How to properly prepare your rally car for 5000+ miles in 10 days

Did I mention we’re doing an insane road trip this summer? Two Englishmen doing a lap of North-west America, what could possibly go wrong?

Did I mention we’re doing an insane road trip this summer? Two Englishmen doing a lap of North-west America, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, a lot. And that’s why we’ve created this handy guide to show just what needs to be done to our mustang in order to minimise the risks of mechanical (and driver!) failure on the way.

Fluids

An essential part of any routine maintenance schedule. Derpins' mustang is used to getting its oil changed anywhere and everywhere.
An essential part of any routine maintenance schedule. Derpins' mustang…

Putting half a year’s worth of miles on a car in one hit will require half a years’ worth of servicing, and then some! An Oil change before and after (possibly even during) the event is the bare minimum.

We’re choosing to go one further because of the age of this car. My Mustang is currently on 93,000 miles, and Ford recommends changing the gearbox & diff oil at around 100,000 miles. So we’re adding that to our pre rally prep also.
Finally, we will be crossing many deserts in the height of summer, so a coolant change and A/C recharge is essential to ensure the engine and the occupants don’t overheat!

Filters & Other Service Parts

The old air filter that was on the car was in awful shape, so this shiny pod filter replaced it on the Spectre intake
The old air filter that was on the car was in awful shape, so this shiny…

Ensuring peak performance, while protecting the engine on this test of endurance is our number one priority. A full set of fresh filters – as expected for any major service – will minimise the chance of any dirt getting where it shouldn’t be, and ensure the car is performing as best as possible. In this case, the cabin filter, intake air filter, oil filter and fuel filter will all be swapped out before setting off.

Finally, as the car nears 100k miles, I will also be fitting a new set of spark plugs and coil packs to the car to ensure she’s firing exactly as she should.

Brakes

Because race car. Ish.
Because race car. Ish.

Some of the most exciting waypoints will be long mountain passes, others include race tracks and drag strips. So some performance anchors will definitely be needed! To that end, I chose some drilled and grooved rotors, ceramic pads and upgraded brake fluid – all to improve the performance under high thermal loads which we’ll encounter on hours of mountain passes in the high summer.

I’m hoping by the time we hit the road for the rally, I will have put around 1,000 miles on this set up and it will be fully bedded in. So far, I’m very impressed with the performance and the pedal feel, especially when the ceramic pads come up to temperature!

Eliminating Suspension Knocks

GT500 strut mounts should prove more durable than the original bushes.
GT500 strut mounts should prove more durable than the original bushes.

These S197 mustangs are infamous for front end knocks as they age – and my 11 year old car is no exception. I managed to trace my mystery knock to the front strut mounts, a very common failure.

Knowing that this fault was already driving me insane, I swapped out the old worn top mounts for a set of brand new GT500 bushes. I’m sure the roads of Michigan will destroy them soon enough, but the uprated kit from Ford Performance promises better durability for the most part.

Gadgets & Entertainment

Infotain yourselves!
Infotain yourselves!

Much as I enjoy the company of my co-pilot, Timbo, 10 days in a small moving box is bound to get old eventually. Plus, we need to make sure we have all the navigational equipment needed to stay competitive during our scavenger hunt!

The car is currently fitted with a radar detector and an aftermarket head unit to allow you to hook up your phone. In addition, we will be bringing two Garmins to enable us to plot multiple waypoints simultaneously, and two ipads to provide additional map guidance and tunes for the drive. Finally, a mobile wifi hotspot will ensure we can stay connected throughout the whole trip. All this kit needs power – so a couple of extra 12v sockets will be brought along, as well as a mains inverter for keeping everything else fully charged.

Much as I enjoy the company of my co-pilot, 10 days in a small moving box is bound to get old eventually.

Tunes

Just one of the tracks on my crap-tastic mixtape.
Just one of the tracks on my crap-tastic mixtape.

A Team Not Found tradition for any road trip is an excellent soundtrack. In addition to our huge collection of playlists on Spotify, we will each be making a silly mixtape of 21 tracks of ridiculous cheesiness, which must be listened to end to end once a day, without exception. Expect maximum annoyance and repetitive garbage – these two playlists will be used to torture each other as much as possible!

Tackling this list will be keeping us busy with prep between now and mid-july when we set off. Can you name anything we’ve missed? What are your essential things to take on a road trip?

  • Derpins, Captain - Team Not Found

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Comments

Anonymous

I clicked because I was thinking of a different kind of rally…

05/31/2016 - 22:00 |
29 | 3
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Same here, not disapointed tho

06/01/2016 - 00:14 |
16 | 1
[ Insert Name Here ]

Cool! Videos during the road trip pls.

05/31/2016 - 22:11 |
1 | 0

Of course! We will make a feature-length video of the whole trip so you can all enjoy the experience with us.

06/01/2016 - 01:32 |
3 | 0
Mr.Roberts

hmm, 5000 miles in 10 days. Quite a lot if you put that in perspective, i only do 1500 miles a week.

05/31/2016 - 22:22 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Are you going crowd hunting?

05/31/2016 - 22:34 |
43 | 6
[Flux]

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Really, dude?

06/01/2016 - 15:16 |
6 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

kek

06/01/2016 - 21:33 |
1 | 0
Milos Markovic

there will be aaaaalot of road kills on that trip.

05/31/2016 - 23:05 |
1 | 1
Anonymous

Might want to swap out the battery as well. Especially if you have 93k on the factory one.

05/31/2016 - 23:29 |
0 | 0
How to properly prepare your rally car for 5000+ miles in 10 days
Team Not Found

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The battery was replaced in 2014, so I hope it’ll be ok!

06/01/2016 - 01:03 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

This is great, I will use this just to keep my 2010 dodge charger properly maintained as it is at 96k miles

06/01/2016 - 00:52 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

As someone who just got done driving 3100 miles, its really easy! Buy a ‘00 Ford F250 with the 7.3L. She did the vast majority of the drive at 80-85 mph without a single issue. Even though she’s 16 years and 258,000 miles old she’s still a beast

06/01/2016 - 01:01 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Lel

06/01/2016 - 01:17 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Just make sure you don’t crash into crowds while you are at it.

06/01/2016 - 01:18 |
1 | 1