Concept
Following our most successful season ever with Franc N. Stein 2008's
target was to build a car which could challenge for the top 20 places at the Goodwood final.
Fireblade exceeded that expectation,
finishing 4th overall
in 2008.
Specification
| Model |
Fireblade |
Chassis |
Fibreglass/Aluminium Honeycomb |
| Type/Formula |
Greenpower Formula 24 |
Body |
Carbon Fibre Composite/Birch
Ply |
| Year of Production |
2008 |
Suspension |
Upper wishbone operating inboard
spring |
| Designer |
Students and Teachers |
Brakes |
Mechanical caliper operating
ventilated disc |
| Examples Built |
1 |
Length |
2.5m |
| Engine |
Fracmo 24v Motor |
Width |
0.8m |
| Power Output |
250w |
Weight |
<120kg including driver |
| Transmission |
Single Speed Belt-Drive |
Identifying Colours |
Silver/Green |
Materials and Construction
Fireblade began life as a full sized rolling plywood mock up which was used to finalise dimensions and position of major components
(such as the driver!).
Wheels and Tyres
 We
have a supply of special low rolling resistance tyres from Michelin.
These will run on lightened 16" Grimeca Alloy rims.
|
Rear Drive
 We
will be running a Gates belt drive system, similar to the one used last
year on Franc. The belt drive was reliable throughout the season, quiet
and easy to install and setup. The car will be running on a lightweight
tubular axle at the rear. Braking will be provided a Gusset mechanical
calliper acting on a 180mm rotor fitted to a custom machined mounting
boss. We also have regenerative braking via our motor controller.
|
Steering and Front Wheels
 Steering
will be via a centrepoint wishbone setup with approximately 10mm of travel.
Parts of Mad Dog's front
suspension and steering will be reused - and - just to maintain the super-green
credentials of the team - we are working on turning an old citrus press into a
steering rack.
|
Chassis
 The chassis began as a mock up in ply. The mockup was built up with the real suspension, drive, steering and electrics components etc. and had a
(very!) gentle test run to prove everything worked and that drivers
could exit in 6 seconds as the regulations require. Once the final
dimensions and position of components had been finalised we rebuilt the
chassis in a fibreglass-aluminium honey comb composite and transferred
all the components from the mock up to the real car. The car is built
from two sheets of fibreglass - aluminium Cellite 220 honeycomb composite with some
carbon fibre panels; reusing material from
Mad Dog. The
honeycomb composite sheet has excellent stiffness for comparatively low
weight.
Left: The finished rolling mockup
One honeycomb sheet - marked and ready to cut ("Are you sure
this is the right bit to cut off??") |
Removing one skin and the honeycomb from places where the sheet
will be folded (its not all high-tech!) |
One side of the car folded |
Both sides folded - now, just to add roll bar, seat, wheels,
steering, electrics, drive, motor, brakes..... |
|
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