Much bigger? I'd rather have 4x100 than 5x120 as far as wheel selection is concerned. With 4x100 you can atleast tap into the aftermarket selection for the 4x100 euros, scions, miatas, and hondas which still run smaller FWD wheels like us. Almost no cars run 5x120, and the ones that do run wheels far bigger and more staggered than a MINI hardtop can handle, not to mention the RWD offsets. 5x120 (and 5x120.65) is basically just BMW's, some corvettes, some Jaguars, and pontiac firebirds. BMW's being the only ones that are actually 5x120 while the others are on an ever-so-slightly larger diameter pattern. Not sure if wobble bolts would be required for such a minimal variance.... Those cars are all in the class where bling-bling wheels are commonplace in their aftermarket. 18"+ HRE's and such with 20's making an appearance from time to time. They also all tend to run quite wide wheels, especially in the rear. It would make wheel selection a bit tough for our cars which struggle to pull off 18's let alone anything bigger. The MINI might be able to fit a few of the older model OEM wheels from BMW's, but the selection is pretty weak.
Hmmm...I would of thought the opposite on the wheel front. Color me as newly educated on on this matter. Thanks Rally. Now back to the Countryman Dakar edition. Anyone else find it odd they still use the Dakar name when the event is now in South America?
Hah...... That's funny..... Just a couple of nights ago I was flipping through Realoem, checking P/N's between R60 and R56, trying to figure out interchangeability between 4 bolt and 5 bolt hubs. But if the wheel selection car base isn't there, for a 5x120, why bother?
Yah that totally caught me off guard. I came upon mention of Chile and was thoroughly confused. I'd still be interested in seeing how interchangeable everything is. There's a chance that the hub/bearings just bolt right into the current steering knuckles of the R56....but if not, it could potentially require a full front suspension swap. The countryman uses all new steering knuckles with new ball joint mounting methods similar to the r53 which would mean also swapping the control arms and potentially even the subframe just to mount up countryman steering knuckles . It's all speculation until someone checks the mounting pattern of the countryman hubs to see if the 4 bolts line up with the 4 bolts used on the R56.
I guess we can chalk it up to marketing. The first one was in 1978 and went from Paris to Dakar. It was run like that until 2008 when the event was canceled at the start. Just before the rally four French citizens and three Mauritanian soldiers were murdered and the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a strong recommendation not to go to Mauritania. Due to still unsafe conditions in Africa in 2009 the event was moved to South America. The Dakar name has cachet. There is a now a Dakar Series with one other event so far. That is known as the Silk Way Rally first run in 2009, which traversed Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan A second in 2010 between St. Petersburg and Sotchi For 2011 Silk Way Rally will once again be contested in Russia, between Moscow and Sotchi.
And mostly south - do you see the front of the engine block is behind the base of the windscreen? It must be like those old forward control trucks where the gear lever comes out of the gearbox and cranks forwards to the gear knob! But no doubt it makes the car 'fly' nicely without burying its nose on impact. Actually, I think you might call it 'respect' too for the origin of this unique event. While marketing budgets like BMW's pay for the big racers, there are loads of privateers, many on motorbikes where simply finishing the race takes hard, hard men many years to achieve. There is a big spirit of co-operation in the Dakar and competitors are expected to stop and help others in trouble. The event also evolved over time, which is why there are big (mostly Russian) trucks racing in it - orignally these were the support trucks and they had so much fun racing other support trucks that they got their own class. This is a Czech Tatra having fun:
Yes I noticed that. Looks like they were free to make the car any way they liked. I'm sure there are a set of rules that govern cars somewhere, but it must be a pretty loose set of guidelines. Flying well is mega important in Dakar/South American racing as well as in rallying. Do you remember what happened to Ari Vatenen on the Argentina rally of 85? His transverse mid engined Pug 205 didn't fly well at all. From what I remember when he lifted the front end of the car nosed down with nearly fatal results. He did win the 91 Dakar in a slightly different 205. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv9BQvmVr1M]YouTube - Paris Dakar rally - Ari Vatanen[/ame]
Chile is known for great rally stages, as is Argentina. No short of space to do it. Hell, there's even high desert to replace the Sahara. Having been there many times, I look forward to this event sticking there. I've nearly made it to Rally Argentina on two occasions but always seem to have it timed wrong by a week or two (its changed a few times based on location).
This vid nicely illustrates how different the racer is from a Countryman in size (near the beginning it passes a standard Countryman) and shows it being built. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUR07XXAM3g]YouTube - X-raid MINI All4 Racing Presentation[/ame]
I was poking around the Internet and found this. Rider sheet Guerlain CHICHERIT akar Most if not all of the press and interviews have had X-Raid as the team campaigning the MINI All4. It is curious that at the start of the race, it is a different team. X-Raid Dakar Team unveils Mini for 2011 race - AutoWeek Magazine Cheers! Chris safe
Monster X-Raid Energy BMW Peterhansel 3rd All4Racing Mini 7th | Dakar Rally Excerpt: The Mini All4 Racing crew began the stage in 14th overall and ninth on the road and were sixth through PC1 at 81km. They were trouble free throughout the special and recorded the seventh fastest time. “It was a good feeling today and a nice drive without any problems,” said Chicherit. “We had no problems with the brakes and all is okay for tomorrow.” Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc and Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin started the short stage in fourth position, but had slipped to ninth in the virtual rankings at PC1 after stopping to change a flat tire. They eventually recorded the eighth fastest time and maintained fifth overall. Enjoy the opening... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRKa_PNC3O8&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Monster Energy X-Raid Team after Stage 3 - DAKAR 2011[/ame]