Dan_Goodwin
Birmingham, AL
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2012
- Messages
- 118
Since I've been a long time lurker and first time poster I figured I would introduce myself and bring you up to date on my latest project that is a bit different than most Hardline build threads. I've grown up riding and wrenching on off road toys while also doing some mild fab work like trailers, rear axle swaps and helped with a few roll cages. I was on the Auburn Baja team from 2010-2012 and jumped to the race organizing committee in 2012 to help with the race in 2012 and most recently 2015. With the majority of my friends having RZRs and me being on a college student budget, I wanted fun, affordable and something RZR sized with a cage that would allow me into parks that weren't ATV friendly. The idea was to be able to follow a RZR around a park, not necessarily to out wheel it.
If you aren't familiar with the Baja SAE series, I'll give you a quick summary- it's a collegiate design series where teams are given a set of rules and a 10hp Briggs motor (that cannot be modified) and are told to build an off road race car to compete in events across the country. Each event consists of a design and cost report, strict tech inspection, 5 individual events and a 4 hours endurance race. While the Briggs is no powerhouse, it is impressive what these cars will do with that little HP- the previous Auburn cars topped out around 40+ mph.
https://youtu.be/4gZJVyR-MlI?list=FLsRmMRyilqKcO4AT-_l97jg
(I'm having trouble embedding this)
At Auburn old cars are given to the captain of that year when the car has exceeded its useful life (aka broken beyond feasible repair), but when 2013 suffered a broken gearbox and was rusting away in a container, I saw my opportunity for a buggy build and managed to work out a deal on it. All that was left was a bare frame with suspension arms bolted on and a few small parts, but I had a complete, well-engineered and well-built frame. Here it is the day I drug it on my trailer and back to my apartment:
Here was 2013 at the New York race:
Due to safety and SAE insurance the frame rules are pretty strict, which is why this frame looks like it does (no she's not the prettiest girl at the dance- but not bad). The entire car was designed in SolidWorks and is built to withstand a beating, but also to stay as light as possible. Originally the 2013 car was set up to run a CVT to gearbox/ rear diff setup with a 64" wheelbase and a 60" front track width. The entire frame is 1" 4130 chromoly, with some 1.25" sprinkled in a few spots, so its very light weight- to the tune of 400# when fully assembled in race trim. Speaking in terms of power to weight ratio, this frame doesn't need a ton of power to be quick as it was respectable with the Briggs motor.
With the frame in my hands it was time to plan this thing out and begin the parts hoarding. The idea behind the rebuild was to use OEM parts that I could bolt on to avoid having to worry about a custom machined part failing and me being stuck. Before I bought anything I had to decide what the end goal was going to be with this rig; that was to be a reliable, capable and affordable trail machine with all the goodies- not some high HP RZR killer. The other main goal here was to learn- I wanted to get my feet wet with a mild build so that I could build up a production SxS one day. I decided to stick with 2wd since 4wd was just too involved and was going too be expensive to be feasible. Since keeping the IRS was also a priority, my search for a drivetrain was really not even a choice at all: enter the Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS.
This is a KTM powered sport quad Polaris made in the mid to late 2000's that was an IRS chain drive with Fox Podiums at all 4 corners. Polaris is a big sponsor of the Baja SAE series and there is rumor that this rear suspension design was from a winning Baja SAE car, but I have never confirmed that. After watching eBay for a few months and winning some cheap parts I had an Outlaw frame (for suspension points), all 4 shocks, rear diff and axles and rear a arms at my doorstep, all for around $800.
I started looking at Yamaha sport quads for a donor for 2 reasons, the first was I am a big fan of their reliability. The second had to do with the design of 2013 itself; Auburn has always used Yamaha parts for design, so all the ball joints and tie rod ends I got with 2013 would work on a Yamaha knuckle. Craigslist delivered with a crusty, but complete Warrior 350 for $500. With a great reputation for durability, strong aftermarket support, respectable power and reverse I felt this was the perfect candidate. Another thing to keep in mind here- the Warrior and baja car are within 20# of each other, so the power to weight ratio was going to be very respectable here.
Questions, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.
More updates to come!
If you aren't familiar with the Baja SAE series, I'll give you a quick summary- it's a collegiate design series where teams are given a set of rules and a 10hp Briggs motor (that cannot be modified) and are told to build an off road race car to compete in events across the country. Each event consists of a design and cost report, strict tech inspection, 5 individual events and a 4 hours endurance race. While the Briggs is no powerhouse, it is impressive what these cars will do with that little HP- the previous Auburn cars topped out around 40+ mph.
https://youtu.be/4gZJVyR-MlI?list=FLsRmMRyilqKcO4AT-_l97jg
(I'm having trouble embedding this)
At Auburn old cars are given to the captain of that year when the car has exceeded its useful life (aka broken beyond feasible repair), but when 2013 suffered a broken gearbox and was rusting away in a container, I saw my opportunity for a buggy build and managed to work out a deal on it. All that was left was a bare frame with suspension arms bolted on and a few small parts, but I had a complete, well-engineered and well-built frame. Here it is the day I drug it on my trailer and back to my apartment:
Here was 2013 at the New York race:
Due to safety and SAE insurance the frame rules are pretty strict, which is why this frame looks like it does (no she's not the prettiest girl at the dance- but not bad). The entire car was designed in SolidWorks and is built to withstand a beating, but also to stay as light as possible. Originally the 2013 car was set up to run a CVT to gearbox/ rear diff setup with a 64" wheelbase and a 60" front track width. The entire frame is 1" 4130 chromoly, with some 1.25" sprinkled in a few spots, so its very light weight- to the tune of 400# when fully assembled in race trim. Speaking in terms of power to weight ratio, this frame doesn't need a ton of power to be quick as it was respectable with the Briggs motor.
With the frame in my hands it was time to plan this thing out and begin the parts hoarding. The idea behind the rebuild was to use OEM parts that I could bolt on to avoid having to worry about a custom machined part failing and me being stuck. Before I bought anything I had to decide what the end goal was going to be with this rig; that was to be a reliable, capable and affordable trail machine with all the goodies- not some high HP RZR killer. The other main goal here was to learn- I wanted to get my feet wet with a mild build so that I could build up a production SxS one day. I decided to stick with 2wd since 4wd was just too involved and was going too be expensive to be feasible. Since keeping the IRS was also a priority, my search for a drivetrain was really not even a choice at all: enter the Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS.
This is a KTM powered sport quad Polaris made in the mid to late 2000's that was an IRS chain drive with Fox Podiums at all 4 corners. Polaris is a big sponsor of the Baja SAE series and there is rumor that this rear suspension design was from a winning Baja SAE car, but I have never confirmed that. After watching eBay for a few months and winning some cheap parts I had an Outlaw frame (for suspension points), all 4 shocks, rear diff and axles and rear a arms at my doorstep, all for around $800.
I started looking at Yamaha sport quads for a donor for 2 reasons, the first was I am a big fan of their reliability. The second had to do with the design of 2013 itself; Auburn has always used Yamaha parts for design, so all the ball joints and tie rod ends I got with 2013 would work on a Yamaha knuckle. Craigslist delivered with a crusty, but complete Warrior 350 for $500. With a great reputation for durability, strong aftermarket support, respectable power and reverse I felt this was the perfect candidate. Another thing to keep in mind here- the Warrior and baja car are within 20# of each other, so the power to weight ratio was going to be very respectable here.
Questions, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.
More updates to come!
) and believe it or not the guy was very competitive in a series much like UTVRR. After looking up the rules 2013 will fit in the Unlimited Class since there is no production rule there. The notable rules I found were: 
