Rally Car

[cogboy]

Our transit proves that RWD wins, I never thought I'd have fun in a 60bhp non-turbo diesel but gee wizz give me a damp roundabout and the death wagon any day.

The £20-per corner Bakelite tyres help too.

[bwrc]

Interesting you say you are reverting to 15" wheels, I seem to recall that Bill Strong (Northstar project) recomends this size as optimum for the car.

What is the maximum size ie width diameter that is allowed by the MSa in the 1600 class these days? Bearing in mind the K37 changes for 2012?

[aw11rally]

Max tyre width for upto 1600cc class is 200mm, this seems to be rather loosely enforced at clubman level though as we've seen various machines running well over the class max. I'll mention no names but there was a rotary engined mk2 running in upto 1400cc with very wide looking rears and a rather special Corsa B kit car running very wide tyres all round in our class. We'll be sticking to the rules although we're not after championships so it doesn't really matter. Class finishes will do me.

As for wheel size I might even try 13in on the rear as this would greatly improve gearing and would be a lot cheaper than changing cogs. Will look w**k though so I doubt cogboy will be impressed.

[cogboy]

As for wheel size I might even try 13in on the rear as this would greatly improve gearing and would be a lot cheaper than changing cogs. Will look w**k though so I doubt cogboy will be impressed.

Hmmm.

Quite.

[MartG]

You could try lower profile tyres on the same size rim - on my trackday car I use 15" wheels with 195/45 tyres instead of 195/50 to lower the gear ratio slightly

[cogboy]

You could try lower profile tyres on the same size rim - on my trackday car I use 15" wheels with 195/45 tyres instead of 195/50 to lower the gear ratio slightly

No joy there. Competition tyres tend to be slightly higher profile, probably as they have reinforced sidewalls, and to protect the wheel rim. They aren't available in the same range of profiles as road tyres either.

They're also not usually sized the same as road tyres. The Dunlop CR311s that aw11rally tried at the North West Stages are listed as 185/585/R15. (Width in mm/Diameter in mm/Rim size in inches.)

There aren't many manufacturers who do 195/45 anyway. The only decent tyres I can find in that size are Toyo T1Rs, which I have on the front of my road car MR2. They'd be no good for the rally car though.

[aw11rally]

It's proving to be a complicated and frustrating business this tyre lark!

I've been looking for some 13in x 6.5 or 7in rims to try on the back but can't find any wheels in 4x100 they are all 4x108 for the mk2 Escort boys.

Using 185/530/R13 tyres on the rear as opposed to 185/620/R16 would give an improvement in gearing of about 14%, a bigger improvement than changing the final drive ratio (which is £1500 for a jubu racing 4.9 CW&P).

[AdamP]

Have a look around the volkswagen forums. Lots of 13" wheels in those sorts of sizes

Have you considered how that will affect your rideheight ---> geometry ---> driveshaft angles, as to maintain the same ride height you will need to raise the suspension by almost 2 inches!

[aw11rally]

The car is currently sitting quite high on it's coilovers due to the first rally of the season being a rough one, think driving through a building site with speed bumps and fords/floods flat out. The 2in drop would lower the car back to a sensible smooth Tarmac setup whilst retaining maximum damper travel.

My main problem will be it looking like a roller skate but I won't be able too see that from the driver seat.

[MartG]

Function v. form

[aw11rally]

Function v. form

I agree but still! 13in minilites on the rear, 15/16in MOs up front. Yuk!

[MartG]

True

Paint the wheels black so they're not as noticeable

[smallfish]

Scrutineering is going to be at the conference centre within the Norbreck Castle Hotel. They are making a big thing of it this year, there will be trade stands and commentary, spectators are actively encouraged.

[aw11rally]

Scrutineering is going to be at the conference centre within the Norbreck Castle Hotel. They are making a big thing of it this year, there will be trade stands and commentary, spectators are actively encouraged.

???

[cogboy]

Scrutineering is going to be at the conference centre within the Norbreck Castle Hotel. They are making a big thing of it this year, there will be trade stands and commentary, spectators are actively encouraged.

Welcome back to 2011. Where have you left the DeLorean?


Update: 2 trophies for the Lee Holland Rally 2011 Best Novice Crew turned up in the post on Wednesday. I've checked and they are actually ours. A pleasant surprise.

[aw11rally]

Update: 2 trophies for the Lee Holland Rally 2011 Best Novice Crew.

Hopefully the first of many. The car really is getting better and better. The more things we break the faster it gets!

[MartG]

Update: 2 trophies for the Lee Holland Rally 2011 Best Novice Crew turned up in the post on Wednesday. I've checked and they are actually ours. A pleasant surprise.

Good to hear that, well done

[cogboy]

Bump!

If anyone is in the Anglesey area this weekend I'm out in the 2 on the Warrington & District Motor Club's Enville Stages Rally this Sunday. Car 34. It's about a tenner to get into the circuit for the day and there's a lot of quick kit entered. Come along to spectate and come over to the pits and say hello.

aw11rally has gone to the Grand Prix for the weekend so I've found a smaller, lighter, female co-driver to sit in with me. She's a driving instructor, so I expect I'll have to shuffle steer, check my mirrors and give clear signals to other road users. - Probably the fingers.

[MartG]

Has she got her clipboard to tap on the dashboard when she wants you to stop ?

[cogboy]

Has she got her clipboard to tap on the dashboard when she wants you to stop ?

I believe so.