An Early Look at Dai Yoshihara’s 2011 Formula D Ride

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Some of the details of plugging and seam welding on the frame rails.  Scott’s craftsmanship is awesome!  There are many details like this throughout the whole car.

The rear of the car is fully tubular in the areas that are legal according to the 2011 rules.  The tubular structure is more repairable and gives protection to the fuel cell.  This area of the car was considerably strengthened for 2011 over the old configuration.

In order for the car to run on 275 Falken 615K tires, it was determined that the car had to gain about 120 lbs.  Since the car had to get heavier it was decided that the best way to do this was to stiffen and strengthen the chassis.  After the collision with Darren McNamara at Road Atlanta last year where the back of the car was nearly torn off, steps were taken to further improve the car’s crash worthiness and crash reparability.

The cradle that supports the fuel cell and battery has been moved forward for better protection and to reduce the polar moment of inertia.  These critical parts are now surrounded by triangulated tubes for protection and crash survivability.  The rear fenders are easily replaceable fiberglass parts that can be quickly changed.

The rear structure bolts to the frame rails and the cage.  It can be unbolted and replaced quickly if needed.  You can see the triangulation and rear crush structure which are improvements for 2011.  The back of the car was vulnerable to damage in last year’s car.  The rear central electrical junction remains unchanged for 2011, this is a good feature of the car that makes troubleshooting easy.

This rear part acts like an impact absorbing crush structure and also serves as a quick jack point, easy jacking is important in Formula D where tire changes often have to be performed quickly.

Looking upwards, you can see where the rear structure bolts to the ends of the frame rails and the cage.

The Aeromotive fuel pump is mounted low to reduce chances for vapor lock.  A spare pump is also mounted here as well.  Drifting puts a lot of stress on fuel systems.