Race Runner conversion possibilities

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zouz10

Well-Known Member
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Location
Florida
I have seen people convert a baja 1000 into a Race Runner, but how many have ever tried to convert a Race Runner to a rally car? I believe it is possible since technically it is the same chassis! What do you guys think?
 
Shouldn't be too hard although it would be pretty expensive as the conversion would require 4 new shocks (short), new roll cage, new lid as well as a complete set of wheels and tires.

Would still work out much cheaper than buying a new dedicated on road car though which is really a great thing about the MCD design as it offers versatility not offered by any other manufacturer. If for example I get sick of off road racing I still have the option to but some extra bits and begin a new life of on road/rally racing.
 
I think I will eventually try that. I was looking at the manual and there is a page with the rally chassis blowout. Like you said, besides the wheels, shocks and roll bar and the front bumper, it doesn't seem too different. I am gonna try to price it out when I get some time and see what the true difference is!
 
Yes it is possible - I've done it and raced my Race Runner with a rally car shell on this year in the Outlaw Class at my local track.

You will need to remove the wing and wing supports, replace the body mounts with the rally car ones and simply tie-wrap a foam bumper (I used an old fg one) to the existing front bumper. In theory only the 510mm bodies will fit the car. I purchased a used MCD Peugeot 206 WRC bodyshell on ebay and it fits perflectly.

The only minor issue is that the Race Runner axles are slight longer than the rally car ones so you will need to use a 5mm spacer. The on-road tyres/wheels will stick out beyond the bodyshell.

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1225/racerunner2om0.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/548/racerunner1rc3.jpg
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1749/racerunner3ei6.jpg

In action during a race

http://www.rapid-racing.co.uk/photodetails.asp?category=&PhotoID=843

Although the pictures show the car with the standard front suspension, the conversion still works with the MCD long travel suspension upgrade kit.

I would recommend using heavier shock oil and lowering the ride height.

Clive
 
Clive,
Do you think since I got the evo comp 2 race runner it will be different and I might not need the 5mm spacers? Your car looks really cool like that! So you didn't do any mods to your suspension setup?
 
Zouz10

You probably don't need spacers on the latest Evo 2 cars.

I left the suspension set-up unaltered from when I ran the car off-road. The car was perfect for drifting but was a handful to drive consistently fast during a race. For on-road racing you need only need minimal ground clearance and limited shock travel - my set-up gave the opposite.

For the last race of the season I raced a new MCD Rally Car (510mm wheelbase) and it was not only faster but easier to drive on the limit. Even with a standard (unmodified) 26cc CY engine I reduced my lap times and could do so consistently over a race distance. I should have switched to a genuine Rally Car earlier in the season! A genuine Rally Car is also much stronger than the Race Runner - no more DNFs.

Clive
 
easy

The Rally Car suffers from signifcantly less front-end damage because of the protection provided by the front bumper. The steel bumper fitted to the Race Runner is useless and unless you have a head-on impact, it provides no protection at all. It is also not legal for racing here in the UK and is usually replaced with the wider FG plastic one.

The other issue relates to the decision by MCD to use the Rally Car suspension on the original Race Runner. This was done (allegedly) to keep the importers/dealers happy - they could sell cars that used the standard off-road wheels made by HARM, FG, Lauterbacher etc. Clearly they made a mistake hence the re-designed suspension on the latest Evo 2 cars.

I have just (today) installed the Evo 2 suspension on my Race Runner and it would appear to be a step in the right direction, providing the new MCD off-road wheels are used.

The recent off-road racing would indicate that the Evo 2 cars are as strong as the high-end european alloy cars.

Clive
 
Hey Clive do you know what FG bumpers the racers are using over there? I 100% agree with you in that the standard RR bumper is a joke and adding a wider impact resistant plastic one is one of the best durability upgrades you can do to your car.

Not only that but its amazing how a front bumper can help save your buggy from a rollover when it lands wrong off a jump. Instead of the standard alloy bumper digging in to the dirt flipping the buggy the one I made up allows the front to slip along the ground forcing the rear end down (not over)

A part number would be really helpful to all us MCD owners and would save me from having to make another home made one when my current one wears out.
 
Great info once again mate. Thanks!

BTW do you guys always run on carpet/artificial grass as every track I have seen in the UK has this surface. Perhaps its necessary due to all that rain you guys cop...lol
 
Last edited:
monotheist

Unfortunately most of the largescale off-road tracks have installed astro-turf (artificial grass). Although the best track is still grass/dirt.

They claim that in addition to little or no track maintenance you can race all year round and there is less car damage from stones etc.

Clive
 
Really? Now where’s the fun it that! I call it lumpy on-road racing. Real Men and race on dirt, sorry just messing with ya :clown:

Jokes aside your right about less damage. The quartz at our track is as hard as diamonds and will cut through anything and it really takes it toll on the buggies under carriage and tires.
 
monotheist

I have just spoken to King Cobra and they along with MCD are releasing a new (race legal in the UK unlike the metal one!) plastic bumpers. Both are wider than the FG one and the King Cobra one is made from the same 'unbreakable' plastic as they use in their off-road wings.

MCD have also designed lower suspension that uses hinge pins instead of plastic rose joints - it will need to be used with a new design of lower gearbox case though. There is no word on when it will be released but it is possible that it will appear on their cars at the trade show in Germany next month.

Clive
 
Wow, the news just gets better and better for us MCD drivers. So glad they have finally decided to offer us a better bumper. Hopefully it will come out sooner rather than later.

Some people would probably like to string me up and burn me for saying this but I am not sold on this new hinge pin arrangement. A couple of high quality steel (or alloy) rose joints in the front and a decent bumper was all that I needed to eliminate this issue. That said I will probably damage one next time out!

So you will need not only new arms but gearbox cases as well. I would have thought they could just add a hinged mounting block using the existing rose joint chassis holes. This means you will need to buy new arms, gear cases and all associated hardware which may work out to be quite expensive. It will be nice to have alternative options though if anyone feels the need to convert.
 
Total truth

Monotheist,
I totally agree with you . I have an on road car with alloy arms and I installed the plastic joints at the end not to damage the arms and rest of the towers too.
It is a point of give per say much cheaper to replace the $2 joint than do the 120 bucks arm ????

I am not for the hinge pins but a lighter chassis design and some metal ones perhaps but have at least one plastic to give not take out your ride .

Companies do this "improvement " to stimulate their business . You bust an arm and they sell parts.
You will brake the arms believe me done that .
They should offer more VALUE and Alloy parts that make differences .
If they have the cnc machines set up its not expensive to run alloy .

Include it with the chassis it is already expensive >>>
cheers
 
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