[QUOTE=eta;3460]Hi, I'm new. "eta" is the Greek letter for efficiency; I want to build a very efficient, super lightweight 3 wheeled car. My design: a side by side 2 seater using the Suzuki 3 cylinder 5 spd drive train.
2 powered wheels in front and a single rear wheel, using as many OEM pieces as possible, front struts, brakes, steering, with a fabricated swing arm rear suspension with a coil-over shock. A steel tube space frame with bonded-on ("stressed") honeycomb aluminum body panels.
I want to make a "bare-bones" running prototype first, with minimal body panels and just a lexan windshield, no doors or other windows. Later I intend to add aerodynamic body panels and weather protection, removable "gullwing" doors, etc.
This will legally be a motorcycle, which makes all the government hassles more manageable; it will have a full roll cage and 4 point racing harnesses, helmets will be worn.
I hope to keep the curb weight down near 800 lbs and so it should be fun to drive, have excellent performance with truly outstanding economy. This 3 wheel layout gives fantastic aerodynamics, a perfect teardrop shape, less weight, rolling resistance, etc.
Your first question, will it tip over? A 3 wheeler of this "tadpole" 2F, 1R layout can be just as stable as a good 4 wheeler, if it has a wider front track, low cg, and proper weight distribution. I plan to use the right-side axles from the 4 cylinder manual trans Suzuki on both sides, as they are longer, to increase the front track from 52.3" up to 60-66".
I also want to experiment with propane. It burns cleaner, the equipment is simpler and I can use an 11:1 compression ratio possible with the 100+ octane rating to get very good efficiency. Yes propane doesn't have the energy/gal of gasoline, but it has HIGHER energy/lb.
I hope eventually this will be a universal frame design that can utilize different drive trains such as VW diesel, or electric, or even hydrogen. I have some rough drawings and notes, including a static stability calculation I can post here if there is interest.
At this point I need feed back and a real engineer to help finish the design. I have shown my sketches to Dave Norton, see his Shrike design online. So, any comments about my little project?
I HAVE A SIMILIAR PROJECT THAT TOOK ME 5 YEARS TO BUILD AN I STILL NOT DONE, I HAVE A OLDER STYLE OF THE CAR ON A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF IT, I WILL UPDATE THE VIDEO LATER WITH A DIFFERENT LOOK TO MY CAR. THE CAR'S NAME IS "GEO LORRAINE 3WLR", TO SEE THE VIDEO JUST GOOGLE, GEO LORRAINE. HAVE ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL I'D BE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT.
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3 wheeler
Welcome Geo Lorraine! My "phase" began in 1979 starting out innocently enough; went from a home-built delta trike to tadpole, motorized trike, factory electric trike (enclosed motorcycle: no helmet), enclosed velomobile, convertible velomobile, back to a motorized trike I cannot get to now, and a smaller trike with no motor which I cannot get to either. My garage power is off- so I am going through trike withdrawal.
