CORRY WELLER’S WR/DFR #1 X3
CORRY WELLER’S WR/DFR #1 X3
Corry Weller and Weller Racing are forces of nature in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) Nationals and LORORS Regionals. Corry Weller’s WR/DFR #1 X3 makes her results possible. She won the 2018 and 2019 Production Turbo UTV titles in her DragonFire Racing/Weller Racing Maverick X3 Turbo R, and she was top qualifier and the Turbo main winner at the first two rounds of 2020. In 2017, she was the Production 1000 and SR1 Rhino champion in the Arizona Regionals. Before the coronavirus put the 2020 racing season on a choke-hold, Weller went to the first round of the SoCal LORORS Regionals at Victorville, and she handily won that race in a 2020 shakedown run. During the lockdown, a customer needed an X3 race frame, so the Wellers stripped the X3 down and sold its frame, and Jason built an all-new chassis for the LOORRS national-championship defense.
FABRICATION BY WELLER RACING
Jason fabricated the racing cage, bed delete, fire wall, rear bumper, front bumper and tow hook, nerf bars, and the aluminum shroud and mounts for the CBR radiator relocate kit ($1265). The race chassis and cage have multiple diagonal braces, in addition to intrusion bars in the cage and doors. All this gusseting adds considerable weight to the racing X3, but Jason had to add ballast plates to the finished X3 to meet the LOORRS Production Turbo weight minimum of 1850 pounds with Corry aboard. The plates ride over the front diff to weight the front end for turning. The frame also has trick roost deflectors to protect the inner and outer rear-axle CVs.
Weller Racing’s X3 Short-Course seat base ($130.10) lowers the Sparco 2000 QRT racing seat ($745, was $825) for a lower center of gravity and is made of powder-coated 4130 chromoly. It works with Sparco’s side-mount plates ($75), and the QRT seat has the deepest bolsters for a secure ride, an ultra-light fiberglass composite shell for a 30-percent weight reduction, and adjustable lumbar cushions. The seat also has fire-retardant, non-slip fabric and FIA approval. Corry also uses a Sparco steering wheel ($250) and DragonFire Racing H-style, SFI-approved, five-point, 3-inch harness ($139.99).
COGNITO AND FOX SUSPENSION UPGRADES
Weller Racing is a Cognito and TMW Off-Road distributor, and Corry’s #1 X3 is armed to the teeth with TMW’s X3 bulkhead gusset kit ($426.55), which adds double-shear strength to all front A-arm mounts with 4130 chromoly construction, black powdercoating and all needed mounting hardware. The champ’s turbo also gets TMW’s front shock tower-brace kit ($365.75) with the same construction and compatibility with all TMW bumpers and gussets.
Cognito’s replacement trailing-arm kit ($2699) greatly improves strength over stock with boxed alloy sheet-metal construction. The arms are designed to work with all OEM components and wheels and also improve ground clearance. Cognito’s X3 OE replacement upper, middle and lower control links are $249.50 per pair for a total of $748.50. The middle radius rods are adjustable for toe, the uppers are adjustable for camber and all are heavy-duty. They all attach to the Cognito control link plate ($115) with double-plate gussets for all six mounts.
Up front, the WR X3 gets Cognito’s Uniball OE upper A-arm kit ($1,249) with boxed chromoly steel construction for added strength and rigidity to match the rear arms, plus 7/8-inch Uniballs to replace the weak-for-racing OE ball joints. The lower arms are replaced by Cognito’s camber-adjustable lower control-arm kit ($849) with 7/8-inch Uniball conversion. The high-clearance lower A-arms are tubular for light weight with double-cross members and 1.375-inch DOM tubing. Bushings and sleeves are included in both kits, and the lower arms have patent-pending fine camber adjustment. Corry also runs Cognito’s heavy-duty OE replacement tie-rods ($279).
Jason replaced the X rs Fox 2.5/3.0 Podium IBP shocks with Fox Factory RC2 2.5 front and piggyback-reservoir rear shocks, and he tuned the factory shocks with Weller Racing spring rates and valve stacks. The set of four is $4750 with WR shock covers. Weller Racing also upgrades the OEM IBP shocks with plusher low-speed compliance, stiffer high-speed, and WR spring rates. They can tune for dunes, desert or short-course, with the latter being very stiff, for $800. Changing seals and oil is another $300 for all four shocks.
ARMING AND COMPLETING THE BUILD
Stock axles are replaced by Demon Powersports X-Treme Duty axles ($379.05 each), which have dual heat-treated 4340 chromoly-construction CV cages, thicker walls, smaller windows, and micro-polishing for added strength and smoothness. Axles are also 4340 with larger CV joints and center-shaft diameters, plus they have swing angles up to 45 degrees. Corry uses STI’s HD9 Comp-Lock wheels, which is its strongest bead-lock line. They have 10mm rings attached with grade-8 5/16-inch bolts and a 1200-pound load rating. She runs a special P255/60-15 Hoosier tire with a medium compound. WR Raceline wheel covers ($80) keep the rear wheels from getting out of balance when mud accumulates.
WR front and rear torsion-bar links mate with a Summers Brothers adjustable rear torsion bar ($650) and the OEM front sway bar. Front links are $136 and rears are $135 a pair. For faster CV-belt changes, Corry runs the WR Quick-Pin kit ($79.99), and the X3 aluminum belt guard is $179.99. The WR X3 transmission seal guard is $49.99, and K&N’s X3 air intake kit ($649.95) replaces the Donaldson-style air box with a free-flow filter and aluminum intake tubes. It increases power by 7.15 horsepower and improves throttle response.
Lucas Oil mandates minimal engine mods and sealed motors. Weller Racing’s Maverick X3 ECU re-flash is $499.99 and includes increased power and response, higher rev limits, no speed or torque limits, higher boost pressures, and improved engine limiters. Fuel mapping is greatly improved with cooler running temps. Jason fabricated the X3 exhaust using a MagnaFlow muffler and also does the clutch tuning with different springs and weights.
CONTACTS:
Weller Racing
3200 N. Delaware St.
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 507-4771
Cognito Motorsports
34935 Flyover Court
Bakersfield, CA 93308
(661) 588-8085
DragonFire Racing
3191 N. Washington St., Ste 2
Chandler, AZ 85225
(800) 708-9803
See UTV Action’s full test on the Can-Am X3 X rs Turbo RR here: https://utvactionmag.com/2020-x3-xrs-turbo-rr/
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