10% faster ?

[NoHachi]

Before you start slapping parts onto the car, have you dialled in your current setup? I have never driven a single km in a rally, but I do some suspension work for a friend that has 30 years of experience under his belt. He has some pretty cool anecdotes of the stuff he did and tried to get his Volvo PV544.

Some interesting stuff: the rear was totally gutted and lightened..however, the huge volvo lump in front made for a now front biased car. So he drove the stage twice, once in front biased trim and once with a bag of sand in the trunk. The car was just as fast each time out. The better F/R ratio made the car easier to drive, negating any power/weight ratio gains available.


According to him, the basic scale of dividends is:
Invest most funds in the nut behind the steering wheel. Nothing makes you faster then more seat time and tuition.
drop weight (doing the cheap stuff whilst keeping a keen eye on your corner weights.)
Invest HEAVILY in the very best tires you can find..there is 10% in tires alone if your class doesn't use a control tire.
Invest in good suspension to handle said tires. Usually its best to contact the suspension guy that actually shows up on some of the stages to help tune. there is a lot of time to be gained by proper alignment (squaring the car), devellopment work with a pyrometer, getting all the slack out of your swaybars, etc.
Power is nice to have, but only from a dead reliable engine.. Best left alone if on a budget. Working on mechanical grip takes priority,

I'll see the guy again next weekend, I'll ask if he has any tips.