by Erik Jacobs
With the car idling and most of the core sensors configured, we needed to keep moving forward in our electronics configuration in order to get to a point where we could actually drive the car. Technically we could drive the car right now, but without a functional dashboard that wouldn't be a very good idea - it's kind of hard to drive with a laptop in your... lap.
by Erik Jacobs
In the last segment, we said that we had finished wiring everything, but that’s not quite true. There were just a couple of finishing touches to sort through and then we would be able to power up the chassis and start programming devices!
by Erik Jacobs
With the engine bay wiring all neatly tucked in, it was time to move on to the rest of the car. We bounced around here and there as it made sense. There’s quite a lot of harness in the cabin, and it should also be neatly tucked away. A large portion of the cabin wiring would be hidden behind the dashboard, but that doesn’t mean that it should not be neatly routed and secured.
by Erik Jacobs
When we last left Project SC300 we had finished preparing all of the harnesses and refreshing the routing of our fire system. It was now time to actually get it all in. Get all the harnesses in, that is. Properly installing wiring harnesses isn’t all that terribly complicated, but there are a few odds and ends that some people forget. We made sure to properly handle them.
by Erik Jacobs
Since we were starting to button up the car, it seemed logical to attack the fire system. But there's a little more that goes into planning a fire system than throwing some stuff in the car. In this segment of Project SC300, we'll discuss a few of the different types of fire systems, and show you how to properly install and route one.
by Erik Jacobs
The trunk harness was complete. The engine bay harness work and modifications were complete. Now it was time to finally get after the main cabin. And, oh what a project it would be.
by Erik Jacobs
When we left Project SC300 last, we had done most of the preparation work in the engine bay getting ready to start pulling the engine harness work. Now it was time to actually do the engine bay harness. Of course, some ancillary components needed to be wired and set up, too. Take a look at what we did.
by Erik Jacobs
We finally had begun wiring Project SC300 in the last installment. With the main trunk harness mostly complete, it was time to start buttoning things up. We still had the matter of the wheel speed sensor harness to attend to and probably a few thousand other things, too, like getting the engine bay prepped.
by Erik Jacobs
After over a year of slow and methodical removal, preparation, and planning, it is finally time. We held our noses and closed our eyes and clicked the button to place an order with MilSpecWiring. Dozens of connectors, hundreds of feet of wire, heat shrink tubing, buttons, pins, tools, and other supplies were finally on their way. And on the day they arrived, the panic truly set in. We actually had to finally build everything.
by Erik Jacobs
So far in the epic rewiring saga of Project SC300 we’ve managed to write thousands and thousands of words, and we don’t even have any wires pulled or harnesses assembled. It just goes to show how much work and planning goes into doing wiring right. While there is still a lot of fabrication to be done, and little odds and ends to take care of, it’s time to talk about planning a wiring job. Get your reading glasses ready- this article is going to get wordy.
by Erik Jacobs
When we last left Project Lexus SC300, we had been fabricating panels to secure all of the electronics. Even for something as simple as installing a few electronic components, it takes quite a bit of planning and execution in order to do it correctly. That planning and execution continues in this installment of the rewiring series, where we secure the Autosport Labs Racecapture/Pro2 data logger and construct other block-off panels.
by Erik Jacobs
After mounting the core electronic components (ECU, wideband, Racepak Smartwire, and so forth) it was now time to start to place controls and build panels for them. The factory SC300 dashboard has some interesting surfaces and we need to ensure that all controls are accessible from a proper seated position. But, first, we have to handle the main kill switch.
by Erik Jacobs
The interesting thing about a massive (re)wiring project is that a really, really large portion of the project does not even involve touching wires. Think about it for a moment. Once the car is completely gutted, and you’ve made your electronic components selection, and you’ve plunked down your hard-earned pennies to get the electronics into your hands, you now have to figure out where to place everything. And, if you want to do it right, that means fabrication. Double stick tape only goes so far.
by Erik Jacobs
Mr. Cooper was the teacher for my 8th grade math class, and he always used to say “there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.” When it comes to wiring, there are even fewer choices: right, and wrong. Here we begin an epic rewiring series on the MotoIQ Project SC300 Road Racer.
by Erik Jacobs
In this installment of Project SC300 we wrap up our fuel cell installation. But that's not all, the sway bar needed relocation brackets made, hoses had to be made, and, finally, the fuel filler assembly was fabricated and mounted. We also discovered more disasters along the way. Damnit!
by Erik Jacobs
When we last left our Project SC300, aka “Damnit”, we had just sat the new Fuel Safe/Radium Engineering fuel cell into the trunk area in order to mark out where we would cut. We had also removed the rest of the factory stock hard fuel lines to make way for our fancy new braided stainless lines that we will assemble ourselves. Now follow along as we mount the cell in place.
by Erik Jacobs
This is Damnit. All of my cars have nicknames, but this one earned its name long before I ever picked it up. I could write a book about everything that’s either been wrong or has gone wrong during the previous phases of this build. That being said, this is my first “real” race car. I intend to use Damnit targeting NASA Pro Racing’s ST2 class. Super Touring is a power-to-weight class with fairly open rules. Pretty much as long as you don’t move suspension pick-up points you can do a lot of things. ST2 is limited to 8.0:1 (lbs per horsepower) which, with a ~3200lb SC300 limits me to ~400WHP. Power, engine and other info will come in subsequent articles. Today, we're prepping to install a fuel cell.