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Factory Five project 818

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Viper GTS said:
I don't think they have finalized their design yet. If you look on their site they have images of a lot of the design contest winners, all of which are different cars. The images of what appear to be actual physical cars don't appear to be what's presented in the image in the OP.

I've been watching this for a while as well, and I really, REALLY hope they didn't pick the one in this thread.

I'm also moderately disappointed to learn that it is not going to be AWD. Apparently I missed that before.

Viper GTS
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I agree about the aesthetics. I really don't care what it looks like but I would prefer if it was something that didn't look like a straight cheezy knockoff of another car.

It also worries me how they so heavily emphasize that EVERYTHING on this car is designed on the computer. Like that should make it super high tech lolz0r awesome. When in reality the best designs are validated through tons of real world testing.

I don't think AWD should matter, since I'm guessing this car should be well under 2000 lbs. I know everyone is thinking zOMG turbo WRX motor but I think the most common motor for a car like this is going to be an N/A 2.2/2.5. It will be impressive how much power that is in a platform this light.
 
yottabit said:
I agree about the aesthetics. I really don't care what it looks like but I would prefer if it was something that didn't look like a straight cheezy knockoff of another car.

It also worries me how they so heavily emphasize that EVERYTHING on this car is designed on the computer. Like that should make it super high tech lolz0r awesome. When in reality the best designs are validated through tons of real world testing.

I don't think AWD should matter, since I'm guessing this car should be well under 2000 lbs. I know everyone is thinking zOMG turbo WRX motor but I think the most common motor for a car like this is going to be an N/A 2.2/2.5. It will be impressive how much power that is in a platform this light.
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simulating the design saves you tons of development costs - partly why this is so cheap no doubt.

any person truly interested in the car is going to tune the suspension (or motor) themselves anyway
 
yottabit said:
I agree about the aesthetics. I really don't care what it looks like but I would prefer if it was something that didn't look like a straight cheezy knockoff of another car.

It also worries me how they so heavily emphasize that EVERYTHING on this car is designed on the computer. Like that should make it super high tech lolz0r awesome. When in reality the best designs are validated through tons of real world testing.

I don't think AWD should matter, since I'm guessing this car should be well under 2000 lbs. I know everyone is thinking zOMG turbo WRX motor but I think the most common motor for a car like this is going to be an N/A 2.2/2.5. It will be impressive how much power that is in a platform this light.
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I believe the name (818) was the target weight in kilograms, so 1803lbs.
 
They must be taking a piss if they think basically all the useful parts from a Wrx can be had,for five grand,lol maybe that would cover from a normal impreza though and that up to weight would still be very quick.

I bet seriously fun to drive though.
 
Too bad the windshield-forward portion of the chassis isn't exposed. Would be very easy to locate the tires precisely around apexes.
 
yottabit said:
It also worries me how they so heavily emphasize that EVERYTHING on this car is designed on the computer. Like that should make it super high tech lolz0r awesome. When in reality the best designs are validated through tons of real world testing.
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The design process is separate from the testing and validation. They can still do extensive testing to prove out the design.

Being "designed on a computer" isn't a guarantee that it was well designed (anybody can move a mouse) but for a good engineer it can help you create a better design, especially for designs that have complicated features in three dimensions. Working on a modern CAD system you can easily visualize how all the parts fit and make the most of it. When you're trying to scrub weight out of the product that's a very big advantage.

Additionally, you can roll that design into some analysis programs to figure out things like strength, deflection, and stiffness before you have the part made. It lets you look at a ton of different designs on a computer then make and test your design. You still may need to change it because of what you find during testing but if you properly use the tools you can end up with a much better final product when you have limited time and money, which is true of EVERY engineering project.

Factory Five has a history of putting out very good cars, far above most other kit cars out there. With what they've done in the past I'd say it's a safe bet that they're making the most of these advantages.
 
Doppel said:
They must be taking a piss if they think basically all the useful parts from a Wrx can be had,for five grand,lol maybe that would cover from a normal impreza though and that up to weight would still be very quick.

I bet seriously fun to drive though.
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They say you can use normal Impreza parts, which is what I'm guessing what most people will do.

Also they are talking 2002-2007, not the new ones. The only crappy part about this is you do need some suspension bits and other parts too, so it's not like you can find a WRX that's been wrapped around a lightpole and call it a day, some of those components would probably have been damaged.

Bignate603 said:
Being "designed on a computer" isn't a guarantee that it was well designed (anybody can move a mouse) but for a good engineer it can help you create a better design, especially for designs that have complicated features in three dimensions. Working on a modern CAD system you can easily visualize how all the parts fit and make the most of it. When you're trying to scrub weight out of the product that's a very big advantage.
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I understand the benefits of designing on a computer (I'm a Mech-E myself) it's just their use of terminology that kind of scared me. They only seem to really mention CAD as the big benefit, which is great, but for a car to actually be "designed" on a computer I would think you would want to do a lot of FEA, CFD, etc.... I guess I don't know if this is the first car they "designed" on a computer, or just completely drafted on a computer.

That being said I love what they've done before looking at their work so I'm not judging, it's just that "completely computer designed" tagline that seemed a little hokey to me :/
 
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yottabit said:
They say you can use normal Impreza parts, which is what I'm guessing what most people will do.

Also they are talking 2002-2007, not the new ones. The only crappy part about this is you do need some suspension bits and other parts too, so it's not like you can find a WRX that's been wrapped around a lightpole and call it a day, some of those components would probably have been damaged.



I understand the benefits of designing on a computer (I'm a Mech-E myself) it's just their use of terminology that kind of scared me. They only seem to really mention CAD as the big benefit, which is great, but for a car to actually be "designed" on a computer I would think you would want to do a lot of FEA, CFD, etc.... I guess I don't know if this is the first car they "designed" on a computer, or just completely drafted on a computer.

That being said I love what they've done before looking at their work so I'm not judging, it's just that "completely computer designed" tagline that seemed a little hokey to me :/
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They know their shit - I have no doubts it'll be a fine car. Are you familiar with the GTM?
 
jlee said:
They know their shit - I have no doubts it'll be a fine car. Are you familiar with the GTM?
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I am- I love their stuff, I'll just stop. My beef is just with the marketing tagline of "completely designed on a computer" I guess, I've seen this on things from basketballs to toothbrushes, and so often it never makes anything better. What will make the 818 great is their years and years of experience plus the obvious skills they have!
 
yottabit said:
I am- I love their stuff, I'll just stop. My beef is just with the marketing tagline of "completely designed on a computer" I guess, I've seen this on things from basketballs to toothbrushes, and so often it never makes anything better. What will make the 818 great is their years and years of experience plus the obvious skills they have!
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Ahh, ok - makes sense.
 
Doppel said:
They must be taking a piss if they think basically all the useful parts from a Wrx can be had,for five grand,lol maybe that would cover from a normal impreza though and that up to weight would still be very quick.

I bet seriously fun to drive though.
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Most people doing these kits buy wrecked cars. Several people on the boards have already purchased wrecked WRXs that have all of the good parts still usable and they're doing it for less than $5k. Why would you buy a fully-functional Impreza just to hack it up?
 
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