rally suspension

[mlbbaseball]

does anyone know if there is a rally suspension out there?? i am not sure how my tein setup will do.

[Sponsor]

[WRCwannabe]

your teins will break after 1 rally, 2 if you are lucky.

hotbits is a good rally suspension but be prepared for like 3k haha.

there are a few others i jsut need to remember first

[ah1f39]

Check out this series of articles. There may be something to help. They have some of thier suspension infi.

http://www.modified.com/projectcars/...t_1/index.html

[Dcl2049]

K-sport has asphalt rally coilovers but you're probably going to be shooting through the woods aren't you?

[mlbbaseball]

i've read about that car before. thats a sick setup, but it was like 6k for their custom design. nor can i afford 3k and get racing next year. please see if u can find the other options WRC. i've done my fair share of looking, and i'm stumped, i don't wanna kill my 1500 dollar tein system.

[mlbbaseball]

ya, i've seen the asphalt ones, they are about 1300, so not too bad, but ya, i'm gonna be in the woods. Rally America goes everywhere!!

[Geezer]

You're correct in that a standard Tein coilover spring and shock will not be good for rally. The first thing you'll need is a "non-lowering" spring that is about 1.5 times firmer than stock (this is a ballpark starting number). They should have as few coils as possible to prevent binding and provide maximum travel. The most readily available are Eibach race series springs. They come in a multitude of sizes, lengths, spring rates and diameters. As you're very aware, its very hard to find shocks for a Focus. For rally a monotube shock/strut is preferred. They tend to be stronger and dissipate heat better. The fact is that there just aren't many available for this car off the shelf. DMS is considered one of the better rally shocks but they are very pricey. I have seen both KYB GR2's and AGX's used with reasonable success as well as Tokico Illuminas and Bilstein HD's (one of the few reasonably priced monotube shocks). These are cheap enough that you can justify having a full backup set when compared to Hotbits, Oleins, DMS, Tein Dirta, etc. If you can't afford a spare set (of even cheap shocks) you could already be over your head. Spares are absolutely necessary and are needed to finish most rallies, so budget for them.

[mlbbaseball]

yup, i hear ya. i have teins (new) and ksport (new) suspensions that i already own. i've decided to get a nice set of hotbits from one of the rally teams that i helped out. used one race, and they didn't like them. they are very functional and he's givin me a steal. so i'll be selling the others very shortly.

[mikebontoft]

that's a good deal there, then :)

[WRCwannabe]

For Stage rally you have a couple of choices. DMS, HotBits, RS&SP, Pro-Flex:

HotBits are the cheapest and Simonac has started running them on his Spec Focus. He said they held up well at Rally NY. Check out: http://www.davenportracingusa.com/ as he is hotbits dealer.

DMS are expensive. They are a good strut until they break. The fronts are particularly weak where they bolt into the knuckle. The spec focus rally cars have broken 4 struts like this in the last 2 years or racing. That being said they soak up the bumps and rough stuff at speed and make the car really easy to drive.
http://www.dmsnothamerica.com

RS&SP: Is kinda an unknown. The Subaru / EVO guys rave about them but no one has run them on a focus where in the states. They are around $1,000 more expensive than the DMS but are 4 way adjustable.
http://www.rallispec.com

Pro-Flex: They were a popular option in Europe. They use an off-set front strut hosing which allows you to run stock wheels more easily. Not sure on pricing or a US dealer.

You can also check out http://www.rallyanarchy.com. There is a guy there that builds custom rally suspension for pretty much every car, he might be able to set you up with something.