Completed Research

Improving the Accuracy of NASCAR COT Chassis Fabrication

Principal investigator: 

John Ziegert

Department of Mechanical Engineering:

Automotive engineering
(864) 283-7222
ziegert@clemson.edu

Graduate student:

Keith Lindgren

Sponsor:

Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Brief abstract: 

DEI currently fabricates a large number of COT chassis each year. The chassis are fabricated primarily by manually welding individual pieces of steel tubing together with the aid of various fixtures. The accuracy of the current fabrication process is generally adequate to meet the dimensional requirements of the NASCAR rules. However, the dimensional variation from chassis to chassis is larger than desired, lessening the value of computer simulations as an aid to chassis/suspension tuning resulting in additional time and effort required during practice sessions to obtain optimal handling and performance.

The goals of this project are to:

• Evaluate the current DEI chassis fabrication and metrology procedures to determine the root cause of dimensional variations in suspension mounting points.
• Make recommendations for process improvements aimed at achieving tighter tolerances for suspension mounts.