Pirate 4x4 banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Poison Spyder 2012 KOH Modified Class Build

Jump to Latest
268K views 1K replies 249 participants last post by  Dusty  
#1 ·
Once again Poison Spyder is building a car for King of the Hammers, this time for the new "Modified" class. We've studied the rulebook and decided to build an all new car from scratch, rather than re-work last year's car or build from a bone-stock Jeep to fit within the class rules. So obviously it won't be as hard core as all of these killer open class cars that have build threads going, but we're doing some interesting things to make a competitive car that fits within the "envelope" of a stock-ish Jeep JK's dimensions ("ish" being the operative term there) :D

Here are a couple of videos we put together to sort of re-cap what we did last year, racing the full-bodied Jeep JK Unlimited that we built in a mere 17 days, and hinting at what was coming (this was posted a few weeks ago on our facebook):

KOH 2012 Poison Spyder Racing Part 1 - YouTube

And here Larry talks a bit more about our plans and build philosophy for the 2012 car:

KOH 2012 Poison Spyder Racing Part 2 - YouTube

Here's a rough rendering of the 2012 car. It is being built on Poison Spyder's new "Venom" chassis (there will also be one more car running our Venom chassis at KOH), which was completely designed in SolidWorks:



Before we get started with the build thread and photos, we'd like to thank all of our sponsors and partners who have signed on to assist with this project:

 
#2 ·
OK, let's get this party started...

Like all of our Poison Spyder manufactured products, the Venom chassis was 3D CAD designed in solidworks. That includes not only the parts themselves but the assembly fixtures as well:



Laying out fixtures on the table to begin assembly of the Venom chassis:



The chassis was designed to be assembled in a modular fashion. First is the upper cockpit section, these are some of the fixtures to locate those components:



Here's the upper cockpit section going together:



Like our Lazer-Fit Cage Kits, this entire chassis was CNC laser cut, laser-notched, laser etched with part numbers for each piece, and NC-bent for a precise fit right from the 3D model. More photos soon...
 
B
#5 ·
I've been following your build from the start. You Jeep is bad ass. Like I said in the video...I'll need all the help I can get to keep up with the builds I've seen here. Good luck and I hope to get out and play a little with you and the rest of the guys in our class before to long.

CA_YJ said:
SICK...Good luck Larry!

Love the fact that its all done in solidworks. Tin work looks beautiful!
Click to expand...
Thank you. The main purpose of this car is to test our design and manufacturing capabilities. A lot of what we hope to learn from either the successes or failures with this car will ultimately help us build better parts.
 
#6 ·
Upper cockpit section done and set aside while the fixture table is set up for the main body section:



Beginning to lay out the main body section:



The front of the car is in the foreground. The triangular section at the rear is just underneath where the fuel cell will sit:



Little laser-cut bulkheads to strengthen tube joints. Note the fitment of the laser-cut notches, and the etched part numbers to simplify assembly:



The assembly fixtures were all designed in SolidWorks right along with the chassis itself:



Its so nice to be able to fit all of the pieces together without having to grind and fit notches!



The entire chassis is TIG welded. All of the tubular components are chromoly:

 
#26 ·
Yes, there is alot of ho hum build stuff but just in the fixtures alone this is a very cool way to build a frame.

So you bent the tubes in house and them shipped them out to have laser cut or were they cut first and then bent? Would you be willing to share the name of the company that did the laser cutting?

Again those fixtures are bad ass. Excellent execution.
 
S
#32 ·
Now this is what I'm talking about. Takin it to the limit of the rules. Haters will hate, and whine about how it's not a regular guy class because of cars like this, but those haters need to realize that there's no such thing as cheap racing and that there's always going to be someone willing to push the envelope of what's legal. Luckily for us you guys are also willing to share the process used to get there, which is really cool. I build custom vehicles every day, and I LOVE checking out builds with this kind of forethought just to get ideas for the future.

This is actually a lot closer to what was outlined in the original meeting of the minds for designing this class than those haters probably think.
 
#36 ·
I think a fair amount of current unlimited racers may trickle down to this class, especially if there begins to be some prize money involved. The envelope is continually being pushed in the unlimited class and most cannot afford to spend over $200k on a car AND race. I think this class will appeal to them as they consider a new build.



Next question, how about steering? If the rendering is accurate I see a 4 link in the front.
 
#34 ·
Dusty said:
Here's a rough rendering of the 2012 car. It is being built on Poison Spyder's new "Venom" chassis (there will also be one more car running our Venom chassis at KOH), which was completely designed in SolidWorks:

Click to expand...


Dusty, will you post up the same rendering above minus the body panels?

It'll give everyone a better idea of what the chassis looks like.

If you need to ask the boss, we'll do that for you..... Pretty Please Larry..... :D
 
#38 ·
With the lower section done, the upper cockpit section is set back onto the fixtures.



Some quick measurements to make sure everything is still where it belongs.





Larry says "hurry up and put the seats in so I can get in it!"





Adding tubes to mate the upper and lower sections.



Needs more triangulation! :flipoff2:



It's starting to look like something! :smokin:

 
S
#40 ·
I still think it'll be a few years before the majority of the class looks like this. And just to clarify my stance on it all, I love pushing the limits of rules. I love the competition and the outside the box thinking that it inspires. That said, I think it's awesome that the rules of this class allow for people to make their trail rigs legal to race. Just because those trail rigs may be "outclassed" by some other rigs doesn't mean they aren't racing, and doesn't make them less of racers. Hell, the Ftoys did pretty well in KOH the first few years. I totally look forward to seeing a ton of smiling racers who wouldn't have been racers without this class.
 
#41 ·
StinkBug said:
I love pushing the limits of rules. I love the competition and the outside the box thinking that it inspires.
Click to expand...
Agree 100% with you here. This is what drives innovation and cool new parts. This build is super cool in my book and will undoubtedly lead to more cool parts for the industry; not to mention all the cool tech and build ideas.


StinkBug said:
That said, I think it's awesome that the rules of this class allow for people to make their trail rigs legal to race. Just because those trail rigs may be "outclassed" by some other rigs doesn't mean they aren't racing, and doesn't make them less of racers. Hell, the Ftoys did pretty well in KOH the first few years. I totally look forward to seeing a ton of smiling racers who wouldn't have been racers without this class.
Click to expand...
Agree again.... some of the biggest high dollar and/or high profile rigs have had problems finishing past KOH races. Just because it is well built and has a ton of trick parts doesn't mean it can win, let alone finish; that's up to the driver and support team.
 
#42 ·
This build is bad ass.

I also think that with when the rules were released that there were only a few people with the talent and money to pull a build like this off in time.

Next year I hope to see a lot more builds like this in the race.

More pics please.
 
#44 ·
hurleygo3 said:
More pics please.
Click to expand...
Rear section coming together nicely.



Here's a nice shot of the laser-cut tube junctions. Note the index marks that are etched right onto the tubes.



Full frontal :)



Engine cage mostly done.



Another shot of the laser cut tube notches, which are especially handy at complex tube junctions like this one.



Same junction as the previous photo, now welded.







 
Pirate 4x4
posts
19M
members
378K
Since
2000
A forum community dedicated to custom off-road vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about trail reports, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, fabrication, drivetrain, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General 4x4 Discussions Toyota - Truck and 4Runner Vehicles & Trailers Classifieds Axles,Tires & Wheels Classifieds Jeep - Hardcore Tech