BMW...... - Brindabella Motor Sport Club

Craysus · 17-07-2007, 08:39 PM

Well what with Spac driving damn ovlovs, I figured I would take another european Luxury barge and attempt to turn it into a Rally vehicle..

Lots of things still need to be done to this to bring it up to par, however it is starting to get some equipment installed.

So far.
A mild exhaust upgrade.
MRF rally tyres on the Simmons
Sabelt fixed back buckets
Uniden UHF
nolothane mudflaps (god that stuff is dear!!)
front brakes overhauled
new castor bushes in nolothane
a bit of extraneous equipment removal (EG Air Con..)
incredibly sexy paintwork...

still requires a LOT of work..
Roll cage obviously.
terratrip or equivalent.
map light
bash plate (I have..but havent had a chance to bend and install)
better shocks and heavier front springs
I have some future engine upgrades in the works, (megasquirt, engine overhaul, and the rest of the exhaust)

Try not to laugh too hard...I just wanted to get out on the dirt, and I figured an IRS equiped car with a 6 cylinder should be ok..

Matt Dyne · 17-07-2007, 09:47 PM

Cool...I love it!!

I can almost hear the naysayers knocking at the doors...

M

Spac · 17-07-2007, 11:08 PM

Hey I resent the Mighty Land Barge being compared to inferior German engineering!

The Volvo works pretty well - much better than it 'should'. Be interesting to see if The Gods of Rallying Fate smile on the BMW similarly - inherent BMW handling, BMW six-cylinder goodness, relatively good body stiffness etc.

Any idea of weight distibution? Front wheels look a long way back (is that naysayer enough, Dyno?).

Craysus · 17-07-2007, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spac

Hey I resent the Mighty Land Barge being compared to inferior German engineering!

The Volvo works pretty well - much better than it 'should'. Be interesting to see if The Gods of Rallying Fate smile on the BMW similarly - inherent BMW handling, BMW six-cylinder goodness, relatively good body stiffness etc.

Any idea of weight distibution? Front wheels look a long way back (is that naysayer enough, Dyno?).

Havent had it on a corner weight set, however. The engine is positioned a long way back in the engine bay...and there is almost 50cm of clear air between the grill and the engine bay weight..

On the dirt it seems to handle ok...of course I am probably the worst test driver as I have very little to compare it to.
According to my "qualified" test driver it is neutral and easy to drive...just needs some stiffer springs in the front to prevent a bit of diving over the bumpy stuff..

Definately needs an engine rebuild and a new clutch however...

Swill · 17-07-2007, 11:18 PM

simmons wont last long on dirt. Shell them off and buy some cast mags

Craysus · 17-07-2007, 11:26 PM

Hehe...Spacman said the same thing some time back...

I will get some rally suitable rims before its first "real" rally...It is booked in for a stroll through the Bay stages on the weekend in the intro rally class, for which I will be using the soft alloy simmons..

buzz · 17-07-2007, 11:45 PM

Nice.
So, is this a different one to "ol' smokey"? Or are the hektik graphics playing tricks with my eyes.

Craysus · 17-07-2007, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzz

Nice.
So, is this a different one to "ol' smokey"? Or are the hektik graphics playing tricks with my eyes.

One and the same....Although the engine will be "fixed" prior to it assuming real rally duty...I figure for the meander having absolutely no power will help curb my naturally overly aggressive driving..(Also the Nav is much happier..)

buzz · 17-07-2007, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craysus

the engine will be "fixed" prior to it assuming real rally duty.

Removing all oil?

You will have to bring it out on the track as well - there should be a hill climb @ Sutton on the 29th of July.

Craysus · 18-07-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzz

Removing all oil?

You will have to bring it out on the track as well - there should be a hill climb @ Sutton on the 29th of July.

I think that would be the only way to fix the current engine...(as well as not revving it to 7500rpm...)

$$$ are tight at the moment, creating a rally car, and building a RX7 at the same time is just plain stupid! as such I cant go to anymore car events for a month or so..

Matt Mead · 18-07-2007, 11:27 AM

thats looks so good..

i luv the good old BMWs something about them

tortfeaser · 18-07-2007, 12:31 PM

Those new castor bushes seem to have put in a bit of castor, just looking at the position of the wheel in the hole.

Sounds good. Barges a go go. Have fun!

Craysus · 18-07-2007, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tortfeaser

Those new castor bushes seem to have put in a bit of castor, just looking at the position of the wheel in the hole.

Sounds good. Barges a go go. Have fun!

Possibly could have in fact....(Not that I noticed before

)

What affect would this have on handling?

One other thing is the front panels are bent back a small amount (1cm?) at the bottom front edge (Hence the small crease in the guards)...something to do with pushing the limits a bit far on a dirt "testing" session...

tortfeaser · 18-07-2007, 01:11 PM

More castor means increased negative camber with increasing steering angle, also means increased steering effort and likelihood of wandering and reduced self centering. Its a good thing generally, moreso if you've got power steering.

Spac · 18-07-2007, 01:15 PM

Castor is your friend. More = betterer, up until the point that you can't turn the steering wheel... More stability, reduced need for neg camber.

Edit in response to Tort - positive castor increases self-centering of the steering, and reduces wandering. The drawbacks are heavier steering and sometimes (if you've got a LOT of it) an odd, non-linear feeling to the steering. Lots of cars run far more castor on the PS versions - the manual steered cars run less just so grandma can turn the wheel at the Woolies carpark.

Oh, and because this is post #15, and nobody's said it yet: "Shoulda built a 1600!"