R53 Most liked posts in thread: Let's Change Something !

And the throttle cable extension Below the one that currently is on my car.

And all the parts that arrived today in order to build more extensions I want to point out that everything you see is an original BMW component.

 

I just finished the JIG design. It consist of 3 parts. It will be 3d printed as the charge pipe JIG and as a material I will use NYLON 6 again. I also finished with the heat shield's brackets. Laser cut, from stainless steel, 2 mm thickness. I will keep them with raw finish for now and then I will powder coated them black. Slowly it is getting there , I am getting exited !

 

Hello guys. This time not an update on the charge pipe but something I think you will like it . A friend ask me for some seat mounts for his Bride buckets (car R53 MINI). He wanted to increase the high, he went to a local speed shop and .... lets say what they came up with .... a lethal design! just 4 aluminium cylinder below the seat rails!! As you understand when I saw that I said to my friend this too dangerous as all the load-force goes to.... 4 bolts !! In a accident the created torque will destroy immediately the bolts. OK enough with that, lets design something with engineering in mind ...

For cost reason he chosen material is steel. I measured all the main points and then I started the design. Instead of me doing the speaking I attached this foto:
Design specifications:
Crash scenario of 200km/h with a 100 kg driver.
Maximum deceleration 112g.
Overall force applied to the mounting points 110000 N or 11.2 tons.
Design and Development process:
CAD (initial design), Stress Simulation, Finite Element Modelling, Topology Optimization, CAD (Improved design), Stress Simulation, approval, manufacturing.

I did in total 5 different designs until I came up with the perfect (for this problem) solution.
The astonishing is the weight saving from 4.8 kg to 1.6kg and being able to have the same results in the stress simulation. You can do that by removing material but in a component such as this one (involves SAFETY !!!) removing material just like that is a bad idea.
Let me explain:
Removing material without knowing the force path can lead to component failure, as material in necessary locations might be removed. With topology optimization we have maximum stiffness for a specific design for a given amount of material.
An FEM (fine element model) is created by applying the necessary boundary conditions and load case. After the optimization simulation is finished the optimized structure is then analysed. A new cad model is created following the previous optimized structure. The new design is then undergo a stress simulation to ensure that design goals have been accomplished.
And the final product:

I still need to weld the piece on the back. That will happened on Monday. And fit them in the car !
What do you think guys ? I hope you found it informative enough and not boring !

 

r53 throttle body 3dmodel ready ! Next is the high flow air filter (which is going to be challenging due to the metal mesh).
what do you think guys ?

 

Some more detailed models from the charge pipe assembly.
In this post you can see the airfilter, billet adapter and throttle body assembly. Slowly I will add up all the pieces of the puzzle in a very detailed assembly.

Section view airfilter-billet adapter - throttle body.
Check that smooth connection between each part ! The bolt like part in the top of the airfilter is the PCV adapter (which ofcourse is made from billet aluminium)

And the air filter ! Although it seems like an easy design (it is) it took me the most time, because I run out of computational power !!!! Believe it or not is by far the most complex model due to that metal mesh around the filter element. Only this model is actually an assembly of more than 200 parts ! Which is not a lot when a you find assemblies with thousands of parts but futures like a mesh really slows down your machine !!
I hope you like it ! I will update soon the assembly with more parts (brackets, cables,spacers ofcourse the charge pipe and the heatshield )

 

Update time !!
I still consider it prototype so lets call it pre-production model You will see I painted black the outlet (inlet of Supercharger) and then faded a bit as the finish wasn't so nice there and I wanted it to finish it and do some more testing ! So don't be so harsh on about the finish
Next steps:
Thanks to a friend of mine that has a stock intake and charge pipe in his car, we will to some dyno pulls and logging before and after . Additionally I will upload some photos from the installation as his car is way cooler than mine It might take a bit of time to do all of that as Easter approaches and also different working hours for both of us.
By using his car and not mine I can have a more objective opinion-comments about the charge pipe as he uses it daily. Plus There I will have two charge pipes being used in nearly daily bases. More kilometers and feedback.

Lets see so far the steps:
Countless design (CAD modelling) hours and air flow (CFD) simulations, 8 3D printed prototypes (3 in the picture), 2 engine 3D scans and 2 pre-production carbon fiber models. (I haven't include the 3d models and prototypes of the heatshield... )
Below in the photo you can see side by side the OEM ,some printed models and the latest carbon fiber charge pipe so not only you can compare stock and new design but also how from version to version the design changes a bit (these small changes are crucial, for example the 3rd printed model compare to the 2nd has a 3 degrees change in the z axis just to ensure more clearance around the throttle body).

If you check in the bottom of the picture I also put a logo ! ok... I had a graphic designer to do it as I wanted to see many different styles


What do you think guys? I hope you like it so far.
Have a nice day or night (here is 9.30 am)

 

You have a point, temperatures can change the outcome. 17 degrees these days is a bit hard... from now on it will be hotter and hotter (today 24...) . I am very happy with the IATs results, even with 4 degrees difference they were lower. That means the heatshield does it's job well. This is another reason why I do not mind so much about temperature right now. Checking again the data I can't get over my head that the car might need more fuel. The ECU is tuned for a complete different scenario. But all these are just speculations, we will see hopefully soon if a retune can change the outcome.

 

Update time!
I printed a carbon fiber reinforced nylon charge pipe, mainly to see how the material behaves and how the print quality will turn out.
Rookie mistake.... the outlet of the charge pipe .... is a bit smaller than the OEM Unit and that's exactly how the car went to dyno... From what I understand nearly 2 years ago when I started slowly this project I initially design a mock up and then... never check it again. Ok not a big problem, I updated the CAD model although I already printed the CF nylon part Thus I will use it just for education reasons.


Love that Deadpool miniature ! Printed with resin, the detail is amazing.

That picture in the background looks familiar .... (later about that)


Previous week I started thinking what if I could use the OEM airbox, OEM filter, brackets etc. After a lot of thinking I decided to give it a try. It took 4 3d scans (which later became an assembly in order to have the engine bay, plus the frontal area of the car) and some days of designing. Dont forget that the base is similar to the previous version so the whole process was faster (plus some extra experience on my behalf compare to before). On the left you can see the 2 files (3dscanned and CAD model) on each other and on the right the new designed CAD model. Additionally there is no need for bumper spacers or a throttle cable extension like the other version. So here it is the new model:

And a picture showcasing the space between the fan and the charge pipe. All that is with a thickness of 3mm compare to 2mm before.

View attachment 43754
The model is already at the printer, meaning it should be ready in the next 2 days. And of-course by using Cf nylon that means I can drive and dyno the car with the printed model !! So all the updates will be faster now !

So what do you think guys ? Does it worth all that extra trouble? Is it a better solution-option compare to the other version? I loved it just for it's simplicity. Tell me your comments and thoughts !

 

Tottaly agree about the GP cooler. But in my car I have an OEM unit. No matter what, it is good to have it in my library. Me too I would prefer a GP intercooler.

 

I know what you mean, but I want to have object results, meaning only changing the charge pipe (I am speaking about the short version) and not the air filter. The OEM intake hose actually it is pretty nicely designed, with integrated step for the throttle body and the air box ! I don't really believe that the hose actually affects the outcome (as it used in both scenarios). I am thinking of designing an air box, maybe a tube as well, and play a bit with different combinations.

 

Yes you are right. I will design an airbox, (nothing special, sheet metal, some printed parts etc) just to do some more testing. Then dyno the car with the short pipe plus the airbox and then oem pipe with newly designed air box. Lets see if this combo works or not .

 

I love the Harrop kit !

!!!!Caution Nerdy CAD picture!!!!!!

So the last days I took a step back or at least I slowed down with the project (I am already designing a new air box though )
I put some projects together in one picture just for fun (NERD I know ). Can you spot the OEM R53 airbox ? next to it there is another project I was working for a while (I say ''was working'' as budget doesn't allow me to continue), can you think from what car it is ....?

 

That is a swing arm for a Ducati.

 

Update time.... with some nerdy CAD stuff

I finished designing the airbox (OEM Location), just a simple approach in order to test the car with this setup (plus the charge pipe). Is the restriction the OEM airbox ? Does it need a re-tune ? We will see.
Some CAD photos for you !! Enjoy !!

Front and back view:

Exposed View:

Some details, with the materials I want to use:

Engine 3d scanned file over the CAD model:

 

This is just a test part, already it is overkill as I intend to use only on the dyno and for data logging. So investing more money is not an option, making all the big surfaces from steel it is faster and cheaper.
I am not so worried for the temps.... today we have 35 degrees Celcius !!! So it will be hot no matter what !