VK Stratos out to play

[SUSIT]

http://www.killarneyhistoricrally.com/ :) :)

[Chris J]

Proflex suspension was spotted on Steve Perez's Stratos on the R.A.C.

[tryphon]

Proflex suspension was spotted on Steve Perez's Stratos on the R.A.C.

I hope you're wrong but unfortunately you're not. A Proflex suspension would really be out of its place on such a car.
What amazes me is that I knew this car when Udo had it and it was in far better shape and regularly used/raced.
I don't know why Perez bought it without the Campagnolos for instance or why he would replace the Monte Carlo Bilsteins with Proflex dampers. Get a better price out of Udo maybe?
You Englishmen are crazy...(he's a Spaniard I know but the car in campaigned in the UK).

[chris.richard]

Sponsorship from Proflex maybe?

[Chris J]

I think there's a bit of experimenting going on. It's early days yet.

[richard hall]

the rally was gravel,not tarmac the wheels are to wide and the monty set up to stiff,maby this weekend in kilarney it will be back to "monty spec"



richard

[tryphon]

Perez didn't buy the Campys.

[guy mayers]

How old were the Campagnolos? Perhaps he considered that they might be too brittle for competition use?
Guy

[GaryFitz]

I think there are two things to consider:
1. If you want to keep the car as it was originally raced and preserve it's history then of course your points are valid. This is only really valid if the car has some historical significance, and in my case, I will not modify the car and I will therefore limit myself to running it in events that are suitable for it
2. On the other hand if the car is a Stradale that has simply been built into a rally car and you wish to be competitive against more modern machinery then upgrading the susspension to use adjustable shocks is an absolute must do, I would also agree to run modern rims because of the weight advantage, the cost and rarity of originals, and the ability to get rally rubber to fit them.

As I have reached this conclusion, you may also be interested to know that I intend to do something similar and I am currently negotiating to buy a Stratdale and have it built up as a competitive Grp4 rally car. I will of course have a multitude of set-ups so that the car can be changed to suit the rally.

[John]

Gary,
excellent valid points!

[tryphon]

If one wishes to be competititve against modern cars then he should buy a modern car.
One could fit an active differential, modern fuel injection systems, active suspension, sequential gearbox to the Stratos and be competitive. But the car is no longer a Stratos, it's something else, impossible to define.
These cars were developed and raced in a time when rallying was still a sport. They are a legacy of what was and will never be again. Fitting modern equipement to them is really not the way.
Stratos are not concourse cars, far from it, they are a legacy of the past. You can almost feel Parkes, Maglioli, Brambila, Facetti, ..., looking over your shoulder when you work on it.
Funilly all of the old time mechanics that I have met and that have worked, or still work, on the cars feel the same thing....

[catswhiskers]

If one wishes to be competititve against modern cars then he should buy a modern car...
At the risk of offending anyone, Rubbish.
My opinion, and it's only that, is that Steve Perez is spending some of his own fortune rallying a car he has chosen. We should all applaud him for exposing the general public to the sight, sound and smell of the Stratos in competition again.
What he chooses to put on the car is his right. He has to answer to no-one but himself, after all, its his money.
Anyone who rallies a Stratos, original or conversion, deserves our enthusiastic backing and support and al ittle less of the 'critical attitude' currently surfacing on here. I appreciate this is an open forum and we all have our right to say our piece.
For what it's worth, this is mine.

Good luck Steve and the VK team.

Mick

[tryphon]

A Stratos will be very competitive with a DFV engine in its back...and the sound, oh the sound!

Ah and I forgot to mention in my post a bit higher that the "these Englishmen are crazy" comment comes from Udo in person...

[Martin K]

I think that we would all want see a Stratos offer serious competition to the other machines of it's period and in the same class. Steve Perez is not competing against modern machinery but cars of the same era.

In England Historic and Post Historic Rallying has attracted some very fine machinery and drivers, and some cars that were not so successful in their era are very competitive now. Particularly the Porches. This has a lot to do with the fact that the 911 continued to evolve and many lessons learnt on later models have been incorporated into the current rally cars. I know this 'cos I own a Historic Porsche, albeit a 912.

I'm not sure that fitting decent dampers is in quite the same league as changing the engine or fitting a sequential gearbox and I know that a car fitted with these would not qualify as a Post Historic. I have an electric fuel pump in my Porsche which is about as modified as I can go - no electronic ignition, for example, is permitted unless as originaly fitted.

But the regs say what damping is allowed and if the regs allow for better or adjustable damping, then anyone with an ounce of competitiveness in them (and the cash) would fit the best - and only the stage times can tell whether the Proflex are better than the Bilsteins.

I think the answer to the choice of rims is possibly down to current rally regs in the UK. There is a minimum profile of tyre permitted and maximum width increase specified of 1"+ maximum, based on the production car original wheel sizes rather than the group 4 sizes. So, if you we want to see a Stratos in that kind of competition then we must expect the car to comply with current regulations.

I wish Steve the best of luck and hope to see the car in action on the stages some time in 2006.

Martin

[SUSIT]

A Stratos will be very competitive with a DFV engine in its back...and the sound, oh the sound!

Ah and I forgot to mention in my post a bit higher that the "these Englishmen are crazy" comment comes from Udo in person...


I bet he was happy to take the money

[Sando]

Martin

Hear Hear!

Each to their own boys! :)

Very best of luck to Steve and hope to see it out there on the stages as much as possible. (Along with his other cars too!)

Rob

[chris.richard]

Would he be a candidate for invitation to speak at the SEC Dinner next summer?

[shaun]

Who, Tryphon?

[tryphon]

LOL. Nice one... :D

[Chris J]

'Looks like Steve Perez was 4th overall after the first two stages, then lost 10 minutes with a master switch problem. So that was that. I think he still finished (or continued) the rally for the hell of it.

[Swamprat33]

Just looked at the final results.
Steve 'Retired' on SS5 after going over time.
All it says is that he had multiple mechanical problems.

Oh well.

Better luck next time Steve.

Cheers

Tim

[SUSIT]

Just looked at the final results.
Steve 'Retired' on SS5 after going over time.
All it says is that he had multiple mechanical problems.

Oh well.

Better luck next time Steve.

Cheers

Tim

Seems some things dont change with the passing of time, Are we sure it was'nt a Flag car at some point in its life

[tryphon]

Please remember that the Stratos, comparatively and in normaly aspirated guise, was a VERY reliable car back in its time.

[David May]

Yes, but those were the days when you jacked up the cylinder block and put a new car under it at every service halt!

[tryphon]

The same rules applied to its contenders, they still broke down a lot more...

[Chris J]

Yes, but those were the days when you jacked up the cylinder block and put a new car under it at every service halt!

Was that the only sure way of getting rid of carp in those days?

I'm very sorry, I'm in a silly mood tonight.

[SUSIT]

Yes, but those were the days when you jacked up the cylinder block and put a new car under it at every service halt!


No no Dave you just unbolt the doors and fix on a replacement vehicle, works every time :D

(Audi Safari 198?)