rally-x prep advice and tips needed

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Pete
That's what the air tank is for.

... but if you're really unfortunate, you'll have all sorts of crap wedged between the rim and tire, and you can't get it to seal.
I've seen that happen... extra wheels are a more... "universally applicable" fix

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Brgrds
Brian

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john vanlandingham

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Gravity Fed
make sure screws holding your air filter assembly for the weber are tight else they might get in your engine . ask me how i know.

Say Alex, how do ya knows?

so there six machine screws that attach the air filter housing to the weber carb. For whatever reason they are in close proximity to the throat of the carb. 5 had vibrated completely lose and the engine ate two of them and lost a rotor. So the motor is kaput. Being that 12a parts in good are rare, and honestly, building a rotary on a budget is still expensive, im likely to pistonify the rx7. Looking like a Duratec 23 with a T5 backing it at the moment. Should be able to sell some engine parts from the rx7 (48 IDA, the side housings, other bits, etc) to pay for a large amount of the swap. Plus the car needed a new header anyway which aren't free.

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john vanlandingham

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Gravity Fed
make sure screws holding your air filter assembly for the weber are tight else they might get in your engine . ask me how i know.

Say Alex, how do ya knows?

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so there six machine screws that attach the air filter housing to the weber carb.

Oh no, (groan)... No there are studs....

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For whatever reason they are in close proximity to the throat of the carb.

Probably hard to bolt the air filter to the base of the carby, so they took the easy route and bolted the firliter only place they could: on the inlet.

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5 had vibrated completely lose and the engine ate two of them and lost a rotor. So the motor is kaput. Being that 12a parts in good are rare, and honestly, building a rotary on a budget is still expensive, im likely to pistonify the rx7. Looking like a Duratec 23 with a T5 backing it at the moment. Should be able to sell some engine parts from the rx7 (48 IDA, the side housings, other bits, etc) to pay for a large amount of the swap. Plus the car needed a new header anyway which aren't free.

M5 x .8 studs red Loctited into body. M5 nyloc....isn't that screamingly obvious?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2011 10:59AM by john vanlandingham.

skidplate is typically unnecessary for SCCA rally-exes - while I've only raced in a few regions (Utah, Boise, and Fountain CO for Nats last year), I've never felt like I had to have one. There's been a few times I would have liked to have one though.

IMO/IME, outside of PA and SA, the prep level and competition level is so varied, it comes down 95% to driver - the other 5% being mostly tires. So, don't worry too much about adjusting suspension etc.

Assuming you're running on non-rally tires, you'll want to be sure to run a higher tire pressure to try and avoid de-beads. If you've got a little 5-gallon air tank, fill it up and take it.

While very course and surface dependent, another key thing is to watch course degradation, rutting, etc - not just for finding the fastest way through the course as it changes, but also so that you don't inadvertently chuck the car sideways into some nice deep ruts - the outcome of this is left as an exercise to the reader.

Good news for me... no webers on my car. I will put the car on the lift next weekend and verify everything underneath is good and solid. I don't expect that at a simple rally-x even to need more than a single spare based on the organizers' claims that the course is designed with regular street cars and novice drivers in mind.

I'm looking for tires, but I'm not over optimistic about finding any at this point... I might just try to find some all seasons in a 185/70/15 or similar. That's gotta be better than the 215/40/17s.

BTW, I've decided I don't like the way the car handles with the 17s, even with good tires... car was much happier with 205/45/16s.

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Aaron Luptak
...another key thing is to watch course degradation, rutting, etc - not just for finding the fastest way through the course as it changes, but also so that you don't inadvertently chuck the car sideways into some nice deep ruts - the outcome of this is left as an exercise to the reader.

I would think that I would prefer to keep the shiny side up... is that the outcome you alluded to?

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worked_xr

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Aaron Luptak
...another key thing is to watch course degradation, rutting, etc - not just for finding the fastest way through the course as it changes, but also so that you don't inadvertently chuck the car sideways into some nice deep ruts - the outcome of this is left as an exercise to the reader.

I would think that I would prefer to keep the shiny side up... is that the outcome you alluded to?

winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I've seen a few drivers who think that they can just drive as hard as they want with no consequences at rallycrosses - 9 times out of 10, the safety stewards keeping an eye on the course and dumb luck works in their favor and they just go wide, hit cones, spin, etc. Bottom line is there needs to be a hair more risk analysis going on in your head than at your typical autocross (not that it's impossible to roll a car there either...)

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worked_xr

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Aaron Luptak
...another key thing is to watch course degradation, rutting, etc - not just for finding the fastest way through the course as it changes, but also so that you don't inadvertently chuck the car sideways into some nice deep ruts - the outcome of this is left as an exercise to the reader.

I would think that I would prefer to keep the shiny side up... is that the outcome you alluded to?

Pretty tough to go upside down (not impossible). more likely are bent a arms, bent or broken wheels, crabbing, or th front tires pointed about 30 degrees off what the steering wheel says.

Bring spare wheel/tire. and a good jack. I debeaded 3 times in one event.

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aj_johnson
Pretty tough to go upside down (not impossible). more likely are bent a arms, bent or broken wheels, crabbing, or th front tires pointed about 30 degrees off what the steering wheel says.

Bring spare wheel/tire. and a good jack. I debeaded 3 times in one event.

AJ- the lot y'all run at (and courses) in boise is not typical for most scca rallycrosses - the 'usual' is a pancake flat dirt or gravel parking lot or field. while course design plays a large part, it's impossible to remove the rollover threat unless you keep speeds down to about 15 (which I'm sure the risk management folks at topeka would love to have )

Rallycrossing for 3 years now, seen 2 rollovers, 0 bent a arms, broken wheels, or major steering tweaks.

Debeads also play a huge part in the roll risk - one of the two that I've seen had a debeaded tire as part of the equation.

we do have a pretty fun little course don't we. In one event I saw 3 vehicles go up on 2 wheels (almost to balance point) and a civic wagon flopped on its side.

Debeading seems to mainly be a driver issue not a tire issue. I run rally tires at 18-20psi and have never debeaded. I've also seen people debead rally tires at 35psi.

I've also seen bent control arms (friggin' Golfs), broken shock mounts (upper and lower), broken control arm mounts (friggin' Subarus), broken motor mounts, and lots and lots and lots of broken CVs. Lots of debeads and at one where I didn't attend, two broken Team Dynamics wheels (two different runs!)

And that's just the damage I see other people incurring, I'm not counting my own regular maintenance. Never broke anything electronic before this weekend, it's always been fragging transmissions or rearends or engines.

I run the two Ohio regions and Detroit region. Detroit region events typically are very smooth. Both Ohio regions' sites tend to be... less smooth.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2011 11:57AM by Pete.

Thanks again guys. I gotta say that if I hadn't done rally-x before, you guys would have me scared to death. I'll be honest, I don't have a tow rig and I can't really bring a shit ton of stuff... it's just not realistic. I'll bring a couple spare tires/wheels, jack, etc., but otherwise it'll just be a cooler, tools, fluids, and maybe an EZ-up.

BTW, at this point I'm not anticipating finding another set of tires to use, so what do you guys recommend for air pressure in my 215/40/17 Continentals?

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worked_xr
Thanks again guys. I gotta say that if I hadn't done rally-x before, you guys would have me scared to death. I'll be honest, I don't have a tow rig and I can't really bring a shit ton of stuff... it's just not realistic. I'll bring a couple spare tires/wheels, jack, etc., but otherwise it'll just be a cooler, tools, fluids, and maybe an EZ-up.

BTW, at this point I'm not anticipating finding another set of tires to use, so what do you guys recommend for air pressure in my 215/40/17 Continentals?

40 psi

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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worked_xr
Thanks again guys. I gotta say that if I hadn't done rally-x before, you guys would have me scared to death.

I've been doign it since 2004. Ask anybody who's been doing something for seven years if they see anything go wrong...

Got the XR up on pop's lift this weekend... went over it a few times just to double check all the suspension bits, attaching points, bushings, bolts, nuts, brakes, lines, hoses, etc. It was all good. I did decide to tie-wrap one coolant hose a bit up and out of the way, and the guibo is cracked, but otherwise it's fine. I won't have time before the event to replace the guibo (I don't think) and I think it'll hold together a bit longer, but I'm gonna bring the spare just in case. In any case, I'm confident the car will make the 3 hour drive there and back and handle the rigors of the rally-x.

In other news... no luck finding any sort of decent tire options in place of the 215/40/17s... though a set of 195/60/16 all-seasons did just show up on craigslist for cheap... might go take a look at 'em. Otherwise 40psi in the 17s and hope for the best.