Tarmac Rallying an SLC

[Brenton]

Gday,
Just joined the forum, I’m from Australia and only just “discovered” the SLC!

I’m researching the notion of having one as a tarmac rally car, ie needs to be registerable. Here’s the kind of roads we use for tarmac rallies (this is in my rally car:

)

Ideal engine to me seems like the Ford Cpyote Voodoo (580hp @7800rpm, flat plane crank etc).

Anyway, love to hear thoughts

 

[Dan Carter]

Brenton

That’s some intense road work. My perspective on this. I race a Corvette on many US road track courses. It’s equipped with OEM power steering and traction control & ABS. My SLC is not equipped with these features, and I have not tracked the car, so those that have may feel differently. I find the SLC is heavy to steer and would benefit from traction control and ABS. So if I were going to build one to use on your style of tracking, I personally would absolutely want power steering and traction/ABS control on my car. I have not experienced the new RCR shifter, but as much as you engaged the shifter in your film, you need to make sure the SLC will shift as easy as you were doing it. Anyway, from one racer to another, my nickels worth.

 

[Brenton]

Hi Dan,
Thanks for the reply!
I hadn’t thought about ABS, do they have a tendency to lock the inside front wheel?

I figured it would need power steering and traction control, it looks like some of the builds do this?

From a gearbox perspective I’ve used both a dog box and standard syncro box, both times in an H pattern. In the Australian “V8 Supercar” race series they use a locally-built Albins 6-sp sequential transaxle, that would be good for ~800hp+. I was thinking of finding a second-hand one as that might be the most cost-effective.

Have you added to the standard space frame layout to have a more comprehensive roll cage?
Cheers
Brenton

 

[Jac Mac]

Hmmm, last name Grove by chance? Might pay to do some research with regard to compliance/registration of the car in OZ

 

[Dan Carter]

Brenton

Mine is strictly a street machine. I built it for as much comfort as possible, albeit it’s got some noise that is just inherent in this beast. So, no roll cage. I have an interior tub, leather seats etc.

Not certain how tight the roads are during your events, but turn radius may present a challenge. How about clearance to the ground....SLC sits about roughly 4-5 inches off the deck.

 

[Brenton]

Thanks Dan.The roads are twisty but not super tight, ie slowest would be 40kph (25mph).

Clearance is one thing, as there are sometimes small “jumps” as you cross over a railway crossing.

The leading cars are typically Gallardo’s, 911 GT2’s etc, all of which sit very low.

Jac, no I’m not Grove Registration of a kit car in australia is pretty straight forward with engineers certificate. As for event eligibility that’s another thing which I’m investigating!

 

[Frank Clark]

The factory should be able to put you in touch with owners in Aus to see if they had any registration issues.

In my opinion, the SLC is better on fast corners than it is on slow ones. I find in slow corners (50mph), I can get a spin faster than I can sense or recover. I have to admit I have a habit of using the brakes to rotate a car mid-corner on occasion. In my experience, that will bite you in the ass in the SLC. Where I can do that in a rally car (dirt/gravel/asphalt) all day long. Even in the Viper it never bit me.

At high speed (100-180), the SLC is rock solid. Mine has a bit of aero push that I need to address, but that is very manageable.

Now feel free to chalk my experience up to setup or driver. It's possible!