Have dipped my toe back into the grassroots racing game again...two rallycrosses and a TSD rally in the last few weeks - not sure how much my '05 can handle with its 198k miles and lack of maintenance but until the '80 is done that's all I've got.
A few weeks ago did a rallycross - my first one in 14 years. Crap I'm old...all these young kids. I used to be the young kid whooping the old guys. Now I'm the slow idiot. It was -7 when we got there - working the corners was awesome - NOT. And it was a sheet of ice, about -7 on the traction scale as well. Put it into the ice banks a few times and spent the next few days patching plastic.
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-ts7bmtp/0/O/Canaan1.jpg)
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-CDjmPfG/0/O/Canaan2.jpg)
Went out last weekend and got some used 15" rims...and then picked up some used studded tires - gotta be prepared for more ice!
Then last Saturday my 13yo navigated for me on a TSD - his first time. Whined about having to leave his video games, but did awesome running the rally computer and had a great time! Punching in the CAS changes and pauses, etc and keeping me honest - can't overstate how impressed I was with him under pressure.
The MINI in TSD mode:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-Jr73LxV/0/L/20150306_172040-L.jpg)
Spent Thursday removing the passenger side airbag so he wouldn't get a rally computer in the face if anything went wrong:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-Gvs9qxg/0/L/20150312_152427-L.jpg)
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-VhwhZPm/0/L/20150314_085508-L.jpg)
At afternoon break - 'come on pup, dump the coffee, we need to go NOW!'
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-nD9dzt6/0/L/20150314_151050-L.jpg)
Sunday was another rallycross - what a mess. Melting snow meant slush, mud, and a complete disaster of the course they had spent so much time preparing - this is what we raced in:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-L4RM9dg/0/XL/20150315_081431-XL.jpg)
Slushy mud caked everywhere - even over the roof. What a mess. On the fifth run I hit a huge hole, apparently catching the front of the skidplate - it ripped it back...dragging on the ground while I limped off the course. DNF. SUCK. I was a couple seconds off second place, too - might have trophied! Or not. 50.gif. Spent the next hour lying in the mud taking it off, fighting to get a wrench on it since it had bent back on itself.
This used to be a nice flat skidplate:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-PR2rkcc/0/XL/20150315_171720-XL.jpg)
The next morning the old girl was in rough shape:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-f4sPHth/0/L/20150315_180656-L.jpg)
Worst part was the gear shift was frozen in first - had to idle her for 10 minutes with my foot on the clutch, let it sit for 10 minutes while I walked the 9yo to the bus, then was able to get it in neutral to warm up more before I could engage the other gears. Then get the 5yo to daycare. (man that pic makes it look REALLY crooked...hope more isn't wrong with it... :D )
Never rallycross your daily driver! 50.gif
You are a brave man, that looked downright abusive on the car, and I am amazed you are using it the next day.
-7 and the window is cracked open.... -7.......
All things considered there are worst ways to spend your weekend, I am at a loss as to what but I am sure there are. ;D Anytime you are in a car trying to go fast, it is fun times.
And good on the kid, jumping in the passenger seat and getting the job done, I could never do that. I would be decorating the inside of your car.
It was brutal...I think I might get a trailer and start hauling it to events, just to be safe. There's a guy running a '11 Coupe, went out to divisionals in Ohio last year and hit the front end so hard he couldn't drive it home. The UHaul cost him $1k...
Action shot from Sunday:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-9ww5pPg/0/O/nedragway1.jpg)
The coupe is really nice:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyX/i-4JxrW9b/0/L/20150228_083002-L.jpg)
That Fiesta is the top car in my class - I'm running in 'Prepared' because of my pod air filter and strut brace...considered switching that stuff back and running in stock but there's a national champion in that class I'd prefer to not race against. :(
I spy a red E30 in the background. ;D
Quote from: Jims5543 on March 18, 2015, 10:11:07 AM
I spy a red E30 in the background. ;D
Geez...good eye. Great guy, and helped me when my skid plate went kaflooey on the last event. Between the two of you I might just have to abandon my BMW hatred.
Maybe.
I spent the last month digging myself out of the lack of maintenance over the years and pain from that slushy car breaker. Ordered a ton of parts but only got to some of the repairs - sump gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plug hole gaskets, AC delete pulley, serpentine belt tensioner, Ireland Engineering single exhaust, both e-brake cables, and power steering cooling fan.
The vast majority of my time was spent on a front frame for the skid plate, though. Stupid front end is all plastic - so even if you get a nice solid skidplate, the front is still only supported by plastic (hence, the killing of my skidplate on that last event). So I took some 1" pipe I had, curved it around the lower front of the radiator and then up to some supports I welded off the crash tubes. Tacked it all up with my MIG welder and then pulled it off and TIG welded all the seams. My fab skills leave a lot to be desired - took me DAYS of fighting. Ugh.
At least I got to see the bottom end...
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-3vs5MJV/0/L/20150410_113941-L.jpg)
Oh, and the top end.
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-rfmDPXW/0/L/20150413_130035-L.jpg)
Basic design of the skidplate frame between the crash tubes:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-K7nmJGt/0/L/20150421_174406-L.jpg)
Had to waste another $250 on a new skidplate, too (from Rennlist):
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-Fwfcrvg/0/L/20150421_174655-L.jpg)
Here's the frame, mounted (AC cooler gone - gotta love the nice clean lines of that radiator; lovingly curved by years of gentle use (ignore can of Super Lube that somehow made it into the garage from the bedroom 8.gif )):
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-CqFnhDJ/0/L/20150422_103003-L.jpg)
Hard to get a good pic, but here it is, all buttoned up - skidplate slides above that 3/16 plate of the new frame:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-kSknRr6/0/L/20150422_150107-L.jpg)
Got some stickers, too - just waiting on my SCCA ones. Should be wicked fast now. 77.gif
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-9BnSh6d/0/L/20150419_190441-L.jpg)
So after this coming weekends event I have 3 weeks to replace the oil in my supercharger and tranny (which have never been done in 200k miles), and crank position sensor o-ring; and I also just noticed my inner CV boot and outer balljoint boots are torn on the right side so I'll do those, too. Oh, and weld some new studs for my new exhaust mounts...those were all broken and rotted away... 11.gif
Ummmm.... You DO know you are driving a BMW.. yes?
I miss my 2003 JCW Cooper S but I have to say this E30 is the cats meow, it just has a classic thing about it... sort of like a Classic Mini.
Do NOT lump a classic BMW owner in with the newer BMW pricks. Older BMW's a like classic Mini's it takes dedication and love for the brand to own one.
Quote from: Jims5543 on April 22, 2015, 08:27:54 PM
Ummmm.... You DO know you are driving a BMW.. yes?
I miss my 2003 JCW Cooper S but I have to say this E30 is the cats meow, it just has a classic thing about it... sort of like a Classic Mini.
Do NOT lump a classic BMW owner in with the newer BMW pricks. Older BMW's a like classic Mini's it takes dedication and love for the brand to own one.
Just goofing. I'd love an E30...or 2002. Used to have various BMW motorcycles - some of those guys are as nuts over the brand as the car people.
Had another event yesterday - and it seems like the skidplate frame held up! I need to pull it all apart and look it over still, but it didn't break off and I finished the event so successful to some degree.
Picked this up:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-bnrjKPG/0/L/20150426_095727-L.jpg)
Came down to the wire - caught up to the first place guy for the last run - we were down by .9 seconds. Beat him by 2 but clipped a cone...ARGH! All good, though - my 13yo had a ball riding along with me.
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-mFfp4hP/0/L/20150425_155304-L.jpg)
Now I need to do something about my radiator getting packed with dirt...and guessing my brand new power steering fan is junk from all the dirt packed up in there, too. ::)
Congrats and sorry about the cone... I have done that a few times myself, one was after the finish!! I had beat the 1st place guy by 1.5 seconds in a national AX event and then clipped a cone putting me in 2nd by half a second. I bummed me out, especially since I had thrown down such a blistering run.
Sounds like you did the same thing, crushing it only to have one of those evil orange things ruin the run.
But, that is how it works.
I would like to know how you know where to put a knocked over cone. On asphalt we have chalked squares, what do you do in Rallycross? Just put it near where you think it might go.
Quote from: Jims5543 on April 27, 2015, 11:52:26 AM
Congrats and sorry about the cone... I have done that a few times myself, one was after the finish!! I had beat the 1st place guy by 1.5 seconds in a national AX event and then clipped a cone putting me in 2nd by half a second. I bummed me out, especially since I had thrown down such a blistering run.
Sounds like you did the same thing, crushing it only to have one of those evil orange things ruin the run.
But, that is how it works.
I would like to know how you know where to put a knocked over cone. On asphalt we have chalked squares, what do you do in Rallycross? Just put it near where you think it might go.
All the cones have 'pointer' cones 1' away from them. It tells you which way to go around the cone, but you also then know where the standing cone is supposed to be if hit. The course is always changing, too - there are a few safety stewards constantly walking the course - after a run group has gone they may choose to move it to get around deeper ruts and holes.
I remember at autocrosses getting there early, walking the course and trying to memorize it. Doesn't help much in rallycrossing - even from one run to the next the turns could be completely different - I try to remind myself to drive the cones not the peoples tracks that have gone before. And the other big difference is that the times are cumulative, like in real rallying. They don't just use your fastest run - they add up all your runs and the lowest total time wins. One off course and you may as well go home...
OK I looked back up and saw some pointer cones about a foot away. I guess it is safe to say you do not get many Corvettes there that are intent on rearranging the place, pointer cones and all. ;D
So when you run Rally, do you get course notes? Do you check out the course so you have a rough idea where it is, or do you just run it cold and it is easy to follow?
I know nothing about Rally Cross, I know there are some SCCA events down here for it though.
In rally you get a route/notes to follow (20 pages or more of them sometimes) - in full out stage events and a lot of TSD events they use 'tulip' instructions, which are like stick figure diagrams of the important intersections, corners, etc. In stage rallying they'll give you mileages to each one of those as well so the navigator can tell the driver exactly what they're about to get to. US rallying used to keep all the routes a secret and you had to follow what they gave you; but that's been changing and they're going to more of a WRC format where the competitors can go out beforehand, prerun the course, and take pace notes.
Action shot from Saturday - not sure why this professional photographer comes to our events; he puts up with a lot of crappy weather for a bunch of amateur wannabe's. Glad he does, though!
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-bk7LBjM/0/O/rochester1.jpg)
Way cool! and throw the power steering fan in the trash, I did 5 years ago it's not needed.
Jeff
Quote from: jeff10049 on May 13, 2015, 09:47:23 PM
Way cool! and throw the power steering fan in the trash, I did 5 years ago it's not needed.
Jeff
NICE - thx for that - even with the big skid plate on there that new cooling fan was all crunchy after that one event, bet it won't last long. I keep watching the thread on power steering removal but after that rallyx I can't imagine being able to flick it around like I needed to without power steering.
I'm now stuck in aftermarket axle hell. Replaced the CV boot and THEN started getting noise so bought an aftermarket axle from PartsGeek. Freakin' mess - the carrier bearing bolts didn't line up - off by about 1/16". Should have returned it but thought I could make it fit by opening up the holes a little. Then thought I could use my axle with the carrier bearing and the new one with everything else. Nope, knuckle was too big. ARGH.
I did manage to get the supercharger out, though:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-SSsCSxZ/0/X2/20150512_105404-X2.jpg)
Now to replace the oil...and put on my new 15% pulley... :(
Whoa..
Good luck!! You are going to love the pulley.
New livery!
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-FgvsGr7/0/XL/20150611_134821-XL.jpg)
Too bad none of you guys are local...but let me know if you need a baggy of dirt or something and I'll talk to my sponsor. 77.gif
Looking good sir! Like the Black and White livery a lot.
maybe I don't want to do that with the Crosstrek... ;
digging the new look.
Quote from: ADRay on June 12, 2015, 06:22:24 PM
maybe I don't want to do that with the Crosstrek... ;
digging the new look.
Yes...yes you do. 4.gif
With all that height you wouldn't have to worry about breaking all the plastic on the front like I did - I guess rolling it might be an issue, but isn't that why you have insurance? 62.gif
I'd be more inclined to go find a beater Imp with 200k on it for that.
but the last thing I need is another car 😁
Got some new Black Rocket rally tires (made by Keskipinta in Finland) with my fancy sponsorship dollars...unfortunately, they're a tiny bit bigger than stock so would hit with the suspension compressed. So it pushed me to finally try out adding some shims between the strut tops and the body (which I'd been thinking about since I did the struts in that other thread). Seems to have worked like a charm! I have a little more than 1/2" extra room in the fender wells now.
These are my new tires (185/65-15):
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-svx4Cx3/0/L/20150619_200143-L.jpg)
I cut some 3/16" aluminum plate that I had on hand. The only issue was that the strut bushing studs were now too short - so I welded on some longer ones. Due to the weld at the bottom of the studs the plate actually sits up 1/4" taller - netting me 1/2":
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-Sd9gfxg/0/L/20150623_112155-L.jpg)
On the back I didn't need to weld any studs in since the strut tops bolt into the body...so I stacked a couple plates (you can just barely make them out above the strut top plates here (I also disconnected by rear swaybar while I was in there - a little birdie told me it would help settle my rear end down in the dirt)):
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-8vkGHGS/0/L/20150625_154005-L.jpg)
Of course, I was too excited about trying this out so didn't take a before pic.. 50.gif
But here's the after shot - ya....there was a half inch LESS clearance on it before!
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-xccxwN2/0/L/20150625_160103-L.jpg)
Next event is on Saturday - hopefully I can put a whoopin' on, well...someone...
The PF class is all yours get em!!!
Looking good the tires look like serious business.
YES!
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-wVVP6wk/0/L/20150628_054150-L.jpg)
The MINI did well this time around - 1st in class by 20+ seconds, 10th overall out of 52 cars. I even beat 23 out of 28 all wheel drive cars. Unfortunately, still miles behind the FTD car, which was a Golf. Stripped out shell of a Golf...but he was beating me by about 4 seconds per run. :(
Next time the sponsor asks what I need I have to remember to say, 'tow rig and trailer!'
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-6zwDSDM/0/L/20150626_193112-L.jpg)
Couple action shots:
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-QRv2Fv8/0/O/canaan_june2015_3.jpg)
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-LrHmwGt/0/O/canaan_june2015_2.jpg)
(http://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-4jbkn9m/0/O/canaan_june2015_5.jpg)
Next mod? Limited slip diff...gotta get one...
You are kicking ass and chewing gum. ... and your all out of gum.
Nice gains in time I suspect a LSD will be good for a bunch more time.
I'm praying it will. Jumped in with both feet today:
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-BFTW53p/0/L/20151201_193420-L.jpg)
Think I'm going to go with the single mass Valeo conversion...and a Quaife. Helix suggested going with the stock clutch but even though I've had good luck with the dual-mass flywheel setup it sounds like single mass is the way to go. Any of you guys do a clutch on a MINI before???
I've done several, and I agree the Valeo kit is the way to go......it drives as smoothly and light as a Honda clutch - you'll love it!
Half the cost of OEM dual mass too.....and no more Chewbacca nosie!
Mine was starting to get hard to shift, especially in the morning when it was cold...and that last rallycross I did it smelled horrible at the end of each of my runs. But I never had noise and the only time I realized it was hard to push the clutch in was just after I got out of my wife's '09.
Question - I read others say the same about the cost - but the Valeo kit is $450 and the stock MINI clutch kit is $288 - assume that's because it doesn't come with the flywheel? Wondering if I could just get mine cleaned up...or would I even want to...
Thanks MD!
No you don't want to.
Get rid of the dual mass it will become a problem they are of no benefit in almost any car they were ever put in.
I have no idea why they use them. I understand the theory behind the dmf but in real world conditions I have never had a customer say they liked a dmf better for any reason.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find that going to a single mass clutch set improves your times slightly as well.
Jeff
I don't know about the times, but I can say that going to a solid flywheel does absolutely nothing to increase NVH in a MINI, I just drove a car I put one in two years ago and it's still smooth and vibration free as ever. The owner loves it, and calls it a "Honda" clutch because it's so much easier to operate, and the take up is smooth, linear and easy to modulate.
And yes, the OEM kit does not include a flywheel.
I made that tranny my bitch!
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-Vq3rzQv/0/L/20151204_182906-L.jpg)
Oh, geez...that didn't sound right. :-X
Being under the car so much I'm horrified by how it looks under there. So far I know I'm going to be doing the oil cooler/heat exchanger? - oil everywhere around that. The water pipe that runs to it? Totally rusted out, surprised it hasn't burst. Both the shift cables are rusted badly as well (plus I have a short shifter to go in so 'may as well' do those now, too). Both inner balljoints since the subframe is out. Clutch slave cylinder is weeping. A lot of the bolts even had so much rust scale on them I had to chip it off before putting a wrench on them. :(
Other than the throw out bearing I'm not sure of the list of stuff I'm going to need that's related to the actual project. :-[
Any magic and/or special tools to get the flywheel off? I hope Mod Mini has done a video for it...
Naw, it just unbolts....if you get the Valeo kit it comes with new flywheel and clutch cover bolts.
Interesting jack you have holding the engine up - looks strong enough to hold the whole garage up! Since the input shaft doesn't engage the flywheel like on most cars, it will go back in easily as long as you get the disc centered. I just eyeball them and never have any trouble....
Most people recommend replacing the release bearing guide sleeve too, they've been known to break, I'd probably look at putting a new crank seal and input shaft seal in while you have it all open and easy to work on.
I almost wonder at this point if it would be easier to remove the engine, especially for the oil cooler/heat exchanger repairs. Not much left holding it in the car now.....
Quote from: Mudhen on December 04, 2015, 04:58:17 PM
I made that tranny my bitch!.
holy shit man, the laugh of the day.
You actually found room in your garage to crack that thing open?
Quote from: ADRay on December 07, 2015, 04:07:42 AM
Quote from: Mudhen on December 04, 2015, 04:58:17 PM
I made that tranny my bitch!.
holy shit man, the laugh of the day.
You actually found room in your garage to crack that thing open?
Barely. ::)
Then I had to move 50 things to wheel the subframe outside to clean it up...wanna buy a Porsche? Things got like, 0 miles on it! [
since I had it towed home].
You better hurry!! The snow is coming.
My hat is off to you, that is a hell of a project.
Good luck, we are all counting on you.
Merry Christmas to me. Picked up a pair of these on sale from a place in Ireland:
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyXNED/i-3SrNKwR/0/L/20151210_130802-L.jpg)
Will have to wait until after the new year to order the frames, though. And then figure something out for the shoulder harnesses to mount to since I don't have a cage yet...
2016 is off! Had our first event last weekend - ugh, still 2-3 seconds/run away from that Golf. SUCKS.
But I'm psyched that the clutch seems ok, and the LSD helps a ton. Next thing I'm doing is disconnecting my swaybars. I'd already disconnected the rear...but from what I've read about FWD rallycars, the biggest gains are removing the front so that the wheels have as much drop as possible for maximum traction. The only thing I worry about is do I then rip a shock apart? I disconnected the lower balljoint - with the wheel hanging in the air the control arm can drop an additional 1.5" - will the weight of the wheel pull the shock out? Do I need to get a strap on?? 8.gif (easy there, Jim...this is a family show remember!)
Think I'm going to try it without and see what happens. ::)
Finished 3rd in ModFront class out of 7 behind the 2 drivers in the red Golf. Had my first off course 50.gif ...they changed the course just before one of our runs and I was clearly not looking up enough. Thankfully I was far enough ahead of the 4th place car that I maintained position even with the 16 second penalty. It's tricky in rallycross because once everyone in your run group has gone, they can change the course without you having the benefit of seeing what they've done - you have to always be on your toes.
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/CanaanRallyX/i-3TJrqNh/0/XL/20160116_105813-XL.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/CanaanRallyX/i-G88MrRh/0/O/canaan_january2016_2.jpg)
You said strap on.
You won't hurt the shocks, go for it.....
Quote from: MiniDave on January 25, 2016, 09:25:38 AM
You won't hurt the shocks, go for it.....
4.gif
THANKS MD!
I think the one part of your car that might be vulnerable to this kind of driving are the upper shock mounts and strut bearings. The towers tend to mushroom up under repeated poundings (like Midwestern potholes) and the upper bearing mounts can tear. There are aftermarket solutions for both problems - use the under mount stiffeners not the ones that go on top of the towers, and I think Ireland Engineering makes a replacement (and adjustable) bearing mount that doesn't use a rubber insert.
Mudhen, I am going to give you a tip that will save you a ton of money in mods to the car.
If rally cross is anything like Autocross, the best thing to mod on your car is the driver. Find a Rally driving school ( I saw a you tube video of one up your way where they use E30's) and sing up, stop modding your car and do a one day school at the very least.
When I was a rabid autocrosser, I was chasing a cat in the C5 corvette. He was always about 0.5 second faster than me and he was the big wig for a sports car club that ran an event nearby in Orlando so he was always racing.
I signed up for a couple of AX schools during the off season, I think I took 3 different stages from the same school. I got good, like really good at reading a course and driving them fast. How good?
Next Autocross, I creamed that Corvette by over a second!! Over a second!! I gained 1.5 seconds on him!! He saw what happened that day and asked me what I changed on my car. I was an idiot, I told him the truth, nothing, I worked on the driver. He signed up for the school then we went back to swapping out wins.
I took a few more classes and started to score top time of the day both raw time and pax time. I started to make a name for myself in Florida, the class my RX7 was in was B-Prepared (it is now X-prepared) back then there was another faster class A-Prepared, it had the Factory five cobras in it. I would get bumped up to A-prepared a lot due to no one in my class and they started complaining that I was messing up their points haul. So I got swapped into X-Class. (expert class with the driving instructors)
Point is, take a rally driving school, it will trump all the mods you can do to your car from here on out.
Do it!
Oh and you said strap on. LOL!!! ;D
Edit, here is the rally school.
https://teamoneil.com/
NICE!
I would LOVE to take a class up at Team O'Neil. And I agree - that may be what it takes to get me over the hump (not that placing 5th overall out of 50 cars including STIs and EVOs is all that bad - but I want MORE, always MORE ;D). But I think there are some obvious things to do to the car to get it where it needs to be as well (such as the LSD...and as I'm learning - removing the front swaybar). Removing the front swaybar is free after all...the Team O'Neil 1-day class is $1495. Ouch.
Back in the 90s when I was autocrossing a bunch I remember when I swapped from a GTI (123hp) to Corrado (176hp) I thought the world was ending. All that power ( 22.gif ) and I really had no clue what the heck I was doing. It just magnified my poor driving skills a thousand times. So I took a couple classes (autox and solo1) and what a difference! After that I swapped to a VR6 GTI and always won my class - from Maine to CT. I also took (and won) the Viggen Flight Academy at Road Atlanta - basically just the Panoz Advanced Handling school but with Saab's. Around 2000/2001 I was invited to do an 8 hour go-kart endurance race at New Hampshire International Speedway - in qualifying I put our kart in 3rd place, right behind Will Turner and some other Turner dude. I took the second place guy out after a few laps and was working on first place when we got into it and they red flagged the whole race. LOL. F'kin Turner Motorsports pussies. :D
I did just stumble on a thread on NAM about swaybar removal - some dude said, 'you can't do it with factory springs because they'll break - you "NEED" at least 450lb springs'. WHAT?!?!
You gotta watch those guys on NAM, the sway bar has nothing to do with spring rates.
I always thought sway bars effected body roll? Extra stiff for drifting along with extra stiff springs/shocks. I know the 3rd gen rx7 guys say run a stock rear sway bar and a heavier duty front. Gives the right proportion of roll to aid in wheel grip.
Yes, but in off road rallycross you want the maximum amount of wheel travel to keep the wheels in contact with the dirt, how much roll the body does isn't that important. The anti-roll bar connects the left and right wheels together, if the right wheel encounters a bump while the left wheel goes over a hole, the left wheel will be held up in the air by the anti-roll bar. No contact, no drive.
When you're driving on smooth roads the opposite is more true, you want to keep body roll to a minimum to maximize the contact patch with the road
Eggsactly. Isn't that how the swaybars essentially interact with the spring rate? I was thinking...the guys in the Golf that were talking about having their front swaybar disconnected also have fancy coilovers. So they're able to disconnect the swaybar for the additional wheel travel but still stop the weight transfer of the body with their fancy springs.
My only rudimentary adjustment is swaybars...and tire pressures I guess but at the last event I kept them at 40psi because I was really worried about breaking a bead on the frozen dirt. In the regular gravel when I'm using the stiff sidewall rally tires I play with it some, though. Messing with the alignment is outside my ability at this time - are there any cool tools that allow at home/track adjustments of alignment? My dad had some strange rods that he bought for doing the MGs...the one time I tried using them was a disaster. ::)
Cool stories Mudhen, love the Karting story with Turner. Many years ago, when I was first getting into AX, I went to the Mazda Rev it up competition where they were giving away the new Mazda 6 one year and Mazda 3 the next. You raced an AX course against "pros" for indexed time, the top time from each city got to go to Laguna Seca where you raced the winners from each city for the car.
I was 3 years into AX and raced the Miami event the first year for the Mazda 6, I was first when I left Saturday afternoon and ended up 3rd b the end of the competition, out of 15K people trying, I ended up on the local news and attributed all my speed to the AX driving school I had used. The second year I went to 2 cities for the Mazda 3 in Miami I took 6th and in Tampa I took 9th. I could not fin the Mazda 3's limits like I could the 6 and that cost me.
I did an Evolution driving school that was called a challenge school, you raced against national champs in your car with them as your co driver. It was an amazing experience because you spent the day with a champ giving you pointers pushing your car and you to boundaries you did not know existed. There were many times when I said "I did not know I could do that with my car!!" throughout the day.
At the end of the day you raced for a better time against your pro. I ended up beating my pro, the owner of the school told me I NEED to be in Topeka for the run offs that year with my car, they were positive I could win. I never went, it meant leaving my family for days, spending tons of money on travel, fresh tires, etc... all for what? a Nicer $5 trophy? I passed. I kind of regret it now.
Back to car setup.
You can align pretty decent with a string line run along the side of the car and measuring to the tires for toe in and out. You can use a level to get a decent idea on camber too. I have a camber gauge.
Or you could get this too for caster/camber:
http://www.amazon.com/Longacre-Magnetic-Caster-camber-Gauge/dp/B003750D7U
Then if the string thing freaks your out this for toe:
http://www.amazon.com/Longacre-Toe-Plates-Set-Tapes/dp/B000VAOHB2/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1453771794&sr=1-1&keywords=toe+alignment+tool
I used to do this with my RX7, one time we took it to a laser alignment rack after setting it ourselves and were pleased we were pretty damn close for string, tape measures and eyeballs.
You can always experiment, take off the front and see how she behaves, maybe even try attaching the rear with the front off, just to see if it feels better for you.
Road cars vs. Rally are two different animals, what will work for a RWD road car vs. a RWD rear cars is insanely different, throw in some dirt and potholes and everything goes out the window.
Good luck, we are all counting on you.
I do my own alignments on the minis with a tape measure.
I use frickin lazers! ;D
(http://saltirefoundation.thegither.com/file/17196670-2064-4d0f-871f-c41e9afc9a08.jpg)
Quote from: Jims5543 on January 25, 2016, 06:40:33 PM
Good luck, we are all counting on you.
:D
I remember that Mazda thing! Man...I wanted to go so bad. I think I had a wedding...might have even been mine, can't recall anymore. Either way I'm more than happy to blame my wife for my failed driving career. ;D
I've only ever been good at the real tight courses - when things open up I suck, and I suck
bad. My one time doing a road course was a disaster and I never went back. Wish I had now.
But that's what I'm hoping on Team O'Neil for - once I get the cage in, go up there for help with real road training. Will just have to wait for a BOGO day or something. ::)
Back when I first got into AX I was being told by some RX7 board assholes that my success in my car was because I was in a small pond. What the Evolution people were telling me was something different, like I said they wanted me at the nationals, even if I co-drove one of their cars.
I signed up for the 1st Rev-it-up event in Miami and when I placed 3rd overall, that pretty much shut up the forum assholes. Every big dog from the SCCA was competing in that thing and there were no excuses, one car one course.
I have lost my edge, my damn RX7 was so damn fast it messed your head up. I am no longer for for TTOD, I am more out to just flog a car and have fun I rarely even check the time boards.
Here is an old video of my monster, before the turbo swap and another 100 HP added to it. God I miss that car... I should have never sold it. When you get to the side cam it is amazing how planted that car was. This was a course meant to keep me from getting TTOD, I ended up getting it in the second run you see on this video. The 3rd was obviously slower but more fun. ;D
http://www.streetfire.net/video/rx7-at-evolution-driving-school-and-local-autox_31549.htm
Have I mentioned how much I love my rx7 lately?
Cool video, Jim!
Poking around, looking for springs. What do people with real racecars do when they say they're running, '600lb springs...I was running 450s and 320s prior to that...' - they must get them custom made somewhere, right? Fk'd if I can find anyone that will even talk to me...a lady yesterday said to me, 'we sell springs for race cars'. I said - I have a car, I'm racing it, now put me through to sales bitch! Maybe it's my approach... 8.gif
I was thinking about trying to get some used Countryman struts...even if I have to chop/cut/rebuild. They look identical, guessing the tube diameter is so much bigger it wouldn't fit in the knuckle anyway.
And my wife forbade me from even trying our Countrymans...but think I'll swing it in the garage and at least take some measurements while she's at work. :-X
My new sponsor put up a post on their blog page:
http://rennblog.com/
Sucks they have so many cool parts and I have no money... :-[
Hey, that is awesome!!
You should be proud to be featured on a site like that.
Very cool!
I just noticed my mom wrote a reply at the bottom...lol. Hey, every hit counts - good thing her last name is no longer Munhall. That'd be embarrassing. :(
Thought of you when I saw this Mudman...
(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x241/mikeday1036/Canaan%20rallyx/EE928E0B-E7A4-4C4C-AAFF-607424169A61.jpg)
Those guys are like a lot people at rallycrosses - very smart with slightly misdirected tendencies towards modifications. :D
I think they said they put that car together the week before that event. They slapped a huge turbo on it - about as big as the suspension and wheels. It looks to be all cobbled together - but they have a blast with it and I've never seen it break!! 4.gif
You have seen that IX in action then? Small world. I saw the pic posted on a E30 board and thought I would share.
Seat frames welded in...what a pain. I feel like I'm pretty good with the TIG at thicker steel - 1/8"? No problem. But the 1/16" body reinforcement plates? When kneeling on the floor running the foot pedal with my knee? Ouch.
My jig (what a difference backing the steel up with some copper as a heat sink made - amazing):
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-k9rQgFj/0/X2/20160324_084437-X2.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-SpDRMkp/0/L/20160324_190556-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-JrTWv4J/0/L/20160330_104418-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-2r7sjmj/0/XL/20160325_084631-XL.jpg)
So that's the end of putting kids in the back. Bummer. Now I need another R53. 77.gif
I also tried putting a Countryman rear strut in. Ah, no... ::). Any of you Countryman guys need a right rear strut? :D
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-xKbXKfk/0/L/20160327_072408-L.jpg)
Next up: temporary rollbar since I have no good place to attach my rear harnesses!
Just make the kids bounce around between the roll bar cage, it will toughen them up. No need for another car. :D
Rollbar/harness bar...in...as of about an hour ago. Holy crap what a job. No wonder a real rally cage will set you back $3k.
Learned a ton, though - real usage of the bender, fish mouthing tubing with the plasma cutter...and lots and lots of TIG welding. Just like everything I do - I always think it sucks when I'm done. ::)
Temporary, though. Will chop it all out when I do the real cage. Practice makes perfect? Perfect practice makes perfect...something like that.
Laid it all out on the floor for the bends (which I messed up - bent the top portion a little too much...ugh):
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-jMn48zx/0/L/20160407_153245-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-wWJMjxG/0/L/20160410_072002-L.jpg)
I had the worst time welding in the foot pads - 1/8" to the floor? KILLED ME. I ended up cheating some and using the MIG for a little of it. This is the best one:
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-np42rcT/0/L/20160411_164508-L.jpg)
This was a bad night...lol. Broke all sorts of stuff in the garage. 50.gif
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-XL6hVxH/0/L/20160409_203650-L.jpg)
[Intermission]
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Family/Universal2016/i-fN4dHNR/0/L/20160418_120132-L.jpg)
It's probably good my wife made me take a break - sorry we missed though, Jim! I didn't have a clue how wiped out I was going to be - think I was asleep around 8:30 that night - the last day we did 30k steps - 16 miles in there! Absurd. But a blast. 4.gif
[/intermission]
Little by little it went in, though.
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-8m6TH4x/0/L/20160410_133600-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-P2QqmNN/0/L/20160412_172835-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-F6xJD2p/0/L/20160421_122705-L.jpg)
Final product. After the race tomorrow I'll take out the seats again and paint it. Oh, and I need to learn how to create 'taco gussets' for the middle of the 'X'. Fun! 8.gif
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI/i-3WkdNK6/0/L/20160422_123809-L.jpg)
nice work. let me know if you want more practice ;D
Quote from: Mudhen on April 22, 2016, 11:32:46 AM
[Intermission]
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Family/Universal2016/i-fN4dHNR/0/L/20160418_120132-L.jpg)
It's probably good my wife made me take a break - sorry we missed though, Jim! I didn't have a clue how wiped out I was going to be - think I was asleep around 8:30 that night - the last day we did 30k steps - 16 miles in there! Absurd. But a blast. 4.gif
[/intermission]
Yeah, that went over like the Hindenburg. My apologies, if I came across as a psycho chick stalking you it was not my intention, I was just trying to catch up with you and buy you the beers I promised you. The bar tab at the NBC Brewery would have been epic. I was planning on taking a cab back to the hotel and you would have been walking.
I had a fun weekend up there anyway, the wife and kid are returning in 2 weeks since he has a week off of school and I am going to meet them later in the week once I get my work shit out of the way. We were purchasing passes then so we just got them out of the way earlier so this worked out good for us to get them early.
Shame we could not meet up, I just did not want to impose.
LOL...you kidding me? Go out drinking with an adult after a week with the kids? I'd have given your right leg... 77.gif
Rallycross went ok. Taking my now traditional spot at 3rd place in Mod-Front, which is around 3rd place overall. I had a multi-time national Mod AWD champion ride along with me and he didn't have much to point out about my driving...but that 'that Golf can't be beat by this MINI'. Not sure how to take that - maybe 'then this driver needs to learn to be twice the driver of those Golf drivers'...or, 'then this driver needs a new credit card to pour parts into this MINI to beat that Golf'. Either way, I'm glad to know I wasn't doing anything really horrible wrong. Stop making changes and get a better feel for the car I guess.
Not all the pics are in - but the dirt was deep so the pics are epic!
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/RochesterApril/i-WKjvsRf/0/L/roch2_ea-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/RochesterApril/i-rKFvPSM/0/L/roch1_ea-L.jpg)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/RochesterApril/i-9r65GRL/0/L/roch4_ea-L.jpg)
Final pic from this event, I promise. This was a hard shot...but I like the pic that came from it. ::)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/RallyxTSD2016/RochesterApril/i-VSRQGcT/0/O/wheelie_time.jpg)
Painted the rollbar yesterday (I bought some Pepper White paint to do my tow dolly with...so used that on the rollbar, too). As usual, learning curve on using the paint gun.
The only other time I used it is when I painted the hood and it seemed like a no brainer. But this time after I did the primer I grabbed some thinner to clean up the gun before paint, and WTF!...the primer seemed to instantly harden up! Caked on. Cleaned it up the best I could and moved on to paint. Then the paint would sometimes come out, sometimes not! By the third coat it almost completely stopped spraying.
I didn't realize I should use the reducer to clean up everything (is that really what I should use or is there some other magic cleaner I should buy?). Turns out the caked on primer clogged up the vent in the top of the reservoir so I guess I sort of vapor locked the gun. Sucked because it wasn't like it was hard enough to get around all the tubing...
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI2/05MINI2Mods/i-pdLkZgP/0/L/20160511_113012-L.jpg)
It's always something. 50.gif
Came out ok except on the sides where I couldn't get the gun into. Of course, that's where you can look in through the windows. Bummah. Will find some long thin stickers to go in there. ::)
(https://mudhen.smugmug.com/Cars/05MINI2/05MINI2Mods/i-q4MvqVr/0/L/20160511_170951-L.jpg)