911 Carrera RallyCross Project

9 minute(s) of a 245 minute read

Our car has been sidelined by our 85 UR quattro that recently came back to life after a 2 year engine refurbishment. With winter looming we have been driving that every chance we have gotten, as you can imagine. However we did register for the Detroit SCCA RallyCross on December 3rd which, by happy coincidence is where Ryan Symancek of /DRIVE filmed most of this last year. Enjoy.

12-17-2016

We put the winter tires on a couple of weeks ago:




Not because it was snowing but because we entered a local Rallycross.




and the conditions were cold and wet. Not great for proper rally tires.






We still slid about quite a bit






Video:






In car video:






We didn't hit any cones all day and finished a respectable fifth in class. Not bad considering we haven't driven in anger for six months. When we finished the car was very dirty:

2-2-2017

Last weekend was our annual pilgramage up north to the Sno*Drift Rally. As usual we had a vendor booth and used the Carrera RX in our display and to go spectate. However, before we set off we had some winter prep to take care of. Our 911 does not get very warm in the winter, the inside does but the oil does not. We rarely see it rise above 160F so we took Tuthill's advice and replaced the Miller's 10W50 race oil with their 5W40 race oil. Tuthill runs an ice driving school in Scandinavia during the winter and swears by this stuff.








We also shielded the engine oil cooler with cardboard to retain some heat. We have found this to give us around 10-20 degress more oil temperature.




Then we were off.




No snow on the ground and temperatures in the 40s but we were assured that 4 hours north of us it would be below freezing and snowing. Good, as conditions up there had been quite warm and melted the snow pack they had built up already on the stage road turning them into ice rinks. A good snow covering would help all the competitors out. We were not too disappointed but even more snow would have been welcome.




We unloaded the car and retired to how rental house to catch up with friends. We spent the next two days camped out in our display and driving between stages enjoying the rear wheel drive traction from the Nokian R2 winter tires. At one stage we thought we would need help after parking on an ice covered steep hill but the care just pushed its self out to the amazement of all around. We even manage to recruit a new fan and future rally champion.








When we returned home we were happy to find a magazine from Norway in our mail box with a story about our car in it. Thanks BIL. Anyone speak Norwegian?

2-27-2017

That's an interesting question. The answers are mostly driven by contemporary tire supply. For gravel rally tires stop at 15" (with the odd exception) so 15" wheels are required. 13" and 14" rally tires also exist but those would be too small for the 911 anyway. We used to run 205/65-15 in the rear and 175 or later 185/65-15 on the front but this year will be running 195/65-15 all round as we now do for winter tires (on the same wheels) This is not for performance reasons but so we can also run the same wheels and tires on our other care, an 83 Audi quattro rally car that we are currently building.

For tarmac events (autocross and track days in our case, we run 225/45-15 rear and 205/45-15 front on 15" BZ wheel (Fuchs style). These are very light and nimble with low gearing due to their small overall diameter. We also have a set of 255/40-17 which we pair with 225/45-17 on our 17" BZ wheels but, to be honest, these are just for marleting purposes as we wanted to promote the 17" wheel when it came out. They are big and heavy compared to the 15" and I imagine slower but have never tested them back to back.

Of course the very existence of the 17" inch versions is driven by tire availability, especially in the wider sizes as there is very little streetable rubber available these days in the necessary sizes.

Hope this clears some things up.

3-31-2017

We were honored to have our 911 Carrera RX invited to the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn last week. It was displayed in the atrium outside a meeting hall in some very distinguished company. First we had to bring it home










Some Porsche/Audi love




Next day we took the winter tires off and mounted the summer BFG Rivals in readiness for our next adventure in New Jersey. Stay tuned.

5-25-2017

It's been nearly two months since our last update so no wonder those upstart safari cars ^ thought they could sneak in. OK, back to our car.

In Aprilhe car was invited to the motoring club car show at Oakland University and displayed next to the FSAE car we sponsor.




During April and early May, as time permitted we did a few minor mods:

We replaced the cone seat steel lug inserts with ball seat so all our Porsche wheels can now use the same lug nuts.




and then some hood pins, front only for now. Rear looks more involved.






and finally a period rally computer.




Last week we dragged it down to Ohio to display it and spectate at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally