LizardRunner
01-20-2011, 12:18 PM
When I first started racing I tended to stay out of the way of the mechanics. I figured that since I was only hired to drive the car, offroad "truck" or bike, that I needed to know at least a little about how things worked on what I was expected to drive as fast as it could go. I found that the head mechanics were willing to show me things as long as I stayed out of their way and I was very willing to do that.
One of the things that always intrigued me was the rear end. most of the cars I was in had "quick change" rear ends. It was pretty wild to watch a guy pull bolts and carefully lift out a hanger and then reverse the operation to get me a higher top end or more torque for take off. Even wilder was watching him take a gear set apart and put in brand spanking new ones to make sure I could at least get to the finish line. The ones that were really interesting were the four wheel drive Baja 1000 rigs, I can only say that I was an expert at breaking things and that this race gave me all the opportunities one driver could ever want.
Now that I have a jeep, I so want to make sure I have the right gearing for all the things I want to do with Da Lizard especially when I get to the lift and larger tires. The one thing I learned a long time ago was, when it's something that takes an expert to do right as well as quick, pay the money and get out of the way. For those here that are wanting to do a gear swap themselves, it can be done. The questions are few, do you have the right tools? do you have the patience? do you have the meticulous nature to not screw up?
The following link is to an excellent write up with pictures and most all the information you need to tackle this daunting (to me) task. I know a good rear end guy so I will be letting him earn my bucks.
http://pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/
One of the things that always intrigued me was the rear end. most of the cars I was in had "quick change" rear ends. It was pretty wild to watch a guy pull bolts and carefully lift out a hanger and then reverse the operation to get me a higher top end or more torque for take off. Even wilder was watching him take a gear set apart and put in brand spanking new ones to make sure I could at least get to the finish line. The ones that were really interesting were the four wheel drive Baja 1000 rigs, I can only say that I was an expert at breaking things and that this race gave me all the opportunities one driver could ever want.
Now that I have a jeep, I so want to make sure I have the right gearing for all the things I want to do with Da Lizard especially when I get to the lift and larger tires. The one thing I learned a long time ago was, when it's something that takes an expert to do right as well as quick, pay the money and get out of the way. For those here that are wanting to do a gear swap themselves, it can be done. The questions are few, do you have the right tools? do you have the patience? do you have the meticulous nature to not screw up?
The following link is to an excellent write up with pictures and most all the information you need to tackle this daunting (to me) task. I know a good rear end guy so I will be letting him earn my bucks.
http://pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/