I <3 My Car

"roflcopter" (roflroflroflcopter) 08/30/2015 at 22:54 • Filed to: None

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Today I went down the rabbit hole of little known machining processes on Wikipedia and stumbled upon a nifty little thing called !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . This process is pretty badass and definitely exploits everything I love about machining. If you scroll all the way to the bottom you’ll see in the listed applications the fuel tank/center console of the Ford GT and then right after that, THEY USED IT IN THE RX8!

What is now a 12 year old car still manages to amaze me. The technology that went into producing the RX8 is pretty amazing for the time.

It has aluminum doors, hood, and roof that manage to pass crash test standards while having suicide doors and no real B-pillar.

It has a carbon fiber driveshaft.

It has electronic power steering that actually works extremely well.

It has one of the more advanced ECUs even by todays standards.

And... it has a motor made of Doritos.

HammerheadFistpunch > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:01

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Fsw is pimp, especially since you can use it to weld dissimilar metals.

Jedidiah > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:03

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Now I really want Doritos. Thanks.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:04

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Friction welding in general is awesome:

6Cylinder > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:05

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If you like that, check out explosion welding.

DrJohannVegas > HammerheadFistpunch 08/30/2015 at 23:20

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This is the thing which makes it the most awesome.

roflcopter > HammerheadFistpunch 08/30/2015 at 23:22

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You can also weld plastics to metals, because fuck all you ever believed in.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:27

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that last line...

CB > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:30

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Upgrade your Dorito motor to sweet chilli heat.

TheOnelectronic > HammerheadFistpunch 08/30/2015 at 23:37

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But isn’t that prohibited by the bible?

HammerheadFistpunch > TheOnelectronic 08/30/2015 at 23:47

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It was but they welded in an addendum

Noah - Now with more boost. > roflcopter 08/30/2015 at 23:58

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I drove an RX8 once, the steering felt SO great. I can't believe that was electric PS... apparently?! You just blew my mind a little

WhiskeyGolf > roflcopter 08/31/2015 at 00:14

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I know it’s not exactly the same machining operation, but here’s a demo of friction welding that I’ve always liked

roflcopter > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/31/2015 at 09:14

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Yup, no fluid at all, the steering is still mechanically linked to the rack, but the power assistance is all electric, I don't get why people hate on it. Another fun tidbit, it's also one of the earlier cars to use completely fly-by-wire throttle control, no throttle cable at all.

Noah - Now with more boost. > roflcopter 08/31/2015 at 10:24

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also... the transmission is *perfect* I will never forget how great that tiny shift knob felt.

Bytemite > Noah - Now with more boost. 09/01/2015 at 15:41

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I would love an RX-8...if only it didn’t come with a motor that self-destructs after 80k. And guzzles gas like a V10.