BRZ Rally Car

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Safelite, I had a run of broken windows a while ago that left me with a coupon so I might as well use it.

More little stuff- USB outlets:

Roll cage padding:

Secret ziptie stash:

In reply to singhudit61 :

Like what?  You can get every 15" size imaginable, generally for larger wheel diameters the overall tire would get too tall if you wanted the same amount of sidewall so there aren't many bigger options anywhere, it's not really an importing problem.  Snow tires are an option if you want less sidewall, all terrain tires are an option if more sidewall will fit.  What are you trying to fit tires on?

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

My guess is because there is a decreasing number of cars 15" wheels will fit on - at least not without reworking front brake and/or tie rod clearance? 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Understood, but the problem of "not enough sidewall and now my wheel looks like pac-man" is a recurring one that needs to be fixed repeatedly.  Changing your brake calipers or finding the right wheel geometry is a one time fix.

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

My guess is because there is a decreasing number of cars 15" wheels will fit on - at least not without reworking front brake and/or tie rod clearance? 

I mean, a stock sti comea with 18" wheels, but All the Subarus rallying seem to be fine. Hell there are a couple of Lexus IS 350s rallying using 15-in wheels and I'm sure those things have big brakes from the factory. Or Porsche 911's rallying on 15s. Most of the cars with massive brakes tend to be types of cars that would never turn into rally cars anyhow. And if you are rallying something exotic like a Ferrari you can probably afford to do a crazy conversion to make things fit lol.

The other option is what Gary demasi does in his rally ranger and that is he uses all terrain tires instead of rally tires. 

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

The STIs have to swap to smaller rotors and calipers. I believe Hooper swapped to IS250 brakes for the same reason. I've always heard that the reason everything is only 15s is due to that being mandatory in WRC. I'm not sure if that's true though. 

In reply to Bizwacky :

Could be- I know some of the old Group A stuff ran 16s but I think that's as big as the standard wheels ever got.

I had to install 328 front spindles and brakes to get 15s to work in front, and ground off a lot of material from the rear calipers....

Bizwacky said:

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

The STIs have to swap to smaller rotors and calipers. I believe Hooper swapped to IS250 brakes for the same reason. I've always heard that the reason everything is only 15s is due to that being mandatory in WRC. I'm not sure if that's true though. 

FIA has a limit of 65cm outside diameter.  I do not know if they have a wheel diameter limit, but a 15" wheel is perfect for a 65cm tire.  Shorter sidewalls/lower aspect ratios compromise grip and toughness, and if you are rallying something large and powerful enough to justify a 65cm tire (lots and lots of $$$ or the local equivalent) you're not going to want that compromise.

Some of the worst tires I had were low profile.  They were like a 185/60-15.  They had no sidewall flex, so no grip.  The only thing they had going for them was that they were fairly narrow, but 175/70-15s have far more grip because the tire can move around on the wheel.

Bizwacky said:

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

The STIs have to swap to smaller rotors and calipers. I believe Hooper swapped to IS250 brakes for the same reason. I've always heard that the reason everything is only 15s is due to that being mandatory in WRC. I'm not sure if that's true though. 

Yeah, I know they're all brake-swapped to fit 15s (as is Brakim's Lamborghini rally car, if it ever gets finished). Point being, if you're gonna rally, you should probably have the mechanical aptitude to swap to brakes that fit the wheels, which doesn't seem to be a problem for those who need to do it (like Hooper). I was talking about the STOCK brakes being big on those cars, not the rally-sized brakes. 

IDK about that WRC thing....I mean, that's a miniscule part of the rally market and no other organizations mandate 15" tires, so if there was a decent market for larger rally tires I'm sure someone would make them. I just don't think there is. Nobody rallying wants less sidewall and/or more diameter, except the occasional few who ask this question about larger rally tires (which is a pretty small number, from what I can tell). 

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Scott Beute in Michigan has 17" rally tires on his Mustang.  They work for him, but to me they look like too much wide and not much sidewall.  It looks like half of the aspect is tread.

I wouldn't do it if there were other options, personally.  OTOH he also hands me my ass on a platter when I go up to Detroit, so...?

Glass!

Installed stuff that was waiting for glass:

The windshield guy said "don't drive this thing the way I'm guessing you usually drive it for at least 24hrs.  You can drive it like a grandma after 30min."

It's as good as I remember, at least at grandma speed.

That thing is begging for a big trunk spoiler :)

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Biplane.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Biplane.

Sprint car - with automatic end plates that raise/lower based on the yaw of the car & steering input. 

I don't think non-OEM wings or spoilers are legal in L2WD but if one of you can prove otherwise I'll think hard about putting something stupid back there.  

So at 2 pm today we should expect pictures of the car flying over a jump!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

I don't think non-OEM wings or spoilers are legal in L2WD but if one of you can prove otherwise I'll think hard about putting something stupid back there.  

I'm not sure about the class, but we ran into trouble at SOFR trying to run a wing on a Neon that did not fit inside the footprint of the car when looking down from above.  Fortunately, we were able to borrow an SRT-4 wing from someone's daily driver.

In reply to eastsideTim :

I have already recommended multiple times that some big fiberglass buttcheeks be added to Greenhouse's car to make the wing fit in the footprint.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Have you had enough engineering and fabrication time in it yet to call yourself an OEM?

About twenty years ago, I was badly sleep deprived on a run to parts north and west to pick up an eBay purchase.  Was supposed to be tailing friend while he drove his car, a '79 RX-7, back to home with no license plates, because eBay.   I had a sleep deprived hallucinatory Moment where I saw Escort Cosworth grade biplanes on it, and it was glorious.

....anyway, that's why I think the frisbee needs a cossie wing

50 miles down since the windshield went in- car feels great.  This is the nicest caged car I've ever driven, no weird rattles or squeaks, still feels totally solid and factory-like inside other than all the tubing and the crazy seats and that sort of stuff.  Blacking out the dash/front tubes was the right move, there are no reflections anywhere on the windshield and it's a perfectly clear view down the road.

The front ride height hasn't changed at all, and the rear has dropped around 1/2"- this suggests that the front probably breaks even after adding the cage but moving the battery and subtracting airbags, and the rear may have as much as 150lbs added compared to the pre-cage weight.  Hopefully less, but it has done wonders for the balance of the thing and it feels awesome on gravel.  The first DC RallyX is in a few weeks, until then I'm just going to be adding all the little stuff that isn't mounted yet (tow strap, etc.) and driving it more.

Triangle stash held next to seats with bungees:

Codriver footrest:

Codriver extinguisher bracket:

Spill kit and other extinguisher in the quarter panel behind driver:

Tow strap bungeed behind codriver:

 I think I didn't get a photo but the first aid kit is velcro'd to the floor behind the driver's seat.

Trying to eyeball a potential vinyl design using painters tape- picture this blue as black, the rectangle is where the number panel will be:

The last two rally cars had stripes, I feel like this one should too.