FEATURE VEHICLE: RED LANDS RACING POLARIS RZR

[JoeyD23]

FEATURE VEHICLE: RED LANDS RACING POLARIS RZR


When we first laid eyes on this amazing race machine we knew we had to share it as a feature vehicle. The design, craftsmanship and overall appearance of this Polaris RZR is nothing short of amazing and it performs as good as it looks! We hope you enjoy geeking out on it as much as we do.



SPECIFICATIONS

Model: 2016 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo
Owner / Driver: Ryan Laidlaw
Chassis: Chromoly tube chassis Designed, Engineered, and Built by Red Lands Racing

Suspension (Front):
-Red Lands Racing custom built long travel suspension
-Red Lands Racing custom built front steer conversion
-Red Lands Racing built Knuckles, tie-rods, and bump steer bracket
-Custom Length 2.5’’ Internal bypass, Fox Shocks
-PAC Race Springs
-Custom Valving and Tuning by Collins Motorsports
-Custom Length Turner Cycles axles

Suspension (Rear):
-Red Lands Racing custom built long travel suspension
-Custom Length 2.5’’ Internal bypass Fox Shocks
-PAC Race springs
-Custom Valving and Tuning buy Collins Motorsports
-Lone Star Racing sway bar and links
-Custom Length Turner Cycles Axles

Engine: Polaris Pro Star XP Turbo
Intercooler: CBR Performance Inter-cooler
Radiator: CBR Performance Radiator
Fuel Cell: Harmon Fuel Cell
Exhaust: Red Lands Racing custom built Exhaust
Intake: UMP Intake
Clutch: Airdam Clutches Custom clutch tune
Lighting: Heretic Studios
Skid Protection: Custom Skid plate by Red Lands Racing
Steering Wheel: Joe’s Lightweight steering wheel
Seats: NRG Carbon fiber Race Seats
Safety: Mastercraft 5-Point Harnesses, DJ’s Safety custom window nets
Communications: PCI Com Link 10 Elite Race intercom, Kenwood 50 Watt Race Radio
Race Air: Rugged Radios 4.2 Race Air
Navigation: Ipad Air, Mob Armor case and LeadNav GPS software

Wheels and Tires:
-15’’ OMF Performance Ultralight Bead-lock Wheels
-32’’ ITP Ultracross Tires

Sponsors:
ITP Tires, Fox Shocks, OMF Wheels, Turner Cycles, Airdam Clutches, PAC Race Springs, Collins Motorsports, and UTVUnderground.com

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE: http://www.utvunderground.com/feature-vehicle-red-lands-racing-polaris-rzr-41544.html

 

[NIKAL]

Day late and Dollar short. These pictures of the RedLands car are already 1 Generation behind. These guys dont rest and just think, what they have today is the best it can be. Since these pictures were taken they have completely back halfed the chassis and re-engineered it, along with both the front & rear suspension components. They dont rest, and even the fuel cell placement is looked at for improvement. If they find a way to do so, a new cell is made and mounted in the car. I have yet to see the dedication from any other UTV team to continue to push the envelope and try new things. Just look at the parts break down on the list above, you dont see many aftermarket brand names listed. That is because they are dedicated to building everything in house and better then what you can buy over the counter. You also are only seeing what they want you too. Like the steering, that in itself was a huge feat! The engineering that goes into building the a-arms and trailing arms is like nothing another UTV team has done. They are built the way suspension parts on class 1's and TT's are done.

The RedLands Team has a Instagram page that will allow you to see a bit more of this truly one off race UTV. There lead fabrication Parker Garrett who has recently passed away, also has some amazing fab pictures of this amazing machine in his Instagram. Parker not only worked for the Red Lands crew, but also helped build and fab for TSCO racing and their newest TT's which Andy McMillin is currently driving. (You know the truck that won V2R!) RIP Parker, you are missed!

https://www.instagram.com/redlandsutvracing/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/parks_requiem/?hl=en

 

[JoeyD23]

Just look at the parts break down on the list above, you dont see many aftermarket brand names listed.

Mob Armor
LoneStar
Airdam
Mastercraft
ITP
OMF
PAC
FOX
Heretic
NRG
Harmon
UMP

I mean, I see a lot of Aftermarket brand names lol

I get what you are saying.. it is a custom one off machine and its one of our favorite.

 

[NIKAL]

Mob Armor
LoneStar
Airdam
Mastercraft
ITP
OMF
PAC
FOX
Heretic
NRG
Harmon
UMP

I mean, I see a lot of Aftermarket brand names lol

I get what you are saying.. it is a custom one off machine and its one of our favorite.

For a full race UTV build there are very few Brand names listed, and in most cases parts that you are not going to make. No one is building their own tires or seatbelts! And BTW the fuel cell is not a Harmon, its a Pyrotect now! See they keep progressing! LOL! When I read the list of most other UTV race builds it looks like a print out or Christmas list from some 4 Wheel Parts catalog (Free plug for you Joey!)

 

[Heybeerman]

Great looking car!

 

[///Airdam Clutches]

no doubt. they rebuilt the car after the race in laughlin. over the summer break the whole car was cut and backhalfed and changed. the moved a bunch of stuff around, got rid of things they didnt like. tested it and went and raced V2R. i just got a call from Ryan yesterday they were out testing new stuff again. He doesnt sit still thats for sure. They get a little more seat time and get that car lined out like he wants it and it will be unstoppable. if you were going on build changes i think they are on version 12.0 by now. i know the chassis when it was at fabwerx getting built initially, was completely changed at least 3 times. Thad would scrap it and start over as the guys made chassis changes on solidworks while he was bending tubes. once he finally delivered them a chassis they were happy with they got it back home and decided to change it all again. i think the drivers cockpit was the only thing they kept they front and back-halfed it and started over. this last change they back-halfed it again and changed all the body work up. its nuts the amount of time they put into it

 

[XPirate]

We can all agree about how forward thinking the Redlands team is, their fabrication and design is top notch, but they aren't having a run like those COGNITO boys

 

[Rynomx785]

Baddest UTV on the planet.

 

[Heybeerman]

We can all agree about how forward thinking the Redlands team is, their fabrication and design is top notch, but they aren't having a run like those COGNITO boys

You could say that about every other UTV on the planet. This is still a bad ass car.

 

[rico]

As a member of the team it is very rewarding to hear your compliments, so thank you!

Since the beginning of this project, the car has been in almost constant evolution, which I think makes some people (at times, myself included) scratch their heads and wonder if we have lost our marbles. I think part of the reason that we have continued changing things simply relates to being a young team (2nd year racing and our first total car build) where at times it has been a situation of, "You don't know what you don't know" so we have been riding the learning curve. Another cause has been the basis of the project--which was to redefine the envelope in which a desert UTV operates. When you push these boundaries often things don't work out on the first attempt. It has been stated before, trick parts=trick problems, which is very true. We have been forced to develop solutions to issues that are entirely unique to our build, and at times these solutions have required system level changes. With that being said, it is also true that trick parts=trick performance. The car is gorgeous, I agree, but that isn't even the best of it. Photos (and even video to some extent) have difficulty capturing what it is capable of, which for me has been pretty jaw-dropping.

At the end of the day amazing performance does not equal success, just like horsepower does not win desert races. It is reliability. Justin and the whole Cognito team have demonstrated that axiom perfectly this season (keep it up guys!). Ryan and I had a conversation a few weeks ago and we both had this same conclusion. We feel like to have a shot at consistently putting this car on the podium we must focus on reliability, and to do that means stop changing stuff! So I expect the rate of change to slow down. There are still a couple surprises up our sleeve that have been in progress since LDC, but for the most part the car is there. We will be ready for BWDC!

 

[nolson2]

I assume the shock stroke has been increased to 10" in the front, 14" in the rear? Can you confirm?

 

[motive]

We can all agree about how forward thinking the Redlands team is, their fabrication and design is top notch, but they aren't having a run like those COGNITO boys

There is always that one Cognito brown noser! J/K. Cognito has definitely proven they are the top dog this year. Few teams out there have the experience that they do in UTV racing. That translates to a very polished racing program that knows when to cut and when to jive. Justin is also a very level headed driver that doesn't throw away a race in an ego fueled moment. He knows how to make his car last.

They were lined up right in front of us at tech for V2R. I don't think you could have any more of a stark contrast to approaches as our two cars. While we went for the full out, no hold barred approach to our build, the cognito car is about as simple as it gets. Sure they did a full chassis but what you won't find on their car is all the latest bolt on shiny bits. Everyone else in the series is trying different sway bars, adding front sway bars, billet this and that. If you want to check out the K.I.S.S. principle, theirs is the prime example.

I assume the shock stroke has been increased to 10" in the front, 14" in the rear? Can you confirm?

Shock stroke was increase, motion ratios were improved but unless Ryan is feeling especially generous, you won't get any specifics. Its like asking a girl how much she weighs. If she wants you to know, she will tell you. But if you ask....

 

[XPirate]

The ol KISS method is what I was trying to get at if that calls for toilet paper on my nose, albeit. The redlands car is a marvel of engineering and forward thinking, just wish it was proving itself more.

 

[motive]

It did win its maiden voyage. Not many can say that. Cognito has so Redlands is in good company! We also missed the first race of the year so our strategy has been a little different than most racers. Being out of the points race, each race has been an opportunity to see just how far we could push the envelope. Anyone that has been close to us in the Fox proving grounds knows what I'm talking about. Pushing the limits has ment we have broken some stuff which is part of the reason the car has been been reworked a couple of times making things better. The car also led most of the first 2 laps at the Mint until a belt let go and the car came to a stop on top of a bush which gave way to a very long belt change. At one point in V2R, Ryan was ahead of the Murrays but a tool failure at pit 11 caused a series of events that led to a clutch having to be delivered and changed out on the course. The car has the speed and performance to kill it but like Eric said, we are a new team and have been learning the lessons each race that a very successful team like Cognito has already learnt over the many years they have been racing.

 

[NIKAL]

The redlands car is a marvel of engineering and forward thinking, just wish it was proving itself more.

Comparing anyone's season to the Cognito guys, is setting everyone else stats up for failure this year. Take away the Cognito season, and look at how the Redlands car has actually done it its first season of racing.

Parker; Did not enter
UTVWC; 1st in Turbo
Mint; 3rd in Turbo (Does not reflect how well they were running before the two belt failures late in the race)
Laughlin; DNF
V2R 8th in Turbo

For a rookie team, with an unproven new car, that is not your standard bolt on build. I would have to give the team a "B" grade for the 2016 season up to this point. If I'm grading on an engineering and effort standard, they would have a A+ with honors. Like I said earlier I dont know of any UTV team who has taken on the challenge that the RedLands guys have and continue to push their own envelope.

There are some well established (Factory backed) teams who we are use to see winning that have not done so this year. That tells you how much the competition has been elevated.

 

[///Airdam Clutches]

how long do you think it took the Cognito team to get where they are? how many changes, different designs, and races it took to get the seat time and get the bugs worked out? you cant knock them one bit they are definitely one of the strongest and fastest teams in desert racing right now but i can almost guarantee you that wasnt the case their first season. that cars first ride was the World Championship. i would think that by the time they get it ironed out and enough seat time to be comfortable in the car, they will be a threat at every single race. i have ridden in and driven this car during clutch testing just as i ride and drive almost every other car i work on. this one without a doubt will roll out! it takes big hits effortlessly, small chop without rattling your teeth loose. the steering tracks straight even hitting off camber stuff. hitting a one-sided whoop or hole that would normally unsettle a car and put you up on 2 wheels, this thing glides over like a hover board. its quite surprising and the machine flat out works. at the mint they were leading but the roller bearing in the primary lost a seal and decided to allow all the grease in the bearing to spew out in the clutch. both primary and secondary were covered in grease and the belt was slipping badly. a seasoned race team would have known something was wrong and backed it down. being green to desert racing and belts they apparently didnt know and kept driving till it blew a belt. blowing that belt cost them tons of time and they lost their lead. that car is quick and it works well. is it faster than cognito? hard to say. that depends on the day and the race. in a sprint, yes. in nasty whoops yes. if you drive it full out in nasty whoops will it last probably no. to which cognito would stroll right on by and win the race like they always do. the engineering and the way this machine works, could make any desert racer faster than they are now. driving faster in super rough stuff though, will break more parts which leads to down time.

in many ways of desert racing i watch the fastest guy pull a huge lead and break down and end up forfeiting the lead. i watch the guys who go slow and take it easy stroll along and win the race at the end of the day. so in desert racing, is going faster really faster? it really just makes you more likely to break quicker. going slower may seem like an easy way to lose a race but really, in desert racing sometimes going slower IS faster. once this machine gets all the kinks worked out and these guys get their seat time and driving style figured out this machine will be one to watch at every event it enters.