artur1808 said:
In reply to irish44j :
Wouldn't you have the same problem of pins/hinges not lining up if you hit something with the factory setup?
yes, but if my pins don't line up, the hood will still be attached to the car. Worst case it bangs up and down over bumps. More likely I throw a quick ratchet strap from each wheel arch across the hood and keep going.
Note, I only have pins at the front to keep it "latched" - the rear are still the factory roller thingies.
The front of car access is a valid point I suppose. I"ve never really had any issue with it though. Not like I'm changing radiators out on stage :)
Side note: hood has to be removed regardless. Hood must be openable from outside (i.e. latched with pins, a strap, etc). The factory latch (and cable, and pull) are easy deletes :)
I agree that rally cars are rarely light, especially at the grassroots level. However, my mentality has been that if I can reduce the weight a bit or take steps to improve front/rear balance of the car, why not? In the case of engine bay weight reduction (hood hinge/latch, power steering, ABS, etc) these are all things that (in my opinion) aren't necessary. Obviously a big skid plate, skid reinforcement, lights, etc will add a bunch of weight, but if I can offset some of that, I might as well.
yep, I'm just saying don't just eliminate weight for the sake of lightness if it compromises other things. If you reduce weight via doing things you're gonna do for another reason, that's obviously just a bonus :)
I actually enjoy not having power steering; I've daily driven and rallycrossed a bunch of miatas without power steering and got used to it. Even at stage rally speeds a few weekends ago when I took the car up to northern michigan for some "testing", I didn't have any issue with it. It's really only noticeable at parking lot speeds in my opinion.
You'll notice it when you hit a large object, rut, etc at speed and it rips the wheel from your hands. I damn near broke a finger rallycrossing on a rutted course in Eisele's non-power-steering e30. PS isn't there to make it easier to parallel park in stage rally, it's there to reduce large shocks that can actually hurt your hands/wrists if you're not in perfect grip form. Also, it's a LOT of driving at high-stress. I liek to think I have relatively strong arms, and they're very tired by the end of a rally WITH power steering.
On the topic of gear/tools in the car, what sorts of small parts/bolts do you carry?
What I did in the Jetta and intend to do in this car is to carry spare, jack, impact, fuses, basic tools, ibuprofen, and water. (in addition to the first aid kit and whatnot that are required) What do you carry in terms of quick-fix items and nuts/bolts? I've always thought it would be good to have a variety of hardware, but haven't given much thought to what that should be and how I'd organize it.
I'll pull out my kit and write it down if I get a chance. Luckily e30s use a lot of the same size stuff throughout, and in most cases a longer bolt can sub in for a shorter one. So I tend to carry a couple nuts and bolts of each regular e30 thread, maybe in a couple lengths. A couple CV axle bolts, a couple nuts and bolts for the exact DS/guibo length (trust me on this one). And a few other random bolts and washers for things like my skidplate or underbody sheeting (when you do this, try to use the same size bolts as used elsewhere on the car - 17mm head like your lugs, whatever size (M12, I think?) for the skid, etc). If you need to drop it on stage (or replace bolts that fall out), it's good to make it something you can do with your impact/tire change tool with no changes.
I have a few little containers with electrical fittings and other small things, hose clamps, The "parts box" also has a small multimeter (HF), a roll of Gorilla tape, a c0uple bungees and ratchet straps, and random other stuff. And I carry a small HF air compressor. This is all in that "tackle-box" thing I spent a long time looking for that fits perfectly in the e30 stock battery tray in the trunk , if you remember from my thread. Zipties ziptied to the cage. a little roll of bailing wire ziptied to the cage (you WILL want this when you are draggin exhaust!)
Tools - we have a tool roll with basically only sizes that we need for the e30. 10, 13, 17, 19. plus some standard tools (adjustable, vise grip, screwdrivers, snips, etc). Nothing fancy. It's the same roll I throw in the Porche for road trips (except I add 14mm since the P-car has a lot of those, lol).
We have a cheap wally world backpack strapped to the cage in the back seat to toss a spare pair of socks in, some snacks, bug spray, ibuprofen, an extra bottle of water, and maybe a raincoat if it's a wet event, or a hoodie if it's a winter event. Occasionally i'll throw some small part in there that I suspect may be going bad (idk, fuel pump once).
I take some E36 M3 from some rally friends about the gear I carry, sometimes. But I'm there to finish, not shave 1 second per stage off by not taking 1lb of nuts and bolts. Hell, we've even carried two spare tires on some occasions (especially winter rallies since we're using street snow tires). The guys who make fun always seem to be the guys that, sure, are fast, and also DNF half the time. screw that.........
