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Rally Metro 1.0
Topic Started: Aug 1 2013, 10:36 PM (3,467 Views)
ofensus
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Hey, teamswift seems dead lately, so I decided to come visit over here.

Here's my 95 Metro in action from last weekend:

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Coche Blanco
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Troll Certified

Nice!
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evmetro


Welcome! That looks like a blast!
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geo pet
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" my strange addiction "

wow looks like a lot of fun , did you build it ? got a build thread somewhere about it ?
and welcome to the forum also .
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kel


Looks like a good tyme!
Edited by kel, Aug 2 2013, 12:32 AM.
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ofensus
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No build thread... but I can answer any questions you have about it.

We have a tiny bit of info on our site
Ofensus Racing

Lots of videos on youtube (some boring, some not as boring) :)
youtube.com/user/ofensus
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HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

what kind of suspension mods have you done to it? what breaks most often?

i had thought of converting my geo to a rally car instead of selling it once i no longer use it for work.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

Welcome to your new forum, ofensus! :coffee

Great videos! :rocker
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ofensus
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Front suspension has broken the most.

At Prescott Rally last year, we lost a lower shock bolt and crashed in to a boulder :(
At Mendocino this year, one of the stages was brutally rough, we sheared the nut off the top of a KYB GR2 strut.

The car has been really reliable though. The only thing besides those that has gone wrong is the coolant gauge only works sometimes, we bent two reinforced stock wheels from driving mistakes, and the transmission is a bit broken since before the rally conversion (2nd gear doesn't synchronize).

Suspension now is:
H&R lowering springs
Front strut: KYB GR-2
Rear strut: customized 36mm Bilstein inverted
Tires: BF Goodrich GM5 Gravel Tires in 175/70/R13 (only GM4/medium compound is available now)

Suspension in the next couple months:
I'm working on getting similar 36mm inverted Bilsteins fitted in the front. Just today got the final pieces of the puzzle of how to mount them.
Also going to change spring rates and damping rates.
The spring rates from the H&R are about right. Previously we had it too stiff. I'm going to replicate the spring rates from the H&R in taller springs to bring the car maybe 1/2" above stock ride height because we keep smashing our skidplate.

Here are pics of the front struts I'm trying to get fitted (requires figuring out turning bearings and top mount):
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Edited by ofensus, Aug 2 2013, 01:59 AM.
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ofensus
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HelterSkelter
Aug 2 2013, 01:24 AM
i had thought of converting my geo to a rally car instead of selling it once i no longer use it for work.
That's how this one started life... my wife's daily driver. Had about 150k hard miles on it when we got her another car. She had the idea that I should turn it in to a race car :)
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Mythstae
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:hmm Did it become pink before or after beginning its career as a race car?
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HelterSkelter
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#1 Pizza Driver

what are the spring rates on the h&r springs?

was it fine to run on the kybs and h&rs? that's what i have in my current setup, it seems very easy to bottom out with street use, albeit very harsh street use (those pizzas don't deliver themselves).

i'm guessing that using a cam bolt to adjust the camber, or two to greatly adjust it, would compromise the strength of the shock's mounting to the point of failure in rallying? with my 96 hubs on my 94 geo i end up with over 1 degree of positive camber and i chew up my 195 45 15 tires when i hit bumps. any ideas on how to take that 2ish positive camber and turn it into 1-1.5 negative without losing any strength?
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ofensus
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Mythstae
Aug 2 2013, 02:08 AM
:hmm Did it become pink before or after beginning its career as a race car?
Pink was my choice, during the rally transformation :)
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Mythstae
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ofensus
Aug 2 2013, 02:13 AM
Mythstae
Aug 2 2013, 02:08 AM
:hmm Did it become pink before or after beginning its career as a race car?
Pink was my choice, during the rally transformation :)
It's very eye-catching...
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ofensus
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Quote:
 
what are the spring rates on the h&r springs?

I don't know... that's one of the challenges :) I know they're less stiff than the 250lbs that I had up front originally.
I'm going to try to build a cheap rig to measure them to inform my choices from the Summit catalog of cheap springs.

Quote:
 
was it fine to run on the kybs and h&rs?

It's probably just too low. We get a lot more grip on those springs than the much stiffer springs I put in at first. I've blown about 3 pairs of kyb struts. They can't take rally punishment.

Quote:
 
i'm guessing that using a cam bolt to adjust the camber

A cam bolt would break, almost definitely. To get the eccentric cam on the bolt, there is a section near the flanges that is thinner and has a sharp corner. It will just shear there.

Camber is definitely non-ideal. The new front shocks have slotted bolt holes in them to adjust camber that way. From what I've read, about -1.5 degrees is about what is good for rally, and I think I can hit that just with the opened up strut hole.
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