Turbo engine options for a project rally car (long)
05-19-2004 | 12:26 PM
#1
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Posts: n/a
Turbo engine options for a project rally car (long)
Forgive me for any ignorance I may have regarding Subies, I'm a Toyota man myself, but I have a few questions regarding Subie turbo engines that I hope someone could shed a bit of light on. I'll bold the main question for those of you with a short attention span 
Right now I'm currently in my fourth year of my automotive engineering program at Western Washington University, and for an independent study class that I'm required to take, I am looking into the idea of creating (with other students) a small fleet (4 or 5) of budget rally/rallycross cars. Most likely the vehicles will be some sort of front engine all wheel drive hatch or notchback, with fiberglass bodies and space frame chassis. These won't be street legal or emission compliant vehicles...these vehicles would be designed and built simply for two purposes: for myself and other students to completely design a fast, reliable and inexpensive vehicle in such a manner that we can pull off a short production run of a few vehicles.
Our school has, in recent years, had difficulty producting well tuned cars on time for competitions, simply because teams in the past have had innovative ideas and it simply isn't acceptable to go to competition anymore without a "revolutionary" vehicle, nevermind if it barely runs, hasn't been driven or tested.
Currently I'm examining potential powerplants and drivetrains for this application, and after seeing how INCREDIBLY cheap the EJ20T engines are at www.nippon-motors.com , I'm curious about the potential for these engines in stock form. It seems likely that with not too many upgrades these engines could hit 250-300 hp with proper mods and management.
However, one of the few things I do know about the WRX is that the trannys as of late are not known for their reliablity at all. If we were to explore using the EJ20 as a possible powerplant, a very solid transmission would be necessary for the demands that would be placed upon the car. We can fabricate, machine and CNC many different things, but making trannys are one of those things that is just too much work to be feasable.
Thanks in advance for any info that can be provided in regards to getting this project off the ground.
Right now I'm currently in my fourth year of my automotive engineering program at Western Washington University, and for an independent study class that I'm required to take, I am looking into the idea of creating (with other students) a small fleet (4 or 5) of budget rally/rallycross cars. Most likely the vehicles will be some sort of front engine all wheel drive hatch or notchback, with fiberglass bodies and space frame chassis. These won't be street legal or emission compliant vehicles...these vehicles would be designed and built simply for two purposes: for myself and other students to completely design a fast, reliable and inexpensive vehicle in such a manner that we can pull off a short production run of a few vehicles.
Our school has, in recent years, had difficulty producting well tuned cars on time for competitions, simply because teams in the past have had innovative ideas and it simply isn't acceptable to go to competition anymore without a "revolutionary" vehicle, nevermind if it barely runs, hasn't been driven or tested.
Currently I'm examining potential powerplants and drivetrains for this application, and after seeing how INCREDIBLY cheap the EJ20T engines are at www.nippon-motors.com , I'm curious about the potential for these engines in stock form. It seems likely that with not too many upgrades these engines could hit 250-300 hp with proper mods and management.
However, one of the few things I do know about the WRX is that the trannys as of late are not known for their reliablity at all. If we were to explore using the EJ20 as a possible powerplant, a very solid transmission would be necessary for the demands that would be placed upon the car. We can fabricate, machine and CNC many different things, but making trannys are one of those things that is just too much work to be feasable.
Thanks in advance for any info that can be provided in regards to getting this project off the ground.
05-20-2004 | 11:00 AM
#2
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,445
From: GST Motorsports - Rally Division
Car Info: dangerous with a wrench
I drive an '02 wrx in scca rally. For my transmission I use a stock housing with the STi RA gearset (closer ratios than stock, and hardened gears). I've had no issues. The folks breaking thier transmissions on Subies are driving them *very* hard (i don't mean racing, I mean 6k rpm clutch drops).
.02, nonrefundable.
.02, nonrefundable.
05-20-2004 | 01:07 PM
#3
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 488
From: 12.9 / 105+
Car Info: black my03 5mt wrx s/w
in general what kills these trannies is massive and sudden torque transfer, as in launching the car at high rpms on asphalt with sticky tires.
do the same thing on dirt or another low friction surface and the tires simply spin, dissipating the shock load. in this way rallying on low mu surfaces is actually less hard on the tranny.
jm2c
ken
do the same thing on dirt or another low friction surface and the tires simply spin, dissipating the shock load. in this way rallying on low mu surfaces is actually less hard on the tranny.
jm2c
ken
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