Potential orders for 18 inch escoz replica wheels

[jsa]

As Agar said.

Using a computer to test design strength.

The design is now more robust than the OEM was.

[Ben Purnell]

Ah cool stuff. Jan will be on soon to provide an update to us all, he's been down with the flu recently but will be back on shortly

[ossie cossie]

Awesome

[CSL Jay]

Hi Guys,

Are these still available to pre order? I did get an email before about paying a deposit but only logged in here a few days ago and PM'd to see if they are still available but no reply?
I would be interested in a set of the Big Brake Wheels.

Awesome work by the way!

Jay.

[Ben Purnell]

List updated

[Holmen]

16" VS 18"

[Simon T]

I'll stick with my 16"

[rscosworthman]

--- Ben told me my update was lost during a server update of the forum so here is a repost of the update of may 4th ---

Almost 3 months, over 100 hours of EsCos-hobby-work (on this project), 3 flu epidemics and some headbanging-because-I-cannot-get-my-point-across-to-the-Chinese-factory later: here is a long awaited update on the 18” wheels

…where to start…

To kick it off with the most important stuff: the wheel project is very much alive – even better they will go into production – and I’m confident that they will exceed expectations in terms of both quality and looks, as I went absolutely 100% control-freak on this one.
I ended up at design versions 16 and 17 (no kidding!!) of the wheels for the classic and the big brake design respectively. Obvious downside is that the project has ran into quite a delay that was necessary to ensure this high quality. Expected date that the first samples are finished is now half June – delivery to UK not earlier than September I guess. Apologies for the delay.
As I started typing this update it quickly became 3 pages long, so I divided it into three parts, each part covering more or less a month:

• Update 1/3: February: getting the contract done and solving center cap issues
• Update 2/3: March: fortify the design until it withstands the craziest loads
• Update 3/3: April: make sure the factory really understands the contract they signed

Below I will share update 1/3, but first some images of how both designs look like right now:

This is the final v17 big brake with a mock-up big brake (AP 6-pot) fitted



And here is the final v16 classic



Detailed update 1/3:February – getting the contract done and solving center cap issues
During the last update early February, the first down payment was transferred to China in order for the factory to start on the mold making. First mold to tackle was that of the center cap as it is the more complex one. It consists out of 6 parts versus the wheel mold of only 4.

By then the center cap design was already frozen at version 4 as I had 3D printed it several times and every time it fitted nice and snug with the original 16 inches.





The wheels were at versions 6 and 7 for the classic design and the big brake design respectively. This was about the time that my big help on this project jsa/John discovered that center cap fitment could be improved twice:

1. There was a gap between the cap and the wheel – allowing the cap to rattle round and wear


2. The alignment of the key was not 100%


The solution was to adjust the wheel design rather than the cap design, as I was confident that the cap matches the original ford one quite accurately. A few weeks of agony with my freelancer later it was fixed in wheel versions 8 and 9. So I made a 3D print of the center-part of the wheel to make sure the cap would fit nice and snug and I also tested the original ford center cap






Next update I will probably finish end of this week on the fortifications we did to the model to be absolutely sure that even the most severe rally usage will not result in a bent or broken wheel. As usual – let me know

[AGAR]

Good update Jan. Thanks for all your and John's hard work on this for all of us.

[Mark-C]

Well done lads

[rscosworthman]

Well done lads

All- I finally updated the docs in my signature - sorry for delay.

Another nice update is pending as my wife has visited the factory last week (and was positively surprised by the Australian general manager that runs the highest Japanese quality standards) and the first samples are expected to be ready end of this week.

[Wesley P.]

That's awesome news...
Thanks for the update

[Ben Purnell]

well done Jan, can't wait to see them now

[mk11]

would be nice if you would answer your emails after several months I have sent you several but you never answer

[jsa]

Hello Ben,

Deposit sent for 5 off classic shipped direct from China to Australia.