iFlatBlackIan wrote:My Plans
Since Im sure many of you will ask, Im going to lay out my plans right away.
This car is being prepared to run in the Rally-America performance rally series. I will mainly be competing in the Midwest events.
I am building the car to fit into Group 2. This means a low displacement 4 cylinder engine, driving only 2 wheels.
Right now, a cage is first on the list. Once that is done, I will be looking for a set of FIA spec seats, and an engine. For the engine, I intend to run an NA SR20DE.
The suspension is still up in the air. The control arms will remain stock, but I have to find a set of coilovers to fit my needs. Something soft enough to suck up major rocks, and give me decent grip on gravel, while stiff enough to stay off the bump stops over jumps, crests, kicks, and the like. Im looking at Hotbits, or possibly Leda's.
Thats it for tonight.
Its in my profile.
I would go with some deep dish steelies and wrap them up with some off road tires. affordable right?FlatBlackIan wrote:I spent the night thinking about wheel choices. I need something strong and light, but also affordable. I will be running 15" wheels, so I may just find a couple sets of 7 spoke SE wheels, or even some teardrops. What do you guys think? I would love to run a set of Enkie 92 meshies, but they are too spendy.
Bad idea. Steelies bend too easily, they end up looking like eggs after 20 stage miles.S13k wrote:
I would go with some deep dish steelies and wrap them up with some off road tires. affordable right?
That plus a cage, some fire extinguishers, saftey triangles, and a rally computer is all that will be in the car.Razi wrote:
How's your interior going to look? Completely stripped with just a dash and a seat?
I can't wait to see this project grow.
Thats a bummer, but makes perfectly good sense. The cost and ease of maintenance was one of the things that turned me on to this idea. The only real cost would be the springs and dampers, and some rod ends, but those could be had from mcmaster carr rather cheaply.FlatBlackIan wrote:
Its a good idea in theory, but not a viable one for me. For my class, all suspension mounting points must remain in the factory postions. No pushrod, rosebud, or remote systems. Not to mention the cost. Im going for a budget build. The most important thing to me, is getting the car log booked, and competition ready.
The wheels aren't for sale just yet guys. I dont even know what shape they are in. I wouldnt want to sell someone a bent to hell wheel.
I have considered DMS, they are very commonplace on rally cars. That being said, they are way way way outside my budget. I just cant afford to drop 1/4 of my budget on a set of coils.the_momo wrote:
Thats a bummer, but makes perfectly good sense. The cost and ease of maintenance was one of the things that turned me on to this idea. The only real cost would be the springs and dampers, and some rod ends, but those could be had from mcmaster carr rather cheaply.
Anyhow, I am amxious to see the outcome, if I lived closer, and werent moving farther away, Id be down for some wrench time on this for sure.
I do wonder, tho, how much it would cost to get a dms (drummond) inverted type coil damper for something like this. I know they are rather popular in the subaru rally crowd and are super strong. I would imagine rather expensive tho.
IIRC its in good shape. Tell you what, I will trade it for a set of 7 spoke SE wheels.Ajax wrote:I might be interested in the sunroof, if its got good rubber- both of mine are torn up. We'll talk later.
Lightweight aluminum arms would be nice, but not worth it for me. Control arms get bent, alot. I would rather they were cheap, so I dodnt feel so bad about it. Also, upgraded control arms tend to be stronger than stock, this means instead of the arm bending, I could potentially do damage to the subframes. Its easy to swap out a control arm or 2 during a 45 min service, but a subframe is a little more work. Also, most aftermarket arms will tend to snap rather then bend. If I smack something real good, I would like to retain the ability of limping the car back to service.Razi wrote:What's your plans for the suspension arms?Are you going to keep them stock or upgrade to something else?
Makes sense, I was worried with all the rough terrain, that the subframe might get bent instead of the arms as you've mentioned.FlatBlackIan wrote:
Lightweight aluminum arms would be nice, but not worth it for me. Control arms get bent, alot. I would rather they were cheap, so I dodnt feel so bad about it. Also, upgraded control arms tend to be stronger than stock, this means instead of the arm bending, I could potentially do damage to the subframes. Its easy to swap out a control arm or 2 during a 45 min service, but a subframe is a little more work. Also, most aftermarket arms will tend to snap rather then bend. If I smack something real good, I would like to retain the ability of limping the car back to service.
I will be reinforcing the front sub frame, 1 for strength reasons, and secondly, because it will be one of the mounting points for the skid plate. The rear subframes are pretty beefy, Im not worried about it unless I really whack something, (knocks on wood).Razi wrote:Makes sense, I was worried with all the rough terrain, that the subframe might get bent instead of the arms as you've mentioned.
Can't wait to see it in action.