Backdraft Motorsport S3 Endurance Race Car build

We havent weighed anything yet. We know the car weighs 1455kg in std trim, and we will do a final weigh in once it's all together. The cage is braced to the front struts and that should create some strength but we might look into a strut brace. It all depends how the car performs on track.

We should be getting some nice new parts in soon (suspension, ARB's, brakes etc etc) so I will stick up some photos when we have them in. I will try and do some weight comparissions where I can.

Not sure what we are doing with the bonnet yet, but we plan to do a complete flat floor, splitter and diffuser. I imagine we will also make some dive plains and a decent rear wing, but all in good time ;-)


thanx for your replies..

you said "We know the car weighs 1455kg in std trim" did you weigh the car in standard trim? i am asking this because when i removed the rear seats and replaced oem front seats with sparcos the car was still weighing around 1450! i should have weighed the car before removing anything. mine had a sunroof and leather interior as optional..

what sort of material are you using to get a flat floor? i am also trying to improve the aerodynamics but without a rear wing..
BTW any info on the brake specs?
 
thanx for your replies..

you said "We know the car weighs 1455kg in std trim" did you weigh the car in standard trim? i am asking this because when i removed the rear seats and replaced oem front seats with sparcos the car was still weighing around 1450! i should have weighed the car before removing anything. mine had a sunroof and leather interior as optional..

what sort of material are you using to get a flat floor? i am also trying to improve the aerodynamics but without a rear wing..
BTW any info on the brake specs?

I got the weight from Audi's brochure. Now you mention it I wish we stuck it on our corner weight scales before we started but it's too late for that now. I imagine that weight doesn't take into account any fuel in the petrol tank. That might be the difference? And if you have DSG that is also heavier than the manual box.

We haven't looked at the floor design in any real detail yet but I think we will use a similar material to what we use on our Gallardos... corrugated aluminium sandwiched between two thin sheets of Ali. Light but strong enough. Like I say we aren't sure yet but once we have it done we will post it up.

More info to come on the brakes. Just finalising some details and then we can let you all know.
 
I got the weight from Audi's brochure. Now you mention it I wish we stuck it on our corner weight scales before we started but it's too late for that now. I imagine that weight doesn't take into account any fuel in the petrol tank. That might be the difference? And if you have DSG that is also heavier than the manual box.

We haven't looked at the floor design in any real detail yet but I think we will use a similar material to what we use on our Gallardos... corrugated aluminium sandwiched between two thin sheets of Ali. Light but strong enough. Like I say we aren't sure yet but once we have it done we will post it up.

More info to come on the brakes. Just finalising some details and then we can let you all know.

i think this mentioned weight is without any optional equipment and without fluids.
mine is not dsg but i have sunroof which is around +15kg.
 
Received some nice shiny parts earlier in the week... exciting times :)

Raceseat.jpg

Tillett B7 carbon fiber race seat. One of the first in the country. This is the lightest FIA approved seat on the market weighing a mere 3.5kg! Next job is to position the seat bars and mounts so we can get the seat fitted...

Seatfitting.jpg

Wrapped up. Wouldn't want to scratch it when trial fitting!

Seatlugs.jpg

We have needed to make various brackets. These are part of the seat assembly. More pics to follow as the seat gets fitted...

ATLtank.jpg

Purpose built FIA approved fuel tank by ATL. World renowned fuel cell manufacturers this little beauty will hold 120 ltrs so we can do long stints and avoid having to fill up every 30 mins! The original fuel tank wont be going back in the car...

SteeringWheel.jpg

Quick release steering wheel boss & MOMO wheel.

Steering wheel and seats from MSAR Safety. Thanks to the guys and girls there for fantastic service and assistance.
Plenty more parts and updates to follow...
 
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£170 to fill that fuel cell on super unleaded, never mind race fuel.. :icon_thumright:
 
Hi everyone... thought this was due an update. Things have been pretty busy at BDM these past few weeks which has meant the S3 has had to take a back seat... but here are a few photos of the latest developments.

S3.jpg

As I’m sure some of you might have noticed, the car was rather dirty so yesterday it was given a clean. Looks loads better for it.

S34.jpg

Dash has been modified and trimmed to fit nicely around the roll cage bars

S32.jpg


S33.jpg


Passengers and drivers seat bars are now fabricated into place

S31.jpg


Sitting in good company with the 3 GT3 cars currently being rebuilt. :cool:

So like I say, progress has been a little slow... and we still have a few more mods to do to the chassis before it’s sent away for painting but parts are starting to arrive.

Engine build preparations are under way and the block is completely stripped. The engine rebuild will be starting in the next few weeks and I’ll be sure to post pictures and a detailed spec.

Look forward to the next update.
 
Great thread & your progress will prob help with future plans for my car, How much was the roll cage? did custom cages do it?

What are your plans with the engine?

Also other plans do you have to make it handle better?
 
I see your running gt3 lambos, we do all the graphics work for United Autosports who were running audi R8's but this season are running a couple of mclaren GT3. All stunning machines in race spec!
 
Great thread & your progress will prob help with future plans for my car, How much was the roll cage? did custom cages do it?

What are your plans with the engine?

Also other plans do you have to make it handle better?

The cage was done by safety devices in Suffolk. They have done a really nice job and turned it around pretty quickly. I think they had the car for about two weeks.

We will be posting specs and images of the engine build soon so i'll be able to tell you more about that when we get started. Same with suspension etc.

So do you plan to make yours into a full on race /track day car in the future?
 
I see your running gt3 lambos, we do all the graphics work for United Autosports who were running audi R8's but this season are running a couple of mclaren GT3. All stunning machines in race spec!

The R8's were immaculately turned out last season. You and your guys did a nice job. Never know we might see you at some of the British GT meetings this year as we plan to do a few with the Gallardo's.
 
So another couple of weeks have passed and progress is ongoing with the S3. The main focus for the past few weeks has been on the engine build. With the car being used as an endurance racer, reliability is key and we are using well known tried and tested I.E rods and JE pistons. Pictures below...

DSCF0002.jpg

This picture shows the engine out of the car ready to be stripped. As you can see the engine was in quite a state, but with some TLC we can make it like new.

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Stripping the engine down.

DSCF0009.jpg

Cylinder head removed and in desperate need of refurbishing. We will be doing full porting and flow, with new valves, springs, retainers etc. More info on the head in the coming weeks.

Eng4.jpg

Block face machined down to get the perfect finish.

Eng15.jpg

The block has been completly overhauled with a lot of time spent machining to get rid of any rust and defects. It's then painted to look as new. We are able to get a really good finish.

Eng14.jpg

Cylinders have been taken to 0.5mm oversize and are nicley honed.

Eng12.jpg

Crank gets refitted after being crack tested and polished. ARP main studs torqued up.

ENG21.jpg

I.E 144 x 20 H beam rods and JE 83mm 10.5:1 CR forged pistons preppared and ready to go in.

ENG20.jpg


ENG22.jpg


ENG23.jpg

Ring compressor makes sure pistons and rings go in nicley.

ENG24.jpg

Big ends are lubricated and fitted.

So as you can see things are coming along really well. What was a tatty looking engine now looks like new, and we have a strong base engine. Things are really busy at BDM right now and the S3 will take a back seat whilst we concentrate on getting the Gallardo's built in time for the pre season testing, but when we get back the next job will be the cylinder head and we will be back on here with all the details.
 
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Nice, you don't need the front bumper do you? It will probably weigh you down...better sale it lol.
 
Hi - we have been very busy with the Lambos as it was start of the Supercar Challenge beginning of April - but will be back on the S3 very soon and will make sure you are all updated!
 
After a long delay we are back with an update. Its been busy the past few months for us. We have been compeeting in the Supercar Challenge in our Gallardo GT3 car in recent weeks at Zolder and Assen which has kept us a little quiet on the S3, but things are moving along slowly.

After a lot of man hours on the chassis and interior the car has now been painted. Work that has been done on the chassis includes; seam welding in the engine bay and wheel arches, steering wheel position & pedal box assembly, raised gearshift platform, extra bracing to topmounts, air jack tubes in the front corners and rear floor. New fabricated bulkhead with turbo 'easy access' panel and lots of swages through out the body to try and save weight where possible.

Pictures below...

BDM-S3-side.jpg


BDM-S3-rear-cage.jpg


BDM-S3-pedalboxmount.jpg


BDM-S3-front-bulkhead.jpg


BDM-S3-strut-mount-front.jpg
 
Looks like you've been very busy all round.

Very neat work on the car.
 
Nice; when is it due to be built and running for?
 
Looks good! im sitting on the edge of my chair waiting for this one!

Warren! you just lurking and only comment on selected threads? where you been?
 
Yeah we have been busy with it and we are pleased with the results at this stage. The doors have been drilled out and lightened as well. The pedal box foot plate took quite alot of time to design and make but we will now have an adjustable floor mounted pedal box.

As for it's first run out, were not to sure. There is still alot of work to be done and we need to test the car as well. We are hoping it will be ready to compete in the Supersport race in the Supercar Challenge at Assen towards the end of October.

Here is a video of the Supercar Challenge series. We run the Lamborghini Gallardo's in the GT class at the same event. (Finished 2nd in class at this meeting).
[video]www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BKvGUMyxZIg[/video]​
 
Will you be selling any of those parts.
Like the pedal box for instance.....?

Good luck for the first runs and would be nice to know roughly how much weight you've chopped out of it.