Regularity Rally equipment ready!

[Pistacchio sprint 72]

Hello Guys,

I did not want my beloved elan to be completely screwed by ugly modifications. But I needed the proper regularity tools to prepare this rally season. No more bike odometer and Excel paper sheet, I moved in the upper class, the equiped category.
Most of the teams compete with these things... so it won't be easier than with the rookies.

Instead of having them fixed where the auto radio is, or stuck on the top of the dashboard, the mechanician removed my glove box and used that space to hide the mini trip and the average trip box.
A little rod when plugged keep the glove box door openened.

Some nice work, because when I shut off the glove box door the car retain its original appearance.

[jimj]

Pistachio, don`t forget that electronic average speed calculators are not permitted on UK rallies. It`s just not British, don`t y`know. We had a Retrotrip, similar to yours, mounted in the glovebox for the same reasons but I just couldn`t see it well enough. We then mounted it on a simple rubber backed plate secured by 2 dashboard screws but it`s still not easy to read the numerals at a glance. We`ve now got a Brantz (see pic.) mounted on the same plate which needed the interior light removing, no great loss. But for direct sunlight obscuring the reading, needing a spare hand to cast an appropriate shadow at times, it is so much better, plus, from the little jack plug you can see in the pic. there is a remote button so the navigator can zero the intermediate distance without looking up which is more useful than you can imagine.
Even better, I sold my Retrotrip on ebay and got only ?3 less than the cost of the Brantz.
Jim

[Pistacchio sprint 72]

Here they are allowed unless specified.

I will participate in the Jean Behra Historic Rally in Nice and I will register to do the Monte Carlo international historic rally in January 2014.

What I know from the rules is that only one device can be attached to the dashboard, all remaining equipments must be removed every evening in the parc ferme. Otherwise penalty will occur.

I will just have to close my glove box.

You re right the Mini trip, as its name say it whole by itself is small. So the numbers on the wheels are smaller than on a classic VH Trip with a normal size. Wifie will have make an effort to read or to bend over to read closer!
I think the average trip box giving the rythm and telling us if we re too slow or too fast will have big enough red bright numbers. 5it is the device called La Solution, on the left of my picture..

I also bought a Big digit clock that I will velcro tape on the dashboard.

[gherlt]

Apart from the S3 I use a 1983 Golf for the hotter season, when on the Elan either - top opened - the sun dries your head or - top closed - the hot air in the cabin dries your lung.
In Germany the rules mostly require the Retrotrip (no electronics), in Spain mostly there are no rules (some people appear to use equipment swapped directly from a Space Shuttle).
Brantz offers a nice plug, so now I am able to switch into the car the equipment I am allowed.
Apart the numbers on the retrotrip are small, at night the ilumination is insufficient.

And lately, in Spain, we use a very good and easy ipad app, rally meter, very recommended.
We tried it first on an ipad, which is very very nice, but too big. Now we use it on an ipod touch,
a bit to small maybe, next time we try to get hold of an ipad mini.

[jimj]

Whilst driving I like to be able to see the time and distance versus speed, rather than just rely on instruction from the navigator. In the Uk, especially, regularities are varying speeds over many miles with secret timing points. The continental ones, even the Mille Miglia, are quite different; just, say, 100 metres at one speed then 50 at another over fixed timing beams. Apart from allowing laptops, apps, and automatic electronic average speed calculators you can even buy sensors and headphones that beep like reversing sensors faster as you approach the timing beams. What with average speed calculators, apps. and sensors it does seem as if electronic gizmos have removed the need for any skill.
Incidentally, the Brantz (international) is also electro-mechanical so eligible anywhere.
Jim

[Pistacchio sprint 72]

Yep i see what you mean by spaceshuttle. I have a blunik here. Second hand but never used by myself as i do?t imagine my wife reading the manual... So it lays in my bedroom table. For sale if a geek is interested round here!

[gherlt]

I like both regularity types, in Spain we did everything from 160 to 1400 km, usually about 60 to 80% of it "timed", with changing speeds with in the same TR, eg

0,00 - 2,00 : 30 km/h
2,00 - 14,00 : 45 km/h
14,00 - 16,00 : 30 km/h
16,00 - 20,50 : 40 km/h
20,50 - END : 30 km/h
with secret check points, 1 penalty point for 1sec difference.
I love that, even with electronics ...

The German ones are more kind of: do 150m in 13s, next 50m in 7s, or two rounds in the same time
1 penalty point for every 0,01sec.
But the rather funny side of the Germans are the orientation parts, with maps, where you have to find letters or the shortest ways, there map reading and navigation is quite sophisticated.