Performance gains

Hull-based ZCars Performance Engineering specialises in fast road, race and rally cars. The company is renowned for its DIY kits that can transform an Issigonis-shaped mini to a car that will outperform an Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

Built around the shell of an original mini, the ZCar has a tubular construction, fibreglass panels, inboard push rod suspension and tyres from a Formula Renault single seater. The kit car weighs less than 500kg and is powered by a Suzuki Hayabusa superbike engine, which sends 194 horsepower to the rear wheels. All this adds up to an incredible handling car that can propel the driver to 60mph in 3.9 seconds and will reach 100 mph in 10 seconds.

Founded 15 years ago as a one-man operation principally involved in fabrication, the company has evolved and grown to today's successful precision engineering business. The company currently has 16 employees with plans for expansion later this year.

Simon Smith, owner and managing director explains: “We have close ties with Hull University and their Formula Student team.” Formula Student is one of Europe's most established educational motorsport competition run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

“With our help the team produces a prototype for a single seat race car and presents it to a hypothetical manufacturing firm. The car has to be low-cost, easy to maintain, and reliable, with high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking, and handling qualities. We currently have two students working with us, one of whom graduates this year and will join ZCars as a CNC programmer and operator.”

The company is well known for its mini kits having shipped more than 500 around the globe, however, ZCars produces a wide range of bespoke vehicles including: Fiat 500s with Subaru engines and the stopping power to match; 1950s Jaguars that have been totally uprated; classic Lamborghinis and Maseratis given a modern twist; and even a replica Batmobile. In fact, any classic car can be upgraded with modern components, engines and running gear. A 1,000hp twin-engined Ultima racecar is currently being developed by the firm.

“Up until recently, we'd been subcontracting all of the major machined parts,” Mr Smith explains, “but we got to the point where we had to take stock of the situation and decide what our business objectives were. If we were going to grow the product range and the company, we realised we'd have to take responsibility for all the quality critical operations. We just couldn't continue using parts that weren't designed for purpose. When a part is 100% designed and made by you there's no longer any compromise.”

Before investing in a Haas Super Mini Mill and a Haas ST-10 turning centre, ZCars took a careful look at what else was available.

“We looked at machine tool models that were cheaper and some that were more expensive than the Haas products but we quickly concluded that we couldn't do any better than the cost/specification of the American-built machines. Also, others had recommended Haas and advised us that their aftersales service was excellent.”

The Super Mini Mill features a 15hp vector drive spindle that accepts standard 40 taper tooling and a generous work envelope of 406mm x 305mm x 254mm. With 30.5m/minute rapids and 2.5 second tool changes, cycle times are kept to a minimum.

The two machines have been set to work cutting steel and aluminium, producing a wide range of parts for the company's increasingly popular and growing range. Parts machined on the mill include driveboxes, wheel bearing housings, front suspension and adjustable suspension mounts. The lathe is currently producing batches of threaded wishbone bushes and suspension spacers.

The ST-10 comes standard with a six inch hydraulic chuck and a 12 position bolt-on tool turret. A 15hp spindle provides speeds to 6,000rpm for high surface feedrates and an A2-5 spindle nose accepts bar stock up to 45.7mm.

“We've been really impressed with the Haas machines,” says Mr Smith. “It's amazing to watch a small machine like the Super Mini Mill take 10mm cuts, and we've found that even quite complex components are simple to produce using the Haas machines, even for us relative novices. As our confidence grows we'll produce more of our own parts, and we're more than happy to produce parts for others.

“These are our first CNC machines; but to be honest, we needn't have worried about getting to grips with them. We taught ourselves to program very quickly and we were making parts a day or so after they were installed. “Operating the machines is like driving a ZCar,” Mr Smith observes. “They go wherever you point them, they're responsive and they won't let you down.”

ZCars
www.zcarsuk.com Haas
www.haas.co.uk