Why am I building a racing simulator chassis?I am designing and a building a simulator chassis for a few different reasons. The main reason is I just bought a new racing wheel, wheel base, and racing pedals from Fanatec. Fanatec is one of the best companies that makes sim racing hardware and their wheels have some of the strongest force feedback. The force feedback is too strong for my current chassis and causes the chassis to flex. This flexing causes the wheel to vibrate which is just a really annoying thing when it happens. I also want to be able to have different seating positions. Two of the main positions that I want to be able to sit in is a stock car position and a open wheel position. The stock car position is a deep seat that sits upright. The open wheel position lays back more so the drivers knees are in a direct line with their stomach.
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Design and Building BlogBy clicking the button below you will go to the blog where I talk about how the design and building of the simulator chassis is going.
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Design and Building Process
Market Research, Sketch, and Design During this portion of the design and building process I will be doing market research and sketching designs. During market research I will look at other simulator chassis on the market and then find the pros and cons of them. Then I will take the pros and try to incorporate them into my sketches. I will then use the sketches to make a 3D drawing on a computer.
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Finding and Buying SuppliesDuring this step I will be looking online and in stores to find the supplies and parts that I need. Some of those parts and supplies include one inch square steel tubing, two steel plates, a seat, bolts, nuts, and end caps for the tubing. During this time I will also be setting my budget based off of the costs for the supplies.
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Build the ChassisFinally I will be building the simulator chassis. I will start by building the basic frame. Then I will add the pedal and wheel mounts. The chassis itself will be welded but the seat, wheel, and pedals will be bolted onto the chassis. After I finish welding the chassis I will paint it. I plan to paint it red and add black and white stripes to resemble Dale Earnhardt Jr's car from his first cup series race in 1999.
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What will the Finished Product be used For?I will use the chassis for my own personal use so that I can enjoy sim racing on Iracing. The new chassis will replace my old one and it will be used for my sim racing purposes. I will also potentially use the design to make a spec chassis that I can sell to people who might want to upgrade their chassis or get a new one. That is part of the reason why I am designing this to be able to adjust to multiple different seating styles. I want whoever uses the simulator chassis to be able to adjust it to the seating style that they want.
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A Little About Me
I am Morgan Creason, I go to Davie County High School and I'm currently a sophmore. I play football for the school and I am also a part of the War Eagle Motorsports club. I am a huge racing fan, especially NASCAR racing and my all time favorite driver is Dale Earnhardt Jr. In my spare time I race on a racing simulator called Iracing with one of my friends. I have even been lucky enough to get to race with some NASCAR drivers such as Martin Truex Jr, Jeff Burton, Brad Kesolowski, and Juan Pablo Montoya on Iracing.. I hope that one day, sooner rather than later, I can begin racing in real life even if it is as small as competitive go kart racing. My goal after high school is to go to UNC Charlotte for motorsport and mechanical engineering. After that my dream job is to be a crew chief for one of the teams/cars at Hendrick Motorsports.