Author Topic: need a little help...  (Read 8495 times)

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Offline RoosterBooster

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need a little help...
« on: March 26, 2008, 06:51:23 PM »
actually i guess i need A LOT of help  :-o :roll:
Hi, my name is stephan (i was born and raised in switzerland ...so please excuse my sometimes bumpy english :oops:)
i build very radical off-road cars that we mainly drive in the desert and sand dune areas of the west like Dumont CA, Little Sahara UT, etc...
my best friend Ryan English (and owner of the most powerfull car i ever build) was/is already a speed-freak but now he got somehow infected with the Landspeed bug :-o
i`m new to LSR and dont know much about it but he told me that two older LSRacing legends (IIRC the names are Lufkin and Isky  if i spell the names right ??) visited his home in Henderson NV and after seeing his car they told him he absolutely has to take it to Bonneville and see what it can do WOT

but here starts the trouble; there is no doubt the car has the power and the strength to go fast ....but it was designed for serious offroad action only (with things like 21" suspension travel at each A-arm corner....i guess thats about 20" more then what we would need on the salt lol )

i think all the aerodynamics are completely wrong for high speed;
the car is designed to scoop large amounts of cooling air into the radiators and coolers that are needed with the amount of HP we are running.
i guess the car is about as aerodynamic as a barn door :-P
to make things worst the car has full skid plates (they can safe your butt in the dunes but create a huge amount of lift under speed)

here are a couple pictures of the car and some tech data:


the car (we like to call it V-Rex) has a front/midship mounted all aluminum, all forget internals 572 cid brodix tall deck bigblock with a 5 rotor dry sump system on it. it is force feed by low mounted twin turbos that share a large intercooler.
the trans is a top of the line custom full manual TH 400/Allison hybrid with 10" race TC (~2200 rpm stall and ultra tight to keep slip/heat at a minimum) together with a large Fluidyne Enduro Transcooler and a scatter-proof SFI bellhousing.



the engine/EFI/turbos are set up for endurance/good driveability and not peak HP but it still made 855 hp at the rear wheels on the last dyno pull (at 12 psi boost and 91 pump gas) the engine/fuel system could handle a lot more boost (on race gas) if needed.
the rearend is a very stout custom B&J Quick change with all 300M internals (including the torsional torque sensing differential) and a oil pump/filter cooler setup.

the rear A-arm suspension uses race 935 CV`s with 300m axles. the rear hubs run on full floater GN snouts and are driven by 300m drive plates and stub axles.
the 1.75" DOM tube frame is extensively triangulated and also has already some "armor plates" in key locations (mainly in the center tunnel around the trans/driveshaft and between the tires and the driver compartment (the 39" tall sand "paddle" tires are not really designed for the speed this car can reach in the dunes)


all 4 A-arms are controlled by 3" race 3 tube bypass shocks and progressive two stage coil carriers
the car weights 4200 lbs wet; the weight distribution is 45% front : 55% rear. wheelbase is 130", overall length is 14' and it is 92" wide front and rear (with 35" desert tires).
needles to say that the car is very fast in the desert/dunes but where the heck do i start to modify it for high speed :? :?
i guess lowering the car and limit the travel would be the first step. switching to longer QC gears and start searching for high-speed tires is next....

we actually plan to go to El Mirage in a couple weeks for a little testrun to see how the car feels like at higher speed (the car was already over 130 mph in the desert and except for some front lift it was reacting very stable)
we dont expect to brake any record with our brick on wheels (i guess it is/will be the fastest dune buggie anyway) this is strictly just for the fun of it :-D
any and all suggestions, tips and help are highly appreciated
stephan

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2008, 06:57:24 PM »
build a liner.....put that in it ...then you'll be hammering.....
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

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Offline RoosterBooster

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2008, 07:01:30 PM »
build a liner.....put that in it ...then you'll be hammering.....
lol his wife will kill him if he spends any more money on that car :roll: :-D

Offline 836dstr

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2008, 07:37:38 PM »
First of all, it's a beautiful car and great craftmanship.

As for Bonneville you would have to run "Time Only" as there is no class the car could run in.

Like you said the "Aero Dynamics" would be really wrong for high speed. You wound have to do a bunch of work to get it "low and long".

Want to put the engine in a Roadster?  Just kidding.

Tom

Offline John Noonan

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2008, 08:31:48 PM »
Throw away or get rid of everything besides the engine, trans and driveline parts..and start over..

dwarner

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2008, 09:36:00 PM »
There is no provision in the class structure for the car. The rules are far, far removed from the build that the car cannot be acommendated. May I suggest that you attend the first El Mirage meet (May 17 & 18), buy a rulebook, check out the cars and classes and see what is required to race.

If you attempt to go to El Mirage in a couple of weeks to test you will more than likely end up with a ticket from the BLM rangers. It is no longer like the old days. Bless their hearts Isky and Jack are a little behind in how the lakes are run in 2008.

Good luck. I am sure you will get a lot of suggestions on how to proceed. Graet looking car by the way,
DW

Offline Stainless1

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2008, 11:12:34 PM »
USFRA World of Speed 130 or 150 club would be your best bet to run on the salt.  Their requirements are available from the link on the homepage.  It is nice on the salt in September.
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline jacksoni

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2008, 10:00:22 AM »
Dan- If it meets all safefy requirements (cage, fire etc) why is that not a lakester? And allowed to run?
Jack Iliff
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Offline Stainless1

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2008, 10:04:53 AM »
Dan- If it meets all safefy requirements (cage, fire etc) why is that not a lakester? And allowed to run?

I had that thought until I saw the engine size, the requirements might drive a lot of time and money, that is why I suggested WOS.  He could go 159 legally if it will....
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline Stan Back

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2008, 11:12:45 AM »
Gorgeous car -- just not a LSR car.  Not a lakester either.  Body parts outside of the plane of the wheels (or whatever).  Cage not up to SCTA head restraint specs, and probably lots of other things that I don't know or can't see.  Would cost a bundle to convert it, and probably ruin it for what it was built for.

How about getting a cop radar ticket -- could be less expensive.
Past (Only) Member of the San Berdoo Roadsters -- "California's Most-Exclusive Roadster Club" -- 19 Years of Bonneville and/or El Mirage Street Roadster Records

Offline RoosterBooster

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2008, 12:01:01 PM »
thanks for all the reply`s  :-)

USFRA World of Speed 130 or 150 club would be your best bet to run on the salt.  Their requirements are available from the link on the homepage.  It is nice on the salt in September.

Stainless1, thanks for that tip....a "time only" run is what we are looking for.....i guess our idea is as old as hotrodding itself; all we want is to see how fast V-Rex will go if we put our foot in it :-P....

Offline RoosterBooster

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2008, 12:04:03 PM »
Dan- If it meets all safefy requirements (cage, fire etc) why is that not a lakester? And allowed to run?
i actually forgot to add that the car is Street legal (at least here in AZ) ....would that help?


Offline RoosterBooster

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #12 on: March 27, 2008, 12:08:51 PM »
Throw away or get rid of everything besides the engine, trans and driveline parts..and start over..

maybe in a year or two that could be a option; run the drivetrain in the buggy during the sand season and then bolt everything in a LSR car for the speed season :-D

Offline 836dstr

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #13 on: March 27, 2008, 12:58:58 PM »
Stephan,

First, never appologize for your command of English, you have done great!

The plan of running the sand before the dirt or salt makes sense. Many LSR cars are sold as "rollers". The majority of the cost is in the drive line. You have what appears to be a killer engine, trans and rearend.

Look on this Forum under LSR "stuff for sale". Another good source is the ads in the Bonneville Racing News. That's how we got our chassis.

Tom

Offline 836dstr

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Re: need a little help...
« Reply #14 on: March 27, 2008, 01:22:37 PM »
Stephan,

Just had another thought.  While it would require some modifications to the air intake and turbo ducting this driveline would make an interesting combo for a Rear Engine Modified Roadster in a wide body like a '34 Ford.

TG