Project RallyShark
 

Well, I thought I’d start a project thread of my own since, I am going stir-crazy waiting for spring and all the concomitant blessings the changing of the season brings. That being said, I thought I’d overview the development, build, and continuous process of our Rally Car, the 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT.

http://www.technorally.com/build/shark.jpg

We have a fairly modest rally program as it’s just a few of us right now and it’s much more of a hobbyist approach rather than a hardcore lifestyle imbalance.

We’re not out to set the rally world on fire but rather just to have good dirty fun, learn a lot, and meet some interesting people along the way!
Sorry if I write a novel, it’s just how my brain works.

Please feel free to skip my textural wanderings and look at the pictures that follow :)

The number one question I get asked in regards to this project is, “why a Tiburon.” This is a fair question, and the answer is multi-part; some of which I’ll address:

Reason 1. In order to start stage rally you either have to have applicable racing experience (for turbo awd), or start in a 2WD, naturally aspirated car. Since neither me, nor the driver have "documentable" racing experience, this seemed like the way to go, plus in central there are quite a few more cars to compete with in this class.

Our first thought was to build an EG hatch with a k24 swap, and have an absurd power to weight ratio within the rules of the G2 class (2WD, N/A, under 3050cc). However the more we thought about it, it really seemed like more of a cop-out, non-creative thing to do, especially when you consider how developed that platform is. That brings me to point #2.

Reason 2. Discovery: the major reason I enjoy modifying cars is the fact that you get to create what you want – you shape a car’s performance profile to your own personality. I’ll come out of the closet at this point and say, I personally prefer naturally aspirated engines to turbo. Odd I know, being my fun car for the last 8 years has been what it is… I could write a whitepaper on why, but most of you understand the pros and cons so I’ll condense the idea to this: the challenge.

The level of knowledge, effort, and testing to extract decent levels of power without the aid of massive displacement (dynamic or static) frankly shifts my gears. Not sure how else to state it, really.

Reason 3. It’s a Tiburon... Let’s face it, this is a bitch car designed and marketed towards late 30-something year old single women, who are suddenly realizing they missed out on their optimal procreation window. It’s heavy, the engine stupidly under-cammed, and it completely lacks any modern-day technologies we now take for granted. Now, that being said, there are some advantages to this platform:

I. It’s rally proven: The Tiburon platform utterly dominated the North American rally circuit. From 1995 to 2000 it won 5 consecutive manufacturer championships racking up 34 outright wins. In 2002 it cleaned up Open class again with the Libra race team under the skilled driving of Mark Higgins (who is back in the States driving for Subaru Rally Team USA in 2011).

http://www.technorally.com/build/libra.jpg
Subawho?

II. The engine aftermarket is virtually non-existent. I know this is usually considered a drawback, but in this case the platform serves as a blank slate to put into live tangible action the engine theories and simulations some of us geek types jerk off to in the dim glow of our computers into the wee hours of the morning. If this platform was developed, and had easy 3 -step recipes to making N-power with Y-parts, I don’t think I would really be as motivated (I enjoy engines more than driving)

So all that being said, on to the build:

This specific Tiburon was purchased new in winter of 2002 by the individual who drives for our team. It has since then accrued 70k and some odd miles of complete hell, being whipped like the surrogate offspring of a rented mule. There have been zero issues.

http://www.technorally.com/build/DSC_4862.jpg
dodging cones...

Over the years, there have been a series of upgrades to various engine components. These had chiefly been what limited bolt-on’s that were available to the diminutive V6: intake, headers, exhaust, clutch, flywheel, etc... While these mods did increase the output of the engine by nearly 25% (but still less than noteworthy) the difference in throttle response was positively shocking.

Ok, enough brain dump. Off to the build!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

One of the first challenges we faced was the lack of engine management systems that would fit the bill for a race car. Besides the needing specific control over our engine, we also needed a MAP/ Alpha-N based system for our planned ITB conversion, as well as quite a few more inputs for engine and telemetry logging.

We decided to use MSII-Extra for the engine management, because it’s all about learning rather than ready-made solutions.
Prototyping the system was quite rapid:

http://www.technorally.com/build/engine.jpg

A quick peek into the engine revealed it was just a basic 60-2 crank wheel with a Hall sensor triggered on the rising edge. After that it was just a matter of matching up stock sensors to the correct inputs and of course, calibration. Spark output was done with 3x Bosch BIP 373 transistor. They are both tough and can handle the sustained high RPM output of rally.
Building the ECU was fairly straight forward:

http://www.technorally.com/build/proto.jpg

We wired this into a stock harness and plug for fast disconnect

http://www.technorally.com/build/wires.jpg

http://www.technorally.com/build/plug.jpg

We did have a few issues with the spark dwell being artificially set too low, but other than that she runs like a champ… much stronger than stock after correcting the AFR’s and dialing in better fuel and timing curve.

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Now that the car has a new brain, it was time to start preparations for the cage.
http://www.technorally.com/build//teardown.jpg

http://www.technorally.com/build//teardown3.jpg


On recommendation of fellow MN rally enthusiast, Carl Siegler (Carlvr4 on this site), we decided to use former Prodrive World Rally Team crew chief (for Richard Burns), Graham Evans for the cage. The logic being, if we are doing triple digits on gravel, scant inches from oak trees, we should probably go with a top-shelf safety cage.


The cage was assembled off and on for the next few months, lovingly fused together with grinders, welders and a steady stream of coarse language directed at the cramped interior dimensions of the vehicle...


http://www.technorally.com/build/cage1.jpg

http://www.technorally.com/build/cage2.jpg


http://www.technorally.com/build/weld.jpg


http://www.technorally.com/build/moreweld.jpg


Precision work
http://www.technorally.com/build/cagedoor.jpg


All finished
http://www.technorally.com/build/dissasembley.jpg


...and then cleanup and paint


http://www.technorally.com/build/home.jpg


http://www.technorally.com/build/inside.jpg

Re: Project RallyShark
 

From here we started further preparation.
http://www.technorally.com/build/painted.jpg

We welded a roof skin in place of the sunroof

http://www.technorally.com/build/roofskin.jpg

It was from a Chevy Caviler… turned out all right:
http://www.technorally.com/build/skin2.jpg

Then we started installing and adjusting the interior equipment:

• Sparco Evo seats
• Schroth6-point HANS style belts
• Sparco wheel
• Co-driver foot plate
• Peltor Com unit
• Terratrip 202+
• Fabbed up switch panel

http://www.technorally.com/build/seats.jpg


http://www.technorally.com/build/into.jpg

It was starting to take shape… it would soon be time for trial by fire in her first race!

(more to come later!)

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Damn that interior looks nice!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Now *this* is a project thread! Nice work man, can't wait to see the progress!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Graham is good people. Car looks great, keep updating us through your season if you would.

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Badass man. Have you become pretty familiar with Megasquirt then?

Re: Project RallyShark
 

This is awesome. I love reading rally builds. Please keep updating! I am strongly considering rally after my Chumpcar forays are over.

I have a few questions:

How the heck did you remove the windshield without horribly messing it up? Or maybe you did mess it up...

Is there performance limitation to Group 2? I haven't spent much time reading RallyAmerica rules.

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Very nice Paul. Have you guys ever considered putting an Alpine on this thing?

Re: Project RallyShark
 

amazing build...I'm sure one day, we'd like to do some rally build like this too. I always liked how N/A cars felt right off the bat. I'd love to do at least one beginner's rally event sooner or later. let us know how it's going because this is an amazing build! :D

Re: Project RallyShark
 

This is awesome! Like awd-drifter I want to do a rally event as well. This definitely gives me a lot of inspiration to maybe make something like this happen in a few years. Keep us updated!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

This is sweeet. Woo Hyundai!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

From the OP: "..within the rules of the G2 class (2WD, N/A, under 3050cc)."


Awesome project thread, looking forward to more.

Re: Project RallyShark
 

This is a great build, and the final product is awesome. ;)

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Thanks for all your kind words, guys... it's been quite a journey so far (with a lot of learning) and it's FAR from over!

Yea, I've done quite a few systems and mods over the years, been running my 1g on it for the past 4 years and I really like it. It's got pro's and con's...of course. The biggest pro is how active the open source community is. Because of that, innovation is always happening, unlike other closed systems. Biggest con is it needs more inputs for telemetry.

Hah! That windshield is no longer with us.... The can be removed with a lot of patients, but usually if the window weld is past a few years old, I've found it's very hard to successfully cut though.

G2 is ranked on a engine displacement to minimum weight slider. The bigger your engine is, the more your car must weigh.

This is the formula:

http://www.technorally.com/build/g2.jpg

Thanks! And yes we have... and also discussed prototyping an AWD swap with bits from a SantaFe... but for now, there is still lots of power to unlock in this engine! You'll see as it progresses :)

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Very cool thread and it was fun to read through and see the progress the car has been through. Definitely a project thread I will be checking back on regularly!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Very Nice! If you guys need any discount factory parts don't be afraid to hit me up.

For many years I have wanted to do an old AWD Hyundai Scoupe for rally.

Re: Project RallyShark
 

It was awesome watching this car in action at the Nemadji rallies. Too bad the engine had to let go on the last one. Just glad it wasn't an off-road excursion that ended it for you.

Good luck this year! I may or may not be able to make it out to a few of the events this year. I won't be running safety sweep, I believe Denny will be this year. But I'm sure Frank and Carlton will be right behind him with their big rigs ready to lend a hand when needed.

Keep us up to date on this thing!!

Re: Project RallyShark
 

Probably time for another update… Still back logging events from 2010, but want to proceed linearly to help me with my thought process.
2010 was very much a teething year as we tried to get the bugs worked out of the new chassis and start building speed. I’m going to focus primarily on the build aspect rather than our racing program, as the car is still very much a work in progress as we use the data collected on stage to make modifications.


Here’s what we learned in 2010:

• The car performance was mixed on stage… overall very balanced, but needs refinement
• Cornering and grip was terrific for a 2wd platform, partially thanks to the heavier engine in the nose.
• Braking needs to be switched to a manual system -- it is very much over boosted, and has an all or nothing feel. Work as begun on fabbing a new manual system.
• We had a massive issue with spark dwell that greatly affected performance in our first two rallies. Once that was fixed straight line speed was dramatically improved.
• Solid motor mounts = really bad idea in rally
• Engine has good low end torque, but needs more power above 5000 RPM
• Need to fab coolers for *.*
• We need thicker gear oil
• Engine fires suck.
• Apparently it’s not a ‘race car’ unless we rice out the exterior…
• Could stand to lose a few more lbs (both car and occupants)
• Needs dyno time… I developed the spark map from the seat of my pants; it’s good but not great.

So yea, 2010… Mid way though our intended season, disaster struck on stage.


About 2/3 the way though SS1 at NT3, the engine suddenly changed pitch, and the car started shaking. We at first suspected we lost a coil, since they were acting up recently and decided to press on to the finish. About 1 mile later, very bad things started to happen:


I’ll let the pictures tell the story:


http://www.technorally.com/build/depart.jpg

OMG TIME TO RALLY, NOTING BAD WILL EVAR HAPPN111





http://www.technorally.com/build/drift.jpg


WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






...................OH F***

http://www.technorally.com/build/destruction2.jpg

http://www.technorally.com/build/carnage1.jpg

I think this might be more than mighty putty and a 45 minute service can handle...

So yea, this is what running at max race load with a spun bearing can do! (in case you were ever wondering). Basically the entire bottom end grenaded and in the process started the engine on fire...

http://www.technorally.com/build/skid.jpg


Mess.... Mess everywhere!



So, things being what they were, and other project cars screaming for attention, we decided to shelve our rally plans for the time being and regroup over winter.


Stay tuned for the 2011 rebirth!