So last weekend while practicing some stitch welding in my trunk, I was very surprised to find out that the sheet metal back there is pretty thin. I'm surprised no one's ever mentioned that fact before oh wait...

anyway, I was looking to weld 3 D-rings for the tie-down straps for the spare tire, etc. But I don't know if I really want to weld this directly to the deck. I was thinking of cutting some 16 gauge steel to weld down first, and then welding the D-ring to that to help spread out the load.

Thoughts? What else are you guys doing?

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2008 02:02PM by Jon Burke.

For our tire we had used u-bolts to make a clamp for the roll cage bar between the two rear shock towers. This was on a rabbit though so we had more room than a sedan would.

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"Time to unpimp ze auuto."





sleightc (A.T.) Yahoo {DOT} com

eyelet bolts with large backing plates. If its good enough for my belts, its good enough for my spare tire. Then a fat (2" ratcheting strap.

But yeah, spreading out the load and doubling up the material is the way to do it if you have thin metal.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2008 03:31PM by Eddie Fiorelli.

any thoughts on why most people rock the tie down strap instead of welding a vertical chunk of all-thread with a large wing-nut thing? seems like the easier way to go to me...but what do i know...

DirkaDirkaJack Wrote:
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> any thoughts on why most people rock the tie down
> strap instead of welding a vertical chunk of
> all-thread with a large wing-nut thing? seems like
> the easier way to go to me...but what do i know...


Do you know how long it takes to unscrew a big wingnut when you're trying to do a quick tire change in the middle of a stage? I do, my Opel was originally set up that way and it sucked. Fuck that. It's heavier than a ratchet strap, too. Wanna know my preferred method? An old seatbelt. Push one button, snap, it's off. The seat belt strap is easily adjusted. Throw the wheel back in there, snap the buckle together and give the strap a yank to cinch it down. Even faster than a ratchet tie down strap. You just need three points of attatchment and that tire is going nowhere.

Serious question here, how often are people changing tires on stages? I've seen lots of people come into service on FUBAR'd rally tires. Hell, Mark drove the legacy back to the Brooklyn service at Doo Wops and the right rear tire was SHREDDED at the sidewalls.

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

Depends on where it happens, what kind of tire you're running, and what the stage is like.

If you're seeing people come in on flats, it means:
1) it probably happened near the end of the stage, or far enough along that the driver didn't feel the time-penalty was worth it, and
2) the transit to service was short.


It's a pretty short transit from the end of Smith/Brooklyn to Brooklyn service.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

If you have the dave clark seatbelt tie down, a scissor jack with a nut welded on (same size as lugs) and a good quality electric impact gun you can change a tire in less than a minute. I try to drive on the flat to the next stage and change it while I'm waiting in line for the start.

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Gone fishing

david amor Wrote:
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> If you have the dave clark seatbelt tie down, a
> scissor jack with a nut welded on (same size as
> lugs) and a good quality electric impact gun you
> can change a tire in less than a minute. I try to
> drive on the flat to the next stage and change it
> while I'm waiting in line for the start.


A hydraulic scissors jack is even faster. But like Hoche says, it depends on where you get the flat, whether the carcass is tearing out the brake lines, wiring harness, etc. If it's towards the end of a stage you won't lose much time driving out on it vs. stopping to change it. It's a matter of judgement. I once got a flat on the front of my FWD Omni at the beginning of an eight mile stage and drove out on it and only dropped a minute and a half. Would have taken longer to change it. On the other hand, if you get a flat at the beginning of Nawahtzel you better stop and change it. Another time I got a flat on the rear of my Opel and within a mile or two it had come off the rim and ripped the brake line off the caliper. What could have taken 2 minutes if I had stopped earlier turned into a 10 minute repair while I pinched off the brake line with a pair of vice grips.
If you're driving a FWD car and get a flat on the rear, don't worry. You don't even really need the rear wheels. Ask JVL about the time I was codriving for him and we finished the stage at speed with two wheels in the trunk and three on the car...

I've used the seat belt hold down for years. Usually you get some donors from the back seat of the rally car.

Ray Damitio and I were starting a stage in the ORV park one year. Start crew said "5, 4, btw your RF tire is flat, 3,2,1,go!". We drove 8 miles and lost about 2 minutes. Big problem was the heat caused the lugs to seize, broke a 4 way wrench and had to borrow one from Dale Beard.

Damaging brakes lines, odo pickups, fuel fills or wiring harness' (ACP last year) is a big consideration. Getting your butt run over on stage changing a tire is also a consideration though.

Even on a transit or waiting for a start, time can matter. Whichever set-up you have, the driver and codriver should practice tire changes with a stop-watch running. Yeah, in the cold, in the dark, in quicksand too! Drop a hot lug nut into the snow and it disappears! ;-) Does everyone know where everything is? Who is doing what in what order? Is the cordless chatter gun charged? Does your spare have any air in it? I consider 2 minutes to be a good time. It can easily turn to 10 minutes when things go wrong and they will.

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Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

The problem we've had with seatbelt tie-downs is that it is kinda hard to get it strapped down really tight.

The best system we've come up with (and I've tried pretty much all the methods mentioned above) was these lever straps, designed for sailing/marine use. Its not a ratchet strap or a camlock strap. Basically you get it tight, and then you clamp it into place, but the clamp also tightens the strap. Pull up on the latch and it releases instantly, much easier than ratchet strap.

I forget the name of them exactly. Will make a note and post it.

tedm Wrote:
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Drop a hot lug nut into
> the snow and it disappears! ;-)
>
> Ted Mendham
> www.rensport.net


Not only does it disappears, if you're lucky enough to find it, it will have filled with ice and will be almost impossible to put back on the car...

Ask me how I found that...

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Francois

<Not only does it disappears, if you're lucky enough to find it, it will have <filled with ice and will be almost impossible to put back on the car...

<Ask me how I found that...

Me too. Did that at Tall Pines a while back. First I couldn't find it, then it was packed HARD! Lost 6 minutes, changing that one.

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Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

I'm actually kind of surprised nobody duct-tapes or zip-ties some spare lug nuts somewhere in the trunk/hatch/etc. A certain roundy-round crew guy I semi-converted to rally used to carry an extra 5 lug nuts zip-tied to his belt when he went over the pit wall, and that was with wheels that had the lug nuts either spring tied or glued to the rim.

Of course, being the paranoid Merkur perv that I am, I'm used to carrying half a spare car around on longer trips...

--Andrew, foresting southern NH with XR4 shells...

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY