Dave, there were some improvements I made on the roof, mostly on the Roadster version. Stay tuned for the new drawings.
New update, with the following key features:
1. The engine cradle is different now, 300 mm narrower at the back end compared to previous version. I will have to redo most of the engine cradle drawings. As a result of that modification, rear lower A-arms are inequal length - their back side is 150 mm longer than the front side. This will provide a better suspension travel in the case of high-speed cornering, while maintaining the same strength of the A-arm during acceleration. Weight is reduced by about 1.4 kg as well.
2. I already finished with testing and figuring out the best performing suspension geometry for the front wheels. I started with the 3d modeling of it, using real parts as reference 3d models (Corvette C5 hub-bearing, QA1 coil-over, QA1 X-series 5/8 rod end, Master-sport lower ball joint, custom made wheel hubs). Eventually, I may also design an alternative lover A-arms, front and rear, that use some different lower ball joint that's largely available in the US. At this point I don't own such part to take exact measurements of it, so I can't turn it into a 3d reference model.
3. As I use more aggressive camber angle for the steering pivot, I decided to use two-link upper A-arm instead of regular single upper A-arm. This will allow to manipulate both, the camber angle and the castor angle, while taking a turn. During a high-speed cornering, the outer wheel's camber angle will be double that of a usual sports car (
http://i.imgur.com/wmI2AP2.png), in order to keep maximum area of contact patch of the tyre on the road surface, as well as to reduce heat and friction in the wheel bearing. Although it may sound strange, in some cases the inner wheel's castor angle will become negative, thus reducing the body roll and the aforementioned aggressive camber angle when it's not necessary (inner tyre will take less than 10-20% of forces as the majority of weight is being shifted to the outer tyre, so there is no reason for the former to be inclined). All of these advantages are not possible with regular double A-arm design.
In the following days I will send updated drawings with the included changes I made recently, plus new drawings for the rear bumper, suspension A-arms and wheel hubs.
http://i.imgur.com/QBaZ9YI.png
http://i.imgur.com/Fl93Jk2.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/va6nz3R.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/OxXykFm.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/OYl2MT2.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/e288Xhd.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/ycXP15G.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/m9PuOUD.png