented by the guys and run through the paces.  Here are the results:

I am pleased with the numbers as they are close to what we estimated/measured in our testing.  Having an independent company verify as well conduct additional tests helps us validate our beliefs.

2015 Drakan TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30	1.4 sec
0-40	2.0
0-50	2.5
0-60	3.0
0-70	3.9
0-80	4.7
0-90	5.5
0-100	6.5
PASSING, 45-65 MPH	1.1
QUARTER MILE	11.1 sec @ 128.8 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	108 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	1.09 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	22.9 sec @ 0.93 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH	1,980 rpm

Alfa 4C Canyon Testing: Springs, Mudflaps, Power, Wheel Studs

One of the joys of my role at Sector111 is the in-car testing we must conduct.  We usually run our cars on three 'circuits': short (around town), long (in the canyons) and track (Spring Mtn).  Our 4C has several new products that we have developed and needed further testing.  These included our new lowering springs, mudflaps, powerkit and wheel studs/nuts.

This morning I had the pleasure of taking the car out and hitting our long test circuit.  This canyon road has a proper mix of everything that most clients might experience on a back country run.  It has smooth sections AND very rough sections, on camber, off camber, fast sweepers, tight corners, uphill and downhill.  I've run this road for 15+ years in various cars (Lotus, Ariel, BAC, etc)and know it quite well.  I've run the 4C on this course many, many times in stock form and now in modified trim.

We have installed lowering springs on the car.  We wanted to address client requests for a lower car without the cost of shocks/struts - which is really the only current option for lowering your 4C to reduce the fender gap.  Our progressive rate springs were targeting a .75-1" drop for the car.  Once we had it installed, we actually experienced a 1-1.1" drop.  The car looks great but I immediately started to get concerned about the clearance and ride quality.  The pictures show the difference.

Well a quick blast through the short circuit revealed that the ride quality was actually enhanced over stock.  The bump compliance was remarkable.  Our spring supplier is a world-wide expert and delivered a very excellent ride.  Clearance is not bad and I did not find myself bottoming out - though I had to be careful on any steep incline.

I drove the car on our canyon circuit and came away with even more confidence. The car absorbed the countless road irregularities and pot-holes very well.  Dare I say with aplomb?  Turn-in response seem to be the same as stock and could not perceive any loss in control over stock.  The added compliance gave me more confidence to attack the corners knowing that the suspension would absorb the bumps without upsetting the chassis.  Additionally the car felt marginally flatter through the curves with less sway.  This is really the advantage of properly engineered progressive rate springs; they can be more comfortable yet still deliver sharp handling.

I think most clients will be pleased with the handling though this ride height may prove to be too low for some.  To address this issue, we are seriously considering offering two ride heights - this current one dubbed 'Track' and another that offers less drop that we may call 'Road'.  Luckily our supplier is capable of delivering the ride heights we specify - especially now that this kit has been tested on our car and baselined.  Ultimately, we will have sway bars that will make for a really good handling upgrade while still delivering good ride quality.

The mudflaps appear to be holding up well.  I attempted to run over every gravel patch and sand trap that I saw on my drive.  Our mudflaps bolt to existing holes in the body so that it is an easy installation.  We've used carbon fiber to dress up the look of the flaps.  But of course, CF is not the most durable material for stone impingement.  So we needed to get innovative.  We choose a CF that offers a fair amount of flex to absorb the 'hits' and then we added a special layer that makes this composite even more durable.  

I had one moment, during the drive when I hit a hard bump and a bunch of gravel in quick succession.  I heard what sounded like shattered CF so I pulled over.  The mudflaps were fine and I realized that the sound came from the gravel bouncing off of the bottom of the car.  So far so, good.  We will run her for awhile longer to ensure they hold up.  We have a couple of clients who have also offered to test the flaps for us.  If you click on the images, you can see the mudflaps a bit better.  They are fairly discrete and don't really call out for attention.  Frankly, that is good with me.

The 4C comes with wheel bolts which make removing/reinstalling wheels a bit of a pain.  We have switched to studs and nuts on our Lotus many years ago, even though they originally come with wheel bolts.  These also make for safer installation of wheel spacers that some 4C owners have installed.  We are testing both HEXstuds and BULLETstuds with YELLOWfellos on our 4C.  Both work well and should be a nice upgrade for all owners.

The Power Kit is running well and the added mid-range is noticeable.  I ran in Dynamic and Race modes to manually select gears.  We've now run the car with the kit for a couple of weeks and it is really fast and delivers plenty of thrills.  Our partner will be announcing details on this kit soon.  We think it is a safe amount of power and adds just the right amount of additional kick to the 4C.  We are still running the stock airfilter though the car is equipped with our 4CRpipe.  We plan to offer additional power upgrades in the future.

The 4C continues to impress me.  It is not quite a quick as an Ariel/BAC/Drakan but would easily keep up with a Lotus in the canyons.  Considering the added amenities that the 4C offers over the previously mentioned cars, makes it better as a 'practical' sportscar.  Do I miss a manual in this car?  Yes, but it is hard to argue with the pace that this car can keep on back roads!  

We will reveal our new Harness Bar, Race Harnesses and CF seat next week at our Open House.   Once these are complete, we will finally have a fully comprehensive package for the 4C owner who loves both road & track.