DIY Ferrari 2011 Wheel

William Geuze · May 17, 2012

At this point in time I'm in the research phase for my future DIY project. I have never done anything like this, and I'm certainly no handy man. You think this sounds weird? Wait till you read what I want to do...

In short, this is what I want to build:

Features:
Leo Bodnar SLI-Pro
Shifter paddles
Clutch paddles
Hall effect sensors for clutch (Allegro A1302)
Microswitches for shifters (???)
12 rotary switches
3 regular switches
10 (knitter) pushbuttons (only if I can strike a deal)
Quick release
2 layers of Carbon fibre shell
glass fibre cast
rubber grips

I will create my own CAD drawings, guestimating measurements, with the help from some known sizes, and my own 3d model made for my 3D portfolio.

Estimated cost: €450,-

Yes, this might seem way out of my league for someone who has no experience with this stuff at all. Because it is. But I'm a stubborn bastard and I would love to do this. There isn't a single product on the market which suits me for an affordable price. Buying a Thrustmaster and adjusting that still sucks, since thats costs about 500 without the SLI-Pro and buttons added, and it basically is a plastic toy still..

For now, I have the following questions:
- According to Bodnars' website, the hall effect sensor can be connected directly to the SLI-pro, is this true?
- Is it expensive to have moulds routed/cnc-ed?
- Which microswitches for the shifters? What about the mounting, no idea how just yet.
- Is the quick release worth my money?
- Is it possible to route all wires through the steering wheel/colum into the steering wheel base?
- I will be in the market for a new steering wheel base, Im still using an old Momo Racing. second hand g27?

Any feedback, opinion, help etc, is much appreciated.

edit:
Before I forget, any plans, templates, files I create, will be free to use by the community

Im just not responsible for any mistakes in them

belldanndy · Jul 24, 2012

I have saved these link before, hope it help!

http://jlvrh.de/G27_UK.htm
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/lofiversion/index.php?t50423.html
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1499194

William Geuze · Jul 24, 2012

Not really, but thanks anyway

William Geuze · Jul 24, 2012

We got an appartment, we will be moving this month. Project on hold

Erik Hafner · Jul 24, 2012

Dont know if it can be intresting for u, but maybe u can make some parts here

http://www.shapeways.com/

William Geuze · Jul 24, 2012

Thanks, I got my shifter paddle printed with them. I have some files lined up already!

Gary Jibb · Jul 25, 2012

I gave up on building my wheel. It was going to be way too expensive, let alone the problem of trying to get serious quotes from people.
Bought a Momo Mod 101 and will build my own button panel for it. $220 was alot cheaper than the $400+ just to get my model milled.
I'm an endurance racer anyways and only the tippy top companies fashion they're own wheels. Everyone else, Momo's with their own button panels. Therefore that's the way I'm doing it.
Good luck! Hope you don't come to the giving up point like I did, but you seem to get better quotes than I ever did here in Canada.

William Geuze · Jul 25, 2012

Sad to hear that!

The milling quotes here sucked ass as well. The thing I learned is, a milled piece isn't your final result and you need to treat it in that perspective. Unless you can do it all yourself, like a fellow forummember, then sure thing. For us regular guys who just want to build a wheel without buying heavy machinery, theres just a lot more manual labor added.

Thanks for the support ^^

Gary Jibb · Jul 25, 2012

Haha, funny thing...
I bought the Momo 2 days ago after being frustrated with the whole thing, just to get a quote back today that was the same price I paid for the Momo! What a bunch of a-holes!
In all seriousness, I'm not heartbroken buying the Momo based on alot of the professional racing companies I look at in ALMS and LMS do use Momo wheels with their own button panels, where few companies use their own proprietary wheels.
Yes I would really like to have something I modeled physical and in my hands but I honestly feel that the way 3d printing is progressing everyone will have something they designed made physical and in their hands.
If you can make a finished wheel and still be satisfied with the $1000 spend than that's great. I'd sorta feel like an idiot when $1000 buys a full set of racing slicks and a membership to go to as many track days as you want (obviously that assumption may be exaggerated, but I feel there is a price point since this is, in all technical aspects, just a game. I mean sure they are super fun and realistic and technique does transfer over, but compared to a real deal racing situation... I'd race in an LMP car on a legit track for 2 hours rather than race in my very "customized" sim racing cockpit for the rest of my life.).

If you need help with anything, you know I'd be excited to do whatever I can.

I'll keep you posted on the button panel when I get the wheel in my hands.
Cheers!

William Geuze · Jul 26, 2012

Omfg haha thats awesome

Yeah even GP2 use a great MOMO wheel as well, I actually looked into purchasing one but they are way way WAY out of my league when it comes to pricing. Plus there will be programing needed to actually use the display with a computer, let alone the sims...

I wanted an F1 steering wheel ever since I used my first ever steering wheel, that was one even without foot pedals and without gear shifters, force feedback and only 270 degrees of rotation, while playing Grand Prix 2 back in the days. Now Thrustmaster released it's version of what represents an F1 wheel last year I was so let down by it, I couldn't help to think this must be done better. Sure the Zroso wheels look kind of nice, but its design isn't up to date enough for me and I absolutely love last years, and this years, design of the Ferrari steering wheel.

Yes this wheel is going to cost me money. What it also will grant me, is a stand alone rim with full control which will last me quite some years if I build it well. What ever wheel base I chuck it on, the wheel won't give a damn

Aside from all this, it's quite some fun to go through this and learn stuff.

Even though I'm thinking this through, I still expect a heap of problems which need to be solved. This isn't about knowing everything at all, it's how you go about identifying and solving problems. In the long run, I'm just a 3D artist with a craving for a good F1 wheel, so that kind of proves my point about knowledge not being everything. I think so far what I have achieved (cough) is testament to that as well. There still is a freaking long way to go but I am taking it slow to hopefully have a more steady and workable design.

Speaking of thinking it through, I have thought about stability and flex of the thing. Now with the brilliant solution Mr. Pibb in place, all the flex in the main parts of the front panel is fixed. When the little inserts aren't long enough I can add washers to the inside of the panel to counter that so that is one more issue out of the way. This way I only have to buy these mounts in 1 or 2 versions to be able to use them throughout the wheel. Where is still a potential issue though is the grips. I do know two things, the fact they are round makes it more sturdy/rigid than if it were flat shapes. Another thing is, I will reinforce those edges where the parts come together (simply can't laminate concave objects through a mold) creating a sort of C shape so the surface where they will connect will be roughly twice as large as opposed just leaving the walls the 2mm I'm going for. If needed I can even make the entire grips sections 4mm thick if that is what it takes. I will do this with cheaper material than carbon, since without baking, there is no difference in strength. back to the point, what I figured, when I made my model hollow to have it printed, I noticed I can have something inside of the grips with adds to it's sturdyness. What I had in mind is a flat cutout of the crips in aluminum which can be bolted directly onto the aluminum frame of the wheel with 4 bolts, 1 on top, 2 in the middle (horizontal bars) and 1 on the bottom. Those top and bottom bolts will go all the way through the frame and into a nut which I will laminate into the grip cast itself, basically securing the grip onto itself, through the frame.

When I do a simple count, I have 18 points in total where the front panel will be fixed to the aluminium frame. The quickrelease or adapter will be fixed directly to the frame as well, using spacers between the frame and the carbon rear panel. The rear panel has no function other than closing off the steering wheel and providing a platform for the clutch and gear paddles/levers. The gear paddle attachments will be bolted to the frame as well to make sure there is very little play. As for the clutch, I'm not sure about that one yet.

All in all, if this turns out to be one mediocre, flexing all over the place, type of wheel. I will be so freaking dissapointed it's unbelievable!

To make sure this won't be the case, the first casting will be done with cheap fibre glass and a plywood frame

If that proves to be sturdy, then with the aluminum frame in there, oh man that'll be rock solid

Only other concern is, the freaking weight! If this thing is going to weigh 4 kilo's, how will the wheel bases respond to this?

belldanndy · Jul 26, 2012

wgeuze said:
Omfg haha thats awesome

I wanted an F1 steering wheel ever since I used my first ever steering wheel, that was one even without foot pedals and without gear shifters, force feedback and only 270 degrees of rotation, while playing Grand Prix 2 back in the days. Now Thrustmaster released it's version of what represents an F1 wheel last year I was so let down by it, I couldn't help to think this must be done better. Sure the Zroso wheels look kind of nice, but its design isn't up to date enough for me and I absolutely love last years, and this years, design of the Ferrari steering wheel.

Same thought here!!

William Geuze · Jul 26, 2012

Agreeing with me doesn't get you a discount though

belldanndy · Jul 26, 2012

Shoot!!!!

William Geuze · Jul 27, 2012

It seems like something like this is used for the hinge on the clutch:

But those are usually quite short. Are there alternatives which I don't know about?

edit:
All decals done, they bigger ones will be adjusted per unit showing the serial numbers for SLI-F1 units and the steering wheel number

I'll have 00001 obviously!

Andreas Forslund · Jul 28, 2012

Hi.

I don't know if it is by choice or an oversight, but there are some parts missing in your design.

On the front: 6 external LEDs
On the back of the grips: KERS and DRS triggers/buttons

William Geuze · Jul 29, 2012

Hey,
Well spotted thanks

I haven't included the KERS and DRS buttons but yes they will be on there. Initially I have to admit I felt like leaving them out, but honestly, why not go all the way

I don't know how to mount those properly though, the space is quite confined and once in there, they are probably next to impossible to take out for example. I'll include them in the model cause I have yet to do so. If you take a look at the parts list, you actually can see those extra buttons, and two tumble switches are actually accounted for already.

The leds are actually in there, have been for a week or 2, including custom made rings for them. The mounts will be bought as they are quite standard.

I did notice I did forget to do the decals for the buttons, RF (in grey) and K, I'll add those to the decal sheet

Printing the decal sheet should be easy peasy I guess, just got to buy some decal paper that should be all

On todays qualifying session I noticed the upper left left will light up red when DRS is being used. I'm guessing the lower left will light up green when it becomes available for use in the actual race.

I'm very curious as to how you are able to program this using the software for the SLI-F1. Is this hard to do?

edit:
This is the first version of the wheel base adapter, this is part A, and connects to the wheel. Part B will be a adapter like Derek Spear offers, which connects the wheel to the wheel base. This way, you still have the same length and structure as you would with the quickrelease, and still can connect to almost every wheelbase out there.

I can probably make the main shaft a lot less beefy though, I'm curious how much it will cost to produce this piece out of aluminium as well. I will ask a quote for that later though.

belldanndy · Jul 29, 2012

wgeuze said:
It seems like something like this is used for the hinge on the clutch:

But those are usually quite short. Are there alternatives which I don't know about?

edit:
All decals done, they bigger ones will be adjusted per unit showing the serial numbers for SLI-F1 units and the steering wheel number I'll have 00001 obviously!

Please reserve 00008 for me. Thx!!

William Geuze · Jul 29, 2012

Haha who knows I won't even reach #8

I started delving into the electronical side of things, it helps to draw it out actually to understand whats going on a bit better. I only don't know how the tumble switches and rotary encoders should be connected. Do they both need two inputs?

Tumble -> up and down position
Encoder -> rotate positive and rotate negative

This is what I have so far, to help guide me later on, to know what is what. I used the info in the SLI-Pro manual for reference, so some of the connections will probably change. I like to stick to the numbers assigned to the inputs to avoid unneccesary confusion, it's difficult enough to grasp without it..
And, yes, I'm one LED output short, I hope the SLI-F1 will have one extra!

I discovered, the SLI-F1 is already mentioned in the script files of SLI-Max Manager, so I don't think it'll take 6 months for the unit to be released

Tom · Jul 29, 2012

How long until they go into production?

William Geuze · Jul 29, 2012

Wish I could answer that question myself...

Found in general.lua

Code:

-- SLI device type
mDeviceType =
{
    "BU0386Otus",
    "BU0386",
    "BU0386a",
    "BU0386lc",
    "BU0386x",
    "SLI-M",
    "SLI-PRO",
    "SPARE1",
    "BU0710",
    "SLIEMU",
    "SLIF1"
}

I might have to do some LUA scripting for some of the functions on the wheel to work as well. That will be interesting

Suddenly I remember a question I have had for a while. How do you calibrate the hall sensors? I mean, they operate at a certain distance from the magnet. What if you have fix start and stop positions of the magnet, which are both well within the entire range. Is there a way to normalize the measured values or another way of calibration??

William Geuze · Aug 17, 2012

Short status update, still on hold. I have moved to a new appartment and there is still quite some work to do. My brother is refurbishing my desktop pc and I should have that in on Saturday. Hopefully I can resume work next month.

The first thing that is going to be done is setting up a small website to try and get a small amount of funds going to help me out a bit.. Unless I have an SLI-F1 in my hands, I won't start building a prototype, since all measurements are based off of the real unit, and I need to double/triple check those between my design and the SLI-F1. So Mr. Bodnar, please hurry

a short plan of action once I start working again:

- simple site
- sli-f1
- electronics test with sli-f1 (have no clue)
- prototype front panel (glassfibre)
- prototype frame (wood)
- prototype rear panel (glassfibre)
- prototype mount (wood?)
- test drive?
- shift paddles mechanics
- clutch paddles mechanics

This should keep me busy for a while, the clutch paddles still have some issues, the mount and spring, that'll need testing and finding out what works. The drawing I did is quite complete, and the mechanics work, but finding the right parts will be challenging, and getting the 'feel' right even more so.