USUKRacing at IRNY 2008

For those here who don't frequent that other site, here is our report of the IRNY 2008 rally...

http://usukracing.com/USUK_Racing/Events/Entries/2008/10/31_International_Rally_New_York_2008.html

Simon

---

Simon Wright
Owner/Driver USUK Racing - Home of the USUK Racing LED Light Bars!

North America Rally Map

Simon, I have seen the email from Jamie Drummond where he states flatly that "there never has been a failure of a DMS strut in competition" so you must be mistaken that you and the other guy actually had a failure.
It must be according to MrDMS himself "an installation fault" by the end user.

Sounds like you had fun.

Are you still compelled by rules to use DMS or can you use something else in the rear?

---

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.

From his update: "They're also doing final adjustments to the new Hotbits suspension which arrived only a few days before."

---

Grant Hughes

There is no spec part for suspension in Rally Spec Focus class any more. It's wide open. Given the limitations elsewhere in the spec however, we're not expecting anyone to gain much of an edge by throwing mucho rad, mucho dinero, hardware on there.

I have a few weeks to decide what to do on the rear - if the main shaft hadn't bent on the rear DMS I may have considered some sort of "creative" solution.

Simon

---

Simon Wright
Owner/Driver USUK Racing - Home of the USUK Racing LED Light Bars!

North America Rally Map

simoniac Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is no spec part for suspension in Rally Spec
> Focus class any more. It's wide open. Given the
> limitations elsewhere in the spec however, we're
> not expecting anyone to gain much of an edge by
> throwing mucho rad, mucho dinero, hardware on
> there.
>
> I have a few weeks to decide what to do on the
> rear - if the main shaft hadn't bent on the rear
> DMS I may have considered some sort of "creative"
> solution.

There are pretty damn affordable options for the rear, just need to have a pin mount.
You should call.
>
> Simon
>

---

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.

What are folks doing about the crappy seating between the lower strut end and the top of the focus spindle. There is a 1/8 gap around the seating surface which makes for a weaker connection. We are thinking about having ours machined flat to minimize the gap. What have others done with theirs?

gpbullock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What are folks doing about the crappy seating
> between the lower strut end and the top of the
> focus spindle. There is a 1/8 gap around the
> seating surface which makes for a weaker
> connection. We are thinking about having ours
> machined flat to minimize the gap. What have
> others done with theirs?

Piccies!
Gotta have some sort of radius.
Is the bottom of the tube a one piece part turned to be a stop collar and stump part to slide into the knuckle?
PICCIES!!!
Maybe the top hole in the strut could use a bit of a chamfer to miss the fillet?

ONLY WITH PICCIES can we really see, agree or disagree and suggests something.

---

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.

Not sure if the photo is going to come out too good. Basically, the upright casting has a little nub on the backside about an 1/8" wide x 1/8" high that creates a gap at the base of the DMS shock and keeps the shock from seating completely on top of the spindle. From the photo you can also see how the casting also is narrower at the strut mounting point than the base of the shock. We were considering either machining the spindle or having an insert made that matches the base of the shock. With all of the shock breakages I've seen and heard of from other Focus owners I feel like it may be a weak spot for all of the stresses occuring in rough road (especially out west) conditions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2008 10:08PM by gpbullock.

That's interesting. Our knuckles had no such nub and the DMS struts would snug down into them just fine. There was no gap between the shoulder of the strut (the blue piece) and the knuckle. Our failures and I'm sure the failures in the other RSF cars were due to the surprisingly narrow weld (or what ever they use) that attaches the sleeve to the strut body. You can see how narrow this is in the attached picture. I considered having an extra bead of weld run all around that joint but never acted on it.

Simon

---

Simon Wright
Owner/Driver USUK Racing - Home of the USUK Racing LED Light Bars!

North America Rally Map

simoniac Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's interesting. Our knuckles had no such nub
> and the DMS struts would snug down into them just
> fine. There was no gap between the shoulder of the
> strut (the blue piece) and the knuckle. Our
> failures and I'm sure the failures in the other
> RSF cars were due to the surprisingly narrow weld
> (or what ever they use) that attaches the sleeve
> to the strut body. You can see how narrow this is
> in the attached picture. I considered having an
> extra bead of weld run all around that joint but
> never acted on it.
>
> Simon

Simon, it ain't the weld, its the internal wall thickness.
I know cause the "Boyonet" or socket into the knuckle and get pinched is same on these Xratties and the 2wd cars i have to make a tthing to plug in the knuckle that is 45.5mm while my tubes are 52mm OD.
It costs a bit of installed length but I leave a strong bottom and make it one piece.
That's simply to thin.

Get Tim Taylor on here, he's smart and he'll agree.


What's failing on the rear?
>
>

---

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.

Hi John,

Well, I've moved on from DMS for now although I will probably try to revive what I've got to be sure I have better than stock suspenders as a spare.

I WILL be calling you but give me a couple of weeks. My car is not HERE so it's hard to wander into the garage of an evening and ponder my troubles. We are doing some work on the stock top mount points at the rear. I want to address the single shear bolt method of attaching the lower end - I've bent several bolts.

I'll be in touch.

Thanks.

Simon

---

Simon Wright
Owner/Driver USUK Racing - Home of the USUK Racing LED Light Bars!

North America Rally Map

simoniac Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi John,
>
> Well, I've moved on from DMS

Whaddya get?

for now although I
> will probably try to revive what I've got to be
> sure I have better than stock suspenders as a
> spare.

Good plan
>
> I WILL be calling you but give me a couple of
> weeks. My car is not HERE so it's hard to wander
> into the garage of an evening and ponder my
> troubles. We are doing some work on the stock top
> mount points at the rear.

I was trying to convince a local Fucus boy here ot hte advantages of modding the top ONCE so replacements shocks could be off the shelf units with spherical bearings top and bottom.
My concern is that with all the rubber in the links and that flat stamped "Thing", stuff has to be moving around a bunch, and when the top is locked down and the bottom moves you get a big bending moment on the guide bush and it's only Allah's infinite mercy if you don't bend the shaft.
So a couple of D shaped tabs of 3/16 welded on and there's the mount. A strip of 16g zapped on the thing will keep the mud out.

At the bottom a couple of DD, rotate the bottom eye 90* and you're golden

Can you consider a simple half tube welded into the wheelarch just behind the shock
(cut a slot, slice a tube in half, fold the ends down and then you have a nice lap-joint to weld) This would let you do coils over the shock and open up choices.

See? a little easy cut-n-shut and everything thereafter is both easier and cheaper.



I want to address the
> single shear bolt method of attaching the lower
> end - I've bent several bolts.
>
> I'll be in touch.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Simon

---

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.

John I like your ideas for the rear shock top mounts. The problem with running coils back there is that you will interfere with the tire wheel and tire unless you run a large spacer or something like a et25 offset wheel. For reference a stock focus wheel is something like et52 offset and the team dynamics wheels we are running are et 45.

john vanlandingham Wrote:


> Simon, it ain't the weld, its the internal wall
> thickness.
> I know cause the "Boyonet" or socket into the
> knuckle and get pinched is same on these Xratties
> and the 2wd cars i have to make a tthing to plug
> in the knuckle that is 45.5mm while my tubes are
> 52mm OD.
> It costs a bit of installed length but I leave a
> strong bottom and make it one piece.
> That's simply to thin.
>
> Get Tim Taylor on here, he's smart and he'll
> agree.

I agree with this. I do not think there is really any band aid you can put on these struts to make them work. Other than machining the boyonet ends off and having new ones made for the tubes.

Andrew_Frick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> john vanlandingham Wrote:
>
>
> > Simon, it ain't the weld, its the internal
> wall
> > thickness.
> > I know cause the "Boyonet" or socket into
> the
> > knuckle and get pinched is same on these
> Xratties
> > and the 2wd cars i have to make a tthing to
> plug
> > in the knuckle that is 45.5mm while my tubes
> are
> > 52mm OD.
> > It costs a bit of installed length but I
> leave a
> > strong bottom and make it one piece.
> > That's simply to thin.
> >
> > Get Tim Taylor on here, he's smart and he'll
> > agree.
>
> I agree with this. I do not think there is really
> any band aid you can put on these struts to make
> them work. Other than machining the boyonet ends
> off and having new ones made for the tubes.

Which is exactly what I'm hinting at---since I make the same ends for my stuff---
only thicker!

I've carved them off of my own stuff, it isn't bad, Josh Wimpey is running for 5 years now on waht started life as first Ford, then old Subaru, and now so is Ozgur.

---

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.