UID F1 Side Plate Set V1...

[imxlr8ed]

Can't stop making parts! These little guys were tough to draw but I think I got something that is going to make F1 Racers happy! Not many options out there as far as F1 goes and that's probably why I'm going at it the way I am.

So, here they are! I've taken a bit of design liberty to add a bit of flair to the backs of them, just to make sure you know they're from UID! The stock one is in dark grey (yes... I measured every tiny feature by hand) and mine are in light greyish blue:

http://mini-zracer.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=158&pictureid=1551

http://mini-zracer.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=158&pictureid=1552

So now there's other options out there for us F1 nuts when it comes to slinging the rear end onto these! I have not purchased a set of these for testing as of yet but I will in time, I'm designing faster than my wallet can keep up! :rolleyes: But if you're feeling lucky and you want to do a first review, I'm pretty confident in my design. Plus, you're getting 3 pair of plates for a very fair price!

The new model is already in my shop and ready for sale.

Once again, the shapeways link to my shop is in my signature below. I am offering them in White and Polished, White and Black, Strong and Flexible. The default material is white so make sure you have it set to what you want when you order!

No fine print here, just the facts!
I am in no way, shape or form responsible for production or shipping or manufacturing quality of these products. All I can say is that it takes around 15 days to show up at my house after I place an order and the quality is top-notch! What I design is what I get. Shapeways has an excellent record of part quality which is one of the major reasons I went with them for this stuff.

[imxlr8ed]

I'm curious to know your thoughts/theory on expected flex pattern. I'm glad I held out buying other F1 addendum because this might be another part to experiment with.

It's funny, I still consider the side plates on an F1 to be one of the least intelligent parts on any of the Mini Z lineup. They get the job done same as any other H-Plate would on a racer but instead of creating a central point of rotation, they basically just hold the rear out there in a floppy configuration.

As far as my plates go, I think the rotation aspect would be similar to the stock plates, only now you can pick how much you want them to flex. Carbon fiber has no, dare I say, stretchiness... they do the job too but the flex is only in one direction. Plastics have the benefit of bending in any direction so I'm hoping that these will have just enough twist to them to compensate for those miniscule side to side variances when these cars are taking the bumps.

I have all kinds of ideas for the F1 but they are very far down the road from now because much of what I want to do is going to require a lot of prototyping and testing until I feel confident enough to sell them.

My major factors in deciding to produce these current plates was based on cost and the lack of options out there... plus the fact that I could do it! ;) I have also always liked how the stock plates performed but I couldn't really trust them for a full race due to their fragility. This material is much tougher than stock plastic so I'm hoping this is a better direction. Like I said before... I did not test these as of yet but because they are such simple parts, I'm confident that they will do the job they are intended to do.

Once again, dying for feedback! I'm on the same journey as you guys... the quest for more tunability and a better running F1 and I appreciate any effort given.

[imxlr8ed]

Version 1 deleted from the site, too stiff for my liking. Can still remove material to get them where they should be but I think Version 3 is much closer to where the plates need to be.