Collectively, all of us at here AliTech Precision are car nuts at heart, so whenever we are approached with the aim of making great cars even better, we get pretty excited.
This was another one of those occasions, and having heard about us via ___________, __________ had just the project in mind - a complete inlet system for his Time Attack Nobel ___________.
Fully assembled, the Nobel Plenum perfectly mating up to the throttle body
As with all projects, we always started with a consultation. This is the most important stage, as we are able to ascertain exactly what their goals are, and what challenges will need to be overcome. In addition, we are able to use our vast, and ever expanding motorsport and engineering experience to guide and shape such projects.
The premise of this job was simple - replace the Noble's OEM plastic intake assembly with a bespoke billet aluminium unit. This new, custom intake would offer vastly improved air flow, cope with much higher boost pressures, and, integral fuel rails who's fuel flow would only be limited by associated pump and injectors.
Showing off it's integral fuel rails, the inlet assembly sits proud in it's raw aluminium guise.
As well as the brief, as always, we need ensure that anything we manufacture should fit as if it is OEM. Our AliTech Lotus Shifter being a perfect example of this philosophy.
With a plan devised, the real challenge was packaging such a system in to the back of a Nobel in such a way that it could work optimally, and yet, not interfere with any ancillary systems, and indeed the car itself.
Removing one of the end tanks, revealing the intricate internal details.
To make sure of a perfect fit, we utilised the Roamer Arm to 3D capture all relevant coordinates from the contact points on the Nobel's engine. This, in turn, was converted in to CAD data, along with all other relevant dimensions, such as that of the throttle body and fuel injectors.
With all coordinate information collated, and a design formulated, the next stage was to program and machine all the individual components. As shown in the image below, the more complex, ducted components could only be made on our 5-Axis machine. As an added bonus, and with less setup procedures, the 5-Axis is incredibly efficient.
One of the runners going through it's second machine operation in our 5-Axis machine.
In the meantime, other, more straightforward components were machined on our 3-Axis machines. The advantage here, was being able to produce multiple components simultaneously.
A perfect example of this was the custom designed fuel rails (image below). Perfectly suited to 3-Axis, specifically our Haas VF-2 with it's ability to deep drill by utilising it's large Z travel.
All of the production, as always, was made much easier by having great programming software such as our seat of OpenMind's Hypermill.
One of the final pieces of the puzzle - two bespoke one-piece billet fuel rails
The Inlet assembly is now with it's very happy owner and no doubt, will be on a race track near you soon!