SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/726957
THE VILDOSOLA TEAM CREATED THE 4130 STEEL TUBE CHASSIS THAT IS THE SAME AS THE TEAM'S FULL-RACE TROPHY TRUCK. According to Vildosola, he wanted a unique pre-runner that was lighter, faster, and most importantly reliable. While the truck was built and is currently used to pre-run the toughest race courses in Baja, it's also a research and development tool. According to Vildosola's team, this pre-runner is used to test a variety of new components and suspension settings, before they are added to the actual race truck. While there are some things on this truck we can't talk about, there are some cool things about it that have to be mentioned. For example, this truck is reported to have nearly 30-inches of wheel travel from a proprietary front dive suspension system designed by Dave Clark and Vildosola Racing. While the length and specs of the system are under wraps, it's easy to see that the truck incorporates a competition style rear trailing arm system with King coil-over shocks as well as King 4.5-inch diameter external bypass shocks that have multiple compression and rebound adjustments, as well as finned remote reservoirs. The front system also utilizes King coil-over and external bypass shocks, while a Howe power steering unit operates the 40x15.5R20 Toyo Open Country M/T tires, mounted on 20-inch Method race wheels. In addition, ID Designs hubs in front, and Brembo brakes at all four corners keep the large wheels on this pre-runner rolling freely, but with the ability to quickly stop from high speeds when necessary. The body panels on Vildosola's Raptor are all custom made in carbon fiber, which were designed by Vildosola Racing and Palhegyl Designe. The molds for the panels were created by Larry Stork, and were made using a photo of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor as reference. This lead to the design of the front grille with the Ford lettering in red, and incorporating the front headlights that are made up of six-row, and four-row Baja Designs LEDs set behind a clear lens. Because carbon fiber has a unique appearance to it, the steel cab had to be painted to perfectly match the carbon fiber weave of the body panels. While the wide fenders and sleek lines of Vildosola's 084 SCORE JOURNAL