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Continued (4/22/16)
Picked up some 3/16" high density polyethylene (HDPE) for the wheel wells and underbody protection (brake lines, wiring, etc..) This stuff is damn near indestructible!! Also did an all around brake refresh- EBC black geomet coated rotors and Wearever platinum pads. You don't want slotted rotors because sand, rocks, and nasty bits can and WILL get in there.
Front skid plate update! It has clearly done its job for rallycross but time for an upgrade!! Stage roads are going to demand something more beefy- I'm thinking reinforced 1/4" aluminum for the oil pan and rear diff.
PS. I will be racing tomorrow from 9-5 in Rochester NH at the if anybody is in the area and wants to make the drive up! If not there will be PLENTY of pictures and videos to come! I will also be at the broke east meet in Seekonk, MA on Sunday! Nice and dirty for your viewing pleasure Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates- I try to post an update at least once a day
Also attended a huge New England event called broke.east meet on Sunday afternoon! Zelda was nice and dirty after the race haha. Met some local Z people and 9/10 spectators agree... the Rally Z is rad!!
Update (8/12/16)
It has been so long since our last update! We have been busy!!
Re-did the exhaust from the test pipes back to quiet things down a bit and comply with Rally America noise restrictions. Added a 30" glasspack after the Y-pipe to act as a resonator, as well as a flowmaster 10 series single chamber muffler at the end of the exhaust. Last but not least a Nameless Performance catalyst tip with a v-band. Putting the cat at the end of the exhaust keeps it out of harms way, keeps it from burning out, and makes it easy to see during tech inspection.
Next thing on the list was a Sparco 6-pole kill switch to cut the power in the event of an emergency (In case it gets lit ) It interrupts the main 2 gauge power cable, the ignition circuit, and grounds out through a resistor to prevent a power surge through the ECU.
Last but not least, we installed a 4" shifter extension to bring the **** closer to the height of the steering wheel. Moving them closer together should make shifting easier at speed.
Continued (8/12/16)
We had a race in June at Okemo Mountain in Vermont! The day started out great, then we ran into trouble. On the hottest day of the year BOTH cooling fans decided to die in the middle of our morning runs, which resulted in the car overheating and a DNF. Popped off the hood at lunchtime and managed to make it through the rest of the day! Solutions included killing the engine after each run and some strategically placed ice cubes. As they say in rally... P.O.R!!! (Press On Regardless)
Continued (8/12/16)
After June's overheating disaster, the first order of business was to upgrade the cooling system. The cooling fans were the only thing that failed but we figured it would be a good time for a complete overhaul. Decided on a 48mm Koyo radiator, two SPAL NASCAR-grade 1864 cfm curved blade puller fans, a custom aluminum shroud, Mishimoto silicone hoses, and a weapon-r aluminum overflow tank. Ended up finding a cheap shroud on eBay, which was cut to fit the larger fans and reinforced with some aluminum ribbing between the two fans. Sealed everything up with some high temp weatherstripping, which should dampen some of the vibration and ensure that all of the air that the fans are pulling is passing through the radiator and only the radiator.
Next step was wiring! Reliability is key so we decided to wire the fans on their own individual circuits completely independent of the ECU using quality components. Picked up two Honeywell Mil-spec environmentally sealed toggle switches, two Tyco mil-spec 40 amp push breakers, and two tyco 40 amp relays/panel mounted relay sockets. The breakers in place of fuses allow you to reset the circuit on the fly. All connections were crimped, soldered, heat shrinked, and wrapped with flame proof wire loom. Made a custom switch/relay panel, which we mounted on the dash (may or may not be a recycled No Parking sign) The stock fans are wired from the bottom of the fans, we wired everything from the top for easy access and to protect everything from rocks and dirt. These baby's move some SERIOUS air! 3,728 cfm of fury. Burped the system half a dozen times and put the car through a stationary stress test.. idle to temperature, 5 mins of high rpm, idle for 20 minutes, an additional 5 minutes of high RPM, and an additional 20 minutes of idle.. The new cooling system passed with flying colors! 'Field testing' at our next RallyCross event, which will be on 8/27 at Mount Snow in Vermont!
Damn man... If you get a chance could you post your schedule of events your doing with the dates and locations.. It would be cool to go be a spectator and check out the cars and carnage.
Damn man... If you get a chance could you post your schedule of events your doing with the dates and locations.. It would be cool to go be a spectator and check out the cars and carnage.
The dates are usually posted a month or so in advance. Spectators are always free and sometimes the passenger seat is open for ride alongs (I have an extra helmet)
The next two events are Saturday, August 27th at Mount Snow in Vermont, and Saturday, September 10th at Okemo Mountain in Vermont. Racing starts at 9 and we run from 9-12:30 and 1:30-5
That thing is awesome... How is the handling without a rear sway bar on pavement or does it go right from the trailer to the dirt...
Im surprised the diff didnt get welded... I like the new fan controls and relay breaker set-up you still on the oem bushings in the subframe and diff?
Glad that driveshaft is holding up also, did you add some skid plates to the entire underside of the car? I changed out my w brace last week, you could fab up some sweet skid plates utilizing that piece relatively easily I bet...
That thing is awesome... How is the handling without a rear sway bar on pavement or does it go right from the trailer to the dirt...
Im surprised the diff didnt get welded... I like the new fan controls and relay breaker set-up you still on the oem bushings in the subframe and diff?
Glad that driveshaft is holding up also, did you add some skid plates to the entire underside of the car? I changed out my w brace last week, you could fab up some sweet skid plates utilizing that piece relatively easily I bet...
Can't say how it handles on pavement.. it goes right from the trailer to the dirt, then right back onto the trailer. Working on getting it registered and inspected so might have that answer for you soon!
Still on OEM bushings all around. A few of them look pretty worn so we are going to be swapping them all out over the winter. Also replacing the shocks with Bilstein HD's. Last part of the suspension upgrade will be Voodoo control arms.
The breaker panel is perfect! Will allow us to reset and troubleshoot on the fly. Left plenty of room for expansion when we wire up our auxiliary lights and mapping. Going to be running a tablet on a ram mount with GPS/OBDII to keep track of diagnostics, as well as mileage and timing during stages and transit.
Have a big skid plate up front but nothing behind the engine. Working on some additional HDPE skid plates for our next event, going to use some weld-nuts so the plates can be removed if necessary.
Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates- I try to post an update at least once a day 
) It interrupts the main 2 gauge power cable, the ignition circuit, and grounds out through a resistor to prevent a power surge through the ECU. 
Popped off the hood at lunchtime and managed to make it through the rest of the day! Solutions included killing the engine after each run and some strategically placed ice cubes. As they say in rally... P.O.R!!! (Press On Regardless)
