- Right, so rally racing,
arguably the craziest motorsport event
that one could be a part of.
You've seen the videos, I've seen the videos,
these drivers are just not human.
When it comes to the sport of rally racing,
not only does it take absolutely massive cojones,
but it takes a car that is capable
of taking the absolute beating
that they will see on the rally course.
What is goin' on, everybody, Gels from Fitment Industries,
and today, on this episode of The Build Sheet,
we're gonna take a quick dive into the crazy truth
about rally cars, how they are built,
and how they are able to handle everything
that their drivers throw at them.
(intense digital music) (impact tool hammering)
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Before we get right into it, wheels, tires, suspension,
FitmentIndustries.com, you know, like the whole thing,
and we are still in the middle of doing the giveaway
with Konig wheels for the month of July,
so pick up a T-shirt, this T-shirt right here,
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(engine screaming) Drift Mode, it's a Supra.
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You can check the description,
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All right, so originally what started as a race
between a few Frenchmen who were competing head-to-head
in a 127-kilometer race from Paris to Rouen
eventually set a pace for the A to B-style race
that we now know today as rally racing,
eventually evolving into the Monte Carlo Rally
that started in 1911, and all the way up to the 1980s,
in the now-called World Rally Championship,
when all-wheel drive took over, and Audi was the king.
They were out there
just slaying everybody with their Quattro,
and everyone else was sittin' on the sides, like, "(bleep),
"I guess we need to make our cars all-wheel drive."
And they did, and it launched a new wave of rally racing.
As Group B was in their golden age,
we saw cars like the Lancia Delta S4, and the 037,
and the Ford RS200, and even Porsches
bombing through rally courses.
As Group B came and went,
and eventually leading into the 90s,
and up to where we are today,
with turbocharged, all-wheel drive,
fire-breathing hot hatches.
Today, we see drivers competing in cars
such as the Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris,
the Hyundai i20, and a Citroen C3,
and now you're like Gels' brother.
A Toyota Yaris?
What is a Toyota Yaris going to do?
And I'm just gonna have Dakota
throw in some quick clips here, just real quick,
just check it out.
(rhythmic digital music) (engine screaming)
Isn't that (bleep) nuts?
I don't know about you, but I (bleep) love
every bit of that.
Anyway, now obviously, these cars
are nowhere near where they were
when they came off the assembly line.
So what is involved in taking
that little unsuspecting Toyota Yaris
and turning it into an absolute monster?
Well, let's go ahead and take a little look
into what is all needed.
So, first thing's first,
these cars are completely stripped down
and gutted right down to their bare bones.
Usually, they have custom panels made
to make them wider so they fit everything,
they get a massive roll cage,
a bunch of expensive racing gear on the inside,
and are converted to all-wheel drive,
but that's not really news to you,
you probably already knew that.
Like, it's a rally car, obviously,
that's pretty common sense,
but we're gonna be going to talk about today
is some more technical stuff.
It's some science-y stuff,
because I like that kind of stuff,
I like making your guys' brains hurt, so let's get into it.
The suspension on these cars is by far
one of the most engineered,
and arguably over-engineered portions of the car.
It is what is going to keep the driver and the car planted,
and let the driver have complete faith
in pushing the car to its absolute limits.
The suspension is arguably the part of a rally car
that makes it a rally car.
For the most part,
you'll see inverted strut or shock-absorbent designs
in most rally cars.
During a race, there are things like mud,
and gravel, and sticks, and sometimes small animals
that can be flung up into important components
underneath the race car.
This plus something known as side-loading
can really start to beat up a shock absorber.
In a perfect world, a strut would sit
centered directly over the wheel,
and travel only up and down
without any angle to it whatsoever.
But it's not a perfect world, is it, bud?
And there are things called camber, and caster,
and our friend that we just mentioned, side-load,
and a whole bunch of other stuff that come in to play,
so they really just kinda (bleep) everything up,
but by using an inverted shock absorber
you are protecting the damping components
by relieving what is usually a single point of stress
that is affected by all these things,
and expands that area over the rest of the housing
of the entire strut.
Paired with longer suspension arms
and the geometry of the rest of the suspension
being altered, these cars can typically have
up to 14 inches of suspension travel,
and now, if you need suspension,
not saying, like, we have inverted shocks
or anything like that, or things with 14 inches
of suspension travel, you know,
you can go check out FitmentIndustries.com.
The second key factor into making rally cars what they are
is, of course, their engines and drivetrains.
So let's go ahead and take a look
at the Ford Fiesta that will be used
in the 2019 World Rally Championship this year.
The 1.6-liter turbocharged fire-breathing
four-cylinder monsters that power these cars pump out
a whopping 380 horsepower, (record scratching)
which, if you were to think about it,
you thought they produced a lot more,
but actually, this one,
it was just increased in 2007
from 315 horsepower up to 380.
Building these engines with upgraded camshafts,
forged internals, and a turbocharger,
these little cars can pack a serious punch.
You pair that with a six-speed sequential gearbox,
an all-wheel drive system
with an active center differential,
and you've got yourself
one hell of a little off road rollerskate.
With all this power and the rugged capabilities
offered by the suspension, these things
frickin' move at a good clip,
and when you're flying down the middle of the woods
or on the side of a mountain,
you're probably going to want to think about safety,
and yes, believe it or not, these crazy mo-fos
are takin' safety into a little somewhat of a consideration,
from the brake calipers, to the roll cages,
right down to the suits that the drivers wear,
all of the equipment made for these cars
are highly tested, ensuring the highest quality of safety.
Things like FIA-approved racing seats,
harnesses, spill kits, first aid kits,
fire extinguishers, all are the things you can find
in the cockpit of a rally car.
To keep the possibility of a fire from happening
in the event of a crash, regular gas tanks
are usually replaced with fuel bladders,
or cells made from Kevlar,
or carbon fiber-reinforced rubber,
and then next to that, all the glass is usually removed
and replaced with a plastic replacement
that is usually just somewhat taped into place
in case the driver needs to perform a Fast and Furious move
and kick out the window panel to get out
in case they roll over or somethin' like that,
which brings us to our last point
that we are gonna go over today,
and our quick breakdown
of what makes a rally car a rally car,
and that is, of course, the wheels and tires.
The wheels and tires,
just like every other aspect of these cars,
need to be rugged.
They need to be able to withstand the rough conditions,
the amount of stresses that they will be put through.
There are companies out there
that have the rally scene on lock,
companies like OZ, Sparco, fifteen52 have become staples
in the rally scene as far as the wheels
that these cars are running,
but even with that, if you are lookin' at
just getting into rallying, and you show up
to your first event, whether it be a class
or some beginner event, don't be surprised
when you see people start showing up
rocking a set of steelies, because the reason being
is that if they bump into something,
especially at an entry-level point,
steel wheels aren't going to crack
or break for the most part.
They're just going to bend,
and that's gonna allow them to at least
get back to the start point and not be stranded
in the side of the woods.
Other times, you'll see even OEM wheels on some cars,
just because they're able to give the performance
of what is needed right off the bat,
and when it comes to the tires that are being run,
just like any other type of motor sport,
you're going to have a specific-style tire
that you're going to be running
depending on what style of rally
the cars are going to be competing in.
These tires, for the most part,
are going to feature thicker sidewalls
than your normal street tires,
thicker, larger tread blocks,
and a harder tire compound,
so depending on if the cars are gonna be running on gravel,
asphalt, or even snow, it's going to determine
which tires are going to be ran that day.
Companies like Michelin and even Hoosier
specialize in manufacturing tires
rated for each type of condition.
So what it all comes down to,
is that the truth is that there is a lot
that goes into making a professional rally,
or rallycross-capable car, and they are
the furthest thing from stock that is even possible.
All the things that we talked about today
paired with aggressive aero, a crazy wrap,
and an even crazier driver behind the wheel
is why these cars are so frickin' spectacular.
So go ahead and let us know down in the comments
what your thoughts are on the whole rally racing thing,
and if you were to ever do it or not,
but that's gonna wrap it up for today,
don't forget, wheels, tires, suspension,
FitmentIndustries.com, go pick up a shirt,
get entered to win a free set of Konig wheels.
I'm Gels from Fitment Industries,
we will see you later, peace.