Project-Scuderia

With the BBS FIs and the Pirelli P-Zero Corsas on the car, I adjusted the ARB drop links to the proper lengths to dial out any pre-load, and reconnected the ARBs. Here is the final result of the corner balance:

LR to RF = 50.08%

RR to LF = 49.92%

Note that the total weight dropped 2 lb. That is within the accuracy of the scales, so it does not mean the car actually lost weight. The weights will actually fluctuate 1-2 lbs while the car sits on the scales. The Left-to-Right balance is within 53 lbs, and that is with a 200+ lb driver on the left side. So, Ferrari has installed several components with a right-side bias. This is with the stock battery, which is on the right side. So, a lightweight battery would reduce overall weight, which is a good thing, but contribute to a greater side-to-side inbalance, which is not so good. In general, the advantages of weight reduction still outweigh the disadvantages.
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Thanks Much! I am making progress on a couple more upgrades.

 

A new mod showed up this week. It's a carbon fiber undertray panel to replace the unattractive undercoated aluminum "tunnel reinforcement" panel on the bottom of the car, just aft of the forward undertray (black fiberglass).

It is a straightforward bolt-on part. Of course, the hardest part was removing the stock aluminum panel which is held on with 48 bolts. There are 64 bolts altogether, but 16 hold the stiffeners to the panel, and don't hold the panel to the car.

Naturally, once I had them side-by-side, I threw them both on the scale.

Stock panel + hardware = 10.95 lb (4.966 kg)

Carbon fiber panel + hardware = 5.64 lb (2.558 kg)

Installing the new panel was faster, with only 32 screws. The stiffeners are also carbon fiber, and are bonded to the panel, alleviating the stress risers of the fasteners. The panel was a great fit, and the screws were allen-head cap screws, similar to the fasteners used on the interior of the car, rather than the industrial-looking hex head bolts on the stock panel. So, it has more of a flush-mounted look.

Since the panel was on the bottom of the car, I opted for the scratch-resistant matte finish. For a little more $$, you can get a high-gloss finish on the weave, so it would like the CF in the cabin (except double weave, not single weave).
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The new CFRC brake rotors have all arrived, as well as the stainless mounting hardware.

Optimization of the Ti brake hat designs is finally finished. The computer models indicate they will be about 1 lb each.

The Ti billets shipped to the machine shop this week, so manufacture and delivery is imminent.

 

The finished brake upgrade kit arrived, and is ready for install. Before installation, I took measurements of everything.

Component Weight (lb)
===============================
Front rotor assembly, R = 14.04
Front rotor assembly, L = 13.71
Stock = 13.63

Rear rotor assembly, R = 11.11
Rear rotor assembly, L = 10.96
Stock = 10.17

Front rotor, R = 12.34
Front rotor, L = 12.01
Stock = 11.04

Rear rotor, R = 9.50
Rear rotor, L = 9.37
Stock = 7.81

Front hat, R = 1.11
Front hat, L = 1.11
Stock = 1.69

Rear hat, R = 1.01
Rear hat, L = 0.99
Stock = 1.47

Front hardware (x10), R = 0.58
Front hardware (x10), L = 0.58
Stock = 0.91

Rear hardware (x10), R = 0.61
Rear hardware (x10), L = 0.61
Stock = 0.81

Total brake kit = 49.80
Stock = 47.60
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I finally got around to installing the new hats and rotors today. My local shop is no longer local, but Austin has a TechShop, so I took advantage of their air-conditioned vehicle bay to do the rotor swap. As expected, everything fit precisely and went together easily. I had to bed the pads in to the new rotors, but they were completely vibration-free during the test drive. I made the shake-down run on Texas' famous SH-130, the fastest road in America.
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That's adhesive to bond the spacers to the sheet. You need to see it in person.

 

35% weight savings over the stock hats, which is an appreciable reduction in unsprung mass. The rotating mass reduction is less significant given the small diameter of the hats. But the true game changers are the improved thermal stability (putting less thermal stress on the mounting hardware) and the greatly reduced heat transfer coefficient (protecting the hubs and bearings from the heat in the rotors).

 

How time flies. I have been focused on a new aerospace-defense project with a US Ally for over a year now, but there has been some activity on Project Scuderia as well. After being under the knife for about a year, the Scud was back on the road yesterday for a short Spring drive.

So, I'll begin to catch everyone up on what's transpired, going back about a year to the removal of the front & rear bumpers, left & right rocker panels, front & rear under-body panels, and the rear deck lid. I stripped down all the assemblies after removing them from the car, and collected weight data on various components:

Front Bumper w/headlight washers, Fiberglass = 13.435 kg (29.61 lbs)

Left Rocker, w/screen, Fiberglass = 3.715 kg (8.19 lbs)

Right Rocker, w/screen, Fiberglass = 4.025 kg (8.88 lbs)

Fiberglass Rocker production variance = 4%

Rear Bumper, Fiberglass = 10.255 kg (22.62 lbs)

Front underbody aero panel (fiberglass) = 3.065 kg (6.75 lb)

Rear underbody aero panel (fiberglass) = 5.830 kg (12.75 lb)

Rear Deck lid, aluminum & Lexan = 12.660 kg (27.84 lb)

Rear Deck lid cross braces (stock CF) = 0.355 kg (0.78 lb)

Rear Deck lid vent, steel = 630 g (1.39 lb)

The Lexan panel is bonded to the rear deck lid, and cannot be disassembled. So I computed the separate mass of the Lexan analytically, and backed out the component mass for the aluminum deck lid frame.

Rear Deck lid Lexan (calculated) = 1520 sq in area x 0.2” thick = 304 cu in = 4982 cu cm x 1.2 g/cu cm = 5.978 kg (13.18 lb)

Aluminum Rear Deck lid (calculated) = 6.682 kg (14.73 lb)
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Here's what the car looks like with many of the major panels removed. Compared to removing the rocker panels, removing the bumpers is easy. Bumper removal involves removal of the small wheel well liners and the small front and rear under-body panels (rear diffuser). Removing the rocker panels requires the removal of the four larger wheel well liners; removing the large rear wheel well liners requires removal of the large carbon fiber engine bay panels. Door sills and door jams also have to be removed. The rear deck lid was the easiest of all; nothing tricky about that one.
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