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PollyMobiles Rebuild
- Thread starter pollyp
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Hi I have a hilix clutch what pp did you use
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pollyp
Club Member
it's the 200mm helix organic racing clutch kit from matt humphris.
didn't have any ID on the PP
Cheers for reply I better get searching for 1it's the 200mm helix organic racing clutch kit from matt humphris.
didn't have any ID on the PP
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pollyp
Club Member
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pollyp
Club Member
the other day during cold start I noticed the battery light took afew sec to extinguish (slight corrosion on the alternator slip rings?)
so took it out to check
little rust on the slip rings
getting abit worn
wirebrushed it all clean. still some meat and spring-ness left on the brushes but it's getting near to the end
cleaned & reinstalled
so took it out to check
little rust on the slip rings
getting abit worn
wirebrushed it all clean. still some meat and spring-ness left on the brushes but it's getting near to the end
cleaned & reinstalled
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pollyp
Club Member
decided to wire some interior light back in so I can see the IGN barrel at night and keep the cool auto dimming.
found the top of the windscreen frame is the perfect place for sticking the LED strip
wired a mini switch and there's a convenient hole for it here
so now the LED can shine over the whole cockpit
the chassis frame & visors reducing glare
interior nicely lit up at night
found the top of the windscreen frame is the perfect place for sticking the LED strip
wired a mini switch and there's a convenient hole for it here
so now the LED can shine over the whole cockpit
the chassis frame & visors reducing glare
interior nicely lit up at night
On my doorstep, literally a minute from my house
easy one for me
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easy one for me Sent from my LG-H850 using Micra Sports Club mobile app
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pollyp
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On my doorstep, literally a minute from my house
Sent from my LG-H850 using Micra Sports Club mobile app
you could have a lay in then
Ah, so they've gone back to a former venue (East of England Showground).
That may very well change my opinion on attending...
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pollyp
Club Member
was that before kettering?
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pollyp
Club Member
was curious if I could use the coilover top pillowball as the bottom balljoint for extending the roll centre. I estimate the bearing's bout 35mm diameter
looking under the ball joint, the hole seems to be the same 35mm so in theory I might be able to press a BC pillowball bearing straight into the standard arm with no major structural mod (retaining the strength) and just afew minor mods to keep it retained
looking at stiffening the lower brace with extra X-beams, if I weld a tube from one end of the lower brace to the diagonal swaybar mount, the middle engine beam is in the way and needs cutting/weakening
if it goes from the swaybar mounts to the middle of the lower brace where it's already anchored to the middle engine beam, it may foul with the gear selector in 5th/reverse
imo the lower brace is already firmly anchored to the middle engine beam so the diagonal beams ain't high priority
looking under the ball joint, the hole seems to be the same 35mm so in theory I might be able to press a BC pillowball bearing straight into the standard arm with no major structural mod (retaining the strength) and just afew minor mods to keep it retained
looking at stiffening the lower brace with extra X-beams, if I weld a tube from one end of the lower brace to the diagonal swaybar mount, the middle engine beam is in the way and needs cutting/weakening
if it goes from the swaybar mounts to the middle of the lower brace where it's already anchored to the middle engine beam, it may foul with the gear selector in 5th/reverse
imo the lower brace is already firmly anchored to the middle engine beam so the diagonal beams ain't high priority
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pollyp
Club Member
aye the back of the chassis is pretty much as floppy as chocolate pudding sponge but my aim is to make a removable bolt-on frame that helps stiffen that rear structure abit only for trackdays and then during normal use I just pop it off to retain the interior space and easy to store away.
although a fully commited race spec cage offers a very stiff platform and a safety cell (with appropriate safety gear), there's afew reasons why it's not suitable for me at the moment:
-cost: I imagine the cost of materials, design, bending, welding a surrounding cage will run into high hundreds to purchase, which I can afford.
-space: all that thick tubing will be intrusive, obstruct my A-pillar gauges, most likely have to cut the dash to route the pipe near the pillars, lose rear seats & versatility and is pretty permanant.
-safety gear: the safety cage is fine if this was only used for motorsport where I'd wear helmets etc but it's a daily car. meaning I simply wear normal clothes without helmet most of the time and the potential of smashing my body/head against a nearby solid cage if I crashed ain't worth thinking.
-extra insurance premium: the car is already difficult & expensive enough to insure for public use and I can't imagine many will accept this car with a cage nor would it be economically viable.
Yeah having a roll cage in a daily is not sensible.
As you mentioned hitting your head on a cage is crap, even with padding
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As you mentioned hitting your head on a cage is crap, even with padding
Sent from my LG-H850 using Micra Sports Club mobile app
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pollyp
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ah shyte bad news, think I broke my 3D printer
the special control board is a 5Dprint D8 board using an Atmel AT90USB1286 chip and was originally shipped with a unique 5Dprint firmware which is difficult to customise/edit.
just recently I managed to figure how to flash "Marlin" (a very commonly used 3D printing firmware) onto this board and allowed be full control over every parameter.
was going well as I was tweaking the parameter numbers & reflashed the chip
But then my PC froze while mid-flashing the chip, the firmware file was lost and now the control board is really buggered, the USB port ain't detected at all, I fear I've bricked it and I can't find replacements anymore
crap
trying all sorts to try restore that connection with confusion & no luck.
the special control board is a 5Dprint D8 board using an Atmel AT90USB1286 chip and was originally shipped with a unique 5Dprint firmware which is difficult to customise/edit.
just recently I managed to figure how to flash "Marlin" (a very commonly used 3D printing firmware) onto this board and allowed be full control over every parameter.
was going well as I was tweaking the parameter numbers & reflashed the chip
But then my PC froze while mid-flashing the chip, the firmware file was lost and now the control board is really buggered, the USB port ain't detected at all, I fear I've bricked it and I can't find replacements anymore
crap
trying all sorts to try restore that connection with confusion & no luck.
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pollyp
Club Member
ok there's hope from talkin to Ralph. since the USB side of the board ain't working, he thinks I just need an atmel AVR ISP programmer device that plugs into the 6-pin ISP port on the control board to directly re-program the missing "bootloader" software onto the chip to restore normal USB functions.
now looking into buying or borrowing an ISP programmer
or I heard you could even use an arduino as an ISP programmer (I have an un-used arduino DUO)
this is getting very technical
now looking into buying or borrowing an ISP programmer
or I heard you could even use an arduino as an ISP programmer (I have an un-used arduino DUO)
this is getting very technical
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pollyp
Club Member
these 34x2.5mm scaffold pipe's arrived. definately beefy enough to stiffen the chassis (overkill compared to my other braces) but wish the walls were thinner than 2.5mm cos it's quite weighty. least it'll shift the 60%/40% weight rearwards. waiting for the 3mm plates before beginning.
gave her a wash
catchcan captured 50ml after 240miles (210ml / 1000mile)
gave her a wash
catchcan captured 50ml after 240miles (210ml / 1000mile)
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pollyp
Club Member
my worksheet and pipe notching templates down on paper
while waiting for the 3mm flat steel, I machined the upper & lower chassis mounts. chamfered the end that's gonna be welded to the flat steel to form the bolt hole
locates on chassis here
before machining the longer mount, I found my mini lathe needs a tool to hold long pieces steady while cutting otherwise its very unstable. another thing to purchase...
or I could just angle grind the chamfers & welds by hand for an OK job so I don't have to buy a £50 tool I'll only use few times. yeah do it by hand
while waiting for the 3mm flat steel, I machined the upper & lower chassis mounts. chamfered the end that's gonna be welded to the flat steel to form the bolt hole
locates on chassis here
before machining the longer mount, I found my mini lathe needs a tool to hold long pieces steady while cutting otherwise its very unstable. another thing to purchase...
or I could just angle grind the chamfers & welds by hand for an OK job so I don't have to buy a £50 tool I'll only use few times. yeah do it by hand
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pollyp
Club Member
Thanks for the offer Daniel
but yesterday I just brought an AVR ISP MK2 for few quid.
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pollyp
Club Member
the 3mm steel plate arrived.
figured that to machine a long piece, I just have to make a shaft that fits snug inside the metal pipe and the far end is supported by the tail stock.
machined a kitchen rolling pin down to size, makes a ton of mess. lathe will need a thorough clean afterwards.
now I can cut a smooth chamfer on the end for a good weld
chamfered pipes and flat plates ready
tacked
welded
saw the excess off
machined it round and drilled the bolt hole
lower mount done, 3 more to do
figured that to machine a long piece, I just have to make a shaft that fits snug inside the metal pipe and the far end is supported by the tail stock.
machined a kitchen rolling pin down to size, makes a ton of mess. lathe will need a thorough clean afterwards.
now I can cut a smooth chamfer on the end for a good weld
chamfered pipes and flat plates ready
tacked
welded
saw the excess off
machined it round and drilled the bolt hole
lower mount done, 3 more to do
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pollyp
Club Member
machined the long mounts
installed
notice the angle of the top mount, I guess I'll have to remove the rear seats to use the X-beam.
considering the weight of the rear seats and this X-beam being roughly the same, weight distribution may not change but the structure will be much stiffer and there'll be alot of road noise behind me and boot content won't be hidden. minor bit of sacrifice.
to visualize & further refine all the tubular angles, I attached some strings
with the mounts fitted, I can measure the exact pipe notch angle required and recalculate the 3D model
the upper mount actually points slightly offset to the diagonal tubes rather than being in-line, so I'll have to tweak the model to match
installed
notice the angle of the top mount, I guess I'll have to remove the rear seats to use the X-beam.
considering the weight of the rear seats and this X-beam being roughly the same, weight distribution may not change but the structure will be much stiffer and there'll be alot of road noise behind me and boot content won't be hidden. minor bit of sacrifice.
to visualize & further refine all the tubular angles, I attached some strings
with the mounts fitted, I can measure the exact pipe notch angle required and recalculate the 3D model
the upper mount actually points slightly offset to the diagonal tubes rather than being in-line, so I'll have to tweak the model to match
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pollyp
Club Member
mostly ebay
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pollyp
Club Member
remeasured all the angles & updated the model
went to screwfix to get a 35mm hole saw (would've preferred a closer fitting 34mm but it's rare and expensive).
made this quick wooden jig on the lathe to clamp the pipe at angle angle. using the saw to cut a hole straight through, it'll now hold the pipe perfectly level with the cutter.
clamped a test piece at eg 70deg and begin cutting. the hole saw ain't perfectly straight and the wooden jig is WAYY to flexible. it jammed and broke 1 teeth at one point but I kept at it
finally cut through it
hey not bad. really need to make a stiffer metal jig before doing the 4 notch cuts cos this wooden flexible jig is abit dangerous.
the much shallower 12deg notch cuts will definately have to be done by hand cos the jig ain't strong enough to handle the extreme overhang needed.
filed it smooth
ooooh a perfect fit lovely
went to screwfix to get a 35mm hole saw (would've preferred a closer fitting 34mm but it's rare and expensive).
made this quick wooden jig on the lathe to clamp the pipe at angle angle. using the saw to cut a hole straight through, it'll now hold the pipe perfectly level with the cutter.
clamped a test piece at eg 70deg and begin cutting. the hole saw ain't perfectly straight and the wooden jig is WAYY to flexible. it jammed and broke 1 teeth at one point but I kept at it
finally cut through it
hey not bad. really need to make a stiffer metal jig before doing the 4 notch cuts cos this wooden flexible jig is abit dangerous.
the much shallower 12deg notch cuts will definately have to be done by hand cos the jig ain't strong enough to handle the extreme overhang needed.
filed it smooth
ooooh a perfect fit
lovely
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pollyp
Club Member
tday made a much more rigid jig from 6mm L-bar
cuts alot more stable without shaking around
attempted to see if it can cut the extremely shallow 11deg angle.
the start of a notch cut is always the hardest moment as it shakes, stutters or jams alot if the tube & cutter hangs too far away with less rigidity.
so I begin by mounting the cutter close to the chuck and the pipe close to the jig
as it gets past the hard initial start, I extend the cutter and pipe to cut more
hacksaw the excess off before cutting deeper
the tool can only reach this far so will finish the rest manually.
test fit the half finished tube in the car and damn it's a nice precise fit can't wait to finish the cut and weld it up.
cuts alot more stable without shaking around
attempted to see if it can cut the extremely shallow 11deg angle.
the start of a notch cut is always the hardest moment as it shakes, stutters or jams alot if the tube & cutter hangs too far away with less rigidity.
so I begin by mounting the cutter close to the chuck and the pipe close to the jig
as it gets past the hard initial start, I extend the cutter and pipe to cut more
hacksaw the excess off before cutting deeper
the tool can only reach this far so will finish the rest manually.
test fit the half finished tube in the car and damn it's a nice precise fit
can't wait to finish the cut and weld it up.
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pollyp
Club Member
finished off the 11deg notch cut. it's a PITA to get two notch angles fitting perfectly, took several hours of repeatedly marking & grinding, back & forth
till it fits closely and tack weld it on
finished the other two pipes. the CAD helped get me close to the angles but there was still alot of fiddly fine tuning cuts to get the fit correct.
really messed up one of the angles but afew minutes of grinding got me close enough. lots of 1mm gaps there but I can weld it up fine.
till it fits closely and tack weld it on
finished the other two pipes. the CAD helped get me close to the angles but there was still alot of fiddly fine tuning cuts to get the fit correct.
really messed up one of the angles but afew minutes of grinding got me close enough. lots of 1mm gaps there but I can weld it up fine.
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pollyp
Club Member
received this AVR ISP MK2 programmer I won off ebay for few quid
plugged it directly into the control boards ISP port,
opened the device programmer tool in Atmel Studio 6,
it gives you tons of info & programming tick boxs.
downloaded the missing DFU bootloader file and programmed it into the chip memory.
ok, swapped over to the normal USB and try connecting to the board...
omg it worked
hell yeah it's fixed
back in business of messing around with the printers new firmware
plugged it directly into the control boards ISP port,
opened the device programmer tool in Atmel Studio 6,
it gives you tons of info & programming tick boxs.
downloaded the missing DFU bootloader file and programmed it into the chip memory.
ok, swapped over to the normal USB and try connecting to the board...
omg it worked
hell yeah it's fixed
back in business of messing around with the printers new firmware
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pollyp
Club Member
notched the final top tube
tacked
welded it up. ain't half bad.
seriously need a less-tinted welding mask cos I really can't see where to weld, so I can't weld continuously and have to pause alot which results in ugly pigeon poop that annoys me
my usual preferred method is pulse welding which helps keep the weld looking consistant and controls heat but I found at the machines maximum setting, the molton globs tend to clog up the MIG gun badly and frequently jams it. and then the porous weld bubbles up while cooling due to lack of gas, so had to grind and reweld.
need alot more practice imho
to test how much the chassis twists without the brace, I opened all the doors, left the boot open marked with masking tape and jacked up one wheel
without bracing, the boot has skewed over by 7mm!
bolted the X-brace in, it's a snug fit to get all the bolts lined up
jacked the corner up and oh gawd, it's barely moved 1mm. proof it works
comparing weight, all this rear seat & shelf weighs a hefty 22.7kg
while the X-frame only weighs 7.1kg
a reduction of 15.6kg for a stiff chassis!
took it for a drive, dunno if it's a placebo effect but she feels nippier and tighter.
the delay between steering input and feeling the weight shift definately seems sharper and the rear end is feeling abit more loose on these cold old T1R tyres.
road noise is definately louder, exhaust is boomier and stereo is pointless, so will need to wear ear plugs with this layout.
give it some paint tomorrow
tacked
welded it up. ain't half bad.
seriously need a less-tinted welding mask cos I really can't see where to weld, so I can't weld continuously and have to pause alot which results in ugly pigeon poop that annoys me
my usual preferred method is pulse welding which helps keep the weld looking consistant and controls heat but I found at the machines maximum setting, the molton globs tend to clog up the MIG gun badly and frequently jams it. and then the porous weld bubbles up while cooling due to lack of gas, so had to grind and reweld.
need alot more practice imho
to test how much the chassis twists without the brace, I opened all the doors, left the boot open marked with masking tape and jacked up one wheel
without bracing, the boot has skewed over by 7mm!
bolted the X-brace in, it's a snug fit to get all the bolts lined up
jacked the corner up and oh gawd, it's barely moved 1mm.
proof it works
comparing weight, all this rear seat & shelf weighs a hefty 22.7kg
while the X-frame only weighs 7.1kg
a reduction of 15.6kg for a stiff chassis!
took it for a drive, dunno if it's a placebo effect but she feels nippier and tighter.
the delay between steering input and feeling the weight shift definately seems sharper and the rear end is feeling abit more loose on these cold old T1R tyres.
road noise is definately louder, exhaust is boomier and stereo is pointless, so will need to wear ear plugs with this layout.
give it some paint tomorrow
Fujiwara-Ben
Site Supporter
Loving the removable X brace Paul! I'm quite surprised how much chassis flex there is in a 5 door!
I may have to look into making something like this for my K10 as i'm sure it has less rigid chassis than the K11. You can feel the whole car flex if you go over a speed bump at a funny angle!
I may have to look into making something like this for my K10 as i'm sure it has less rigid chassis than the K11. You can feel the whole car flex if you go over a speed bump at a funny angle!
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pollyp
Club Member
thanks, it's a good conpromise between having a stiffer, lighter, impractical & noisier rear end on trackdays and then easily swapped back to a practical, quieter setup when used daily.
the extra side door openings doesn't seem to cause an issue cos all the door latch lines up fine before/after twisting.
the main cause of the twisting is that big gaping boot hole in the chassis, like a wide open cardboard box. great for boot access but makes the structure so weak, floppy and little squeaky, especially when cornering hard.
the x-frame should help reform that closed cardboard box lid structure, rather than rely on the loose boot lid to hold it
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pollyp
Club Member
although MIG is easier to start, the weld appearance ain't very consistant near it's max setting as the head clogs up.
for consistant good appearance & strength that suits my pulse welding style, I'd prefer the rods.
I tried stainless MIG with Ar/Co2 when I just repaired the exhaust flexipipe and yeah it welds abit better, maybe it's the gas and straight CO is more unstable? cos I had to keep a very short stick-out (which leads to clogging) or else the wire stutters & burns back. and creates alot of spatter. maybe should try nozzle antispatter and ar/co gas?
only stainless rod I last tried was a thick 2.5mm for doing the stainless pipes and that pulse welded nicely too.
lots more to learn
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pollyp
Club Member
I like your testing method
thanks. imo it's always essential to test & evaluate our own theories/ideas/products to verify & prove it's correct & works, otherwise we're peeing in the windy dark as guess work
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pollyp
Club Member
investigating some rusty patches at the rear. have a feeling this RH corner near the seat belt hole that'll be transmitting the X-brace loads to the chassis beam will need repairing soon as the metal could crumble if I stab it any harder
cos all that wheel well water just hangs onto this welded edge, making them rust
damn another rust to patch up near the spare wheel/chassis beam
and a small patch developing in this common area.
obviously I'll have to repair all of this before any trackday stress.
primed the X brace
gave it a lick of red
hope it doesn't stand out too much lol
seem to have this red over grey colour theme going on
cos all that wheel well water just hangs onto this welded edge, making them rust
damn another rust to patch up near the spare wheel/chassis beam
and a small patch developing in this common area.
obviously I'll have to repair all of this before any trackday stress.
primed the X brace
gave it a lick of red
hope it doesn't stand out too much lol
seem to have this red over grey colour theme going on
notched the final top tube
View attachment 52791
tacked
View attachment 52793
welded it up. ain't half bad.
seriously need a less-tinted welding mask cos I really can't see where to weld, so I can't weld continuously and have to pause alot which results in ugly pigeon poop that annoys me
my usual preferred method is pulse welding which helps keep the weld looking consistant and controls heat but I found at the machines maximum setting, the molton globs tend to clog up the MIG gun badly and frequently jams it. and then the porous weld bubbles up while cooling due to lack of gas, so had to grind and reweld.
need alot more practice imho
View attachment 52792
to test how much the chassis twists without the brace, I opened all the doors, left the boot open marked with masking tape and jacked up one wheel
View attachment 52799
without bracing, the boot has skewed over by 7mm!
View attachment 52795
bolted the X-brace in, it's a snug fit to get all the bolts lined up
View attachment 52798 View attachment 52797
jacked the corner up and oh gawd, it's barely moved 1mm.
View attachment 52796
comparing weight, all this rear seat & shelf weighs a hefty 22.7kg
while the X-frame only weighs 7.1kg
a reduction of 15.6kg for a stiff chassis!
View attachment 52794
took it for a drive, dunno if it's a placebo effect but she feels nippier and tighter.
the delay between steering input and feeling the weight shift definately seems sharper and the rear end is feeling abit more loose on these cold old T1R tyres.
road noise is definately louder, exhaust is boomier and stereo is pointless, so will need to wear ear plugs with this layout.
give it some paint tomorrow
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parweld-XR916H-Autodarkening-Welding-Helmet/dp/B00GJX0BAQ
Hands down my best purchase. This made my welding a million times better.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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pollyp
Club Member
now that the printers control board is fixed, I figured how to edit & upload the original firmware successfully so now I have full control over all the parameters to fine tune.
made afew improvements while organising the wiring.
controlling the fan speed with the boards PWM always generates an annoying electrical noise so instead I just turned the fan speed 100% to disable the whining PWM and used an external fan controller from my PC
reorganised all the wiring to be neater and allow the XYZ parts to move freely
fitted a more robust end-stop switch and dampened the vibrating stepper motors from the metal frame with rubber
fine tuned all the settings and it's printing really nicely and abit quieter now
made afew improvements while organising the wiring.
controlling the fan speed with the boards PWM always generates an annoying electrical noise so instead I just turned the fan speed 100% to disable the whining PWM and used an external fan controller from my PC
reorganised all the wiring to be neater and allow the XYZ parts to move freely
fitted a more robust end-stop switch and dampened the vibrating stepper motors from the metal frame with rubber
fine tuned all the settings and it's printing really nicely and abit quieter now
