Phoenix F1K.07 Build

Phoenix Announces Next Generation F1000 Car

2008-06-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Phoenix, AZ. June 30, 2008. Phoenix Race Works, LLC officially announces their new F1000 car for 2009. Dubbed the F1K.09, the new offering is a complete re-design of the company’s inaugural offering to the SCCA’s newest, and most exciting, formula racing class (FB). This will also be the platform for all future offerings from the Phoenix, AZ based race car manufacturer.

As was the case with the 2007 car, the F1K.09 car is 100% designed utilizing SolidWorks CAD software and the car and components have been subjected to numerous structural and aerodynamic analysis by designer, and engineer, Dustin Wright. “This car is built upon the success of the F1K.07, but is also built to improve on that design where we felt we could. For example, the new car has a 12% reduction in frontal area, while at the same time enlarging the cockpit area for larger drivers” says Wright.

Phoenix Race Works, LLC was the first race car manufacturer in the U. S. market to commit to building a car specifically for the F1000 market, and this new offering further demonstrates the company’s desire to be the leading supplier of cars and parts to the F1000 market. “We are fully committed to the SCCA Formula 1000 class and we will always strive to produce the best products we can for our customers” said Matt Conrad, General Manager.

Pricing for the new cars has been set at $39,995 as a “roller” and turn-key cars with a George Dean prepped GSX-R1000 engine and AIM dash package start at $52,995. Many different options and upgrades are available and detailed information on the car specifications will be available on the company’s website on July 1, 2008 at http://www.phoenixraceworks.com/.

Phoenix Sets New Track Record on way to Twin Wins!

2008-03-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Matt Conrad, in the Phoenix F1K.07 prototype established a new FB track record at Firebird Raceway while also capturing two National wins on March 8th and 9th. The new track record of 56.6 seconds is nearly a full second lower than the previous track record (also held by Conrad). "We went into this event with the goal of winning both races and re-setting the track record, and we accomplished both of those goals" said Conrad, General Manager of the company that builds the cars. "Everything we did to improve the car and driver this weekend worked" he continued, "and there is much more in the car....but maybe not the driver. The car is not holding me back from going faster, I'm holding the car back".

Conrad took a insurmountable lead in the SCCA SOPAC Division standings and will capture his first Division title as a driver and the first for the Phoenix F1000 car.

Here's a 5-minute video of the highlights...and maybe one lowlight (spin...driver error) from Sunday's race. Unfortunately, the microphone failed to deliver sound so music has been dubbed over the footage.

Richard Wins Again...and Again.

2008-03-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Richard Dziak (Las Cruces, NM) piloted his Phoenix F1K.07 to AZ Region SCCA race wins at Firebird Raceway in February and again at Phoenix International Raceway in March. In total, Richard collected 48 points and took a commanding lead in the Region's "Saguaro Series" of race events.

Congrats Richard!

Let The National Racing Begin

2008-01-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

The 2008 SCCA National Racing season kicked off for us in the Southwest at Phoenix International Raceway on January 19th as two Phoenix F1k.07's were entered. Scott Dick, from Cincinnatti, OH piloted one of our customer cars an Matt Conrad again piloted the prototyp car. The prototype experienced a broken header at the halfway point and had to retire leaving the first National win to Scott. The FB track record was established by Matt at 1:01.5. Considering that the lst time Matt was at PIR, he left with a broken ankle after his brake pedal failed in his Maloy DSR and he contacted the T1 Safer barrier at 117mph....not bad.

The second race was the very next day and after a header repair back at the Phoenix shop, Matt vowed to get his first win and lower the track record. Practice and Qualifying were uneventful and the team focused its efforts on the race. The header repair held and Matt was able to take the win and lower the track record to a 1:00.4...a full second off the previous days time. Still not as fast as we wanted to go....but the car came home in one piece and we have two National wins to show for it. Sorry...we didn't get any photos or vids of this event.

American Road Race of Champions

2007-11-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

Phoenix Race Works set out on a long journey to the ARRC race at Road Atlanta with high hopes. Unfortunately, the weekend would be an extreme disappointment as we struggled with a tire that we later found had "issues", and the driver, Matt Conrad, found the Road Atlanta circuit to be one you don't learn in a single race weekend. To make the whole weekend a resounding disappointment, a Sports Racer, who didn't know that the Phoenix F1K.07 was fully beside him going into the fast T1, knocked the Phoenix off of the track and high-centered on a berm on the outside of the turn while the field continued by for several laps. A black flag flew for another major incident that happened on the long back stretch (same guy who knocked me off the track was involved) and the field was forced to pit for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, the shifter lever was dislodged from its mount during the impact with the SR car and the day was done for the Phoenix F1k.07. Disappointment would be an understatement. Here's the car coming through T1 on a practice lap:

Gone Racin'

2007-10-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Phoenix F1K.07's have started racing and the results have been good. In September, Richard Dziak won his inaugural AZ Region Saguaro Series event at Phoenix International Raceway in his Bright Red Phoenix and followed that win up with another win at Firebird Raceway in October. Matt Conrad, in the Phoenix prototype car won the other October race (it was a double race weekend) and followed that up with another win at Firebird Raceway in December. Here's an image of Richard at PIR:

Deliveries Continue

2007-08-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here's some images of our latest delivery...another new Phoenix F1K.07 racer. This car is also a turn-key car and has also been readied for the track as we've done a professional set-up on the car at Harrison Auto Dynamics here in Phoenix. This car is headed for Las Cruces, NM.

First Production Car Delivered

2007-08-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Our first production car was delivered to the customer today. This car was a turn-key car complete with running engine and dash/data logger installed and programmed. A few hours of of preperation work and this car will be ready for the track. This car is headed for the Pacific
Northwest.

Production Continues

2007-06-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Production continues on the F1K.07's and here's a few more images. The first two cars are scheduled to be delivered within 30 days of each other so we are hustling....here the bodywork is being fitted on chassis #002. We trial fit and drill most of the holes for fasteners prior to paint so there's less of a chance of damaging the paint...

Production Begins

2007-06-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Now that we've had a chance to test the prototype car and verified that the platform will deliver the level of performance that we expected, it is time to begin the production cars. We've made a few minor packaging changes from the prototype car, but for the most part the cars are technically the same. The major changes are that we will actually powdercoat the chassis and the production cars will be much more aesthetically pleasing than the test car. Here's a few images of the production chassis during assembly:

Second Outing

2007-05-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to run the Phoenix F1K.07 prototype again over the last two days at the Firebird Main track....and we continue to be extremely pleased with the performance of the car. We also had a chance to throw a little "color" on the car so it looks more like a race car than the prototype car that it is.

The track configuration that the sanctioning body we ran with is different from what the SCCA runs....T2 and T3 are much tighter and slower. We ran a 1:00.5 yesterday when the traffic on track was pretty light, but I could barely get into the 1:01's today as we were running with mainly FF's with street tires (EFF) and a few FV's and it was extremely difficult to find any clear track. For perspective, my fastest time on the same track configuration in the Phoenix Sports Racer (same motor package....but in DSR) was a 1:01.8.An electrical "short" (not sure yet what happened) caused us to cut the day short today, but we are still very pleased with the car and look forward to getting it back on the track soon. Truthfully, when the motor shut off I thought it blew up...so an electrical short was "welcome". Our season here is ending as the temperatures are starting to get into the 100's, but I'm sure we'll be spotted somewhere with a bit cooler weather soon.

Finally....The First Test Day

2007-04-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

After months and months of tireless efforts to get the car on track the prototype test day has come and gone and we are all very tired....

The Phoenix F1K.07 came through its initial paces with flying colors and we are very encouraged with the results. I think after we review all the notes and data we will have logged well over 100 laps at Firebird Raceway's East Track and barely put a wrench on the car the entire day.We'll post some more details in the next few days, but by the end of the day I got the car down to a 55 second flat lap....not bad considering the fastest time I ever did at FIR East in my FC was a 57.883, so I'm liking where we're at....particularly since we haven't even made any performance adjustments to the car yet.George Dean flew in for the test and helped provide support and some short videos and some photos as well.

Also, the in-car camera does seem to have created some good video, but the sound didn't come out too well. Here it is......

Setup Pad

2007-04-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

The mechanical end of the car is complete and we've put it on the set-up pad to get it ready to go testing. The car came in at 703 pounds less the bodywork and front wing, so a conservative dry weight should be right around 765 pounds. Add a gallon of water, 6 quarts of oil and a gallon of fuel and the "wet" weight is close to 791 pounds. That leaves 209 pounds for the driver and gear to be at the minimum weight of 1000 pounds.

Final Preparation

2007-03-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

We've begun final preperations on the car and that means plumbing the fuel, water and oiling systems, running the brake and clutch lines and the wiring of the electrical system.

Floor/Diffuser Construction

2007-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

The prototype floor and rear diffuser is done and it came out pretty nice. The images show the piece under the vacuum and in final form prior to a coat of satin black paint. We used 7725 fiberglass as the reinforcement, 1/4" foam as the core material and West Systems epoxy. We didn't dye the resin so you see it in its natural form. In the image, it has not been trimmed to the final shape and the production units will be three pieces...the rear diffuser, left and right sides.

Engine

2007-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

The George Dean prepped GSX-R1000 engine has arrived and we've mounted up the custom dry sump oil pan and pump and installed the motor in the car. There's also an image of the custom hydraulic clutch actuation mechanism we've designed due to the fact that the oil pump is in the way of the stock mechanism.

Mandatory Side Panels

2007-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

SCCA FB rules mandate minimum side impact protection and they give us three choices.....060 6060-T6 Aluminum, 18-Gauge Steel, or two layers of 5 oz. Kevlar. We've made the choice to go with the aluminum option for now, but are exploring the use of Kevlar in the body as well.

Diffuser Mold Progress

2007-03-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

The diffuser mold continues to progress and we've used the suspended chassis to verify that the height and shape of the diffuser is optimized. Once the shape is perfect we'll coat it with Duratech and polish it out for the final mold surface.

Body Parts Planning

2007-02-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

We've really thought long and hard about the split lines for the bodywork. Our goal is to have the car as clean looking as we can, but also splitting the panels for the best access to different areas of the chassis. Tentatively, the plan is to have 7 different pieces and we'll use quick-release fasteners to allow fast removal and install of the parts. Our initial plans called for an internal aluminum crushable structure, but we have now decided to incorporate the crushable structure into the composite nose itself.

He're a few shots of a pretty large "splash" part that we pulled off the plug to begin the planning stages of the split lines and to establish the location where the suspension goes through the body.

Fully Suspended Chassis

2007-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

All of the suspension arms are back from Protech Engineering and they look pretty sweet. We've installed the complete suspension system and even had time to build the rear wing mount. The chassis got a quick "enamel bath" to make it look more presentable, but production chassis will be powdercoated in either black or light grey....customer choice.

You'll notice no required anti-intrusion bars on the a-arms as we'll wait to install them once we have the bodywork fitted and can check clearance.

Body Plug Finished

2007-02-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

After many, many hours of cutting, shaping, bonding, and bondo, the work on the body plug is finished. We've had a professional body shop put the finishing touches on it to ensure the smoothest finish we can get. The final coating on the plug is a "Laminex" sandable primer which can also be buffed out to a very high luster finish....as you can see. The plug was delivered to the composites shop so molds can start to be built for the body parts.

Rear Diffuser Mold Construction Begins

2007-02-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

We've started the construction of the molds which will make up the rear diffuser and the side floors. We start with blocks of foam stacked and glued to a 3/4" MDF board and then start to shape with basic woodworking tools (it shapes very easily with a 40 Grit sandpaper). This isn't the final shaping, but should give an idea of where we're headed.

Aero Suspension Bits Being Test Fitted

2007-02-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

We've received the aero-tube A-Arms from Protech Engineering and they have been trial fitted to the car. Everything is pretty close, but a few minor tweaks will need to be done for the production parts. We chose to only build the right side bits for trial fitting "just in case" and am glad we did because we would have had to alter many more parts and would have caused additional costs and delay.

2007-01-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

Much work has taken place on the body plug and we've actually made a few changes to the shape of the car that were mainly aesthetic in nature. The plug is ready to deliver to the painter for final prep work and will then be buffed out to a high luster finish that molds can be pulled off of.

More Plug Work

2007-01-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

The plug continues to progress as we've applied two layers of fiberglass and epoxy (the black color is merely dye in the epoxy) and we've now begun to apply body filler to start getting it ready to take to the paint shop. The better the plug is.....the better the molds are.....the better the real bodies will be.

Main Chassis Completed

2007-01-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

The main structure of the chassis is complete and we have mounted up many of the critical components to verify fitment. We still have to install the seatbelt mounts, body mount tabs, and a few other miscellaneous brackets, but it's getting pretty close. Note the Penske 8100 Double-Adjustable Shocks, Woodward Steering Rack and the Custom-Mounted Taylor Race Engineering Differential.

Plug Work Continues

2006-12-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

The plug slices were glued together using epoxy resin. A 1" hole was also water-jet cut into each piece and a 1" aluminum pipe was inserted to keep the parts perfectly aligned. The foam used was slightly under 1" thick so small cardboard spacers were used periodically to keep the length running correctly. Sanding was fairly easy as only the raised edges of the square cut parts needed to be removed.

Chassis Work Continues

2006-12-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

The chassis continues on and we've integrated the custom chassis connector units into the structure (Top Image). We've also begun to mock up critical components like the engine and differential.

Plug Construction Begins

2006-12-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

It was our plan to outsource the plug creation to a company with a large format 5-axis CNC machine and save us weeks of time in building it from scratch using the tried and true wood and 2-part foam....not going to happen as the work would cost over $15,000 and we would have to wait around 30 days as they were very busy. Plan B....and actually Dustin's plan was Plan A material. The idea was to break the car in the computer into 158 or so 1" thick "slices". Those slices could then be cut by a large waterjet out of 1" foam and all the shapes assembled into a full size model of the car.

Chassis Work Begins

2006-11-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

With the addition of Dustin Wright to the team and the purchase of a new Miller Synchrowave 200 TIG-welder, fabrication services are now fully in-house and we can start working on the new prototype F1000 chassis. The chassis is a fully CAD-designed unit constructed of 4130 Chromoly tubing and meets SCCA safety regulations. The chassis weighs approximately 100 pounds and can be split into two seperate halves just behind the rear roll hoop.

Additional Renderings Released

2006-10-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Several changes were made to the car during the design process and we chose to release a few new images from SolidWorks as to what the car was shaping into. This won't be the last set as we will do some more professional renderings once the body plug is 100% finalized. It's easier to shape the car in foam and bondo than once the molds are done...

The Phoenix F1000 Project Begins

2006-09-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

After much discussion and contemplation Phoenix Race Cars, Inc. embarks on designing and building a new car for the newly created F1000 class for Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition. After building and racing the Maloy Sports Racer for the past two years, a return to open-wheeled racing was welcome. The images show the very first concepts we came up with in late summer 2006.....a long way to go.