Final project build

[RB13240]

Hi, my name is Aaron, I will be entering my final year in aerospace manufacturing engineering technology in Ontario Canada this coming fall. For my final year I must design, plan, and manufacture a product or invention of some sort. Since I own a 93 240sx hatch which is currently under build, I figured designing a product for the car would be suitable. I am looking for input from the Nico community to see what needs the most improvement on the 240. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So my question to the Nico community is; If there is one aspect about the 240sx that you would change that is not available on the market today, or is not to your standards as a reliable or quality product let me know what you that is. Here is some background about the resources that are available to me.

We have a fully automated CNC lab with a 5 axis mill, CNC lathe, gantry router, and various other more basic cutting machines. Materials can be anything including titanium or other high strength materials and even plastics. We also have tempering ovens to modify material grain structures.

The welding labs we can do Tig, Mig, Plasma, Arc, and again virtually any type of material.

We have a fully functional composites lab with an autoclave and we can do various types of layups, dry, wet, and infusion. Again many types of materials are available, carbon, boron, Kevlar, Carbon/Kevlar etc.


If you need any other information feel free to ask any questions. Again any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and they can pertain to the S13 and S14 chassis. Thanks again.

[gigabit240]

Well if you could figure out how to do it I say AWD lol. I've never seen that before on a 240. Or you could design a whole new engine since you have access to so many materials lolz. Everyone who has a 240sx always says its under powered so you could try and find some sort of new way to make it more powerfull.. like you could reinvent the intake manifold or something

[hboninc19]

A manual steering rack would be helpful.

[Razi]

Custom subframe!
Haha but that'd be too costly for the typical 240 owner.

[Chugpuppy]

EVERYTHING is too costly for the typical 240 owner...

[wackawacka]

Holy crap sir. Your school is amazing. I wish I had picked a major as cool as that. You got any pics of your shops

[RB13240]

Yeah I'll get you some pictures, I gotta head over there to finish my last CNC assignment anyways.

[RB13240]

Ok here are the pics you wanted of the equipment (toys) I get to play with. This is going to be a hell fire of pictures, we have so much equipment here. On a serious note though, this is a serious project so once again any ideas are greatly welcomed and apprecieated!

This is the ACE campus at Confederation College Thunder Bay Ontario



This is our CNC lab, we have two rooms.
5 axis with a HAAS control unit




Old school OKK 4 axis milling machine.



Manual milling machine


CNC lathes




HAAS CNC gantry tabe router




Various other machines in our lab






Our composites lab which also has a drafted paint booth




The autoclave



One of the minor pre preg carbon assignemtns


We also have an NDT and destructive tests lab.







This new toy is bad a**! Robotics programming


Rapid prototyping machine, just prints 3 dimensional parts from cad drawing with PVC plastic


here are some of the parts previously made in the rapid prototyper


The welding room is nothing special, just some ordinary tools


Tempering ovens in case you wanna bake an alloy casorol at school




One of two hangers


Ouside view of the school




Picture from the airport runway

[kouki munster]

A manual rack that is affordable, has a good steering ratio, and also has increased angle for the guys that like to slide would be nice to see.

[chaosli]

from what i know in the pass posts
there is a manual rack made in the uk that has good ratio and stuff so thats in the market
AWD was done by alot of ppl full race being one of them

so there isnt much left that needs to be made that would sell good, anything we needed some one has it made already and it too much for us poor ppl to afford.

you could make alum part like the rear knuckle that would use the stock strut mount, or a front alum spindle. that would be nice

[hatedinthemind]

brand new s13 shells lol

like how they have the new 69 camaro shells

[NYIntensity]

Cup holders ^-^

[kouki munster]

from what i know in the pass posts
there is a manual rack made in the uk that has good ratio and stuff so thats in the market
AWD was done by alot of ppl full race being one of them

so there isnt much left that needs to be made that would sell good, anything we needed some one has it made already and it too much for us poor ppl to afford.

you could make alum part like the rear knuckle that would use the stock strut mount, or a front alum spindle. that would be nice

I know about that one, but it is hardly affordable at $1,000. Make one and price in the $500 or less neighborhood, if manufacturing costs allow it, and it would most likely sell pretty good.

[mattblancarte]

^^ C'mon. $1k for a legitimate manual steering rack is totally reasonable. Affordable... well, that is for every man to ask himself.

My idea would be to build an accelerator "block." Simply take some t6 alum and mill a piece that can be bolted under the accelerator to effectively limit throttle to 30% or less.

The market for this product is parents that are concerned with their new 240sx drivers (16-17 year olds).

You could also create a locking bolt that requires the specially milled wrench or socket; using these tools is the only way to remove the block.

How do you guys like it?

I bet you could start by selling this online no problem. 500+ units sold in the first 12 months if properly branded and marketed. Then, you'd have enough data (revenue, marketing data, sales trends, etc.) to spread the word. Maybe if you're lucky, you can pick up some Angel Investment.

It could be done faster, but I was just throwing out a concept. Also, you'd most likely want to do a "universal" model that could be applied to other cars as well.

Pipe dream, maybe. lol But hey, you're the engineer. You figure out details.

[kouki munster]

^^ C'mon. $1k for a legitimate manual steering rack is totally reasonable. Affordable... well, that is for every man to ask himself.

You do realize that $1000 is 1/3 to 1/2 of what most people paid to acquire their 240(heck its more than some have paid for their 240), and that the vast majority of 240 owners are cheapskates.

[RB13240]

Ok, so I thought about the manual steering rack and I just cant justify it since you can get the rack and there are other ways to get more degrees on your turning radius. I have however thought of another idea which seems very promising.

I am considering making aluminum castings of the front and rear spindles of the 240sx. This will give you the following features.

Rear
- Aluminum to reduce unsprung weight
- Will be a replica of the 240sx rear upright allowing you to use the 240sx strut or coilover mount not the 300zx
- Bushings will have the option of OEM Rubber, Poly, or Aluminum Spherical type
- Possible addition of caster adjustment built into the unit

Front
- Again unsprung weight reduction
- Will still use stock 240sx mount points so no modifaction will be needed or the need for using parts from other cars
- Will have the option of a bolt on spacer to increase steering radius with a radius of your choice or to use stock radius
- Bushings will have the option of OEM Rubber, Poly, or Aluminum Spherical type
- Possible adjustable spindle length to give a wider stance without changing suspension geometry and eliminating the use
of spacers

Let me know what you guys think.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Cup holders ^-^

[mattblancarte]

You do realize that $1000 is 1/3 to 1/2 of what most people paid to acquire their 240(heck its more than some have paid for their 240), and that the vast majority of 240 owners are cheapskates.

Of course. I agree that most people can't justify $1k cost for a manual steering rack. That doesn't mean that the manual rack isn't worth $1k or should be priced as such.

Perhaps that is why you don't see one being mass produced.

[kouki munster]

Do a google search for flaming river, they sell manual racks for a lot of different cars(mustangs, camaros, ect...) that are 100% bolt in for about $600, why the hell can't someone make a manual rack for a 240 and sell it for the same price? There are a good number of guys(me included) that would snag one in a heartbeat for that price.

[RB13240]

Ok, the steering rack is a quite expensive endevour regardless, the main reason why other manual racks are cheaper is due to the amount they can sell. I could possibly build one but I cant promise that the cost of such a part will be cheaper than 1000 dollars. There are two other 240sx owners in my class that have to do the same type of project, if I dont build it maybe I can convince one of them to do it. I'll keep you guys posted. How do you feel about the aluminum spindle and rear uprights?

[mattblancarte]

Do a google search for flaming river, they sell manual racks for a lot of different cars(mustangs, camaros, ect...) that are 100% bolt in for about $600, why the hell can't someone make a manual rack for a 240 and sell it for the same price? There are a good number of guys(me included) that would snag one in a heartbeat for that price.

Flaming River serves old-school restoration projects, and definitely don't sell manual racks for $600. Kits they sell related to rack and pinion are $1-2k, manual or power.

Not a lot of different cars, either... A few classic mustangs, pinto, and classic camaros.

[kouki munster]

On the front page of their website there is a link for a manual rack for a 05-10 mustang and it is priced at $599. Yes they sell stuff mainly for older muscle cars and custom hot rods, but they do sell just racks in a reasonable price range. With a little time and some fab work I could get one of the racks that closely resembles the 240 rack's dimensions into a 240 with little trouble. I just don't have the freaking time or I would have already done it.

[kouki munster]

Ok, the steering rack is a quite expensive endevour regardless, the main reason why other manual racks are cheaper is due to the amount they can sell. I could possibly build one but I cant promise that the cost of such a part will be cheaper than 1000 dollars. There are two other 240sx owners in my class that have to do the same type of project, if I dont build it maybe I can convince one of them to do it. I'll keep you guys posted. How do you feel about the aluminum spindle and rear uprights?

It seems like a good idea, but I can see getting a front spindle made out of aluminum with the strength to hold up being problematic, but not impossible. Pricing the rear units so they sell would be difficult to, as you can easily pick up a set of z32 uprights for $100 or less.

But whatever you decide good luck with it, remember if it was easy it wouldn't be that fun or as rewarding to solve.

[RB13240]

It seems like a good idea, but I can see getting a front spindle made out of aluminum with the strength to hold up being problematic, but not impossible. Pricing the rear units so they sell would be difficult to, as you can easily pick up a set of z32 uprights for $100 or less.

But whatever you decide good luck with it, remember if it was easy it wouldn't be that fun or as rewarding to solve.

The front spindle wont be a problem, I can heat treat the aluminum and make it hard enough to hold up. As for the rears the Z32 are cheaper yes, but not by much. I think if I manufactured them I could probably sell them for about 150-175 and you would be able to use the 240 rear mount. But I wont know for sure until I make my CAD models and do a first run. As for the manual steering rack I'm still considering it, like I said before things may chance once I make my CAD models and see exactly what I'm dealing with. And yes, I agree, anything easy probably isn't worth doing or any fun.

[mattblancarte]

On the front page of their website there is a link for a manual rack for a 05-10 mustang and it is priced at $599. Yes they sell stuff mainly for older muscle cars and custom hot rods, but they do sell just racks in a reasonable price range. With a little time and some fab work I could get one of the racks that closely resembles the 240 rack's dimensions into a 240 with little trouble. I just don't have the freaking time or I would have already done it.

That's true, they do have the 5.0 liter mustang manual racks for pretty cheap and the 05-10 mustang at $599. Didn't see that.

Perhaps someone should play Nissan ambassador with these folks and try to get the ball rolling on a less-expensive manual rack. :fistpumping: Or, the OP could beat them to it.

[chaosli]

i like the alum parts me and my friends would get the set if they were priced around 300 for all 4

[RB13240]

300 for all four may be doable, I'll have to look into it. I'll update this thread and show pics of the process as I design and build them. When it's complete I'll give you an idea as far as price, assuming everything works after testing.

[chaosli]

no updates?

[duffman1278]

Is that a tensile test machine? Looks like that or a buckling test unit.

[cheezy240]

That's pretty cool, I have alot of those machines and s*** at my high school it's pretty cool.