Where did they all come from?

[Kanga]

pneall,

What changes or R and D do you think that Ian should do to the car. I would be interested to hear thoughts, it is a bit late for some of us I know but others might make those changes. To me I think that the rear dish needs to be fixed and allowance for somehow? an under car exhaust system.



Steve

[Cobra.au]

Kanga
I saw some pictures a while back of a CR that had an under body exaust that was done realy well with the mufflers in between the chassis and the outer frame were your feet go.

If only I saved the pics! but It was on this forum

[Cobra.au]

The biggest change the CR needs is the front end steering geometry.

I think its time Ian stopped using the jag A arms and fabricated his own this way there would be no compromising with mounting points

[Tenrocca]

Hey Craig - that is Leeroys car. Top job on his exhaust:

[Mando]

Maybe Leeroy could correct me, but I reckon the heat radiating into the footwells with or without insullation would be unbearable. The paint on the chassis would probably blister anywhere near the cat or mufler.
Leeroys done a great job of getting the system through the chassis the way he has and at least it got him through rego. Again Id be curious to hear from Leeroy.

Regards.

Regards.

[pneall]

Mando,

Leigh did have an issue with the heat of the CATS but I believe this has been sorted .

Cobra.AU. Ian really dosent have a choice with the Jaguar arms as it solves all the ADR issues. It is probitively expensive to get new arms engineered.

Kanga, I would really like Ian to make a few changes to the chassis so the gearbox ( on a gen111/tremec combo) can be put in together or at least be able to drop the gearbox out separately.

Really looking forward to the Nationals

Phil.

[Cobra.au]

Hi Phil
I know it is an easy fix using the jag A arms but a number of other Kit manufacturers have there own fabricated ones, to me it is a small price to pay when the biggest draw back of the CR is the front end geometry

just my opinion

[Kanga]

I think that George at Python has his front and rear end tested and engineered so that it complied with ADR's I don't think that it was that expensive when you consider the price of a build. Problems do then arise if they go out of business, however if Ian was the only provider of these items then he would have the market cornered. I like the way the Leeroy has done his exhaust and considered doing it myself. The major problems is when it gets to the rear end and the exhaust has to go under the suspension which causes clearance issues. If you run active side pipes it is not a problem. I have recently block off my side pipes and past them back under the car and out. Much better to drive however I had to wind up the suspension to stop it dragging along the ground. I just think that part of the chassis has not been thought out that well. I intend to build a 'quieter' set of pipes that will be active however then there are legality problems.

steve

[PCC]

Steve,

How did you get those overhead shots? - impressive.

Also, the rake of your window and hoops is spot on - well done

[Kanga]

PCC, Two storey house with balcony. Windscreen and roll bars all taken from the comprehensive manual that is provided with chassis/body so I can't take any credit for it.


steve

[skulper]

Upper and lower control arms do not need to be tested to meet ADR's, id say it's more an issue of public and product liability. When you weld your own arms each and every one would probably need to be x-rayed to satisfy insures, I wonder if any kit manufactures have public or product liability. I have spoken to one engineer about this issue and he said that it is an ADR issue and then to another with 40 years experience and he said the other engineer doesn't no how to read the ADR's. I went back to the first engineer and asked if he could show me where it was written in the ADR’s and he never got back to me.

Steve

[Gav]

ADR's along with Australian Standards are writen so 'openly' that they are open to personal interpretation, within reason.
One persons interpretation of a pile of legal crap will almost always differ from another. Unfortunatly it is the interpretation of the engineer certifying your particular vehicle that will be the cruncher!

[Mando]

Changing the front or rear arms have nothing to do with ADRs. The geometry of my rear suspension was reworked to allow new shortened upper and lower arms to accept the original uprights. My engineer did calculations on the design my manufacturer came up with for the new arms. He gave them the red light and inspected them once they were finished but before they were painted or any bushes were installed.
They are about half the weight of the originals.
ALL the A arms front and rear should be custom made and new mounting points installed. The engineering only has to be paid once as does the 4 different jigs. If you get the parts laser cut in batches of 10, the cost would be quite reasonable.
Talking to PhilM the other day I told him Ive had a lot of people contact me about the narrowed rear end. I suggested that if 5 or 6 guys wanted to do the exercise, they could get the engineering done as a group to share the cost then have one firm fabricate the whole lot.
Just my 2 cents worth.
16 sleeps to go

Regards.

[Kanga]

Mando, as discussed I would be more than happy with something like that, I take it that you retained the original carrier and just changed the arms and shortened the drive shafts. I think that there are enough CR blokes with the same concerns to make it a worthwhile project, Anyone else??


Steve

[Beejay]

I would be in if the price was right!

Ben

[Tenrocca]

I would definately be interested.

WHat about the front dish, most the guys running knock off wheels on the CR seem to have the spinners way out in the breeze as well - is there anything simple that can be done about that? Honestly I dont mind it that much- just that Im loving this look this week (not 15's though) and I dont think the ben hur look would suit.




MAndo is your car going to be at nationals or just you? (Not that its only your car were interested in)

[Cobra.au]

There are only 2 current shaped CR that I know of with dished front wheels and one of them is mine.

[Mando]

Tenrocca, I dont expect my car to be finished for about another year and 1/2.

That ERA kit is one of the best looking Cobras ever built.

Using anything but 15s makes it hard to replicate that look. Ive used 17in OZ wheels but before they were painted we milled of quite a bit from inside section that bolts up against the hub. We then drilled out the holes for the wheel nuts leaving plenty of metal for strength. You could pick up another 7-10mm if you machined the front of the wheel where the spinner bolts up against. I wish I had done this to mine.
The guys that arent using nuts are also loosing about 10mm of dish because of the threaded centre.

There is no reason why all CRs couldnt come with the correct dish front and rear.
At the moment the reason they dont is purely financial, the cars are moving out the factory door so why would CR bother changing anything.

Regards.

[NASSTY]

I agree that suspension arms are not certified to ADR's. Instead an engineer will inspect them to make sure that they are safe. The easiest way to do this is to use a mass produced part such as the Jag A arms. If items have been modified then an engineer is required to make sure that the modified part is safe. As I understand it, the engineer inspects the mod, usually takes a drawing of the mod and does some calcs to make sure it's safe.

For example, my RCM uses shortened Jag suspension front and rear. The front end has been cut and shut some 150mm. The engineer is only concerned that the cut and shut has been done properly. As the front end retains the factory geometry, then he is happy.

Perhaps part of the problem that Cobra.au has could be a manufacturer has adapted a mass produced part, such as the Jag A arms, and has not fitted them to a factory specification as the part was designed for. That's what I like about my RCM as it uses the whole front end. Despite the fact that it has been shortened it retains the factory geometry which Jag spent huge dollars to develope. No cobra manufacturer has the resources to do the same. It makes me a bit weary if/when a manufacturer claims to have developed a better front end that is based on a factory part.

[Beejay]

I think that suspension technology has come a long way over the decades.

How old is our Jag stuff?

Ben