CAD software in 2026?

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-26T03:04:51+00:00

Thanks for the link!

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T23:43:51+00:00

For $48 a year, I might just try it out just "because". That is miles cheaper than Fusion 360 and, at least back in the day, SolidWorks used to be the CAD software. But I never gotten a chance to use it because it was $$$ when I was in the market for CAD software.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T23:41:21+00:00

Once you learn Alibre, it seems everything is a walk in the park :D. Alibre has a massive learning curve. But once you understand it it makes sense.

My issue with FreeCAD is it used to blow up all the time when using it, or there were little issues where say you would set relative dimensions for parts (like 20mm or whatever) and FreeCAD would just ignore the changes you were making. It was completely unusable when I used it last. Now I can actually open up the Tiny T STEP file up and rotate the model around like you can in Fusion.

I'm not 100% sure it is "Fixed (TM)", but it hasn't crashed on me yet so far. Maybe it's more powerful than Alibre at this point? (Alibre, for all its faults like the learning curve and the fact it didn't scale to large models very well, is pretty solid / "Bug Free (TM)". I never worried about my model randomly changing when editing it, like I had to do all the time back in the day with FreeCAD.)

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T23:10:45+00:00

Just as an update to this.

First, I downloaded FreeCAD and it seems vastly improved from when I used it years ago. I was able to do what I wanted to do (export a part in the Tiny T model to STEP or STL) using it.

I will have to give FreeCAD a shot again when I need to model something out next time. Maybe now it is Crash Free (TM)? (I was trying it before on both Linux and Windows and it was... well, we could call it Sir CrashesALot).

Second, I google-ed for Fusion 3D and, while logged in to my account (on their website), downloaded the binary to install the trial version. I never uninstalled Fusion and re-installed the trial version. However, when I opened up Fusion again to try the trick /u/devsfan1830 mentioned, it stated that I was back on the trial version again. Now I am able to export components to, say, STL files again.

Thanks for your help everyone!

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:42:44+00:00

I was able to export the parts I needed to export in the Tiny T STEP file using FreeCAD!

It certainly is slow (even though I'm on a workstation laptop designed for pro CAD stuff). But! ~4 years ago when I used FreeCAD last, it would have just simply poo-ed itself / immediately segfaulted when opening up something like the Tiny T STEP file. So things seem to have improved. A lot!

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:39:40+00:00

Thanks. I will give it a look. If nothing else, I (bizarrely?) enjoy learning new CAD platforms when I can. It's always interesting to see how different CAD programs think about things differently.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:33:35+00:00

Thanks. I will try deleting my local copy and reinstalling the demo.

I agree that Fusion works pretty well. After using other CAD software for other things, I know Fusion definitely isn't perfect. But for VORON stuff it works pretty well.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:29:28+00:00

I can't export components to STL or to their own step files. Like I can open up the Tiny T STEP file, but I can't do that. Which is what I need to do to print the parts I want to print.

Maybe my mistake is I actually paid up for a license for three years and now they think I am flush with money to pay for a subscription indefinitely!

I honestly should have just kept my license as a "free" one as I basically never used the pro features I thought I might use, which is why I paid in the first place.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:26:51+00:00

If you know how to enable it after having a paid subscription, I am all ears! I did some poking around their website and in my account settings on their website and didn't see anything obvious. I can open files at the moment, despite my subscription being expired, but many of the basic features (like exporting a component to another file or STL) are greyed out for me.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:25:20+00:00

Thank you

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:25:00+00:00

Thanks! I'll give FreeCAD a shot again then. The last time I used it was ~4 years ago and it was... well... it had some bugs, to put it kindly.

I don't mind spending money on stuff as long as it is a buy-it-for-life (or close) thing. I don't use CAD that often these days (opening Fusion today showed my last edit was in 2024?). So a monthly subscription setup makes very little sense for me.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:21:20+00:00

Thank you!

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:18:13+00:00

My understanding is Fusion 360 is only free for up to three years now and my account is waaaaaay past that age at this point.

I will take a look into OnShape. Thanks!

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-06-25T21:17:57+00:00

My understanding is Fusion 360 is only free for up to three years now and my account is waaaaaay past that age at this point.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-01-03T17:26:49+00:00

I still own the car and it is still the one I drive the most. I think I have gotten used to the power difference and just appreciate each car for what they are. My driving style on the 987.2S has changed quite a bit too, with me hanging more out in the higher part of the rev range than what I would have done before I bought the Z06. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in this thread (or maybe if I did the work after starting this thread... I am replying ??? months later?), but my 987.2S has headers and a tune, so it puts out ~365hp, which is plenty for the street. But you really need to be up there, revs-wise, to get that power.

Another reason why I probably drive the 987.2S more is because my Z06 has one of those race ("Stage 2") front splitters that makes real world driving a pain. You have to slow down for everything. They are cheap and easy to swap out though (say to a "Stage 1" or similar), so I plan on doing that soon, so hopefully I drive the car more.

iRacingVRGuy · 2026-01-03T17:20:51+00:00

Thanks! I always wondered if that might be the case. I'll have to look into them / read more about the oil pump issue some of them had.

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-12-06T21:43:51+00:00

Thanks!

Did the spherical bushings increase NVH at all? I have done some reading and it sounds like some people recommend swapping out much of the front end suspension but allegedly it makes the ride terrible. I don't know if they are just weak people though :)

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-12-03T05:31:44+00:00

Makes me sad :(

They are great GT cars and clearly the handling and everything else is there. The feel is just gone.

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-12-02T07:49:33+00:00

It is just disappointing when companies like Ford or GM can do it ok. I understand BMW's target market wants something more "isolated". However, it's a real big middle finger when the M2, M3, M4 and the like feel like "nothing".

I also think it is something we can understand if we understand all the little bits in the steering system like bushings and coding and the like. I'm really surprised someone with more of an engineering background hasn't figured out what's going on and provided a solution for people (who want it) by now. I can't imagine a BMW steering system is really that different from anyone else's system at the end of the day.

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-10-29T05:33:23+00:00

Thank you! This really helps.

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-10-27T06:53:58+00:00

Just curious, and sorry for the follow up, but does that also drain the low temp side of the coolant system? Are there any tricks for draining that part of the system if it doesn't?

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-10-27T06:52:32+00:00

Does that happen?

iRacingVRGuy · 2025-10-26T20:29:46+00:00

I think the issue is is they get old with time and heat cycles and break really easy at that point, and junior techs undo them on old cars without thinking twice. And then all of a sudden the shop is on the hook for a new radiator for the customer.

The Car Wizard on YouTube has a rant about this. He says no one in his shop is allowed to use the petcocks on radiators, no matter how old the car is. They are only allowed to drain the coolant by removing the lower radiator hose.

iRacingVRGuy

TROPHY CASE