Tyrell 6-wheeler (Page 1 of 2)

I am in Dallas, if you do this, I want to help in some way other than driving what would result...

The Apex Vinyl crew in Houston runs a Toyota with the extra set of wheels in the back; they painted it up in Smokey/Bandit fashion for the race a couple weeks ago.

But nobody's ventured where angels fear to tread: the Tyrell. Go for it. If you can make it work, you will be heralded from now until the end of time.

You have to figure out the steering angles and ackerman or the car will handle like a pig, the two sets of wheels describe different arcs and must therefore have different steering angle, you may be able to just shorten the steering arm on one axle and get it close.   If you don't get it right the car will just scrub speed when you turn.   

That said:  Go for it!   I'd love to see such a car on track.........

In what car are you going to attempt this engineering master piece?

If you end up with a steering nightmare, have the front wheels steer and the ones behind raised so that they don't make contact with the road surface. Make sure they all turn together, it would be real bitchin if you had them on hydraulics so when your in the corners they lift and when your on the straights they drop. Can you imagine the braking power of having all six wheels making contact with the road at the same time.

Planning on a Fox bodied (1987-1993) Mustang.  I may be able to find some cheap enough to attempt this.  A lowly grand prix team pulled this of before, I don't see why it can't be done in Lemons!  Those things under steer & brake so badly, I find it in my heart to try to help one out.  Great for a drag car, but it's going to take some doing to make it turn left & right.  I've had 2 of them, so I kind of have a soft spot for those ill handling, no stopping things.  More wheels, more brakes!  That'll fix it!

On a side note:  When I mentioned my idea to one of my more dubious co-workers, he said:  "Why don't you just use bigger tires & brakes instead?"  Can you believe that!?  How would that be any fun at all!

I did see a couple of pics of that trick swaybar setup.  I think that could be accomplished.  As Evil Genius said,  I think the killer is going to be getting the steering arc balanced correctly between the 2 axles.  I'm thinking using the smallest size wheels that will fit over the mustangs brakes (maybe 13 inch?)  so that the axles can be as close together as possible, minimizing the difference in ratio that the wheels would need to turn.  Obviously, I'm not an engineer, but it seems to make sense.  I just don't want to get to the point where the wheels are too small to find an inexpensive set of decent gripping tires for.

Just realized.  If I were to do the Tyrell setup with the swaybar, that 5 liter motor(or more likley 4 banger with my budget) would probably be sitting right where I need the swaybar to pass.  Probably have to see about modifying the firewall & moving the engine as far back as I can.  Would help with weight distribution as well.  I may have to find new team mates when I bring this idea to them...

I know this is a project I shouldn't touch, but this is exciting stuff!  It's kind of like sex in a public place.  You probably shouldn't be doing it, it could get you in trouble, but damn, it's fun!

Hoosier makes a few DOT 10" tires... 

Or you can go this route  205/65-10  http://www.kendatires.com/205_65_10.html  Wheels and DOT tires mounted and balanced for about $400 bucks, even with cool color accents.  Go with Blue, both because it's a ford and because that was Tyrell's color.

I remember watching Jody Scheckter in the P34 at Turn 2 during the '76 Grand Prix of Canada (Mosport Park) and he had a hell of a time holding on to it...and he had an F1 team and Goodyear on his side...if you can pull this off, I hope Jay mints a special medal...

Suddenly, a bad idea appears.....

-=Tom

Those golf cart tires are hella-squirrley and nobody who knows better runs them on a vehicle that will exceed 40mph. They are DOT rated so that old folks can legally drive their golf cars on the roads in their communities, not because they are safe to use on passenger vehicles. And if you can find me some DOT Hoosiers I'd be in HEAVEN and would buy 100 sets! They only have the vintage race tires. They have a "Street Tread" but are not DOT rated.

As it is, the only DOT rated tire that's anywhere close to being safe and in the spirit of the rules are what we're using-- Yokohama A008 and as it is they don't have a treadwear rating because 10" and 12" tires are exempt from the treadwear rating requirements. The way they do the test is they run the wheels over a drum and measure wear-- a 10" tire will hit the same patch more frequently than a 13" or larger tire will, so the same compound will wear "faster" on a smaller diameter wheel.  The tires are DOT approved and labeled, but we have an exemption from the treadwear requirements because of the lack of 10" tires: However, we have been told in no uncertain terms that when (if) we start turning what they consider to be competitive lap times then we will be not be able to use them.

And you shoulda seen the stink that others raised when they saw the mini for the first time last year at Buttonwillow going through BS inspection-- There were no less than 6 people frantically looking up treadwear ratings for A008 tires and waving their i-phones and blackberries in Jay's face. When they saw the lap times were 30-50 seconds off of everyone else's, I don't think it ended up being much of an issue.

I'm trying to go to 13" wheels at some point, but there are other clearance issues involved with them and the tire option would still only be 1-- a Sumitomo I believe it is.