Block Buster, Inside Ken Block's Monster Gymkhana Killer

Cool stuff. You're joking about the HKS bov though, right?

I don't think in/lb is the right unit for those spring rates. Maybe you mean 70lb/in, which isn't particularly light at all- 12k or 840lb/in, especially for such a light car with what looks like a close to 1:1 motion ratio.

I was going to say something about a 3076 making 60psi and 700hp, but then I looked up the compressor map for the new 3076gtx and it's actually not that much of a stretch for a fancy wrc version.

Its 1.3 or so kg, you got your units wrong!

70 in/lb = 1/70 lb/in = 0.014lb for 1" of compression. That would be a tiny thin wire of nothing-ness.

It's 1.3 kg/mm!

that turning brake cylinder is a dual piston (on on either end) design. Obviously one end has an in and an out so it for the rear brakes. The front side seems to only be used as a pressure reference. Awesomeness.

Any idea why "shower" type injectors are bad for emissions? I've never heard of them, but if atomization is better, one would think otherwise.

The WG dump reintroduced into the downpipe (at nearly a 90 degree angle) is a little surprising.

Lots of great detail to drool over here. Thanks.

70 lb/in sounds extremely soft for that spring wire diameter and number of coils. Maybe they meant 70 N/mm which is about 400 lb/in? That would seem to be much more in the realm of reality given the actual appearance of the spring and how much roll stiffness the car must have.

Merely a massaged off-the-shelf Ford Fiesta. LOL!

I love that the labels for all the switches seem to be the old Namco arcade font.

Love this article!!

Remember this is a rallycross car, it's designed to go fast and fly too. The low spring rates are probably used to control jumps. When I used to race R/C trucks, we would use very soft springs and damper oil and raise the ride height a ton to handle the jumps. The soft shocks allowed lots of grip and controlled smooth jumps, and the tall ride height prevented the truck from bottoming out.

I've got this open at my school's FSAE office and everyone is drolling over the pics. Sweet car!!! Oh and don't forget the looksie Dave Coleman took at one of these cars 2 years ago: http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1289/inside-the-800-hp-olsbergs-fiestas--update-1.aspx Some more info on the engine there.

the shower type are prob bad for emissions because they are sprayed before the throttle plate so low flow mixtures probably mix poorly needing them to be overly rich.

So wait was he running BFG's? In his interview he said he chose some Pirelli tire, but I'm guessing his contract requires him to say that.

I know in Downhill Mountain Bike racing, tire sponsors are quite the joke. Someone could be sponsored by Kenda or Continental but really they are running Maxxis tires with sharpied out logos because Maxxis's tread patterns and compounds are so far superior to everyone else.

Also I'm confused about the BOV, one page 2 at first you said there isn't one, which I though is how all WRC cars are, but then just down the page you say something about there being a BOV?

FYI, the tr30 is highly customized for each customer. More often than not, the center housing is titanium. It's amazing how light it is. I think a wrc spec tr30 is 7-8 pounds. While the car in Dave's article is built by the same people, It's completely different as far as the turbo setup goes.

Concerning shower objectors, they are common place on sportbikes and f1 engines. They are for when you need to flow a ton of fuel and I've only seen them on high rpm apps. Like 10k rpm+. My guess is that at low fuel flow rates, they can't as precisely meter the fuel making them bad for emissions. Also, probably not super precise in getting all the fuel sprayed directly into the cylinder it is above.

I know that 70 in/lbs sounds really low but thats what the pr guy said. 70 n/m or 400 in/lbs makes more sense. I bet the pr guy is wrong. The BOV comes into play when the antilag is turned off. Shower injectors cause a lot of port wetting particularly at low rpm and idle so hc's are out the window. A race engine with a lot of overlap has terrible hc's anyway so its probably a moot point.

Fav quote!

"Short wheelbase, wide track, light weight, AWD and lots of power are an unbeatable combination in Gymkhana, unless you are up against Tanner Foust in an almost identical car!"

Sportbikes don't have intake plenums, they just have individual intake runners for each cylinder. Since the shower injectors are in the runners they don't spill out much into the other cylinders like this one might do.

An FSAE team was here a few years ago testing their engine setup. It used a sportbike engine, but due to the intake restrictor they had to use it had a plenum and for some reason they put the only set of injectors in the plenum right above the runners and it wouldn't run worth a damn due to poor fueling. It's been a while so the details are a little fuzzy but that's how I remember it.

I think the other issue is trying to control a standard injector at very high rpm.

yes I had my units a little off too it looks like. damn you generic spring rate converter. But 70lb/in is something you would find on a mountain bike or fsae car.

8000 rpm isnt high enough to have injector control issues. Sometimes engine with shower injectors have port injectors downstream that are staged for low speed driveabitly.

70 lb/in is even light for a MTN Bike or FSAE car. Mountain bike coil springs don't even come in less than like 250 lb/in, but most bikes use in the 350-500 lb/in range.

ugh, so sick! i want one

I know the whole "if you have to ask you cant afford it" thing, but out of shear curiosity, whats the ball park price on a car like this?

warmmilk - I would imagine at least $500K. Rumor has it that Chris Rado's FWD Scion TC custom transmission was over $100K.

Beautiful car. All in the details....
It's a shame that such a great car is handled by such a mediocre driver.
This car should be given to a real-professonal driver.
Great feature as usual Mike.

If those caged springs in p.2 are the BOV, then it's definitely not a HKS. It still makes sense though. Great article, love the technical depth. Even with all tha downsides, it makes me really wish my daily driver had an anti-lag system, but it's supercharged, so.... no. Just no.

Ken Block is a very good driver, I wonder why people think he isnt?

Because he wears strange shoes, hats and jackets, probably ... ;)

Mike you don't have to agree with me.
Let me explain what I mean by "not a good driver."
He's certainly way more capable than me, (or maybe even you), taking into consideration I don't have as much seat time as he does. That's granted.
I believe Ken Block does not deserve to drive a $500K car, let's put it that way.
There are TONS of great talented racecar drivers that have grown up driving karts (like your daughter) since they were kids.
Then some of them maybe moved into Formula 3000, Formula 3, SCCA events, NASA events, became instructors at those events, or even raced in the Paris-Dakar, or NHRA professional driver.
Perhaps some of them stayed in the rally community,or race in the DTM, or the BTCC, or ventured into LeMans, or became test drivers for Porsche, or Nissan, or who knows, maybe they race in ALMS....
Ken Block has done none of that. In other words, he has no experience compare to true racecar drivers.
Few years ago he showed up at the Gumball 3000 with three flashy STi, then raced the North American Rally Cup along with Pastrana for a couple of years, did some Evel Knievel video clip; and that was it.
In my opinion to earn a $500K racecar seat, you have to hone it, you got to work hard. Few Gymkhana stunts on youtube only win fanboy's heart.

See I'm confused why people are so mad at him being good. Yes I agree it takes time to become a good driver, but there are also those who are just naturally good at it. His rookie year in rally he got 4th overall in points. I mean yeah he became good because he put in a lot of seat time because he can afford to do that, but basically he's probably put in as much seat time in the last 5 years that other drivers would take more like 8 years to get. I think he's put in his time and if you've seen his in car shots in any WRC race he's got the focus and determination on his face that every other driver in the series does. I mean he's the first U.S. rally driver to score points in the WRC in how long? If he can consistently poke into the top 10 and set fastest stage times then I more than think he deserves that car.

@aj-gilbs:
If you think so, who am I to change your opinion? You are entitle to believe whatever you feel like, no arguments here.
I'm not mad at Ken Block. I just think that there are other (many other) racecar drivers that could easily take his spot.
I'm not debating whether or not he put in seat time. I know he has, just not enough (in my opinion).
The fact that he's one of the few US rally driver to have ever achieve this, to me doesn't mean much.
Actually, that proves how much harder is to get a seat in one of those state-of-the-art racecars in Europe. In Europe the competition is just at another level; and honestly, I look at the #'s. Qualify times, lap-times, consistency and so forth. That's what count in races; not the super slick drift around an abandon airport, or doing doughnuts around a Segway.
Again, I don't want to take away anything from Ken Block, I just think there are other more competent drivers out there that could fill in his shoes.

jdmized, you are thinking purely in terms of normal driver progression when you state that he isnt worthy to be driving a car like this. what you have to realize is he helped build a huge company from the ground up. i think that more than justifies his playing with some pretty expensive toys. you cant tell me that if you had the means to do just about everything that block is doing (while simultaneously endorsing your own company) you would step back and climb the ladder of racing one rung at a time.

Eric, Mike, Dave: How do I unsubscribe from this article's comments? I can't find any setting for it.

@JDMized, you're not including a key ingredient in becoming a professional driver, and that's MARKETABILITY. How did Danica Patrick get a seat in IndyCar before the other guys she lost to in Formula Atlantic? How did Travis Pastrana get a ride in NASCAR so quickly? Race teams need sponsors to make money and fund the team. Sponsors, in turn, want maximum exposure. Therefore, they want a driver that will give them that exposure. I read an interesting article about how to become a race car driver; I think it was in Road and Track. It boils down to this, for every guy that makes it to be a pro, there's another 100 guys that are just as good of drivers. The difference is, that one guy marketed himself better than everyone else. They put in 10x the effort/time to market themselves as compared to driving. Tanner Foust was mentioned in the artilce actually. While he didn't get a seat in pro car such as ALMS, World Challenge, etc, he created his own niche for himself from a lot of effort on his part, and has gotten additional opportunities from it (movie stunt driving, tv shows, drift, rally-x). So it's not just about the driving, but what else the driver can bring to the table.

@ SteelblueSleeperR:
I am thinking purely in terms of normal driving progression. Racing is nourished, not bought over night with a fat check.
I'm not sure I'm following you when you say: "he helped to build the company from the ground up." He did not help Ford developing anything. Ford developed the Duratec (and their racecars) thanks to Cosworth's decades of partnership, along with European drivers.
Block did not help Subaru either. If there is a guy that should be rewarded by the work he did, that would be Peter Solberg. After his contract was over and Subaru pulled out from the WRC, all the R&D was done by Solberg.
Now if you're talking about DC Shoes; yes Ken Block and Danny Way got together YEARS ago and established DC Shoes. The company did well and eventually Ken Block got into cars and with the money he earned from the company, he started racing. No guilt here.
What I am not favorable with, it's all the hype and propaganda (media attention) he got for shooting a couple of youtube video?
Who wouldn't do it with the resources he has? In my opinion the media gave him too much credit, they balloned out-of-proportion his status. He used his image to be where he's today; whereas skill came after.
Maybe I am getting old, but I am the type of person that likes to fly low, if you know what I mean. Results in racing are all it matters, exposure with the media, autograph with the fans, advertising, apparel, promo....all that stuff comes AFTER you have proven what you can do, not the other way around.

@spdracerut:
Danica Patrick is in Indy today because she's pretty. Iif I were to compare her to the rest of the field she's mediocre at most. There are not that many women that compete professionally in Motorsports, so anytime there is one, the spot-lights are on the new subject.
Remember Verena May? Where is she today? Faded away...
Travis Pastrana is fearless, but sometimes he's not rational.
He's used to jump in the Canyon with dirtbikes, brake bones and concussions left and right, jump from dock to dock coping Ken Block and Rhys Millen (do you see a pattern here?), and just basically follow Evel Knievel steps (Seth Enslow's been there and quit before he killed himself, and so Brian Deegan). Anyway Redbull saw Pastrana years ago, and like you said, wanted to increase its revenue (nothing wrong with that) and gave him full support.
Travis Pastrana was NEVER consistent when he raced MX/SX. He either beat everyone in the field, or crashed badly.
True racecar drivers have to be collected, use strategy, listen and communicate with the team, and develop the car/ bike along the way. A great example is Ricky Carmichael. A true dirtbike rider. Unfortunately he got tired or racing and attempted NASCAR, and faded...
Or I could mention Valentino Rossi. He's done so much for the sport since he was a little kid. I can't say the same thing about Ken Block.
As far as Travis Pastrana racing in NASCAR; he will get his ass kicked, fade away like the rest of the rockstars, and the new kid on the block will show up.

There seem to be two school of thoughts in motorsport these days, The over-night heros, and the drivers that have been racing for decades that keep it low key (and still generate enough money for the sponsors).

@ brain rush that isn't the BOV it is the "pop OFF" valve if the plenum pressure exceeds the threshold (probably set a bit above the 60psi max boost pressure) the springs compress and it vents the plenum,

Originally used on S/C'd V8's that used draw thru systems so if combustion happened in the intake (not uncommon when compressing air/fuel mixtures right) the whloe super charger and manifold didn't exit thru the lid

@ Mike in/lbs is a torque measurement lb/in is a spring rating

@Jeff You've been unsubscribed but you're not receiving this message so the point of mine is moot!

I see nothing wrong with Ken Block being a successful business man, making money, buying expensive toys, playing hard and being good at it. If motoIQ takes off I am going to build some sick stuff and I hope you guys don't hate me for it! Ken Block is a cool humble guy, he is no douche. He is a shoe driver, a slight notch down from Tanner or Dai, very slight.

What you call hype, I call smart marketing.

Verena Mei is a good friend of ours and a frequent visitor to the palatial motoIQ headquarters. After drifting, were she did not make it, she did well at Redline Time Attack where she won a championship. She can still drift really well but to win in FD you have to have a strong car, team and driver. She was a poorly funded privateer. I have tested with her and she could kill it.

She is currently doing rally and is putting together a program with Ford. She will be instruction at a rally school on the east coast and is moving out there next week. It pisses me off that if she were a guy or an ugly girl it would be fine but since she is good looking (2x better than danica IMHO) people just have to talk shit, just like the hate Ken Block gets.

BTW i am perfectly aware about inch pounds and pounds per inch, just like power to weight ratio vs weight to power ratio but who the hell says pound inch or weight to power ratio!? I don't know a single person. Call someone up and order some pound inch springs and the guy on the phone will think WTF!

Ah, so BOV operates via plenum (or in this case vacuum manifold) pressure (getting sucked open) while a POV is controlled relative to atmosphere (getting pushed open). I just love ogling these pics over and over.

As for the ken block haters--
Kimi Raikkonen only had 23 car races under his belt before his first Formula One race, scoring a championship point along the way.

I'm pretty sure there is only one ken block hater here... sounds like jealousy to me...

the pop off valve is not really supposed to operate it would be considered a fail safe only...if it opens it's because something bad happened.

@ mike I happen to know alot of people that like to use clear concise language but then again in certain lines of business I guess people like to look like they know what they are talking about, you'd think someone writing articles read by discerning public including engineers and motorsports professionals would want to understand what the designator means that he is using, and would want that to be clear to everyone else. inch pounds and pounds per inch are different, are read different, and are both completely separate and oft used terms I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them to be used correctly.

Give me a break, no one in the industry calls a 600 in lb spring a 600 lb in spring.

I am an engineer and a motorsport professional.

Seeing cars like this make me want to do ground up build starting from a bare acid dipped chassis. Just look at how clean everything is!

I wonder if there is a performance/sealing advantage for using banjo fittings vs. AN type fittings. For me I use AN fittings where possible mostly only because they are way cheaper for me to use than a banjo setup. I only resort to a banjo if I'm working in a really tight space.

For these guys an extra $1000 in fittings is nothing to them so I wonder if it is easier to work on or more reliable?

@ Mike:
I don't hate on Ken Block, I dislike his approach to Motorsport. I said I don't think he deserves to drive a half a million dollar car, that's all.
I believe there are more humble racecar drivers out there that could easily out-run Ken Block, any day of the week.

If you ever become rich, and MotoIQ takes off (I think you should be proud of this site regardless, as there's a wealth of knowledge as is).....if you ever get rich, why would I hate on you? You've been around cars your entire life, you've been racing a long time. You clearly love cars and know the in's and out's, and IT SHOWS. Ken Block does not. That's the difference.

I called it hype, because it is. I don't see Lewis Hamilton putting up a youtube video with a flashy car, jumping up and down slopes with snowboarders running along him. I never saw Colin McRae, or even Sebastian Loeb jumping 170 ft. gap on a rally cars? What for? What's the message? I tell you what's the message: "Hi I'm Ken Block, I got money, I can afford to do stupid shit like this, and I'm trying my best to promote Subaru/ Ford,"
In my eyes, that's dumb. Pointless. He's just showing off, that's what it boils down to.
He's doing poorly in WRC, and while his sponsors get enough exposure, his results lack.
As far as Verena Mei not making it in drifting, but succeed in Time Attack. Regardless of the race. To be competitive you have to have a reliable/ solid car, but most of all a great crew with great support. Sponsors don't back you up if you don't bring in results, that's probably why she didn't make it (sorry to be harsh, but sponsors don't like to waste money like that).
Since you brought it up. Calvin Wan, a great guy, with good talent; being drifting for YEARS (I know him personally). Got dropped from Falken because he wasn't bring in results. It sucks, but that's the nature. The 350Z that Tyler is driving was originally developed for him. Things didn't work out, and he got cut off, such is racing.
And just to recap, I don't hate Ken Block, nor I talked shit about Verena Mei. I said, Ken has very little experience, and he's using his youtube video to succeed, instead of using his results speak for themselves. Verena Mei, well, she wasn't good enough to pull together a good program and have enough sponsors that would support her racing. What can I say, things happen for a reason.

@warmmilk:
Trust me, there is no jealousy involved. I wish Ken Block all the best (because he needs it). I am happy to be where I am. I race occasionally at a amateur level, and couldn't be happier.

I'm done with this discussion. Thanks Mike and the rest of the MotoIQ stuff for sharing cool cars like Ken Block Fiesta. Keep 'em coming.

Honda coils that say Toyota on them, hey? ;)

Wow, did I miss a conversation or what?!? Block is a baller...he can do what he wants as long as he can afford it. Personally I think its cool that he's playing with and driving race cars now.

Mike: FYI the cylinder head casting and intake manifold setup is not OSME although they like to tell everybody it is...they are from a different Swedish company however.

Ken Block IS certainly a ballet, and like u said Eric, he can do whatever he wants with his money.
I garantee u he would race cars if he weren't so well off.