Deztaz II - the new Desert Racer

[bdkw1]

Haha, your the guinea pig on the shocks! *Now hurry up, I wan't to know how they work. *

[K-fab]

Supposedly Ronny and crew were heading out to Gordon's Well and then Plaster City this weekend to do more testing. *Ronny said that they have, I believe, 6 cars that are planning on running the Baja 1000 with the new shocks in place this November.

I talked to one guy with them - Ryan Middleton is running them on a long travel Tundra (I think it's a pre-runner) and I'm waiting to hear from another (Kaleb Sandeen) with them on an off road toy (don't know if it's a racer car, pre runner or what). *Ryan states that both of them are impressed so far.

I figured, what the hell. *I'm into the testing new stuff and such so with the new non-plunging CVs and shocks, not to mention a totally one off Tazcar, I'd stick my foot in the waters and give them a test.

4 to 6 weeks on the 2.5 fronts, 6 to 8 weeks on the 3.0 rears.

Ronny Ryerson is the man behind the shocks - they're his design. *He was pretty candid about his feelings for what they'll be used on. *He designed them for racing and for racers, but he said that he knows that the majority of them will end up on sand cars. *He wasn't too terribly happy about that (to paraphrase - "I could care less about that sand world"), but he realizes that's where the bread and butter will come from.

From what I gather, Ronny's a die hard desert racer... * He also said that, being that the shocks are new and that he wants to get a good rep out there, he'll be at all the SCORE races and will help with setup and tuning to anyone that RACES and purchases his stuff.

The things are terribly expensive: *List on a 2.5 w/12" stroke is $1,295.00 ea. and the 3.0 w/12" stroke is $1,795.00 ea.. *Fortunately, because they are going through ATV Racing, I'll get them at dealer cost. *Still not quite sure what that is, but it's (a lot) more than a Fox and less than retail...

As Jay and I were discussing the other morning - If they work, and if they work as well as they are claimed to work - i.e. ease of adjustment, tuning ability and such, then ponying up for them is hopefully worth the painfull spot in the wallet.

Nobody ever said racing was inexpensive...

How do you make a million dollars racing?
Start out with two million...

[Gene]

[dune]

k-fab. Thanks for the info on the RPM Gearbox. I contacted Jay at Desert Dog and he got me set up with everything I needed. Got one on order.

Great guy by the way...
Tripp

[K-fab]

Small update:

I talked to Ronny (Revolution Shock guy) this week - The shocks are heading to ATV Racing the middle of next week. *I'll try to get James to snap some pix for us. *(let me tell you - it SUCKS being here in Ohio and having my car(s) out in Phoenix. *Hell, I'd be happy just being able to walk in the garage to look at them right now!)

Oh well, I guess February will be here eventually and I'll get to go work on stuff. - and go play at Glamis!!!

No word on the axles or the fuel tank. *The Fuel Safe guys were at some convention or show this past week and Neil hasn't been able to get in touch with the axle guy. * Doh!!!

[rowycoracing]

K-fab, *What do you think the all in cost of the Deztaz II will be ... if you don't mind saying? *We are in the market for a new 10 car, just looking for a reference point.

[K-fab]

I really don't have a clue.

I'm getting a serious break on a lot of items, I've supplied a lot of things, I've already paid for certain stuff and I'm doing quite a bit of the work on the car too - so it makes it really hard to even take a guess.

[rowycoracing]

OK, thx

[K-fab]

The last time I laid hands on the Dez II was October 25th. *Damn - that's too long ago!!!

I've been at ATV Racing for the past couple days, working on it again.

I got the front spindles and brakes mounted today and will start working on the rear brake setup tomorrow. *Had to pull the tranny yesterday to modify it so I can make a dual caliper carrier/mount setup for it.

We got the front a-arms fully welded up and installed too.

Still waiting on the tank back from Fuel-Safe. *The box went out on Oct 22 and we still don't have the thing!

Axles are SUPPOSEDLY on the way (again?). *Something about the first set not being correct, the second set being lost by UPS and now? *Neil called yesterday on them and we were told that they were shipped. *(I'll believe it when they show up at ATVR)

I got the shocks!
They are BIG, black and heavy.
The front ones (2.5's) aren't too much different in size from a Fox internal bypass. *They are heavier, but that's about it.
The rear shocks (3.0's) are MASSIVE and HEAVY. *They use a 5.5" OD spring. *Ooofff...

All four installed just like they were supposed to - whew... *We were worried about fitment a tad. *I had one small clearance issue on the upper back mounts - had to grind a touch of clearance on a tab, but that was it. *Nothing to be concerned about.

I'll have to make new spacers for the front shocks. *They are .250" narrower than a 2.5 internal bypass Fox's mounting width (which is what we used when we jigged up the mounts). *The rear 3.0's have the same width mounting as the Fox's, so they fit just right.

We also ordered springs today. *I have 300, 350 and 400's on order for the back and 175/200's for the front. *ATV has the front springs in stock (if we need to tune), but they don't carry the big ones so we made sure we had a good selection for a starting point. *I want to make this thing as soft and squishy in initial travel and then stiffen up quickly. *Supposedly that's where these shocks excel. *We'll find out...

James also welded up my rims - bead locks and re-enforcing rings on all four. *We still need to order one more front and one more rear rim for spares. (we already have the rings and bead locks)

[DrakAttack]

I met a guy in Baja last October driving this 2 seater Tazcar in the Pete's Camp run.
I don't have any specs on it other that he was running the Honda Vtec motor and modified suspension. It was set up great for Baja, and I was impressed with it's performence.
You might even recognize the car.