Rally Cross

[Captain Awesome]

Right on and good luck keep us posted.

 

[roostinyfz]

I think that weight is the biggest problem with the raptor. I would be bailing the spare tire, rear tailgate, rear seats, hitch receiver, anything to save weight at all cost. I would run in 4 wheel drive sport mode, with the rear differential locked in anything that isn't dry pavement. You could relocate the battery to the back of the truck. I would run less air pressure in the rear tires to help with oversteer. It would be interesting to see how light somebody could get the raptor!

 

[Huck]

I covered this on fb as well with squattingdog. at 6k pounds ditching the rear seats and tailgate aren't going to do anything, same with the battery. Moving things like that in a wrx works because that is much closer to a 50/50 weight distribution front to back. With your 70/30 split for the truck, which is probably close to 75/25 nothing is going to shift that distribution towards the back other than weight. (im ballparking the distribution, dont take that as set in stone)

If you cant modify anything, just go out and have a blast. You may not be competitive with a wrx, but who cares. Go big or go home and just have fun.

And by the way, this question went un-answered on fb. Wheres this rally at? Depending where i might come up to support you.

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 PM ----------

With the cast iron block, the raptor will never be light.

 

[Conejoracer]

Where is this rally cross event?

 

[bstoner59]

Are you on the stock setting for the shocks? Can you remove the block from under the leaf springs and still be in the stock class?

 

[roostinyfz]

I covered this on fb as well with squattingdog. at 6k pounds ditching the rear seats and tailgate aren't going to do anything, same with the battery. Moving things like that in a wrx works because that is much closer to a 50/50 weight distribution front to back. With your 70/30 split for the truck, which is probably close to 75/25 nothing is going to shift that distribution towards the back other than weight. (im ballparking the distribution, dont take that as set in stone)

If you cant modify anything, just go out and have a blast. You may not be competitive with a wrx, but who cares. Go big or go home and just have fun.

And by the way, this question went un-answered on fb. Wheres this rally at? Depending where i might come up to support you.

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 PM ----------

With the cast iron block, the raptor will never be light.

I have to disagree with this. I bet with a little weekend wrenching you could easily shave off 600 -900lbs. That's 10-15%. That is a huge deal in racing. I don't care what type. You can't forget F=MA and with a a little weight savings especially wheel and tire weights translates into a much quicker truck.

While I agree the raptor is a pig up front and we will never even approach 50/50 weight bias just switching the battery from front to back is a 3 to 4% weight bias swing. This is a big deal. If you went even farther with radiators ect. This starts to add up big. Then if you can get the suspension and tire geometry dialed you might just surprise some people. Just depends how serious you want to get.

 

[Squatting Dog]

I agree... This truck is good from the factory, but it could be better.. Balancing the Raptor would really clean up the handling and performance on and off road.

-Greg (aka squatting dog)

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

ok first things first. this truck is going to understeer AND oversteer like crazy. because of the weight distribution you are going to have to start your turn and slide earlier than you would a rally car. the problem you are going to run into, is that the back will slide out fairly easy since there is no weight back there so you can rotate very quickly, but because of the front end weight, the truck will want to push you to the outside of the turn. so it will be very easy to do one or the other. second, you should learn to left foot brake to start your turns. third, remove the lock on your e brake so it does not lock in place. you want it to return once you let off the brake pedal. this is usually used in extreme tight turns, but because it is a foot activated e brake you do not want to be messing with the release lever coming out of a turn. fourth, finding the apex of a turn and gas/brake timing is critical. you want to be facing the exit of the turn just before you reach the apex. this allows you to be wide open throttle as you are exiting the turn. fifth, as stated above, disable any traction control you can. this will definitely mess with your drifting technique. sixth, there is a reason for these drifting techniques, it is to set yourself up for the turn. it is all about weight transfer, you are not just sliding around a turn for show. the slide is allowing you to get the correct angle of approach and exit in a turn. remember, sliding around a turn is NOT the fastest way around it. the more power to the ground and less wheel spin , the better. you want to be on the gas sooner and on the brakes later. seventh, PRACTICE a lot and get used to how the truck will handle on many different surfaces. dirt, gravel, grass, shallow mud, going from tarmac to dirt, and from dirt to tarmac, etc. once you get these basics down, it just comes down to how well you can apply them in a race.

 

[Badgerscab6.2]

If your not going to run in ORM to keep the rear diff in full lock, what about running in sport mode and TOW/HAUL mode? Thought I Saw or somewhere that TOW/HAUL mode re-maps the ECM to have a better torque curve and better shifts points to stay out of higher gears. Where as ORM re-maps for HP. Would more low torque coming out of turns be better?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

i havent completely figured out these trucks yet, but in terms of rally driving, low end torque is always good to have. however if gaining that low end torque gives up too much power in the higher rpms it might not be worth it. you want to be coming out of the turn as fast as possible so if you hook up coming out, then you want to have the high hp. if you find you are constantly sliding around, then definitely try out a lower rpm setting. but remember low end torque will cause excessive wheel spin too.

also i forgot to mention, in 4wd the steering becomes heavier and can definitely alter how your truck handles. make sure to get used to both rwd nd 4wd.