Final Check on the Car

Written by Gemma Lawrence | 10 May 2010

The Rhino Rouge Car is undergoing final checks and changes for the charge.  Three years ago we moved out of the ‘unmodified’ section into the ‘modified’ section by adding a diff lock to the back axles.  This basically gives us greater traction when going up and down rocky hills/uneven grounds.  It locks all the wheels so they move at the same speed as opposed to only having the back wheels with the driving force i.e. all four are now the power for the car.  The difference in the cars capabilities is incredible.  We have been very lucky to be able to borrow this ‘diff lock’ from team 42 (as seen in the picture below changing all the axles), however, next year we will be looking to buy our own as part of upgrading the car!!

The car went so went last year that we are really hoping for the same this year (touch wood!).  We’ve always had overheating problems but last year Ian McRae custom-designed a great removable grill for the front of our radiator which allows us during the charge to keep the airflow going through the fan to the radiator to keep the engine temperature down. 

Huge thanks to Ian McRae for all his help on the charge car again. who is one of the original chargers and won a number of times in his Ford Taunus! (I’ll be posting a few of his images soon…it’s incredible how they did it without all the gadgets we have now!). 

We have our annual ‘mechanics training’ coming up to remind us all of how to deal with basic mechanical issues including burnt our started motors, broken half-shafts to mention a few of the problems we encounter during the charge! 

Very excited now….