Need suggestions for chassis...

[Komelika]

I need suggestions for chassis. I am planning on mostly high desert off-roading in central New Mexico including hi speed sand washes, hill climbs, and maybe the occasional woop section. I don't plan on racing. Atleast not for now. Just looking for more of a hobby. I would like to build it myself. I'm undecided on an engine, but would like to have at least 600cc from a streetbike or better depending on the price. Thanks for any tips or suggestions...

[Deranged]

Hey WELCOME!! Are you wanting to take a passenger, or just build a single seater? I too am new to this, but I bought the plans from rorty racing, and am very happy with the plans. There have been several sucessfull Rorty builds on this site. Just do alot of reading! There is a lot of very smart people on here that are more than willing to help with any questions you might have. Edge is another great way to go also.

Justin.

[Komelika]

Single seat for sure.

[K-fab]

I'd go look at the Rorty plans if I were you. He offers quite a few designs and I have yet to hear anyone on this site have a complaint about the machines. The parts are fairly available too. - one of the members here has a bunch of stuff for the Rorty machines laser cut.

[Gene]

Rorty R-11 with a 'Busa or ZX14. The difference in engine cost is zero when you finally conclude that you need more power and have to change the car.

Seriously consider gettin an RPM FNR.

[Komelika]

Originally Posted by Gene

Rorty R-11 with a 'Busa or ZX14. The difference in engine cost is zero when you finally conclude that you need more power and have to change the car.

Seriously consider gettin an RPM FNR.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've checked out Rorty's website and dig all the info. I'm not down with the lingo yet, so what is an RPM FNR? Any other accronyms and meanings to look out for would be great too. Thanks

[K-fab]

RPM - A transmission box made by Dan Roberto (goes by Danno on this site).

It has an input shaft up on top and output stubs that will take a variety of CV flanges. 930 CV's being the most common.

Dan offers internal ratios from 11:1 down to 4.6(ish):1. Smaller displacement and two stroke engined powered vehicles usually require the lower ratio (11:1 down to about 8:1) and bike engines usually require the higher ratio (4.6(ish):1). Tire diameter will also affect what gear ratio's wanted.

Depending on what you build (Gene's suggestion is perfect), gear for a top end of right around 100. Trust me here - 100 mph in the dirt is extremely fast. Instead of gearing for "It'll go 4,536 mph", gear shorter - say 100, and make it get there in no time.

Quick is what you want, not fast.

FNR - Forward, Neutral, Reverse. Directional control, if you will.

CV joint. Constant Velocity joint. This is what attaches the output of the tranny and axle and then the axle to the drive hub of the car. This is where the articulation of the power train happens. Here's the low down on CV joints.

Now you'll need to find out about suspension jargon.

Camber, caster, toe, ackerman, king pin angle (KPI), scrub radius, suspension travel scrub (actual name escapes me at the moment - coffee's not kicked in yet).
Here's a shameless self promotion of a page in my web site that explains a lot (two words! ) of it.

[Komelika]

Thanks K! I'm getting pretty familiar already seeing as how I can't stop surfing this site. I have to say, I am really digging the Edge Barracuda. I like the looks of it and it seems like it would be a good fit for my needs. I'm just trying to decide if I can actually build one without any fab experience. Reading through some of the build threads it seems like there are some complications (fab work in general) that would stump me and add to the price of the build. Pondering...

[yoshi]

Originally Posted by Komelika

I need suggestions for chassis. I am planning on mostly high desert off-roading in central New Mexico including hi speed sand washes, hill climbs, and maybe the occasional woop section. I don't plan on racing. Atleast not for now. Just looking for more of a hobby. I would like to build it myself. I'm undecided on an engine, but would like to have at least 600cc from a streetbike or better depending on the price. Thanks for any tips or suggestions...

What's your budget? I'm prototyping my new 2010 SR1 single seater, but I don't sell plans. I have frame kits that come welded and tabbed for a busa powerplant and the RPM reverse unit, and you finish misc tabs and assembly.

It has a 107" wheelbase, 90" trackwidth, and will haul ass through the whoops and handle washes and high speed like no body's business........

[Komelika]

Man you definitely do beautiful work Yoshi! You know how budgets go. Right now I have $2k to play with (although I need a bender). If I build one then I was hoping $2k would get me through the initial phases and maybe a rollin chassis and then I could infuse money into the project as it goes along until complete. My best guess based on input from others that have built what I am leaning toward is $5K total. That sounds reasonable to me and the WTMBO would probably not freak out too bad, especially if it isn't spent all at once.