The Indy One

[nimblemotors]

To answer why the driver position is far back, that is the safest place to be,
you are tucked into a very strong stiff cockpit just like on a formula 1 car or a top fuel hydro drag boat. All the real weight of the car is at the front, the suspension, transaxle with heavy motor and the batteries too.

[Xist]

That only sounds safe for frontal impact.

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by Xist

That only sounds safe for frontal impact.

That would be the most important thing to worry about.
But how would sitting further forward help in a side crash?
It just puts you in a much weaker area of the car.
If the car is hit mid-point you are behind it (your torso is).
if hit in the side at the rear, the one wheel will slide and the car will pivot.

[freebeard]

Getting hit is a roll of the dice. What if a safe falls off an overpass??? Better to be 'nimble'. What are those percentages of? Frequency? Closing speed? I'm skeptical about getting rear ended. I'd think it would be second.

I guess I was thinking of the Messerschmitt KR200. It had a two passenger rear seat and two passengers messed with the CG and polar moment. I believe the CG wants to be centered between all three wheels.

I am very familiar with Basalt, as I have designed a lightweight concrete house and was going to use basalt rebar, and have thought of using it for my solar boat build.

Ooooh, I'd like to see that. Monolithic Dome or something else? We can compare with my semi-submersible houseboat [design].

Originally Posted by basaltguru

Basalt bi-axial fabric was used to make a tool mold for the nose cone of a very expensive carbon fiber yacht last month.
...

Contact us if you are a boat builder or using carbon fiber as a mold tool. We would love to talk to you about using basalt fabric as an alternative that offers the same performance with considerable financial savings!

Their lead article right now is about a female form for carbon fiber boats. Further back there's a story about a body kit for the Telsa S. Your forms will determine the quality of your finished bodies. And you might be able to use basalt mesh/glass cloth for either. It would be like having a roll cage in the skin.

All I've seen about pricing and product performance is it's within the triangle drawn between E-glass, S-glass and carbon fiber. Not as light as carbon fiber, but it doesn't shatter.

[nimblemotors]

I believe those percentages are fatal accidents.

My house is a dome design, but not a monolithic, it is a design/construction method I 'invented' which has never been done before afaik, which is why I have not build it, in California no way they would let me on my lakeside property without outside certified engineering reviews that cost more than the house would.

Basalt is not even close to carbon fiber, they like to spin it that way, but it is maybe more like a cheaper s-glass, which is very overpriced itself.
Cheaper is better than lighter I think for this car.
I am planning to offer a few carbon fiber built versions in the kickstarter, just to give the people looking to send some money and get something special.
The molds don't need to be light.

[freebeard]

It would make sense that fatalities would track with closing speed.

I'm now officially looking for the picture of the houseboat. We'll see how that goes. I've got novel designs for everything from tube greenhouse frames to warehouses, but no-one seems to care so they languish.

Can you swap out -glass and carbon fiber in the same production process? Will you vacuum bag and inject the resins?

[nimblemotors]

Would like to see the houseboat.

I've never done resin infusion, so it is going to be a learning experience, it is the way to go for sure. However, I really don't like how much plastic is used/wasted in the process. Sure it is cheap, but I still don't like the waste stream it creates. The carbon fiber version would use the same molds.

[freebeard]

It might be easier to just recreate it, I found the .obj file for the vertical axis windmill on the top. But first I'm off to the Woodburn drag strip for the NW Bugrun.

[nimblemotors]

Here is another sneak peak. All the major bodywork is done.
As I mentioned in the other thread, you can notice the fender vent design.

This pic has the spare tire wheels and 6in tires, which stick out a little.
I was fortunate to find some used Smart Car tires, which are 155/60/15 and only 5in wide, and they fit much better. Of course, this is just for now, as the actual car will have Prius wheels and a different suspension.

This shot also shows the size of the car relative to my Gen 1 prius.

I am so glad to finally be done with the insandity of sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding sanding.
Btw, I had a car painting business during college, and I hated bodywork!

[nimblemotors]

The front end now tilts open electrically using the convertible top drive from my parted out boxster. It wasn't easy, but got it done and working right.
Of course, this won't be in the production vehicle, it will be lightweight and can be opened manually, but this car has heavy steel parts that would take two people to open.

I'm also working on wheel covers for the spare tire wheels. The have a bulge in them so I can't use just a flat 'pizza pan' cover. I've been filling and smoothing the nissan hub caps I have. Then I will make a mold from it, and produce some carbon fiber covers. I'm wondering if I should fill in the center section to make it level with the bulge? I could make more of these if there is interest, 15in wheels.

Also wanted to note I had some guys stop in to buy some boxster parts, and both were excited to see the car. One was a CHP, and he wanted to buy one asap, and was already thinking of where to get a parts prius.
He was thinking to get an Elio if they ever became available.