it shows once again how big and beautiful their group of friends is. it doesn't matter if you drive a v8, honda or a tesla, they are there for you and come up with ideas to make it better faster and more beautiful.
It's not just the front end that helps with aero. The back end is just as important. You want all that air that gets separated in the front by the bumper, hood and underbody to rejoin as smoothly as posible in the back. Think of the cross-section of an airplane wing. If you don't have panels on the side or closeouts on the back that rejoin the air smoothly (think boat-tail), you just get massive turbulent flow in the back and a pocket of low pressure air, which means lots of drag. This is what happens with semis and those flat vertical surfaces, and why many of them have those flap things in the back that rejoin the air more smoothly. The more teardrop shaped it is, the more aerodynamic, the less drag, and hence higher speed you'll get.
Exactly, and those ducts they covered at the front are the air curtains for the front wheels. Although, those probably aren't useful anyway since they removed the side panels. Still wouldn't cover them up as that could mess with the front aero
That's why I think they should use Aircraft Dope, it weighs next to nothing and it's been proven at speeds the Tesla will never reach (like a Hurricane WW2 fighter could go 340mph) (With the metal skin it went 80mph faster than fabric so the fabric should be good for 260mph)
@@rocker05090 Ha! Yeah, that does almost nothing. But the big open back is like a giant vacuum sucking you backward at high speed. Like putting sunscreen on the tip of your nose and nowhere else, then sitting out in the sun for 10 hours with only shorts on.
You've got to put lighter wheels on the Plaid. It made a noticeable difference in mine. That's the single best bang for the buck you can do at this point, and it's the first one (since it has the greatest impact) people typically do. Swap out the brakes and calipers as well and you'll be rockin'!
Man I would love to see carbon fiber bodywork that clips on to the roll cage that ends with a ducktail to maximize aero! Killer content guys love your work!!
@@mathiasnkristensenbro I don’t mean to sound disrespectful but do you have any idea of the cost of making carbon fiber? The ovens, the hours involved… CF is more expensive for a reason. Plus it would weigh more like 80 lbs (assuming a CF shell would weight around 550 pounds) which defeats the whole cut weight process…
@@brunosantospereiraa it depends on how you make it. Is it normal resin on carbon, prepreg or infusion? You don't necessarily need an oven to make carbon fiber parts. It can be done with simple tools and some vacuum bags for next to nothing. People literally make carbon fiber parts in their garages for their hobby cars/motorcycles. Of course it will be way more expensive if it's made in a factory, but that's not what I was talking about.
@@mathiasnkristensen Prepreg has no advantages of weight compared to fiberglass. Prepreg is very heavy, the lightest carbon fiber is made in autoclaves and layered with fresh glue.
Polycarbonate would probably be the most durable option. Try to get as close to the original form as possible, and limit sharp angles, as those could cause seperation. Don't forget to check the final aero with wool tufts, and see where improvements can be made.
Have you looked into monitoring temperatures and power through a CANBUS reader. This motors and battery are really temperature dependent. If you get the S3XY buttons from Abstract Ocean you can fully monitor temperatures and HP in real-time.
Or Scan My Tesla, that one can use a bunch of different OBD dongles. Reads out temps, torque, voltage on basically everything. Also shows power limit which is important
@@chengcao418 the S3XY buttons can use the Scan My Tesla app as well. Any of them will work it is just that the S3XY buttons can do a lot more like “preconditioning on demand”.
Temperature does have affects, buth clearly You do NOT work within Tesla, nor have the proper basic information correct with the operation of electricity, electric motors, batteries and these systems. Good Luck within Your realm, world of contrived nonsense, non-reality !!
Love James' thinking. I suggested an F1 style barge board/winglets for the same reasons (+tyres), Controlling the air around the car will do almost as much as streamlineing but keep the look.
Just passing along some knowledge u can gut out the doors that were taken off then build a custom roof with one of the other body panels to not only make it look better, but keep it from ripping apart while keeping the aero that came from when u guys were using the tape
You turned the stability control way up at spectator drags before it rained out. It sounds like it’s hooking better because the TC is working better, see if turning it off returns the 60ft
@GRANITEMONUMENT that's what happens when you constantly changing and returning your vehicle to set it up. Do you think people like Beater Bomb just made that car over night? Or KC Maxx? No. They have a team and they test and test and test for YEARS.
tbh suggesting better grip and aero isn't rocket science, he's just got the intuition. i don't even do this and i was saying almost exactly the same things. his attitude and how he does it though, he's undeniably a good human. smart too.
well removing the rear panels of the car is kinda stupid in itself though. Yes, it saves weight, but it also adds tons of drag and creates turbulent airflows at the rear with acts as a vaccuum and sucks the car back at higher speeds. If you want it to be as aerodynamic as possible they should've added custom bodywork to make it more of a teardrop shape, like an airplane wing, or basically like a Mclaren Speedtail for a reference.
Man, Teslas are just the sickest cars. Imagine how much more potential there is. E.g. stripping batteries down to just what is needed for the races. Would be such a big weight saving. Also software settings, dispension optimized for the much lower weight and so on. Still lots of potential for optimization
Stoked to see this car evolve! Being able to capture data from the car would really help confirm if the performance is constant between runs. You can measure current draw from the battery pack with a shunt resistor.
Even though James broke the wago he's always there all the time with good advice, actively helping and teaching. He's a good dude. Good sport about the joke too
@@hpijeep probably a lot of it was, however they took off a lot of structural components which are no longer needed and that would shave off a lot of weight plus it was made for practicality and looks, not so much aerodynamics definitely some improvement that can happen imo
Yea the aero is good, it also is meant to cool off components which creates drag and isn’t entirely necessary due to short duration. I’d tape up all the seams, spread it down with release agent and lay up a carbon shell right over the top (might have to make some relief cuts to be able to remove the shell). It would be hard to design a more aerodynamic shape than factory but this thing can still lose some weight while retaining the aerodynamics they currently have.
Literally what I said in previous video using very thin guage steel or aluminum to direct the air flow clean around the car! Glad to see your making that decision for next time!
I think that if you’re gonna use the wrap on the roof and maybe towards the back, instead of going sideways you should go from front to back and starting from the outsides (door frame to center) first and finishing towards the center. This will help with the winds drag and also prevent it from falling apart so easily
Funny how I almost didn't even notice the sound at the beginning, this thing really needs a suspension sponsor and you're gonna have to learn battery power stuff
It has active suspension. You dont get much better than that. Programmed perfect launches. Fueltech ecu on the inverter drive will sort alot of things. I sense that is next.
Honestly would love to see you guys fab a full aero shell for the car. Even if its cheap as dirt plywood/plastic it would be really interesting to see!
Nah. There is a reason no one collabs with him. Cause he is not likeable. Ask the other 4 people who used to work with him. It's sad honestly. I wish he was just the kid in his garage street racing.
@@genore1993In all seriousness, this is what happens when a kid street racing out of his garage becomes successful. He’s still a kid man, a successful one but he’s obviously just getting planted in life. How many friends/people that you used to see every day are long gone? Because I’d bad mouth the majority of those people in my life, for specific reasons that is. But people grow apart; some people are just hard to get along with, whatever the reasons may be.
@@genore1993 Cletus McFarland every freedom 500, Adam Iz shopping cart, JH diesel iet boat vs air Boat, Vargas brothers sidekick, and pfi speed but that’s just what I can remember off the top of my head and I’m sure there’s plenty more.
@@genore1993man… did Kyle not sign your hat at an event or something? He seems to collab with all the best people on RU-vid. Bet you’d say Brent from PFI is a jerk in real life too huh?
well u mean fully body made out of carbon fiber. They could do everything out of carbon like the Rimac Nevera... I mean u can exchange all metal parts with carbon mostly... But its expensive to do so
You should look into using aviation wrap used on old wooden fuselages! The modern ones are very easy to install! You’d only need a temperature specific iron and a low temperature heat gun! You use the iron to attach the adhesive (on one side of the polyester sheet) to the frame. You then use the heat gun to shrink it all and it pulls tight!!! It’s definitely more durable and you can even layer it and attach it to itself in a way where it can’t peel. The older methods use a fabric and paint. At that point just do carbon fiber or fiberglass. Lol
This is a great idea! Wrap the exoskeleton in the same wrap/fabric used for Cubs and other light sport/Experimental planes like Carbon Cub/Super Cubs. Will be even lighter than aluminum and have the same effect.
Keep that thing charged as best you can between runs. The higher the voltage (closer to 100% SoC) the more power you'll put down. It's minimal, but makes a difference. If the track has a 14-50R outlet somewhere (they probably do) you can use the mobile connector between runs.
isnt Lithium batteries best feature that it can hold the set voltage up till they die. When tesla isnt turning down power at like 30% or 10% to safe power then it should be fine.
When you do the plastic wrap, make sure you tape the ends on the front really good to stop it from peeling up. Make sure the surface is clean when you put on the tape and if you want some good tape, use the stuff from the hardware store that’s meant to tape carpet down. That’s the stickiest tape I’ve ever used was carpet tape. It’s usally just a big roll of black tape lol.
Consider lowering the gearing a bit by running smaller wheels, you're probably maxing out the torque on the stock size wheels. With smaller wheels you'll get more torque and reach peak powet quicker, as long as you dont reach max rpm it should be quicker. Also, get an obd2 scanner or install some sensors like temp-probes and amp-meters yourself to figure out where the difference in performance comes from (is it traction-control, motor/inverter/battery-temps, when does it hit max power, is it pulling back up top, etc) Awesome build tho! Looking forward to see how this develops
If he adds more torque he’ll just end up spinning even more on the launch. The only reason he spins at all is because the car is lighter than the original. The Tesla is fine tuned to be the perfect balance of torque and speed adding any more torque would just make it harder to reign in.
I've been saying since the start, improve aero, improve time. Heavy duty tarps, gromets and strong zipties and you can makeshift it tight, but if you got the $ carbon fiber.
I believe your issue is in the frequency of the sample taking of the velocimeter. The problem is that your car accelerates faster than typical. In order to calculate correctly your actual speed: use multiple speed sensors, preferably laser and sample at the maximum possible speed. Using Radar now? Maybe a stand alone unit near the finish line. Even multiple thru beams broken in sequence and displayed with a traceable calibration from Bureau of Standards. A little side note I was behind a Honda was doing 62 in a HOV lane that usually rolls at 85+.mph. Highway patrol behind me advised I hit over 100 mph in my stock 786 hp. Mod. S before I was even with the Hondas front bumper. Cop let me go, he has a Tesla too. Love your videos! Thanks
Great content! One thing I was thinking about was using the Long range gearing of 9:1 vs the plaid 7.25:1 then as wide and sticky tires as it takes to not spin. Could do mid 8s and possibly 1.Os 60’ times. Would limit top speed to around 175 I think.
Isn't the gearing directly inside the motor, though? I'm not sure, but I don't think you can switch out the gears. The plaid has a completely different motor setup.
how about molding plastic panels theirself just for areo? its not liek crash saftey is a thing anymore at this point. maybe even cardboard can work for the sides which maybe dont get a whole lot of beatign by the wind
Fix the camber in the rear tires and you will have more traction. In the video it looks like the outer portion of the tire isn't even touching the ground.
You could drop the weight a lot by replacing the long range pack with a custom much smaller lipo pack. Good Lipos can easily handle 30C continous discharge so you could achieve the same power at a much smaller capacity. 30C is 2 minutes from full to empty.
Definitely, but that'd be quite a technical and involved process I think, even if the Plaid system would allow it. I don't think Kyle/Wyatt are clued-up on that sort of thing (very few are).
@@alesksander Not really 50k. A pack made up from some of the best lipos (SLS 20C/40C 12000 cells) and 407 V 46 Ah would cost ~9 600 Euro without VAT for the battery alone. Let's say 10 000 euro. It would be either a LOT of work to wire it up to a BMS though, or just annoying to manually charge 11 big batteries (10S packs in 3P configuration) separately before a session. It's perfectly doable without a BMS if the Tesla computer can be tricked to work with it. The battery would weigh ~84 kg (~185 lbs) compared to 480 kg for the stock Plaid pack. some weight would have to be put back in to add an empty battery box to the bottom of the car for structural purposes.
Aerodynamics is so much more than how it pushes into the wind, it's also about how the air collapses at the rear. I think simply adding lightweight structure to mimic a teardrop shape could help significantly. Nevermind, that wrap halfway through the video was exactly what I thought might help.
Regardless if this kind of build as everyone's cup of tea it's doing what it's supposed to and getting attention I've seen your videos pop up in places I've never seen them.. keep it up and see just how fast you can take it...
@@24kNickthey are they're building a full tube chassis rear-wheel-drive Civic with a 2JZ😂 how often do you see that? I like it cuz it's completely outside their comfort zone as far as engine and drivetrain and all that it's good for him to try new things a k-series would have takin a beating trying to put out the power they're going to be trying to run every pass.. they would be right on that failure line so I'm glad they went this route
@@freedomfox8183 I knew that already . And I have been part of import drag racing all of my life so I actually know about this shit . First off there have been tube chassis rwd civics K series powered already running 6 seconds , sure the 2jz is cool , but there isn’t a class that it can compete in , it can’t run WCF bc it’s would have to be a 5 second car to be competitive it will never run that with that chassis and that power level . It can’t run street car events bc it’s tube chassis , it can’t run OSW import races bc again it would need to be a 5 second car to be competitive and it’s tube chassis , also k series have ran 5 second passes without a billet head . You’re saying “ how often do you seen that ? “ I see the fastest import cars on the planet buddy . We’re you there at the Pan Americans Nationals ? Do you even know what that is ? Do you ever hear these guys talk about it ? This will be a drag week car at best .
That heat shrinking wrap for rc planes would be the trick, and they make some super tough and sticky polyethylene pipe tape that would work at any speed😊
I was gonna say in the last video that lexan or acrylic panels would work well, atleast on the roof and hatch area. Also looks good with the speed holes cut out of the rear tire arch Phong would be proud.
This has been sick watching this the car definitely looks slick especially after fixing that top bar by the windshield, aluminum sheets should definitely help and will make this thing look absolutely wild. Keep up the great work brother this is awesome much love and respect Bro!
The honda "badge" hits home for me. Because, I'm a chevy guy through and through. I work as a mechanic for a cab company, I got a crown vic as a shop car/company car. But being I'm a chevy guy. I have a big ass chevy bowtie on my forearm. I had it placed so when I got my arm on the door like one does when driving cause all of my vehicles are chevy or gm related. And yeah I want ppl to know I choose the chevy life, and love it! Lmao. But anyways the vic got debaged, and I put chevy emblems and a caprice badge on it just for the simple reasons. I can't have a big ass bow tie and bhe seen in a ford. Lmao. And if you care to know. It's slammed 3 3/4 inches off the ground from frame to ground. All blacked head lights tail lights. The front bumper is gone due to being so low and the bumpers so long that it just caught on every driveway/entrance. It also has 3-12 inch subs 2 tens and a 8. With 4 8×6s in the doors. She's pretty sick looking and sounding if i say so. Witch is only because I couldn't drive a ford that didn't atleast look half way decent. Lol. And yes it's got a caprice badge. But I call 'er my chevy vic. Not a crown vic a CHEVY VIC. If I could post pics I would. Lol
Dude!!!! You need to use aircraft tape! It’s rated for the speeds you need to not blow offf like that plastic you used. But you have the exact right idea!!!!
IMO the cart thing has been done to death and this has all been kinda dumb. I know it sounds pretty dick and my apologies but you pretty much just made a slower car and it’s more or less a dead end performance wise since you can only do do much and that’s it. I guess I just expected something way cooler when you said you were doing something epic with the Plaid like putting the drivetrain in something really original, this is quite lack luster.
this kind of stupid thing happens when a channel runs out of content to put out, they make stupid decisions. They took a nice, amazing, expensive car that only needed some minor repairs done to it and completely fucked it up just to get some clicks on the internet.
I'd recommend finding something lightweight but rigid to cover the rest of the chassis, but model it after some old race cars that have the flat rear end. Even if you have to make a polycarb door 😂
@@shanembradshaw sure the ignorant have no proper, correct, valid ideas, concepts, principles about arrows, aero, aerodynamics, physics, forces, traction, electronics, batteries, weight nor the differences either !!
Zero chance youre actually reading this comment, but if you do 3 things.. 1. Your body work to fill in the gaps is literally just to direct airflow so thin plastic sheeting/stiffened fabric is all you need. Barring the very thinnest sheet alu will be adding more weight than you need. 2. Regarding 'shape' look at the McLaren speedtail and try your best to match that 'long & smooth' look on all your transition surfaces 3. Wheels. Firstly make sure theyre covered so youre not spinning air off them. Secondly, if you can, try to enclose them and/or put the flat deflectors on them. The "aero" trims that come as an option add 8 miles range.. and theyre definitely not adding that range by being lighter, theyre adding it by being aero. Only reason youd worry is making sure youve got enough airflow over your discs to cool but ig youre just doing drag runs then brake fade not an issue.
- Drag slicks + lighter wheels - 1 piece composite front end - Delete the Tesla struts and convert it over to some drag struts from whatever can be made to work - ...get Cleet to make some Tesla TBM drag brakes? - More weight reduction ...just some ideas... lol
Cover the tires, they're big spinning rubber drums that kill aero. Use flat hub caps, and spats on the rear wheels. Taping it at the largest point of the body does next to nothing. Air has to be clean right up until it leaves the body. The smaller the area where it detaches, the less drag. You probably can't do better than a lightweight version of the stock body.
One piece tilt front end, carbon fiber with a slight roof and slight door area coverage. Just enough to cover problem areas. Also check tire pressure on the new stickies which I’m sure you did. Potentially stiffer rear suspension. Probably get easily to the 8.7s or even 8.6 consistently. Still… that thing is quick as hell!
you need a one piece carbon flip front too. love seeing mates messing about track side to make it a little quicker. thats what hotrodding is all about.
I'd wrap it with the same fabric they wrap light sport aircrafts with. Super lightweight and very durable. I'm sure ol cleeter would know someone that can help.
There are two major regions on a moving vehicle that generate parasitic drag; at the front (which you have sort of fixed by re-introducing the front bodywork) but also the rear. This might even be the region which contributes more to the issues that you were facing previously. even just adding a roof and rear bodywork would help reduce this, but ideally the bodywork would be tapered so that the air can 'move nice and easily' (or not have to change direction lots quickly). If you wanted to go even more experimental, look at enclosing the rear wheels so that they are almost contained within the body of the car.
