My local Scca chapter is doing some rallycross events this year! Milwaukee, in case any of you are local. I’ve been wanting to do some loose surface motorsport like rallycross and ice racing for a while now. Unfortunately I still haven’t been able to convince my wife of the merits of another car (which I don’t really have room for) and the buddy I hoped might pick something up we could codrive is not in a position to do so. I’d love to grab a CT9A Evo or a Fiesta ST for loose surface fun but alas, it shall not be.
Alternatively Im thinking about running our stock cx5. Is this a terrible idea? My concerns are vehicle destruction and rollover. I found some YouTube vids of a guy running a cx5 on a pretty smooth dirt surface successfully... I don’t think the M3 will be a good idea, and the 240SX is very much set up for the track and R comps.
Following for interest. I'm in Milwaukee, however I'm not equipped for any kind of rallycross. I would love to come out & spectate though. I'll have to look up the local chapter and see what they're planning.
tdisalvo said:
Following for interest. I'm in Milwaukee, however I'm not equipped for any kind of rallycross.
I don’t think I am either but hey...
Robbie
PowerDork
4/16/18 10:50 p.m.
I've seen rav4s run and not flip. It's quite a bit harder on a car than autocross. Conditions are really hard to predict.
Be your own judge, you'll be fine.
I've done a few rallyx's and I wouldn't run the family car in one. It's not like it's instant death on a car or anything, but it's more than I want to put the family truckster through. Since rallyx is new to the region the safety guys might be extra cautious and not let crossovers compete anyhow.
You also don't need an evo or fist. They would do great, but rx is more about getting out there and having fun than trying to dominate, so don't overextend yourself budget wise to try to win a $3 plastic trophy. Plus the first year you are going to be slow as balls. You don't want to be the slow guy with the fast car.
When we got into it we didn't know if we would even like it or stick with it so we wanted to go in as cheap as we could. I hopped on CL and found a car with no title, an engine knock, (we had an engine for it already because packrat) but it was a manual trans and pretty rust free for $100. We replaced the engine, got some new shocks and struts off of rockauto clearance, added a tach and oil pressure gauge and we were ready to go. If I had to guess I would say we have maybe $4-500 total in the car, and that's split two ways. It' been good enough to get a SF win. Of course you have to be able to do your own maintenance for this formula to work.
CUVs / SUVs will depend on your SCCA region. Some will let them run, some won't.
FWIW, while rallycross is a bit rough on a car, it's not a car killer if you drive sanely and take care of the vehicle (especially for the taller vehicles that aren't scraping stuff, etc.). I've run my Jeep and driven it 90 miles home and then to work the next day plenty of times. And the only times I've broken anything at a rallycross, it's been something that (when looking at the failure) would have failed soon anyway.
I'll probably run it then, just go slow and cautious.
Regarding Evo or FiST, they're both cars that intrigue me and I could drive in bad weather here. For now the M3 is my year round daily driver and hits the marks for a compromise, do everything car that can carry babies and is safe. If I had the space I'd rather drive something more nimble in summer like a Boxster and then have a foul weather daily that doubled as a rallycross/ice car. I must admit I have a powerful yearning for a grey Evo IX. They're getting expensive though and are such a POS for a daily driver.
I was watching a review of a CX-3 the other day and started daydreaming about rally crossing one. Until they got the part where they said the Mazda 3 has the same ground clearance and more useable storage space for less money. Then I started daydreaming about rally crossing a Mazda 3.
Smoking tire did a pretty good drive of the cx3. Matt said the auto shift transmission felt really good.
That said, I would look for an older crv, and slap the small diameter wheel and tire on it to lower the COG down, plus, bonus effect of better acceleration from a smaller diameter tire.
Not sure what class you would have to run, but it doesn’t matter since it’s just for fun.
Que picture of rav4 rallycar.
If your concerned about damage or destruction,I’d just get a cheap fwd car,you could probably find something for around 500 bucks that could work fine.
woah woah woah - where are they running the events? Shawano? I am getting ready for some events with this group: Stateline Rallycross which are in Byron near Rockford, IL
I was originally planning to run the BRZ, but may use the Focus instead. I have snow wheels/tires for both. I've done ice racing with the Focus and it was pretty fun. I think the BRZ will be even more fun. Neither car is heavy on ground clearance, though. Walking the course and being cautious may help the plastic survival rate.
Fueled by Caffeine said:
Que picture of rav4 rallycar.
We have a few 3SGTE swapped Rav4s in our region. 2 and 4 door. never seen em tip either.
Yes at USAIR. You in Milwaukee?
Regarding the car suggestions...I don't have space or spouse permission to get another car or I'd just do that.
turtl631 said:
Yes at USAIR. You in Milwaukee?
Regarding the car suggestions...I don't have space or spouse permission to get another car or I'd just do that.
Then rental car with extra insurance lol
fidelity101 said:
Fueled by Caffeine said:
Que picture of rav4 rallycar.
We have a few 3SGTE swapped Rav4s in our region. 2 and 4 door. never seen em tip either.
http://www.jpauleytoyota.com/blog/2016-toyota-rally-rav4-racing-specs/
I've got 17" Sparco Terras with snow tires at least, in lieu of the stock 19" all season package.
We have had a couple of CUVs run at our events. We also had a Ford Ranger roll at the last one. Just understand the possibilities.
turtl631 said:
Yes at USAIR. You in Milwaukee?
Regarding the car suggestions...I don't have space or spouse permission to get another car or I'd just do that.
Yep - in Milwaukee.
Getting a group of people to rent a gang of Fiestas would be a riot, though.
Wiscocrashtest said:
turtl631 said:
Yes at USAIR. You in Milwaukee?
Regarding the car suggestions...I don't have space or spouse permission to get another car or I'd just do that.
Yep - in Milwaukee.
Getting a group of people to rent a gang of Fiestas would be a riot, though.
To quote Jeff foxworthy,you’ve got a Ford Fiesta that’s going to see more air time then a skate board at the x games.
turtl631 said:
I'll probably run it then, just go slow and cautious.
Is that enjoyable? Just wondering. Racing a car at 7/10ths doesn't seem like that much fun.
It would not surprise me in the least to see a CX5 end up on its roof at a RallyX event.
Fueled by Caffeine said:
fidelity101 said:
Fueled by Caffeine said:
Que picture of rav4 rallycar.
We have a few 3SGTE swapped Rav4s in our region. 2 and 4 door. never seen em tip either.
http://www.jpauleytoyota.com/blog/2016-toyota-rally-rav4-racing-specs/
The first time I saw this car it was at Park Ferme. The rally was being run out of a Toyota dealership and I thought they logoed up a car for fun. I didn't look close at that time. Later in the day when it came blasting past on stage, I was in awe. Ryan makes that thing hustle!
RevRico
UltraDork
4/17/18 3:59 p.m.
In reply to ProDarwin :
It is for me, because that's still more than the vehicle gets pushed in day to day use, plus it's on dirt which makes everything better.
Not knowing the year, I just googled for dimensions. My ranger is closer to the 1:1 stability ratio limit than the cx5, and I suspect the cx5 has less ground clearance, which leads me to think less tippy but I didn't look for CoG stats either. The ranger felt a little sketchy, but it's also got blown shocks and dying wheel bearings.
In all reality, it will come down to the hosting club if they think it's safe for the course or not. Maybe reach out to them on Facebook ahead of time and talk to whoever you can find like safety stewards or rally cross chairs.
In your position I'd be leaning toward running the M3, but again I don't know the year, and I can understand not wanting to risk it if it's newer and nicer.
ProDarwin said:
turtl631 said:
I'll probably run it then, just go slow and cautious.
Is that enjoyable? Just wondering. Racing a car at 7/10ths doesn't seem like that much fun.
It would not surprise me in the least to see a CX5 end up on its roof at a RallyX event.
I don't know, haven't tried it. I've done track events in soft daily drivers without really pushing was them which was fun enough.
The M3 is a 2016, so it's new and nice and makes a ton of torque down low. I think it would be a drifty mess.
