As you may have read from our previous posts on the Sparco Rally xD team, they held a good lead on their competitors for most of this season. But no good season is without its own ups and downs. Like any team, the Rally xD crew hit their own set of hurdles to overcome. And as always, they persevered. The final tally brought them a Second Place finish in the 2wd class for Rally America.
Big congratulations to the team for their hard work in getting the car as reliable as it can be!
As I’ve mentioned before, rally racing isn’t easy. This has to be the best, and most brutal form, of automotive parts testing. Many man hours go into prepping a commuter car into a racing platform, ready to take the abuse mother nature can dish out. I’ve seen the beating this xD has taken over this one season, and to say it is an incredible feat to keep it running is an understatement.
It takes a passionate team to keep a car competitive. These guys have spent every opportunity to keep this car going to good use. And I imagine many late weeknights, and some weekends, which would otherwise be spent with family and friends, went right into this xD.
But, as you can see, persistence pays off. BIG TIME. This isn’t just a hobby. This is work. And these guys work hard to get that win.
It doesn’t mean that they can’t have fun, though!
I know I blog about this car a lot. It really is incredible what this small team has done and continues to do. Without a doubt, the next season will be even better. Be prepared for big things from this team to come. I’m referring to you, the reader, to be prepared. Because these guys are clearly ready for the next season!
We recently read this post Speedhunters put up on Andrew Comrie-Picard, driver of the TEIN sponsored Sparco Rally xD. Any follower of Rally America, or of the Rally xD team, know just how great of an addition “ACP” has been to the team.
ACP’s experience driving for several teams, different vehicle platforms and racing formats, and ability to perform well under pressure only adds to the experience the Rally xD team has gained over their tenure as rally competitors.
Without a doubt, the team at Rally xD know how to build a competitive car. They enlist the assistance of only the top names in the aftermarket industry and turn to skilled fabricators and mechanics with racing know-how to take an otherwise plain-Jane econo car into a gravel spitting monster capable of taking the abuse that off-road driving offers as ill reward. They’ve got some serious brainpower working inside of that garage.
But without an operator fully committed to pilot that fabricated chunk of steel and turbocharged madness, it’s simply an awesome looking stationary billboard. Clearly not what would be intended for these guys. But so is not the case when you add ACP to the mix.
Instead, we get a front-wheel drive monster (no, that is not an oxymoron), hurling through the woods and dirt at nerve wracking speeds. Currently, his “full-speed ahead” mentality has netted the team a 2nd place in class in Rally America.
As for now, ACP and team have completed a great exhibition run at the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb. Now it’s time to prep for the final Rally America event for this season. With this in mind, I imagine this guy won’t be lifting off the throttle AT ALL.
Check out the Speedhunters article when you have the chance
Recently, the boys at Sparco Rally xD have been in the middle of prepping their rally car for tarmac duty in preparation of the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Pikes Peak, CO. Although it was originally scheduled to run in July, a wildfire broke out, postponing the event which is now tentatively set for August 12.
But this didn’t stop the Rally xD boys from getting their car ready. As I posted previously, they had a rear beam axle failure. Fortunately, not much was damaged and a new beam was put in (after they reinforced the new beam, that is) along with some rear cosmetic work. Other than that, the car is back to normal!
I must say, this car looks plenty tough in this configuration- 18″ Volk TE37’s on a lowered suspension we’ve helped set up specifically for this tarmac event.
More on the event- The Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb is in its 90th year. That’s right. People have been crazy enough to race vehicles up the 14,100 ft elevation, all while risking the the potential of falling over the ledge (there isn’t much in the way of barriers, except for some select sections of road) and sent tumbling down since the first World War. This all in a quest to clock the lowest elapsed time up the hill. It’s essentially Time Attack, but on a 13 mile road course and with the aforementioned hazard.
Old timey racing.
New for this year is a completely paved course. In previous runs, it was a mixture of pavement and hard packed dirt. So, as you can imagine, one vehicle setup had to serve dual purpose for these dual road conditions. Not an easy feat. The current record to the top is 9:51:278 in a Suzuki SX4. A Suzuki SX4 that resembles very little of the commuter car we can see on local roads.
This race car sports a 910bhp, turbocharged v6 engine with all that power going to all four tires. And that aero looks like it was jacked straight out of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works program, just mounted upside down for road-shoving downforce. So, while it really isn’t a mirror image of an SX4, it’s definitely for the better.
High altitude racing is far from easy. For any of you that have been to areas of high elevation, you probably notice how out of breath you are, even for just a simple walk. Trying to work out in high elevation is even tougher! So imagine a car in which the engine breathes in air to make power does the same thing. Only this time, as the car approaches the 12,000 ft elevation mark, it is down on power by about 30%. This is the effect of elevation- the higher up you go, the less dense the air is. And that lower density air carries less of the power producing oxygen we and our cars need to keep a’moving.
So that explains the big turbocharged horsepower figures. The more air (and fuel) you can force into the engine, the better the chances of it surviving any major loss in power the higher up in altitude it goes.
Good thing the Rally xD is turbocharged, then. It may not be in the 900 bhp mark, but any little bit helps the somewhat tiny 1.8 liter four cylinder.
As always, we hope the Rally xD boys do a great job at this event. By the time you’ve read this, they had already completed the New England Forest Rally (July 13-14), then prep for Pikes Peak again, then back to gravel setup for the Olympus Rally (Sept. 22-23). Daaaaaang, yo! Get some rest somewhere in between all of that, PLEASE!!!
If you’ve been following the Sparco Rally xD team as much as we have, then you know that they have consistently placed podium finishes. As of the Oregon Trail Rally (May 4-6), they temporarily held 1st in championship points under the 2wd class. Good stuff! That’s not an easy task, mind you!
Consistency is key. If you follow these dudes on Facebook and/or Twitter, you’ll see that they completely rework the car after every event, going down their laundry list of items to check, making sure that all components are good to go or replaced if needed well before the next race. I must add that they run a very tight ship- only a handful of guys working on this car. They not only serve as pit crew and transportation, but I’m guessing also as entertainment for their driver and co-driver Andrew Comrie-Picard and Andrew Wimpey. Geez. That’s a lot of work!
After every three or four events, they normally send their custom HG dampers to us for inspection. In some cases, they go longer without inspection, especially when they quickly have to prep for the next event. As with anything rally, these parts take a beating! In our case, it’s normally exterior coatings that get blasted off by dirt and gravel. Minor concern, i suppose.
Before the Oregon Trail Rally on May 4th-6th, Crew Chief Philip Chase brought in the dampers for a quick check. Surprisingly, nothing to really change on the front dampers.
Jon a.k.a. Sir Smiles-A-Lot Inspects The Front Dampers.
But for the rear, he requested remote reservoir mounting (tank detached from damper body), rather than the external mounting (tank attached to damper body) to give them freedom to reposition the external tank and add some needed clearance in the wheel well. Since that kind of work requires complete damper tear down, we overhauled the rear dampers for them. Now they have the reservoir attached by way of a braided steel hose, allowing them to reconfigure reservoir arrangement (they still keep the reservoir close to the damper body, just upside down and a few degrees in towards the chassis).
Still, even with all this preparation and constant rebuilding, something is bound to go wrong in the world of rally. Case in point- the Susquehannock Trail Rally (June 1-3) proved to be the breaking point for the Rally xD. This time, a fatigued rear twist beam axle gave way, pulling apart the axle and the damper assemblies. Ouch! Seven consecutive events can easily do this to a car and its parts. But seven events is also a long time of service! Seems the xD ain’t no cheapo box, afterall!
Susquehannock is no joke. check out this video showing the driving conditions they face
Fortunately, the break was at the beam. So it looks like they’ll be able to repair the car in time for the next event. Also, it seems that our customized HG rear dampers may be able to be repaired, too! That’s testament to the strong twin tube structure of the dampers that can take a good amount of punishment!
Next up is preparation for Pikes Peak, then off to New England Forest Rally (NEFR). They’ve got some time to knock out repairs.
I wish them the best this season, as these hard-working guys continue to do a great job time and again. On our end, we’ll continue to do the best we can to make sure their TEIN HG dampers are in top working order!
Keep it up, guys!
For an econobox, this Rally xD is one tough shoe!.
There’s some good recap of the events at Rally America’s website
www.rally-america.com
And of course, the dudes at Sparco Rally xD keep their blog up-to-date!
www.rallyxd.com
You can also follow them on Facebook (Rally xD) and Twitter (@RallyxD)! Oh, and you can follow us on Facebook, too (TEIN USA, Inc.)!
P.S.- if you were to look up the Finnish term “Sisu”, I’m almost positive that you’d find a picture of the Rally xD team. Look it up!
Congratulations to the Rally xD Team pulling a 2nd place win just beating 3rd place by a few seconds!
Even though the teams were faced with a portion of blindness due to high speeds and dry weather, which combined created major dust clouds affecting some of the teams on day one of The Rally of the 100 Acre Woods in Salem, Missouri which forced the Rally xD to fifth place on Day 1.
They eventually managed a second place finish but not without battling their way through the ranks.
Nice shot of their custom TEIN Suspension.
Good Luck on their next event! Keep up the Good Work Rally xD Team!
TEIN’s global involvement in producing aftermarket suspension goes well beyond the Japanese Domestic brands, such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda, etc. In 2003, we started developing suspensions for European and U.S. Domestic brands. Soon after, we started campaigning our line of suspensions for these markets and had demo cars, like the E46 BMW M3(on TEIN SS-P) and MkV GTI widebody(on TEIN Euro Damper). But, my favorite one to date would be the 2005 S197 Ford Mustang showcasing our TEIN Type Flex dampers.
Other than our Type Flex dampers as suspension modifications, some of my favorite modifications are ProCharger cetrifugal supercharger, custom 3″ exhaust by Fujitsubo, massive Wilwood 6 piston front and 2 piston rear big brake kit, a host of Defi Red Racer gauges, and the 19″x8.5″ front and 19″x9.5″ rear Volk GTF’s. The list of modifications goes well beyond those and definitely contribute to a very unique car build for the TEIN group.
Below are a few pics
Sparco seats, steering wheel and shift knob. Clarion DVD/ Navigation Double DIN, and of course DEFI Red Racer gauges.
Polished Procharger kit along with polished piping. Exedy clutch and flywheel. 496WHP
Wilwood 6 piston BBK kit.
JBA Longtube headers feeding custom Fujitsubo exhaust. BMR Fabrication subframe and front control arms.
Torsen Differential, more BMR suspension links and chassis bracing.
