My 98 Rallycross Ranger

[BattleBeater]

Here's a few pics of my Rallycross beater Ranger in action. These are across a few years, so you can see a bit of a progression in the truck as time goes on. Sorry these pics aren't the same sizes. I'll post up more pics here as I attend more events, so once a month or so I'll toss more pics here.

 

[XLTsplash]

It look like you have a lot of fun with your Ranger.

 

[BattleBeater]

It's kinda funny, this may actually be the vehicle I've had the most fun with in my history of car ownership. I've had a Porsche, a few tuner Hondas, a Jeep CJ7, and a Toyota AE86, but for some insane reason rallying this silly 4-cylinder, automatic pickup truck has probably been my favorite.

 

[stmitch]

Looks like tons of fun!

 

[Fastmag]

Last year we picked up a 1994 4cyl 2wd 4sp on the cheap ($300.00) and we have been off-road tuff truck racing it. These things are tough and a blast. The track we run is a short course off road track.

 

[Mylesofsmyles]

What are you going to do to improve steering speed?

 

[BattleBeater]

Stmitch- it really is a ton of friggin fun. I'll have it out this upcoming weekend, so hopefully I have some GoPro footage to put up.

Fastmag- Had I bought an Ibeam truck instead of a double wishbone suspension truck, I'd be out doing the same thing. Sounds like a great time! You have any pics?

Mylesofsmyles- Funny you should mention it, I'm putting an extended cab rack and pinion in the truck this evening, which has a faster rate. That, combined with a smaller Momo wheel should hopefully do the trick.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Along with a smaller steering wheel I used a pitman arm from an '87 stx hi-rider setup. It's longer than the stock '91.

 

[stmitch]

Mylesofsmyles- Funny you should mention it, I'm putting an extended cab rack and pinion in the truck this evening, which has a faster rate. That, combined with a smaller Momo wheel should hopefully do the trick.

Please let us know how you like the Extended cab rack! It's on my list of upgrades to do, but I haven't actually seen anybody go that route yet. I'd love to hear your opinions once it's done.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I missed the fact your running sla front suspension. I haven't looked at those, are the boxes totally different? Or will pitman arm change over? I'm thinking of changing my '91 race truck over to sla but have never looked at the newer style to compare. I have already had the front apart to put in a factory stx hirider lift so the rivets have been dealt with already. And I think the frame rails are the same distance apart? What am I overlooking? Sorry for the threadjack,

Richard

 

[BattleBeater]

I missed the fact your running sla front suspension. I haven't looked at those, are the boxes totally different? Or will pitman arm change over? I'm thinking of changing my '91 race truck over to sla but have never looked at the newer style to compare. I have already had the front apart to put in a factory stx hirider lift so the rivets have been dealt with already. And I think the frame rails are the same distance apart? What am I overlooking? Sorry for the threadjack,

Richard

It's all good; I love talking race trucks, no matter whose it is. With the double wishbone front suspension, the steering is rack and pinion; ergo there is no steering box or pitman arm. The rack has very nice steering feel, but I get the impression they're not as sturdy as the older steering box setup.

 

[BattleBeater]

Please let us know how you like the Extended cab rack! It's on my list of upgrades to do, but I haven't actually seen anybody go that route yet. I'd love to hear your opinions once it's done.

I'll make a write-up of sorts when I get it finished up. I've really wanted to speed up the steering for a while, so hopefully there isn't some huge detail I overlooked when I bought all the parts, lol.

 

[BattleBeater]

Just installed the extended cab steering rack, and I very much recommend that swap. It drops exactly in place of the standard cab rack, and makes a noticeable difference in steering speed. It was a pretty painless install; took me about 3 hours to swap the rack, p/s pump, and lines.

I got to test out the new rack on Saturday at a Detroit SCCA rallycross race; had a lot of fun, loved the new steering, but unfortunately it appears I've destroyed my 4R44E. I finished the race, but it's probably fried. Maybe it's time for a M5OD-R1 swap after all

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Its not so easy doing left foot braking with the m5od. I'm really struggling with that.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

[BattleBeater]

Its not so easy doing left foot braking with the m5od. I'm really struggling with that.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

How much left foot braking do you do while racing? How much is it impacting your driving? I use that technique more with FWD machines, but now that I think of it I still do it periodically in the Ranger, where my torque converter has made that a very simple action.