BRZ Rally Car

Here's what the roof scoop looks like with its' hat on:

Swank!

I love how fast this is getting to "eventually" :)

In reply to java230 :

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

There is no prize for ruining the car slower... 

Got some more stuff done today- I used a cheap "waterproof project box" to put what used to be the positive battery terminal, which I'm retaining with the actual clampy bit removed since it works as a distribution block with the right connections and fusible links, in a place that it can't smack into anything.  The box is epoxied to the bracket below it since running metal fasteners through it would sort of defeat the purpose:

Then did a bunch of cutting and applying vinyl tape to cover the remaining holes in the interior:

Reassembled the back end, there are little foam rubber pads under all of the things that might rattle:

And spent a bunch of time reassembling other stuff up front since I need to know where everything sits for upcoming wiring and mounting work.  It's amazing how much putting some interior back in makes it look like a car instead of a shell:

Hooked up the battery and started it- it fired right up!

Shortly after the photo, it threw a couple of codes- I started double checking connections and found that I hadn't fully seated the main connector at the engine.  Oops. 

Shut it down with the key, reseated the connector, started it again.  Once I verified that things seemed ok, I revved it to 3k rpm and hit the killswitch- everything shut down immediately and I don't think it hurt anything.  When I started it again it went back to the high idle that it does after the battery is disconnected and it has to re-learn things.  This should work fine but I'll only want to use the killswitch when I have to.

Intercom, installed in a slightly non-traditional location but it should make routing the helmet wires really easy:

And red overhead lights for reading pacenotes at night- regular map lights are annoying so we just put led strips on the roof:

And a switch on the dash:

Result:

There's plenty of light, I figure it's easier to tape over some of the LEDs if they're too bright rather than deal with them being too dim.

We originally had our comms volume box in the same place you did, but then found we couldn't actually reach it when strapped in, and moved it to the dash area. 

what's the switch in the middle for? Our WRC comms doesn't have anything there.

also, we have 3 rows of the red LEDs same setup, and it's about right at night.

we also put 2 rows of white LEDs up there too, for when Jim drops all his pens and needs to search for them between stages :)

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Middle switch is a noise filter, TBD whether it does anything discernable on this car.  I have the same concern about reaching it while belted, but this car is pretty tight inside so we'll see.

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like Jim needs one of these. 

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like Jim needs one of these. 

hah, not a bad idea.

I did install a new holder for writing utensils for him last week, though :)

Happy Valentine's day GRM!  Sara and I celebrated by each working on our own stuff way too long and are now ordering a pizza.  I cut up the original door panels since the wiper seal for the window lives in the top part, and it gives us somewhere to rest an arm on transits that isn't a roll cage tube; then used textured ABS to cover the rest:

It looks a little rough and I'll probably add more features/finishing eventually, but for now they look pretty good with the doors closed:

Also visible in that photo is a mountain bike frame bag- I actually have another size coming to see if that fits too, since they're cheap and if you think about it, bike frames and roll cages are both just a bunch of triangles.

Then I put in the seats, which I knew would be difficult but... oh wow do I not ever want to take the seats out.  It's really difficult to get them into place since they barely fit through the door opening, and then all sorts of contortions are required in order to put all the bolts in, but it's all nice and tight with high quality hardware now so hopefully I only have to do this one more time when I inevitably realize that I forgot something I had to do in the back:

Looks great!  I'm guessing the steering wheel is getting a QR hub?

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I'm trying to avoid it if I can, but... we'll see.  The tilt/telescope features of the column are still there so I may be able to make it work with a fixed hub.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Why avoid the QR? Seems like it makes it way easier to get in/out?

In reply to java230 :

It does, but they also always introduce some slop and it's one more thing that can go wrong in the steering system.  Plus, one that is minimally sloppy and rattly is expensive.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Fair enough! I have never driven a QR car, so a little slop makes sense.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Could the tilt/telescope be rendered in-op in a crash?  It just seems that if you need to get out of the car PDQ, then getting the wheel completely out of the way sounds like a good thing. Especially with the added restrictions of a cage and the halo seat.  Even worse, if someone has to get you out without your assistance. 

But I've also never driven a car with a QR wheel, so I don't know how one affects the steering feel.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to java230 :

It does, but they also always introduce some slop and it's one more thing that can go wrong in the steering system.  Plus, one that is minimally sloppy and rattly is expensive.

I really like the newer ones from NRG.  That's what I have in my champcar.  

They are super easy to put on and take off and will only "click in" in one position which makes it super easy to put the wheel on (just put it on the hub and spin it until it clicks).  

They use ball bearings for the interface and mine has no slop after several races and practice days.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Good to know.  I'm yet to encounter one that doesn't have slop in it- a lot of them only have fore/aft looseness, but that's still really annoying on a bumpy surface.

In reply to Ian F:

Yes, there are scenarios where it could be a safety issue.  Once it's all put together I'll make an assessment of whether the wheel is a big restriction or not in this particular car- I honestly think the door/window opening may be more of a limiting factor than the steering wheel, and I can't change that!

wvumtnbkr said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to java230 :

It does, but they also always introduce some slop and it's one more thing that can go wrong in the steering system.  Plus, one that is minimally sloppy and rattly is expensive.

I really like the newer ones from NRG.  That's what I have in my champcar.  

 

They are super easy to put on and take off and will only "click in" in one position which makes it super easy to put the wheel on (just put it on the hub and spin it until it clicks).  

 

They use ball bearings for the interface and mine has no slop after several races and practice days.

That's what I have as well. easy to get on and off and I have not noticed any slop in it after 7 years of rally and rally cross use.

Also nice to have if you ever need to get under the driver's side dash to get to wiring or something.

Chris is off freezing his arse off crewing at SnoDrift Rally this weekend.

I will keep his thread warm with this vintage picture of him that i just came across, back in the days of the rallycross Mustang, at our giant gravel rallycross site in Frostburg, MD.

Ironically, the black Subaru in the foreground, I believe, now belongs to Adam Kimmett, who his wife Sara is co-driving with at Sno-Drift. 

Sno*Drift was awesome, click here if you want to read my rambling about it.  Naturally I got right to work upon returning with non photogenic stuff like putting harnesses in and installing little bits.  Windshield goes in on Friday:

Are you doing it yourself or having someone else do it?