Race car interior layout pics

[Damon in STL]

My race car has evolved over the years from a stripped out street car with a basic six point cage to something just short of a fully modified race car. I'm currently in the process of planning the installation of all the electronics (IQ3 with analog box, LM1 with AUX box, MegaSquirt Unit, and the ABS computer). In addition I'm moving my ABS pump to the front passenger area which currently has the fire bottle light weight battery, Cool Suit cooler, and switch panel (just right of e-brake location). Hmm.....anything I missed?

So, before I spend countless hours installing and re-wiring all this stuff.....I want to look at as many race car interior pics as possible. Everything evolves. Since my car is a NASA GTS car (BMW Mod), I'm not very limited on what I can and can't do. With that in mind, I want to plan for the future and make sure I have as many future possibilities identified as possible. Cage enhancements may be the largest limiting factor.

Anyway....I've been searching for race car interiors and have found a few.....I want more!

Oh....and I'm currently running dashless.

Damon in STL

[osborni]

I've not layed out a race car, but I've done a lot of work with industrial equipment and operator environment design. Mostly industrial work, but also consumer stuff. The principles are the same. a lot of the basics are pretty easy to see in aircraft or military vehicles.

I've had the misfortune to have to do maintenance on a locomotive where it took 2 hours to get to a 5 minute job as 1/2 an electronics cabinet had to be removed. I wasn't very happy with the engineer that did that.

Doing it wells takes more time then you think, but will save 10x the time later if it's done right. Simply start laying stuff out in the car. Tape it up and think about wire routing, etc. Use tape to lay out routes, etc. Think about maintenance and failure modes. Leave it and come back to it in a few days to see if you still like it and that you've thought of everything.

a) access for maintenance. Common stuff should be easy to get to. Cool shirt bottle should come right out, etc. Also make sure that you can disconnect electrical connections to remove a computer easily. Think about how big the tools are that are needed to remove items with your hand on them. Also need to be able to see the fasteners. Probably want to have extra bus/fuse terminals easy to get to as well if you want to add stuff later. You will want line of sight to the ECU computer cable, etc.

b) failure mode isolation. Don't put the disconnects for the cool shirt right by the ECU. You know it is going to drip, so don't put it where water would do bad things. Also put it so when water does drip, it won't drip where it can't be cleaned up. Also think about where the hoses are going to go if a fitting let's go. Ideally the hoses should be secured so they don't spray on you or electronics if the hose fails. Don't put electronics where they can overheat if an exhaust hanger fails, etc.

c) diagnostics. Test points for power and relays should be easy to get to.

d) ergonomics. Everything that needs to be switched or reset should be easy to get to and see with helmet on and strapped in. Also don't put power lines or hoses right where you would put a foot or hand.

e) separate mission critical switches and lights from non-mission critical switches and lights. Don't put the cooler shirt switch next to the ECU power switch. Put the commonly used switches in the easiest to see and reach place. Ditto for mission critical warning lights from status lights. Oil and water pressure and water temp lights should be physically separate from standard power on lights. There are switches that are used in the paddock and switches that are used on track. Wipers and defrost should be high and center, where the radiator fan can be down low.

[OLD MAN]

+1 on all osborni mentioned,

I would add to his ease of service part by saying, when possible put each the group of controls/system on one piece of board or aluminum. For example put all the igition controls on one mounting plate with one point of disconnect so by removing a few screws and a couple of connections you can pull it all out at once for bench testing or replacement.

I used circuit breakers instead of fuses, and they are installed and wired right above the switches they feed easy to see when they pop out and easy to push back in when they cool down if it has not been a total melt down that is. So far the only one that pops is the cooling fan when on high, too much amp draw.

This is not high tech but a picture - the whole panel comes out and has one point of disconnect for servicing:

[clopez95m3]

+1 on all osborni mentioned,

+2

Look at some of the pro-car builds, PTG, Turner, Fall-Line. They all seem to lay out things pretty well.

One mistake I see club racers do over and over is put the kill switch where they can accidentally hit it during a shift. That kind of mistake loses races.

Carlos.

[PCarroll]

I never got around to putting a dash in mine and now I really like it that way. It's open and airy. And debugging electronics is easy since there is no dash in the way. I think the airflow inside is also a little better. A black dash must capture a lot of solar energy.

This is from the initial build. Since then I made the switch box a little bigger to accommodate more stuff. And added a 4 channel video logger beside the data logger.

From: http://www.driversmeeting.com/pcarroll/albums/10/686

[dcallen]

Also, if you install a switch that does not have a status light, make sure you can see its status (on/off) at a glance. I've seen brushed aluminum panel with brushed aluminum switches with light silver reference designators. It made switching things on the go slightly more difficult and dangerous not being able to see the switch or know what you just turned on/off.

[TOOLEAN]

Peter, your interior is so NICE!

I hate you.

[wannabearacer]

I never got around to putting a dash in mine and now I really like it that way. It's open and airy. And debugging electronics is easy since there is no dash in the way. I think the airflow inside is also a little better. A black dash must capture a lot of solar energy.

This is from the initial build. Since then I made the switch box a little bigger to accommodate more stuff. And added a 4 channel video logger beside the data logger.

From: http://www.driversmeeting.com/pcarroll/albums/10/686

Jesus Peter...think you have enough protection on the drivers side door??

[PCarroll]

This was during the build. It's not this clean any more. I will try to take an updated picture to show what two years of racing does...

Our home track is Mosport. It's very fast and quite unforgiving. High speed T-bones have claimed more than one driver. You can't be too safe.

make sure you can see its status (on/off)

Up is on... My dash also has status lights across the bottom for stuff like that.

[Damon in STL]

Thanks for the responses!

Does anyone have any links to sites with interior pics of race cars?

I've got the switch board pretty well sorted....it is all the other stuff I'm wanting to get a good handle on where to locate it and make sure I'm not forgetting anything. One thing that came to mind was future master cylinder reservoirs for a Tilton pedal setup which could potentially interfere with where I want to place the ECU.

Things which need to be within easy reach when belted in are the switch panel, the LM-1 (recording engine data), IQ3 control push buttons, and the fire bottle pin.

Damon in STL

Edit: Peter, looking at the center switch panel....are you able to reach all of the switches when belted in?

[CP Louie]

Edit: Peter, looking at the center switch panel....are you able to reach all of the switches when belted in?

No he can't reach them. He has a crew.......... Chris

[TOOLEAN]

Damon, this reminds me of a thread I started last week. The format of this forum does NOT lend its self to anything other than Discussion. I have an entire "Interior" folder of pictures, but I have no way of sharing them with you, and I have no time to upload them all. Sucks.

[Damon in STL]

No he can't reach them. He has a crew.......... Chris

Wow...his crew comes out on track to turn on the wiper switch or hit the starter if he stalls the car for whatever reason?

The point I'm making is that all critical switches should be within reach without having to unbuckle.

Damon, this reminds me of a thread I started last week. The format of this from does NOT lend its self to anything other than Discussion. I have an entire "Interior" folder of pictures, but I have no way of sharing them with you, and I have no time to upload them all. Sucks.

I've got a similar folder specifically for e30 M3 aero enhancements....and know what you mean. I went through a bunch of pics online today and think I know what I want/need to do. One of the things I learned was that I want to make sure I do not do anything that would impede my exit through the passenger side door. I saw a couple of cars with bars and equipment that form a cocoon.....but could trap the driver if the car was on it's side or up against an obstacle on the driver's side.

Damon in STL

[JohnVanHouten]

Here's a couple of pics of the dash setup in my 325. I ripped on the complete chassis harness since it was a little ridiculous to have that much wiring for the fuel pump, wipers and brake lights ;-). At the same time, the engine mgmt has also been replaced with an aftermarket system so it was all rewired together.

This is a test fit/planning stage of the new dash. All instrumentation is done with the IQ3. Warning lights are for Oil P and Water Temp. Under the IQ3 is the display for the AFX WB02.


A little later one with the wheel installed and wiring done. The two switches in the wheel are for the radio and the two added are for the IQ3. The main electrical cutoff switch can just be seen to the left of the wheel. Also not visible is a DB9 connector mounted to the underside of the dash and connected to the IQ3 so I don't have to ever reach behind it if I want to link it to my laptop. The DB9 visible on the lower right above the tunnel is for the ECU.


The main power center--not labeled yet since I plan to paint the aluminum. All fuses have been eliminated and replaced with breakers. The five switches are Start, Main, ECU, Rad Fan and Wipers and the five relays are for Start, Main, Ignition, Fuel Pump and Rad Fan.


The wiring behind the center console.

[jpreston]

Very cool John. One question: how does your switch for the wipers work? I was looking through the circuit for the wipers in the ETM (for my E36) and got to wondering whether it would be best to keep the computer that allows for intermittent wipers, or just remove it and wire it so that the wipers only work in the "normal" or "fast" mode. I'll be keeping the stock steering column for a while so it seems like it might be easiest to just keep the wiper stalk and computer so that I can keep the intermittent feature and so that the wipers automatically return to the down position when shut off.

[vanderson]

Very cool John. One question: how does your switch for the wipers work? I was looking through the circuit for the wipers in the ETM (for my E36) and got to wondering whether it would be best to keep the computer that allows for intermittent wipers, or just remove it and wire it so that the wipers only work in the "normal" or "fast" mode. I'll be keeping the stock steering column for a while so it seems like it might be easiest to just keep the wiper stalk and computer so that I can keep the intermittent feature and so that the wipers automatically return to the down position when shut off.

For my E36, I just use a 3-position high-amp switch for the wipers, and I removed all of the stock wiper controls, etc. It really isn't hard at all to stop the wipers in the down (or close enough) position, even during a busy race. So on mine, middle is "off", up is high-speed, down is low-speed. Works well, and is super-simple.

[JohnVanHouten]

For my E36, I just use a 3-position high-amp switch for the wipers, and I removed all of the stock wiper controls, etc. It really isn't hard at all to stop the wipers in the down (or close enough) position, even during a busy race. So on mine, middle is "off", up is high-speed, down is low-speed. Works well, and is super-simple.

I have a 3 position switch as well and it currently configured the same way. The double size relay looking thing is the wiper control module on the E30 that is normally in the fusebox. I incorporated into my wiring place so I could use it for intermittent wipers in the future if I choose to. It didn't really complicate the wiring at all and only added a few onces, so why not ;-).

My wipers also don't park properly, but apparently on E30s there is contact ring in the motor that gets covered in grease and screws up that function. I've always just used the switch, but way down on the to-do list is to pull the wiper motor and see if I can get it working properly.

[PCarroll]

I can reach them fine. I also put the fire bottle behind the non-existent passenger seat so I can pull the pin easily when I forget...

I usually only hire a crew (German Motor Werks) when I am down south as they haul all my stuff from track to track. I did the drive to Sebring once and said never again. So many racers have been hurt in that long haul. By the time you get there you are too bagged to race. I leave the car with them at Mid-Ohio in October and bring it back from VIR in April. In the winter I just fly down on points. Their cost for hauling and storage is not expensive.

I also have manual wipers with an on/off and a high/low switch. Parking is hit and miss but you get used to it. I tried using a relay to get them to park and it worked great till I started the engine. Then they just skipped over park. I may put the wiper control back in. I think intermittent and single wipe would be great to have in light rain.

[IAMCANADIAN]

I've got the same double protection on the drivers side.
Mosport can be dangerous...

Mike

[wannabearacer]

I've got the same double protection on the drivers side.
Mosport can be dangerous...

Mike

Now thats a shifter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iflytii]

I've changed this a bit since this picture but it's still a pretty good representation of my interior:


Personally I like having a dash. All switches/gauges are setup with Deutsch connectors and the dash is mounted with Dzus fasteners so it can be removed quickly if needed. My ECU, fuse block, etc are mounted just out of view on a removable panel on passenger side firewall.

Couple more shots of stuff I had handy in photobucket:

[TOOLEAN]

Good Thread!