Renesis NC Track Car - In the Build
08-07-2009, 07:08 AM
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This month marks three years since I kicked the project off...how quickly has the time gone....hope I'm over half way?!! 
Got some great piccies this morning of some of the machined components utilised in the supercharger kit. The effort that has been put into the detail is outstanding. Here's hoping to having the kit by the end of the month!
...and here is the infamous layshaft gear that was machined in Italy.....
The other bit of good news is that the tube sections for the rear part of the roll cage arrived yesterday. I hope to get it welded out this weekend.
Cheers,
Danny
Got some great piccies this morning of some of the machined components utilised in the supercharger kit. The effort that has been put into the detail is outstanding. Here's hoping to having the kit by the end of the month!
...and here is the infamous layshaft gear that was machined in Italy.....
The other bit of good news is that the tube sections for the rear part of the roll cage arrived yesterday. I hope to get it welded out this weekend.
Cheers,
Danny
08-08-2009, 06:35 AM
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Progress on the fabrication of the main hoop and rear section of the roll cage was excellent today. I'll let the pictures tell the story......
Here are the laser cut members that will form the rear section of the roll cage.
Rear foot plates fully welded out.
Next was the trial fitment of the rear legs and diagonals...they were a perfect fit. I only trial fitted them as the main hoop members have to be welded out first.
Horizontal member between the bend points in the main hoop.
You've gotta love the accuracy of the laser profiled members.
The upper diagonals fitted.
The lower diagonals fitted.
Hopefully by the end of tomorrow the rear section of the roll cage will be completed and I can move forward with designing the front section.
Cheers,
Danny
Here are the laser cut members that will form the rear section of the roll cage.
Rear foot plates fully welded out.
Next was the trial fitment of the rear legs and diagonals...they were a perfect fit. I only trial fitted them as the main hoop members have to be welded out first.
Horizontal member between the bend points in the main hoop.
You've gotta love the accuracy of the laser profiled members.
The upper diagonals fitted.
The lower diagonals fitted.
Hopefully by the end of tomorrow the rear section of the roll cage will be completed and I can move forward with designing the front section.
Cheers,
Danny
08-09-2009, 05:31 AM
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The rear section of the roll cage is now complete!
Here are the photos of the completed rear section.
Next is to continue on with the design of the front section of the roll cage.
Cheers,
Danny
08-16-2009, 05:16 AM
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08-16-2009, 05:34 AM
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08-22-2009, 05:02 AM
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During the week I had the pleasure of inspecting and driving Hymee's first production supercharger kit on his own RX-8.
So I guess you're all wanting to know how it went?! Put it this way, I wish I hadn't driven it....because I want my kit now!!! It performed exactly as I expected....urgent but still as silky smooth right from idle through to redline. The screw-type compressor delivers a substantial increase in torque through-out the rev range to replicate the torque curve of a naturally aspirated engine that has a much larger displacement. Someone unfamiliar with the RX-8 would be hard pressed to immediately realise that the engine had forced induction. Unlike the hoarse whine produced by the Eaton M45 supercharger on my NA8 MX-5, this unit is quieter and far more refined (efficient), which suits the Renesis engine to a tee. I would've loved to have put a few more kilometers on the car and put the supercharger kit through its paces, but home was calling.
Here are some photos of the installation on Hymee's RX-8.
I got a couple of hours on the car today. I've changed the rear wheel/tyre combo to reduce the amount of body modification work so I can get to the track a little sooner than a little later. Previously, I was looking at using 18 x 10.5 with a 15P offset...you may remember the photos...anyhow, I'm now using 18 x 9.5 with a 38P offset. So the tyre sizes are 225/40 R18 on the front and 255/35 R18 on the rear. Now that I'm keeping the track wheels on the car I can leave the brake conversion on the car as well as it won't fit under the factory RX-8 wheels I had the car rolling on.
This change has resulted in a lot less body work modification. So much so that I had a crack at rolling the right rear wheel arch to see what I could easily get out of the panel with one of those guard roller thingees.
Before...(LHS should have taken photos of the RHS before!
After...(pretty much achieved what I was after in 20 mins....needs a bit of a tidy up, but this will happen when the paintwork is sorted out near the end of the build.
I also reinstated the dividing panel between the cabin and the boot. It just needed a couple of notches to fit around the rear diagonal legs of the roll cage.
Cheers,
Danny
So I guess you're all wanting to know how it went?! Put it this way, I wish I hadn't driven it....because I want my kit now!!! It performed exactly as I expected....urgent but still as silky smooth right from idle through to redline. The screw-type compressor delivers a substantial increase in torque through-out the rev range to replicate the torque curve of a naturally aspirated engine that has a much larger displacement. Someone unfamiliar with the RX-8 would be hard pressed to immediately realise that the engine had forced induction. Unlike the hoarse whine produced by the Eaton M45 supercharger on my NA8 MX-5, this unit is quieter and far more refined (efficient), which suits the Renesis engine to a tee. I would've loved to have put a few more kilometers on the car and put the supercharger kit through its paces, but home was calling.
Here are some photos of the installation on Hymee's RX-8.
I got a couple of hours on the car today. I've changed the rear wheel/tyre combo to reduce the amount of body modification work so I can get to the track a little sooner than a little later. Previously, I was looking at using 18 x 10.5 with a 15P offset...you may remember the photos...anyhow, I'm now using 18 x 9.5 with a 38P offset. So the tyre sizes are 225/40 R18 on the front and 255/35 R18 on the rear. Now that I'm keeping the track wheels on the car I can leave the brake conversion on the car as well as it won't fit under the factory RX-8 wheels I had the car rolling on.
This change has resulted in a lot less body work modification. So much so that I had a crack at rolling the right rear wheel arch to see what I could easily get out of the panel with one of those guard roller thingees.
Before...(LHS should have taken photos of the RHS before!
After...(pretty much achieved what I was after in 20 mins....needs a bit of a tidy up, but this will happen when the paintwork is sorted out near the end of the build.
I also reinstated the dividing panel between the cabin and the boot. It just needed a couple of notches to fit around the rear diagonal legs of the roll cage.
Cheers,
Danny
08-23-2009, 05:09 AM
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Today I continued on with building a template for the front right roll cage leg. I'm making it out of piece parts and once I'm happy, I'll have it made out of one continuous length.
The horizontal section of the front leg between the a-pillar and the main hoop is there so I could measure out the profile required to better follow the inside of the hard top. My preference is to have the tube rolled as opposed to having a bend just forward of the main hoop and adding a gusset to support the bend (this is what most do).
Next was to have a play with the side intrusion detail. This will be the position of the top bar....other sections will be added in due course.
Cheers,
Danny
The horizontal section of the front leg between the a-pillar and the main hoop is there so I could measure out the profile required to better follow the inside of the hard top. My preference is to have the tube rolled as opposed to having a bend just forward of the main hoop and adding a gusset to support the bend (this is what most do).
Next was to have a play with the side intrusion detail. This will be the position of the top bar....other sections will be added in due course.
Cheers,
Danny
08-23-2009, 07:20 PM
#162
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Although obviously mandatory in a car like this, how much weight do you figure the full cage will add Danny?
Wheels are looking good.
Has Hymee put up pricing for his production kit yet?
Wheels are looking good.
Has Hymee put up pricing for his production kit yet?
08-23-2009, 07:25 PM
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The answer is yes - http://www.performancedesign.com.au/...arger_kit.html
sorry for the mini hi-jack Danny - back to the beast...
sorry for the mini hi-jack Danny - back to the beast...
09-20-2009, 07:17 AM
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The supercharger kit is getting closer with all the machined components going out for anodising this week. So it won't be long till I bolt it on the engine and ship it out for tuning.
Unfortunately I'm still waiting for the rolled pipe sample and therefore haven't been able to continue with the front section of roll cage.
So today I got stuck into stripping the doors and removing the section of door trim that will encroach on the side intrusion structure of the yet to be complete roll cage. I've made a cardboard template for the section of trim that will be reinstated in aluminium sheet. The door speakers and the door trim's plastic superstructure are now gone.
This is the drivers door...
...and this is the passengers door...
I've decided to upgrade the rear brakes which means I will lose the standard integrated rear handbrake caliper. So to ensure I still have a handbrake I purchased a D2 hydraulic handbrake to replace the standard cable type.
During the week just gone, we reset the front suspension ride height and wheel alignment to a more track orientated setting. 8)
Cheers,
Danny
ps. Thought I'd throw this photo up as I didn't have one taken from this angle posted to date.
Unfortunately I'm still waiting for the rolled pipe sample and therefore haven't been able to continue with the front section of roll cage.
So today I got stuck into stripping the doors and removing the section of door trim that will encroach on the side intrusion structure of the yet to be complete roll cage. I've made a cardboard template for the section of trim that will be reinstated in aluminium sheet. The door speakers and the door trim's plastic superstructure are now gone.
This is the drivers door...
...and this is the passengers door...
I've decided to upgrade the rear brakes which means I will lose the standard integrated rear handbrake caliper. So to ensure I still have a handbrake I purchased a D2 hydraulic handbrake to replace the standard cable type.
During the week just gone, we reset the front suspension ride height and wheel alignment to a more track orientated setting. 8)
Cheers,
Danny
ps. Thought I'd throw this photo up as I didn't have one taken from this angle posted to date.
10-12-2009, 06:50 AM
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Alrighty then!!! Feast your eyes on this bit of kit!!! 
Yup, the supercharger has landed and what a superb bit of kit it is!!!
The plan of attack from here is as follows:
(1) During this week the engine will be prepared to receive the supercharger kit
(2) This Saturday will see the supercharger bolted to the engine
(3) Assess what other items are required before the engine can be sent out for testing and tuning
So stay tuned for more regular updates....
Cheers,
Danny
Yup, the supercharger has landed and what a superb bit of kit it is!!!
The plan of attack from here is as follows:
(1) During this week the engine will be prepared to receive the supercharger kit
(2) This Saturday will see the supercharger bolted to the engine
(3) Assess what other items are required before the engine can be sent out for testing and tuning
So stay tuned for more regular updates....
Cheers,
Danny
10-12-2009, 08:42 AM
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10-12-2009, 05:20 PM
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Ahh, gotta love watching the prequel to my own kit. 
Danny, have you thought about sticking that little care package on some scales? I'd be interested to know what kind of weight it adds...
Staying tuned...
Danny, have you thought about sticking that little care package on some scales? I'd be interested to know what kind of weight it adds...
Staying tuned...
mate
