My goal for this car was to build something that could race in King of the Hammers, desert racing, a little short course with VORRA (not LOORRS, more of a desert focus on a short course at Prairie City SVRA) and also be able to take it to the dunes, Moab and the Rubicon.
From what I have seen, most race cars don't make good play cars. For one they are too specifically built to be versitile.
Well other than a few teething issues that we worked through at KOH, the car did incredibly well and could have easily been a contender if we ran a smooth race.
On Monday, I had a chance to run out to
Sand Mountain in Nevada to see how it would do and work on some fine tuning. For those of you that have never been there, Sand Mountain has a very long steep hill that is tough for UTVs to climb. A stock Rhino can't make it to the top. A stock Teryx can't unless conditions are ideal and you have paddles and/or a few performance goodies. A stock RZR S can make it to the top with Boghorns.
I decided to leave the DFR Crippler beadlocks and 26.5" Pit Bull Rocker XORs on the car. If you ride in the dunes much, you know that the weight of the tire/wheel is crucial. The setup I have is built for durability and performance in the rocks. Tires are 8 ply and the 14" wheels have super beefy reinforcing rings. The combo is NOT light.
I was happy to see that the Teryx in full race dress was able to make it to the top, no problem. Very cool. Check one for power. And with some paddles I think it will do much better.
Then we played around in the dunes to see how it felt. The only complaint I have is rear visibility (radiator). With the lower sides, the car is harder to get into than a stock UTV, but easier than many other race cars. But I still feel safe in it. Good compromise. The Unisteer power steering is super nice. I didn't really notice it while driving because it is subtle. But when I hopped in my RZR for a spin I noticed that the steering felt heavy. Pretty cool. The Teryx also feels like it is nimble in the dunes. Felt good doing a few jumps, and g-outs weren't an issue. I did add a iTi swaybar in the rear (non for KOH), and that really helped the body roll. I will add the iTi front sway bar for the VORRA short course race and I am sure it will handle the hairpin turns real flat. I will probably switch to a 25.5" Pit Bull for the race.
The VORRA race is March 20-21 in Sacramento. Pretty fun course and the event is real relaxed. If your are nearby, consider racing or coming out to spectate.
More pictures:
UTV Guide - Sand Mountain February 2010
