I'm in the planning stage for a 3-wheeler, and I'm hoping for some input on my powertrain and, perhap, some recommendations on reading
material and suppliers. I'm going for a marriage of the Locost and the
Volkwagen G3X. Here's what I have in mind:
High-powered bike engine (Hayabusa?)
Front-engine/rear-wheel drive
Shaft final drive
Reverse gear
Some of the things I'm mulling over are:
engine
weight distribution
driveshaft setup
fuel tank placement
rear suspension arms (purchase and/or fabrication)
mounting a car wheel on a motorcyle shaft
Any thoughts?
The grinnal scorpion has the best idea. If I were designing a BEC 3 wheeler, I've copt that.
Put over simply: Take one motorcycle. Remove the front forks. Bolt to the front half of a seven chassis (cockpit and front wheels). clother in
curvy body work. Voila.
You keep the bike power train exactly as it was intended, but you put a car tyre on the rim. No worry about oil surge.
Don't like a chain? Use a bike with shaft drive.
Don't like the tall gears on the light weight bike? Fit a 15" wheel in place of the 17" if you can find one.
The VW used a car like powertrain....depending in where the drive axels fall you could modify one of the drive axels to carry a sprocket.
Just and idea.
A FWD Car and your job would be half done but it sounds like you are set on RWD BEC.
3 wheeler handing
http://www.rqriley.com/3-wheel.htm
http://designmassif.com/trihawk/articles/3wc/article_text.htm
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2006/01/03/sub-3-wheeler-with-suzuki-power/
Good Luck I hope t here more about your project
The Grinnall is a real beauty. Seeing one near my home a few months ago is what got me interested in three wheelers and building a car in the first
place. However, aesthetically I prefer a longer front end and shorter rear end on a car, and research I've found (which may simply be anecdotal)
indicates that front-engined three-wheelers are more likely to stay on three wheels.
I only briefly considered front-wheel drive when I saw the Peugeot 20cup, which is rear-wheel steered.
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
You keep the bike power train exactly as it was intended, but you put a car tyre on the rim. No worry about oil surge.
The engine will be facing the right way and so there'll be less surge than in a seven. Bikes do lean into the corners but there will still be
some oil surge. in a 3 wheeler it will only be slightly worse. A baffled sump may be all that is needed rather than a dry sump.
[Edited on 12-9-2006 by smart51]
quote:
The engine will be facing the right way and so there'll be less surge than in a seven.
When I was doing my research into kit cars, trying to chose a kit, I was very interested in the Malone Skunk.
Front engined, transverse mounted, shaft drive to the rear wheel. It uses camber control front suspension too which helps stability.
Don't know what happened to them, as the link to their website doesn't work anymore, but http://www.3wheelers.com/malone.html has some
info.
Malone Skunk
Hope that helps
Mike
With a 3 wheeler & the engine mounted as it was in the bike I doubt you would ever generate enough G force to cause surge. I've got my
engines mounted transverse, as in the bikes, they are bog standard & I've never seen an oil light even flicker depite lapping the occasional
roundabout
- considering I have a total of about 22 inches of rubber at the rear I don't think you'll match that with a 3 wheeler.
I've always felt the Grinnal type setup should work well, but I was told (by Ian Hyne of Kitcar mag who should know what he's talking
about), that they swap ends very easily, too much power, not enough grip - anyone know if this is the case?
Scorpions don't have too much power. 130 BHP from the 1100 IIRC. They have lots of tyre too but that doesn't neccesarily mean grip.
Check www.mride.se
BR
Johan
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
The engine will be facing the right way and so there'll be less surge than in a seven. Bikes do lean into the corners but there will still be some oil surge. in a 3 wheeler it will only be slightly worse. A baffled sump may be all that is needed rather than a dry sump.
[Edited on 12-9-2006 by smart51]
Sorry, but this is going to be controversial reading for a couple of posters.
Firstly the cornering forces with a 3 wheeler can equal those of a four wheeler. Let's not forget the infamous 1920's Morgan that out did a
race prepared Sierra Cossy in the early 90's
So I'm afraid that 24" of rear rubber won't help lose a trike on the twistys.
A well set up trike should out corner a four wheeler due to it's lower moment of inertia.
I'd also advise more than an oil light on a bike engine as a surge warning. By the time the oil light comes on in a bend, your engine will be
trashed. Get a proper oil pressure sensor and needle, better still a data logger before you consider a track day.
Roundabouts probably won't do much harm, unless you go right the way round. It's long high G bends that will lead to oil starvation. And you
may find that right hand turns are OK, whereas lefts will kill your bike engine. See below.
For the second poster, bikes lean into a bend, and the oil stays flat in the bottom of the sump - no surge.
Cars and trikes (without active leaning) lean to the outside of a bend, and all the oil in the sump will also move to the outside. You should
therefore find that you are fine turning one direction, but will kill your engine if you turn the other way.
Hope this helps explain things.