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A look at the seam welding in the shock tower. The seams are skip welded with a tig welder, skip welding increases stiffness while still allowing repairs by grinding off if the chassis needs to be spliced or patched. |
Another look at some seam welding in the front wheelwell area. You can also see where the unibody has been bent and relieved for more tire clearance. |
This ruling has resulted in many cars having to be rebuilt in the off season. Although this is a significant hardship in the short term for many teams, in the long run, it will probably be good for the sport by reducing initial construction costs and closing the gap between privateers and factory teams.
A look at where the cage extension bolts to the firewall and pierces the shock tower. You can also spot a lot of the seam welding details here. |
The cage extension tubes are gusseted to the shock towers. |
Another rules change that greatly affected the car was Formula D’s new weight to tire size rule. In an attempt to level the playing field, Formula D has introduced a sliding weight to tire width scale. The purpose of this rule is to discourage the building of ultra lightweight cars, once again to reel in the big buck factory teams. Lightweight cars are forced to run more narrow tires under the new rules.
The areas where the stock brake booster and clutch master cylinder used to reside are patched as per the rules. This also improves stiffness. You can see the lower area on the firewall that is reinforced for the Willwood pedal box with dual master cylinders. |
The front of the car is rules legal, light, stiff and easy to fix. A bolt in triangulated brace will be added that ties the strut towers to the firewall. This will also greatly improve the stiffness and strength of the front end. |