Hayabusa powered Geo Metro rally car?

Went to New England Forest Rally this weekend and had a blast as usual. One of the cars that I'm quite curious about is this Geo Metro which supposedly has a Hayabusa engine + sequential trans, chain driven. Unfortunately it didn't prove to be very reliable (at a guess, I heard the chain broke on the second stage and I never saw it going quickly after that.

Pictures:

This HAS to be built and/or driven by one of you crazy berkeleyers or someone you know. My request to you: I need more info and details on this!

On a side note, why don't people rally Miatas? Lack of space for two people and a cage? Ground clearance? Discuss.

thestig99 wrote: On a side note, why don't people rally Miatas? Lack of space for two people and a cage? Ground clearance? Discuss.

It has been done by one person. The main problem is the removable top.

From the rulebook:

B. Eligibility is restricted to street licensed, closed-bodied, four-wheeled vehicles. Fabric tops and side panels are prohibited. Vehicles with removable tops (e.g., Mazda Miata, Jeep CJ) are not considered closed-bodied vehicles and are therefore not eligible under these Rules.

EvanB wrote:

thestig99 wrote: On a side note, why don't people rally Miatas? Lack of space for two people and a cage? Ground clearance? Discuss.

It has been done by one person. The main problem is the removable top. From the rulebook:

B. Eligibility is restricted to street licensed, closed-bodied, four-wheeled vehicles. Fabric tops and side panels are prohibited. Vehicles with removable tops (e.g., Mazda Miata, Jeep CJ) are not considered closed-bodied vehicles and are therefore not eligible under these Rules.

Ahhh that makes sense. Thanks for that.

I was at Mexico Rec on Friday when this blew up... Damn shame, I wanted to see more of it.

I'm surprised that I don't know who did that. That motor is a poor choice for that application, IMO. It would be far more useful with a JDM G15, and DOHC head.

Zomby woof wrote: I'm surprised that I don't know who did that. That motor is a poor choice for that application, IMO. It would be far more useful with a JDM G15, and DOHC head.

Or for the amount of time and effort involved, they simply could have ran a G13B with massive cams and tons of headwork. I do like their spirit and innovation, but I also question why they used a 4 door sedan of all the models. Heavier, longer wheelbase, doesn't add up to me.

Would be quite hilarious (as in awesome) to see though. I wonder if they utilized a diff or not.

I like the two cans of chain lube on the front bumper

Hi everyone,

I would love to answer any questions you guys have about the car. We're currently on our way back to Missouri, so I'll post some pictures of the drive train as soon as I get the chance. What I did was cnc an axel plate to house the diff and fitted a sprocket to it. It was a fairly simple build compared to our A-fuel dragster back at the shop. It took around 6 months to complete. I had been wanting to do this build for a long time and rally gave me the justification. We used a hayabusa because of a rule in the Rally America rulebook allowing you to use any engine you want as long as it's from the same manufacturer. The car has been very reliable, but was definitely not set up for the harshness of NEFR. We're used to running on clay out here in Missouri and struggled to get traction on the sand and gravel here in New England. We ended up damaging an axel coming off the jump at the third super special stage and were not able to finish the stage. We got the axel fixed, but ended up pulling out of the race after the errol super special. There was no sense in possibly damaging the car on the later stages as they were pretty gnarly and we disqualified anyways. We have yet to throw a chain even after a couple thousand miles of testing. We definitely need to soften the suspension and get some proper tires though. Thankfully Lucas Oil has made this project a lot easier for myself, Josh Dampier (co-driver), and my brother Luke McGEE who is going to run the A-Fueler.

Thanks for the interest, Briar McGEE www.mcgeeracing.com www.lucasoil.com

HiTempguy wrote: Or for the amount of time and effort involved, they simply could have ran a G13B with massive cams and tons of headwork.

Or a stock late model J20 with 4.4 diff. Most of the HP of a Hayabusa, 1 1/2 times the torque and the reliability of a new car. You're right. Poor chassis choice.

Glad to see the lucas banner in another form of grassroots motorsports.

chandlerGTi wrote: Glad to see the lucas banner in another form of grassroots motorsports.

Lucas is a big sponsor of a California rally series iirc. Same with Bilstein somewhere on the west side of the states.

It's cool to see unique applications, but moving something much over 1000 lbs, and FWD at that, makes it a tough go. I assume the rules don't allow moving that to the rear?

We were originally going to place the motor in the rear and even had permission to do so. However, for the sake of time, we made it FWD. The motor has no problem moving the 1800 lbs. Hell, the stock Geo only makes around 50 hp.

That Metro would make about 1 1/2 times that stock.

Would love to see some video of this creation.

McGEE524 wrote: We were originally going to place the motor in the rear and even had permission to do so. However, for the sake of time, we made it FWD. The motor has no problem moving the 1800 lbs. Hell, the stock Geo only makes around 50 hp.

Ideal choice? Probably not. But very cool. If everyone took the same route how dull would that be?

Now that it's there keep it there. Put a second one in back. :) You already have permission...

You could probably ask ansonivan up there for some pointers...

keethrax wrote:

McGEE524 wrote: We were originally going to place the motor in the rear and even had permission to do so.

Now that it's there keep it there. Put a second one in back. :) You already have permission...

You're going to need one engine per CV axle, this will eliminate the need for differentials which will save weight. Live long and prosper.

Haha, we were actually talking about that earlier. I'm not sure that would be legal in Rally America though.

600cc Superbike powered Geo Metro

Made me think of this.

I'm kind of interested to see pictures of the chain drive setup, but I'm not seeing any on the website that was linked to. Can anyone help me out?

I too would like a picture of what you did for the chain drive.Is the diff located in the center'ish to allow for 2 cv's of the same lenght or is it offset as in the stock diff location?. Yes a hatch would be lighter and shorter but it amazing what gearing will do for you,you hardly need 190mph gearing for a rally car.

I like the thinking out of the box and executing it. Having visions of Frasier-Nash drivetrains. Although the thought of a CVT trans to keep the 'busa on the power band are bouncing around the head, too. Bulk and weight might be a limiting factor, though.

Would a turbo on the 'busa motor over-complicate things? Just asking..........

mrwillie wrote: Would a turbo on the 'busa motor over-complicate things? Just asking..........

Quite a few Suzuki motors have been boosted. Most were Bandit 12 motors so I don't see why the 'Busa derivative wouldn't handle boost as well. Keep in mind these are high compression motors so keep the boost conservative.

mrwillie wrote: Would a turbo on the 'busa motor over-complicate things? Just asking..........

There is "virtually" no point. You should get a 200hp fwd car and drive it on gravel. You don't need (and can't really use) even THAT much power... especially since you also can't find wider than 185 or 195 gravel rally tires in 14" rims for the Swift. And then they don't fit because they are too tall... do you see where I am going with this? Once you get past about 250hp in a 2wd car on dirt (front or rwd) it becomes an exercise in futility and destroyed tires.