LM: Engineering

E-Rod

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Although development with the diesel powerplant has not ceased, we have opted to include the GM E-Rod package. Like the diesel powerplant, the E-Rod allows specially constructed vehicles to be titled and registered in even the strictest of states (including California) when it comes to emissions standards. It's also widely known in the auto industry, loved by enthusiasts and car builders everywhere for it's ease of use in custom applications, ability to be modified be even low budget builders and obtain big leaps in performance, and heralded by many as one of the greatest engine lines ever produced.

With this package, you can lower your carbon footprint and not sacrifice your power and torque since this engine is the same 430 hp/424 ft-lb engine from the Camaro SS and Corvette. In the past, this engine and those like it were available for installation in custom designed vehicles, but the issue was how to handle the electronics to run the engine, how to mount it, and how to pass emissions. The people at GM Performance Parts have taken all of those hurdles into consideration and delivered this great powerplant in a package that comes with the engine controller, exhaust (with catalytic converters), and Oxygen sensors. The mounting albeit, is still up to the customer.

However, having worked with this engine platform in the past, we knew that the Corvette and Camaro mounts were available as options for mounts and we could fabricate the necessary mounts on the chassis side to accept them. Other components that have to be researched for a fully functional engine are the A/C Compressor and brackets, the Alternator, and of course the right transmission for our application.

Normally this would be a major undertaking of time and capital, but with the help of the SEMA Techtransfer, decisions on what components will work for us are made much easier. As members of SEMA, the Techtransfer allows us to make a request for certain components in CAD so that we can use them in our chassis model to determine how (if) they will fit, and what we'll need to fabricate (unless they'll work right off the shelf as-is) to mount them. The level of detail, as you can see in the image below, is pretty astounding. Without these models we would have to research the parts by scouring the internet, calling dealerships, buying the parts, then reverse engineering them to put in our model. With the Techtransfer, we can submit a request for the data and usually have it within a day or two to incorporate into our model. This has been invaluable in the quest for which engine accessories - like the A/C Compressor and Alternator - can be used, and certainly which transmission(s) will fit in the car.

Stay tuned for more updates on the development process of the Local Motors Rally Fighter and the E-Rod.

The Fate of Pontiac

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:19:00 +0000

As we continue to gear up for production of the Rally Fighter, the exact reasons why GM had to slash the Pontiac Brand are the very same reasons upon which the Rally Fighter and all subsequent Local Motors vehicles are built. This is best summarized by a statement from GM's Head of Sales Operations in the U.S. in an MSNBC article about the final days of Pontiac,

Despite the pain of the shutdown, "it will pay off in the long run,” said Susan Docherty, head of U.S. sales operations for GM.

"This will let us focus our limited resources where they’ll serve us best,” Docherty added. She acknowledged that the once-seemingly omnipotent General Motors simply couldn’t keep spending billions to develop so many different products for so many different brands, and then invest the additional money needed to market them.

One of the final 2010 Pontiac G6 sedans moves down the line at General Motors Orion assembly plant last week in Michigan. The production marked the end of the line for the venerable Pontiac nameplate (msnbc.com).

Over spending on development of multiple (and unnecessary) products, then spending exorbitant sums of money to market them are largely avoided through listening to our community of designers, engineers, and consumers from the earliest stages of vehicle development to develop only the vehicles of the utmost desire, using as many existing components off the shelf across multiple platforms; then executing sales and marketing through the channels of that community, branching out to the outer limits by simply being as visible as possible in local car enthusiast communities both in the virtual and physical worlds.

The death of such an iconic brand is an avoidable one had the voice of the muscle car community surrounding the Pontiac brand that started in the 1960's and 1970's around such legendary cars like the GTO and the Firebird been allowed to truly guide the brand responsible for "building excitement." Sure, there were many factors driving the "end" of the Muscle Car Era, but that spirit could have not only lived on, but been well executed in the forms of other vehicles consumers would feel connected to, and as a result prevent the death of such an icon in automotive history.

It's these types of lessons learned from our automotive manufacturing counterparts that the engineering team here at Local Motors will strive to keep at the forefront of our minds as we deliver exciting vehicles to the underserved car loving communities of the world such that we don't suffer a similar fate.

Making a List and Checking it Twice

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:31:00 +0000

We might not be Santa Claus here at Local Motors, but we're taking a page out of his book this December.

Since the Rally Fighter prototype is returning from a long roadtrip (it left on the truck to SEMA the last week of October) later this week, then going back on the road for another couple months starting in January, we've got to make the best of our limited amount of time. Therefore, were taking this time to compile two lists:

1. What needs to be done to get the prototype ready for a full battery of off road testing and what is necessary to make it street legal,

2. What needs to be changed/added based on that for our June production launch date.

For those of you itching to see the transformation from Mihai's Interior Competition winner, it will most likely be a few more months before items like the dash and the center console are crafted to the original design Mihai so skillfully designed. The reason behind this is simple - we have one month with the actual protoype in the shop to redesign, modify and test certain things critical to the performance, safety and manufacturability of the Rally Fighter that simply CANNOT be done without the car here. Namely, we will be making modifications to the steering, finishing the wheel wells, adding seat belts, making adjustments to the shock locations, tuning the suspension etc.

Also, some of the modifications made as a result of such modification and eventual testing can affect the volumes within which Mihai's design are executed, so we will need to make those modifications (keeping his design in mind), then adapt the dash, center console etc. to the chassis and subframe. This design work will then continue in 3D CAD while the car is back on the road. Soon after it returns from it's next trip, the roles will be reversed, and the focus will be on building the first article of the dash, center console etc. maintaining the intent of Mihai's vision as close to the original as possible.

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:33:00 +0000

After it's official Release Party in Las Vegas on the last night of the SEMA show, the Rally Fighter headed to ATG in California for some final tweaks to the braking, power steering, and the electrical systems. Once there, Dave and the team from ATG in conjunction with a local BMW dealership debugged the electrical system and made the necessary changes to the braking and power steering and after only a couple days (including down time waiting for parts), the car was running and driving around the parking lot!

Here are some quick videos of the Rally Fighter's first drive:

Stay tuned for more photos and video upon our return from the Baja 1000 in Mexico (Nov 19-22) where although we won't be racing the Rally Fighter just yet, we'll have it in the pits and we'll be experiencing the event hands-on both during Prerun and the 1000 itself!

Local Motors Flip Cam Giveaway with Exclusive Rally Fighter Build Content

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:37:00 +0000

This could be yours.

A Flip Cam with video of exclusive Rally Fighter build content.

All you have to do is guess when the Rally Fighter will be completed.

Just make your best guess via Twitter by clicking this link & filling in the date and time you think it will be finished:

I think the Rally Fighter will be finished on 0/0 at 00:00 am #localmotors http://bit.ly/3EYisQ

Sure, with this exclusive content you will likely learn a thing or two about car building and the Rally Fighter build process, but you will also get a chance to see team triumphs & late night pranks. Maybe you'll meet my girlfriend who now visits me at Local Motors headquarters because I rarely return home (we've been pulling some late nights working on the build!) You might get to hear some of Jay Rogers incredible ability to quote just about any movie you can think of.

Who KNOWS what the exclusive content will include?

You can win this AND the Flip Cam if you are the closest to guess the day and time the Rally Fighter build will be complete.

Hint: The Rally Fighter will be premiered at SEMA on November 3rd in the "Making Green Cool Zone" (booth #30215).

Rules:

1.) Price is Right Rules apply. Over-bidders are disqualified (have some faith, people!).

2.) You can only guess ONCE (yes, we check).

3.) Only the guesses which are tweeted prior to the Rally Fighter build completion will be eligible.

Follow this blog or our Twitter for regular Rally Fighter build updates to help you.

Go Local!

First Ever Engine Install

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:21:00 +0000

Another Great Success today! After getting the control arms, chassis, and engine/trans cradle back from the powder coater (Prism Powder Coating just down the street from us) we got busy making the final preparations to install the engine such as bolting the engine and transmission mounts in place, bolting the cradle to those mounts.

Once those things were done, we were ready to begin the install, which took a little finesse since it was the first time we were marrying engine and trans to chassis, but overall the process went very smooth. Overall an amazing job well done by our Build Team to make sure things came together according to plan. Special thanks to Prism for getting the job done on such short notice.

More pics to follow tomorrow. For now, some much needed rest.

Chassis off Jig Table and Going for Powdercoating

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:13:00 +0000

Colby, Dave and I had to pull an all nighter to make it happen (we had several of the LM team and our Build Team assist late into the night)but we just finished the chassis and got it off the table and on to the powder coating rack.

The shocks also arrived today, so once we get the chassis back from the local powder coater, we will put them on the chassis and get it rolling post haste.

Here's a few pictures from the day/night. Check out the Build Page for more.

SEMA Build Progress from Day 7

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:02:00 +0000

Today is the 7th day of what has seemed like one long unending day of build excitement from our Rally Fighter Build Team at LM, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of today's progress. Check the build page for more images.

Some of the projects include, but are not limited to, applying wax for the flooring molds, bumper placement, body mounts, door linkage, and front lower control arms.

Vegas (and the North American Southwest) better be ready!

BMW 3.0L Diesel Engine Turned Over for First Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:45:00 +0000

The headline pretty much says it all. We fired the engine for the first time just a few minutes ago. To accomplish something like this with even the simplest of engines without any major "gremlins" (electrical or otherwise) is a real feat in itself, but to do so with such a complex electrical system as the one we started out with from BMW and to determine all of the components needed and not needed to fire the engine is a major accomplishment. We can't fire the engine and let it run just yet because as you can see in the video, it's only mounted to our dolly that we use to move it around the shop, so once we get it mounted in the vehicle we'll fire it up and post some new pictures and video.

Therefore, thanks have to go out to Steve and Oliver from ATG on delivering a stand-alone solution. Congratulations also go out to Colby Whipple from the team here at LM for installing all of the accessories on the engine with little to no information. And of course congrats to veteran Factory Five builders/owners turned Local Motors Build Team members Henry and Steve for deciphering the complex bundle of wires, modules and junction boxes which to them was a sight unseen until they opened the box delivered by ATG. Their knowledge from previous builds was invaluable in making this happen today. The power of the community at work for sure!

Now we need to get the engine and transmission into the chassis so we can run the engine.

Here at LM we mark these monumental moments with a ring of the bell hanging in the office and a shout of "Great Success!" in our best Borat voice. Check out the picture of Henry and Steve as they join in on the tradition.

Also check out the post firing pic of the team on hand for the day, (L to R) Dana, Ernie, Henry, Dave, Brian, Colby, Mike, Jay, Steve.

Body On Chassis for First time Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:58:00 +0000

A few images from late last night. We set the body on the chassis for the first time last night, and IT FITS!!! Always a tense and exciting moment when this happens for the first time, especially since we developed this chassis and body a bit different than we're (Dave, Colby and myself) used to. Typically, we will develop the chassis in the computer as we're building it, and while that's happening, away from the chassis, the body is being shaped by hand, molds made, and a first article popped from the mold. Once the chassis is mostly done (minus the roll cage), we will fit a body over it, and develop the bars to fit inside the body in physical space, then draw them on the computer.

This time around (a more efficient and more accurate way in terms of having a production solution) we stuck our necks out quite a bit and did all of the design (body and chassis) in the computer, built the main chassis to completion here in Wareham, while the body patterns were milled on the West Coast, then a body made in Rhode Island (the next state over, about an hour away). Also, I designed the roll cage using rolled tubes to fit along the curvature of the cockpit to allow more headroom and allow better fitment of interior panels, roof liners etc.(and it looks cool) so that added to our apprehension when it came time to set the body on the chassis. Basically, we set it right on the chassis and it fit right away. Usually there are some tweaks that have to be made here and there and sometimes you get some serious interference...not this time.

After that was done, we were all able to sleep much better (even though I slept in the office on the old aero bed to save the 2 hours I'd lose driving home to Boston, then back in the morning).

First Ever Rally Fighter Center Section, Hood and Trunk Arrive at LM HQ

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Here's an image of the Center Section (doors and windows not cut out yet), the Hood and the trunk that arrived today. These are part of the very first set of Rally Fighter panels ever produced, so needless to say, we're very excited and can't wait to mount them on the chassis which you can see in the background (Awaiting roll cage tubes, which are due to arrive in a few days from now). The panels have been trimmed using the scribes we designed into the molds, and both the hood and the trunk have the inner liners bonded to the outer skins.

As you can see in the image, we couldn't help ourselves so Dave trimmed the body in a few places to install a few components like the tail lights, gas cap and the side vent.

Stay tuned for more images of these panels and the carbon fiber panels which are also due to arrive soon. Also, there are more pictures from today posted on the Build Page, so check it out!

Alternative Engine Update - Scuderi Engine...First Video Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Yesterday, Scuderi released video - the first ever - of it's Split Cycle engine. It sounds good, but I would have really liked to hear them get into it a little bit to hear how it sounds other than at a constant RPM. With the promise of high horsepower (140 hp per liter) and Diesel-like torque output, it would be great to pair it with a soundtrack.

Oh, how they love to keep us gearheads in suspense! Click the link above for the video clip on the Scuderi site.

Major Milestone - First Body Panels and Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:42:00 +0000

Yesterday, we received most of the patterns and molds for the Rally Fighter. Also, when Dave met the truck driver delivering the molds/patterns at our body supplier, he was able to bring back the very first Rally Fighter Body panel, which you can see is the Driver Side front Quarter Panel. As expected, the panel is a high quality (although not Class A surface, it's pretty close) lightweight, sturdy piece. We set the side marker light in the panel to check fitment and it fits just as expected.

Also, if you visit the Build Page, you can see that the center section mold was delivered and is also of a quality construction and matches the initial concept for the structure our supplier created.

Check the build page for more pictures of these parts and stay tuned for many others!

Body Panel Inserts

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Now that the molds have been made and we'll begin making the actual body parts, there are a few things that need to be addressed, one of them being the need for Aluminum inserts.

In the areas where we'll bolt things to the body panels such as hinges, latches etc. we will need some reinforcement to prevent the bolts from pulling out of the fiberglass, and to give us the ability to tighten down the bolts properly by spreading out the load not just through the fiberglass but through the Aluminum plate, thus preventing deformation of the body panel.

Above is a picture of the plasma cutter at work cutting out some of the 1/8" thick Aluminum spacers. You might ask why we're only plasma cutting the inserts and not using the more accurate, cleaner method of laser cutting. The answer to that question is that in production we will definitely laser cut all of the flat stock for accuracy, cleanliness, and to save time, but for now when we need the parts quickly, may have to make some small changes to them, and since they will never be visible (they will be sandwiched between the outer skin and the inner liner before we bond the two together) we can plasma cut them using the plasma table. This method by the way, is far superior in accuracy and in the time required to cut the parts by hand, particularly for some of the oddly shaped parts.

Check out the Build Page for more pics.

Engineering Spirit Alive in the Community

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Recently, we received an email from Community Member Kevin Willey (TwoShoes) regarding a project he took on to make a shifter knob.

Needless to say, this is recycling at its finest. We applaud Kevin for his ingenuity, and figured there's no better way to let it be known than to share how he did it with the rest of the community. Consider it a source of inspiration...

"Recycling to the max? All the aluminum used in the casting was scrap from my shop. The smelter itself was made from an electric element from a discarded dishwasher, modified to fit tightly to the bottom half of a camp stove propane bottle. Heat retention blanket for the smelter was some old header wrap I had in the shop left over from another job. The casting method I used is called 'loss wax casting' except in this case I used pink insulation foam, retrieved from a local construction site, saved it from the land fill. I simply carve the master, coat it in drywall plaster and pour in the molten aluminum. The drywall plaster was about to be thrown out since it was too old and chunky to be used for drywall any longer. Even the power cord for the electric element was recycled. For a first casting it turned out fairly well, my method need some modification, however I am very happy with the result. Next up is a skull, going to be fun."

Go Local!

Milled Center Section - Ready for Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:07:00 +0000

A big step in the process to making the Rally Fighter Body a reality has been completed.

The hand finish work has been completed, and the pattern has been sprayed with Duratec surfacing primer, and polished as evident by the reflections from the shop lights. The surface is now ready to produce molds.

See the Rally Fighter Build Page for more pictures!

Milled Center Section - Smoothing the Milled Surface

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Our body tooling supplier has been working at a fast pace (by no means are the frequency of my posts indicative of their pace...my apologies for keeping you waiting) to have the molds for the hand-laid fiberglass parts complete and ready for shipment here to Wareham. As I mentioned previously, the patterns don't come off the mill ready for mold making.

The images in this post show the next step of sanding the ridges left from milling to end up with a smooth surface consistent with the CAD data. The blue areas you see on the center section are areas reflecting low spots in the mold. The blue color comes from applying a dye (Dykem) to the surface of the pattern.

As the pattern is sanded, the dye on the high spots of the pattern is sanded away, leaving the low spots clearly visible. This is a process used in mold shaping, auto body etc and although old school, it's highly effective. Once all of the high and low spots have been smoothed out, the next step of mold generation will begin...stay tuned!

Milled Body Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:32:00 +0000

After the buck was built, the fiberglass was applied, and the milling compound packed on, the buck was positioned on the milling table for the inception of the rally fighter to commence. However, as the photos show, the pattern doesn't have the proper finish to generate a mold right from the mill. The surface will have to be refined by hand to remove the ridges left by the mill. Once that is done, the pattern can then be used as a plug, over which fiberglass can be laid to create the molds. From that stage on, the plug will serve as the master pattern to create new molds as they deteriorate from pulling production parts.

Stay tuned for updated photos on the center section once the pattern has been smoothed out and is then ready for the mold making process to begin.

Rally Fighter Center Section Pattern Structure

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:18:00 +0000

Recently, we've received some images from the company milling the body patterns and molds for the fiberglass components. This particular image is of the Rally Fighter center section, which was generated from the surface data/drawing previously posted on the build site. The structure is constructed of wood, then fiberglass is laid over the structure to keep it from flexing/shifting. After that, the proprietary milling material will be applied, then the shape will be milled.

Pretty amazing to think that this structure at the size it is was made in just over one day.

More images to follow as we receive them.

Got Backbone? (Part III)

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Things are moving rather quickly with the chassis development, particularly in the tunnel area. One thing that helps this process and makes Colby's job faster, easier, and more accurate is having prints to work from that have the lengths, angles etc to cut the tubes as well as their location in the chassis all in one drawing.

As you can see, I've given him the required overall cut length, angles, and stock size. Also, he has the location, number of instances of the part, and the critical dimensions on locating the tubes in the chassis from the key reference points we've established.

Got Backbone? (Part II)

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:46:00 +0000

After evaluating the placement of the tape in the physical chassis, I made some changes to the locations, took down the measurements and updated the CAD data. Using the Weldments function in SolidWorks makes this very easy since the tubing profiles are already loaded into the SolidWorks Library, which means all I have to do is draw the path that the tube will follow and select what profile I want.

Therefore, once I was satisfied with the placement of the tape, all I had to do was drag the existing profile paths I had in the model to the determined locations...no redrawing cross sections and extruding, no changing cut angles, no inserting reference planes for the new tube location...all of this is generated by the software once I pick the profile path start and end point.

Got Backbone?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:14:00 +0000

These images show the development of the tunnel or "backbone" of the chassis. The tubes have been designed in SolidWorks first taking into account all of the components they will have to package and have been placed with passenger seating in mind. The tape you see in the pictures is a quick way we check the placement of those tubes to get perspective on the "feel" factor which you don't get in the computer.

Therefore, I set a seat in the chassis using the H Point in the model as a reference to check the placement of the tubes/tape, how they affect seating, pedal placement etc., and will modify their locations accordingly. This is much faster than cutting sample tubes, tack welding them in place, re-cutting and moving as needed, then re-evaluating since I can put the tape down and pick it up and move it a number of times to get the right placement and then make the changes in the model before cutting the actual tubes.

Farewell to the Voice of the Engineering Community!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

If you've been following the Vehicle Engineering Blog over the last few months, you'll know that our intern, Alex has been at the controls of the Blog. Or, maybe you didn't notice since Alex picked up right where I left off doing an excellent job continuing to educate and share knowledge of both the LM Engineer's most technical of advances and the simplest of duties in developing the Rally Fighter with equal ease and effectiveness.

The same applies for many of the Rally Fighter Build Page posts, which Alex also shepherded through the sometimes turbulent trails of vehicle development. This is no easy feat for a first year engineering student, especially considering how quickly we move here at Local Motors. And if that wasn't enough, all of this was done under the scrutinizing eye of the online community. Furthermore, Alex was able to do so largely on his own and the blogs and build posts you've read were completely word-smithed by him with support coming mostly in the form of images to back up his points.

Alex's last day was Friday, and he's moving on to enjoying the last bit of the summer on the Cape, running some races, and hopefully relaxing before returning to Northeastern University. As an NU Alum myself, I recall what it was like on my first co-op job and if I would have been able to step into an environment such as this as seamlessly as Alex ("A-Rod" as I jokingly called him) did. It was both a pleasure and a great asset to have him here in this crucial period in the development of both the Rally Fighter and Local Motors as a company, and we wish him well.

Feel free to do the same by posting your comments here!

Engineering Competition Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Congratulations to FILSKI who has won Local Motors first ever engineering competition!
Congratulations to the braunarsch (2nd place), and ely862me (3rd place)!

Winning designs:

FILSKI (1st):

braunarsch (2nd):

ely862me (3rd):

Every contestant's entry was scrutinized and voted on by the whole LM community, and after the voting was closed (Tuesday 12pm est) these three individuals had the highest scores. But, every entry was strong and feasible for the Race Edition Rally Fighter; which says how competitive this really was.

Each contestant started with three things; a competition description, an igs file of the roof section of the Rally Fighter, and an igs file of the lights. From these three things alone all of the contestant met or exceeded every required deliverable; providing the community with fantastic innovative designs, and a complete understanding of the designs.

By making our chassis data available this became an open source engineering competition with each contestant employing their own CAD software skills. This is the first of many engineering competitions of this nature as we finalize and release more chassis data for the Rally Fighter.

Everyone here at LM is impressed and awed by the quality of the entrys! Thank you to all of the contestants for their hard work and great effort in this competition. We look forward to the next competition!

Engineering Competition: Voting Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Pisani) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:37:00 +0000

The submission period for the Roof Mounted Light Bar Engineering Competition has come to an end, and has been a great success!

There are 12 entries, each of which is impressive in it's own right. Each entrant took a very different approach with their design. These diverse submissions are the essence and beauty of the open source aspects of this competition. All we gave to the public was the ignition kit (click here to download it) which includes .igs files of the roof section of the Rally Fighter and the 8'' lights we are using, and the following guidelines.

Must mount to the Rally Fighter Frame, (as defined in the Rally Fighter Frame igs file in the Ignition Kit)
Must be foldable, reducible, removable or covered to protect the lights on the roof while not in use.
Must use the specified 8" lights

Now that the submission period is closed it's time to vote on the best design. But, when I say design I don't mean just aesthetics, I mean consider primarily function, buildability (IE. cost and time to build, strength, weight, simplicity, ease of operation and folding/removal), followed by form and aesthetics. Below you can see a few of the submissions. Click here to come comment and vote on them all. Click here to come comment and vote on them all.
Tell us what you think!