Racing in the Dirt

[madmac]

OK I did a search and found a few post on racing x-mods in the dirt. I live on 64 acres of dirt. I have always wanted a circle track and was wondering if anyone is racing on a dirt track. I think I can make a pretty smooth track but how are the cars going to take to dirt. What should I do to prep them. I must be crazy I know but the more I think about it the more I want to try this. The track will be a fine texture type dirt almost powder when dry. Maybe wet it down a little to keep dust levels low and out of the chassis.

[winner]

me and my friends used to race off road. its a lot of fun, the dirt was packed down really hard. 4wd is a must have! and the best tires to use on a evo are the rims and tires that come stock on the trucks (better ground clearance and traction) or you can use soft threaded tires on the slammed rims. and for better clearance its not a bad idea to put the lift kit from the suspension upgrade.

i built a rally car and raced it on dirt for a while. dirt will ruin everything if you dont clean it. i take my care completly apart and clean it after every run. Keep up on the maintence and you'll be just fine. its not much worse than a dirty hard wood floor.

[spitfire]

ya i tried the same thing with my truck and screwd up the servo because dirt got all up in there. Had to replace the whole frontend becuase i couldent seem to get it all out.

[winner]

Originally Posted by spitfire

ya i tried the same thing with my truck and screwd up the servo because dirt got all up in there. Had to replace the whole frontend becuase i couldent seem to get it all out.

maybe we just got luckey...

[spitfire]

Originally Posted by winner

maybe we just got luckey...

Well i was to lazy to clean it. I just kept runing and runing it when one day it wouldent steer any more.

[madmac]

Alright!! Thanks for the input. Now I am really excited to try this. Truck wheels and four wheel drive. Sounds good to me. I think the car could really use the clearance. I am going dirt modifies. This will be a fun build for sure. Oh and I know what you mean about a hardwood floor. The floor might look clean but after a few minutes of running the traction goes away and the chassis is full of dust. LOL I couldn't believe the dirt. Man I am gonna lose sleep until it's up and going.

[sciontc333]

well if the dirt is packed down and you put the car lifting towers on it you shouldn't need truck rims and tires

[madmac]

I think I am gonna have to build some kind of roller to pack the dirt. Put a little bank on the curves as well. Going to the hobby shop next week end to find a body to make a dirt track racer out of.

[xmodsupra01]

no man youre not crazy. I'm tryin to build a track outta homemade stuff from hardware stores.

You might need to pack it down and maybe try to put truck tires on.
Idk if you can do that but u can try!

[Action B]

One time I made an AWD rally car out of an evo. I had to do a LOT of shaving. I put the upgrade big wheels on the car from the truck series and it sat pretty high but with lithium and stage 2 motor, the car did work even offroad. I'd invest in ball differentials if you really wanted a car that was good for it. With ball differentials, if any one wheel is touching the ground then you have some traction. Gear differentials are kind of terrible for offroad because if you get one side of the car off the ground, the other two wheels will spin wildly in the air, leaving your car stranded frequently.

[winner]

Originally Posted by xmodsupra01

You might need to pack it down

for packing it down i'd jus poor some old engine oil on it, and over time it would probably be really nice and hard.

[zippo855]

Originally Posted by winner

for packing it down i'd jus poor some old engine oil on it, and over time it would probably be really nice and hard.

thing about pouring engine oil on the ground is it's illegal. if the epa would find out that you did they would make you dig down into the ground 8 foot and 8 foot around the oil contamination and make you replace all the dirt with clean dirt. trust me. working at a shop you learn all sorts of rules and regulations about that kinda stuff.

[bondo]

Originally Posted by zippo855

thing about pouring engine oil on the ground is it's illegal. if the epa would find out that you did they would make you dig down into the ground 8 foot and 8 foot around the oil contamination and make you replace all the dirt with clean dirt. trust me. working at a shop you learn all sorts of rules and regulations about that kinda stuff.

don't forget the most important part......the fine...$$$$$$$$$....

[BART]

Originally Posted by zippo855

thing about pouring engine oil on the ground is it's illegal. if the epa would find out that you did they would make you dig down into the ground 8 foot and 8 foot around the oil contamination and make you replace all the dirt with clean dirt. trust me. working at a shop you learn all sorts of rules and regulations about that kinda stuff.

Man oh man, not to mention the epa's standpoint of "cradle to the grave" (look it up, its a serious law) stating that contaminated ground is the responsibility of the owner forever... with forever meaning no matter who the land is sold to or ends up belonging to in the future. (I was the environmental officer at the railroad I used to work for for a while).

[winner]

ok nevermind, bad idea. thanks guys for informing me.

[madmac]

I was already aware of the problems with contamination. It sure would work but not worth the outcome. They make a product that is used in mining for packing the roads but it is expensive. It is a wax base yet mixed with water. I will just try to get the texture of dirt I need and wet it down a little before the race. Once I get started I will post some pics. I kinda owe you guys that. Thanks for the help and advice as well.

[texan_idiot25]

1 quart of oil can contaminate 1,000,000 gallons of water. Don't be that stupid.