Bought an Excel today

[Dave Scott]

Hi

I've been thinking about a gravel rally car for a while now and I couldn't make up my mind between PRC, Pocket Rockets, or Excel. After Greg’s brilliant finish in the RoQ I decided on the Excel. It can run in all those classes and is clearly capable of putting down some good times.

I've been following up the web sites like Carsguide etc... and there are a few cars around but they were mostly sold and the ones that weren't were pigs. I tried the auctions for damaged cars and found there is a fairly high demand for the later models 1998+ and they went for too much money for me. I went to look at 3 or 4 damaged cars at the auction this week and found an undamaged 1998 twin cam sportz 5 door and bought it. It drives nicely and doesn't seem to have many faults.

I currently have a tarmac car but it’s expensive to run those types of events and they are so far away from here (Vic, SA, WA, and Tasmania) there is one in QLD but it’s in Townsville, 15 hrs drive from here. The travel is starting to wear a bit thin.

The idea of the Excel is to run less tarmac events and add a few gravel events. I’d like my navigator (Michelle Berardo) and I to get better at pace notes too. I know not all the gravel events provide the opportunity to write notes (don’t start me on that - I think it is negligent to ask competitors to drive faster than anyone else down a dirt road with only one 100th the information needed to do so).

I live between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and would like to run in pace note friendly events within a few hundred k’s of here. I will probably have a go at road book only events after discussing it on the Brindabella forum but I’m not sure about them.

I plan to get the car together as quickly as possible and would hope to have a basic car ready for it’s first run in a month or 6 weeks. Might be ambitious but we’ll see.

Dave

[Dave Scott]

Do I need to register for the series ?

I've heard that Hyundai support the entrants, who do I contact for pricing on parts?

Thanks
Dave

[HMCA]

Do I need to register for the series ?

I've heard that Hyundai support the entrants, who do I contact for pricing on parts?

Thanks
Dave

Dave

PM Sent

[Latho]

Do I need to register for the series ?
Na, if you've got an excel, you're in. Next year we may step the scruit and sealing for parity which we didn't do this year, so it'll be a matter of passing that at some stage, but there's no registration or fee to pay as such. From the beginning I wanted GSL to cover any fees associated with the series, CAMS, website hosting, sausage sizzles, public liability for things like suncorp etc. etc..... I didn't want to have any registration fee just for the sake of having it.

I've heard that Hyundai support the entrants, who do I contact for pricing on parts?
Easiest way is just to go direct through Mick Gillet in Sydney. PM him here 'HMCA'. Or else I can give you his direct number...

Of if ya got any other questions, give either myself or Nathan a bell. I know you've got my number somewhere, but if anyone else wants it, 3881 1215.

Cheers,
Latho

[Latho]

Dave

PM Sent
Ha, too slow... what he said! :rofl:

[Latho]

I live between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and would like to run in pace note friendly events within a few hundred k’s of here.
A list of the top of my head would be:

- Rally QLD
- Kalpowar (south of Gladstone, but definately worth the travel!)
- The 3 KCF Rally Sprints

So there's 6 days of competition. If you're mixing it with tarmac, and just having a play with the excel, that's a few events.

Or, if you're not a stranger to travel, you've got Coffs Harbour, and Rally of Lithgow in Sydney (full state round, 160k's pacenoted, day/night, we've done it the last two years).

I will probably have a go at road book only events after discussing it on the Brindabella forum but I’m not sure about them.
I tried to stay out of that thread, but I'll say a few words here... I know where you're coming from, and its not really that bad! You can't compare driving blind on tarmac to driving blind on dirt, because the tolerances are different, and the speeds are generally lower...

[Figures plucked from my behind, but you get the idea!]

Say you've got the same corner over a blind crest on bitumen, and the ideal line for the corner is 80km/hr... On bitumen say you're approaching that corner at 130km/hr over the crest, and the maximum speed you can do and still get round that corner is 90km/hr (albiet overcooked, and not with the ideal line), then you've got to wash off 40km/hr to not go off the road....

If that exact piece of road was dirt, then the ideal line is probably 75km/hr (bugger all difference in apex speed on a swept dirt road), and you're probably approaching the crest slightly slower, lets say 120km/hr. The difference with dirt, is that you've got a greater tolerance in approach speed before it'll spit you off the road. If the ideal speed is 75km/hr, you can probably approach the corner at 95km/hr, get on the picks, wrestle the car, throw it in, and still make it around. So in this case you've only got to wash off 25km/hr to not go off the road...

I've probably exaggerated the figures slightly for the point of the exercise, but I'm sure everyone will agree that you can get away with alot more on dirt, than on bitumen. If you come in too hard and try and pull a car up on bitumen, you lock the wheels, and have very little in reserve to make it around. On dirt you wash off alot of the speed after you turn the car in (certainly more than you do on bitumen), so you've got that extra...


I plan to get the car together as quickly as possible and would hope to have a basic car ready for it’s first run in a month or 6 weeks. Might be ambitious but we’ll see.
Good luck! If you need anything/prices/quotes/advice/help don't hesitate to call...

[skypilot]

Hi Dave

Justin Sinclair here aka skypilot

my car is in a million bits and panel less at the moment so if you want to see cage, seat mounts, suspension, engine, wiring, light setup now is the time to have a look.

I am in Clontarf/Redcliffe 20mins north of airport wich is 20 min from GSL/MSA/SR automotive/KCF rallysport

JJ

[rob323]

I prefer blind events to pace noted ones, it teaches you to "read the road", which, when you do do pace noted events, makes you even faster.

[Latho]

Yeah, I'm nervous as aye! Got my first blind event since 2005 in 3 weeks, and I dunno how I'm going to go! I've only done pace noted events of recent times (Rally Q twice, Rally of Lithgow twice, and two KCF's), so I'll be personally interested to see how well I read the road, as apposed to reading bits of electrical tape straped to the steering wheel in the ute...

But yeah, pace notes is a whole difference discipline, that unless you've had practice in, gone through alot of the theory to get them to work well, and put that in to practise, can often make people more comfortable doing blind rallies, and that's not a bad thing ether, just different.

I made the decision early on to get some good pacenote experience, and thus why we drove to Sydney twice to do Lithgow, even before it was a state round and just a club rally. Also this will be Nate's first blind rally, so he'll actually get a chance to look up at the mayhem!!! hahahaha

[anthony tanzer]

Latho,

all the Excel series events this year are in blind rallies aren't they (if my memory serves me correct)?

So Dave, you better get used to the idea if you intend to compete in the series!:rofl:

[Latho]

Latho,

all the Excel series events this year are in blind rallies aren't they (if my memory serves me correct)?

So Dave, you better get used to the idea if you intend to compete in the series!:rofl:
Yep, this year they are, only because on advice from someone higher than me, to keep it simple we just ran with the clubman series on 08. In '09, I'd like to mix it up, with both blind, pacenoted, and even things like Rally of Classics at QR if they run it again, but obviously it'll be up to more people than just me, suffice to say, that there will be some degree of pace noted event.

[Dave Scott]

Latho,

all the Excel series events this year are in blind rallies aren't they (if my memory serves me correct)?

So Dave, you better get used to the idea if you intend to compete in the series!:rofl:

Might have to buy some black market pace notes they told me about last week. I think he said he was from from Tree's or Trophies Pty Ltd.

[Nate]

Hi Dave, amen to the tarmac thing being expensive. I would love to tackle it as well but the costs are stupid, even as a nav!

Also this will be Nate's first blind rally, so he'll actually get a chance to look up at the mayhem!!! hahahaha

ill be able to do this more often if we have a moment :slap: ... wont be my fault :p

[watty]

Yeah, I'm nervous as aye! Got my first blind event since 2005 in 3 weeks

You need to come do a few blind events with us down in victoria!

[Nate]

You need to come do a few blind events with us down in victoria!

screw that ... its been cold enough in qld :rofl:

[Latho]

Yeah like totally! We had our hotest July night in like forever the other night when it didn't get below 16 degrees, and the week before, our coldest july night this year... a very very brisk 6 degress! lol

It was colder around the fire stuck in the forest at Lithgow when the Lada broke down! :rofl:

[Filthy]

Speaking from an old persons point of view, all the Rally's were blind Rally's.
Ah. Them were the Days!