FT-86 SpeedFactory LCA by Verus - Lightest LCA for the Twins - Development Thread

[Calum]

Originally Posted by 2much

I dont get it - did the KTA139's not work well? why would they spend money on redevelopment and lose sales if the product worked as intended and by all accounts worked very well relative to competition?

You guys should probably make a separate thread about this. Not just so that guy that clearly isn't Eric doesn't get his thread derailed, but for greater exposure. I'm sure there's plenty of people waiting for orders they're never going to get, or not anytime soon. Also, it be good to better insure there isn't a history of failures that just haven't been posted.

[VerusEric]

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. We were busy testing . For those curious, the LCA passed both static tests with no yield observed. This is a good thing. These tests were 4G lateral load (light crash scenario) and 4.5G bump (hitting a race curb at significant speed).

Unfortunately we ran out of time to do the fatigue test. We will be trying to slip that in next weekend. We will be fatigue testing at 4G bump (instead of 4.5G as in the static test) for a cycle of 75,000 times. We chose these numbers by estimating this to be ~5 years of severe racing duty.

Thanks and as always, let us know if you have any questions.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by NotEric6

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. We were busy testing . For those curious, the LCA passed both static tests with no yield observed. This is a good thing. These tests were 4G lateral load (light crash scenario) and 4.5G bump (hitting a race curb at significant speed).

Unfortunately we ran out of time to do the fatigue test. We will be trying to slip that in next weekend. We will be fatigue testing at 4G bump (instead of 4.5G as in the static test) for a cycle of 75,000 times. We chose these numbers by estimating this to be ~5 years of severe racing duty.

Thanks and as always, let us know if you have any questions.

Keep up the good work!

As I mentioned before, the real value with this type of test is A-B comparison. The OE parts were probably designed to "just meet" the requirements for 100,000 mi of spirited, normal driving.

Just as a frame of reference, a 30 mph head-on collision is the typical benchmark for most OEMs. Most companies have found 50 and 100G of shock loading to the vehicle compartment as a fair approximation (depending on crumple zones and rigidity). I'm honestly not sure what it is for suspension pieces.

For normal track conditions, it's pretty safe to assume that 4-4.5G has some headroom during a 2-wheel, corner exit situation.

Most pothole/curb simulations are between 12 - 25G to the vehicle compartment. At the wheels, you're seeing ~2x that in shock load. Check out the UT paper for military vehicles:
Link to PDF

Obviously a cyclic load isn't a shock load, and we're not building military parts. From what I can tell, your testing is just fine for a semi-controlled environment.

Also, 75,000 potholes/curbs is a solid assumption. Many OE parts are tested to 100,000 cycles for normal functions in non-accelerated life tests. Your testing will definitely validate the normal usage situation quite well, with a bit of headroom.

[2much]

ready to friggin buy these

[cdrazic93]

I like these testing post rigs i love studying to be an engineer

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by 2much

ready to friggin buy these

Trust us, we're ready too. This has been a long process. We had the design finalized about 6 months ago... and it took us 4 months to get to that point. So we're nearing a year mark.

However, we hope to prove that the parts stand up to the harsh environment of racing and then we will feel comfortable putting them out there.

Thanks for your patience, mine is wearing this as well .

[2much]

Originally Posted by NotEric6

Trust us, we're ready too. This has been a long process. We had the design finalized about 6 months ago... and it took us 4 months to get to that point. So we're nearing a year mark.

However, we hope to prove that the parts stand up to the harsh environment of racing and then we will feel comfortable putting them out there.

Thanks for your patience, mine is wearing this as well .

I know you are only covering your due diligence like you are supposed to... wont stop me from whining though

[VerusEric]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wa8JzK0j-Uo[/ame]

Video of the cyclic loading.

We should have results from the test in the next few days. To put this in perspective, this test is as if more weight than the entire car was placed on that one bolt. This is over a 4G bump load test. This is fairly impressive to me. A year ago I would have never dreamed we'd be testing such a piece in such a fashion...

We will also be testing the oem unit statically and in fatigue later on to compare. However, it is heavily dependent on free time, so I would not expect to see this soon.

[Metabrz]

Originally Posted by NotEric6

We will also be testing the oem unit statically and in fatigue later on to compare. However, it is heavily dependent on free time, so I would not expect to see this soon.

This......

I wanted to ask if you're testing the OEM unit. If you can find the time to do it I for one would appreciate it. As a newbie to modding cars I need to get comfort where ever I can and buying tested products provides some.

In any case, that you are testing your own product and publishing results is to be applauded.

[cdrazic93]

Originally Posted by NotEric6

We will also be testing the oem unit statically and in fatigue later on to compare. However, it is heavily dependent on free time, so I would not expect to see this soon.

Keep in mind too that others can test this while you're working on finishing the LCA, I'm sure @Shankenstein or @DougW would love to test it if they were bored. I'm not sure if @Racecomp Engineering or @CSG Mike has access to a test rig like that to test the OEM LCA unit.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by NotEric6

Video of the cyclic loading.

We should have results from the test in the next few days. To put this in perspective, this test is as if more weight than the entire car was placed on that one bolt. This is over a 4G bump load test. This is fairly impressive to me. A year ago I would have never dreamed we'd be testing such a piece in such a fashion...

We will also be testing the oem unit statically and in fatigue later on to compare. However, it is heavily dependent on free time, so I would not expect to see this soon.

So you're testing shear strength on a bolt, but I've never seen the bolt fail on that portion of the LCA. I'd be more interested in the longevity of the threads on the adjustment end, and the fatigue on the bolts that are used for that. That's where failures usually happen.

Shock loads are much more interesting to me than cyclic, but relatively small impulse loads. I want to know how everything will react when I'm hitting a steep berm at 100+mph, or the car is squatting during a compression event.

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by Metabrz

This......

I wanted to ask if you're testing the OEM unit. If you can find the time to do it I for one would appreciate it. As a newbie to modding cars I need to get comfort where ever I can and buying tested products provides some.

In any case, that you are testing your own product and publishing results is to be applauded.

Yes, we are going to test it if we have time. We want to compare. In hindsight, this probably should have been tested first but we're learning as we grow.

Originally Posted by cdrazic93

Keep in mind too that others can test this while you're working on finishing the LCA, I'm sure @Shankenstein or @DougW would love to test it if they were bored. I'm not sure if @Racecomp Engineering or @CSG Mike has access to a test rig like that to test the OEM LCA unit.

I doubt many other people have access to machines like this for play. We're fortunate in that a member of our group works at a large OEM supplying company and can (sometimes) go in during the weekend to test parts.

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

So you're testing shear strength on a bolt, but I've never seen the bolt fail on that portion of the LCA. I'd be more interested in the longevity of the threads on the adjustment end, and the fatigue on the bolts that are used for that. That's where failures usually happen.

Shock loads are much more interesting to me than cyclic, but relatively small impulse loads. I want to know how everything will react when I'm hitting a steep berm at 100+mph, or the car is squatting during a compression event.

We are not testing the shear strength of the bolt, this is loading the LCA in a 4G bump scenario. This puts a bending load on the adjuster and the rod end, which is where these two pieces are weakest in loading. Much weaker then the threads from a lateral acceleration event.

This test is a shock load, at 3000 lbs of force.

[Shankenstein]

Our shaker tables and shock machines are booked through June. Lots of MY17 components are going through PV (process validation) and a major fire at a tier 3 supplier has kept my team booked solid.

If there's a need for temperature, corrosion, or humidity testing... I'd be glad to help. It seems like all of the materials/coatings selected are more than capable though. Pretty low risk.

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

Our shaker tables and shock machines are booked through June. Lots of MY17 components are going through PV (process validation) and a major fire at a tier 3 supplier has kept my team booked solid.

If there's a need for temperature, corrosion, or humidity testing... I'd be glad to help. It seems like all of the materials/coatings selected are more than capable though. Pretty low risk.

I had no idea you had access to such machines! Very cool sir. That's the issue we're running into with him testing. They've been running the machines 24/7, he can't even get it on the test stand on Sundays sometimes.