suggest to me a grassroots rallycross car

That eagle is the sickness. The local motors rally fighter actually looks similar in profile. LSX?

There is an XR4Ti on the Raleigh, NC Craigslist for $1500.

I feel obliged to post this after seeing what is above. Solid axle simplicity and some snow tires.

Also, it was run somewhat local to the original poster. Dover, DE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxtWmP3P-UI

You;d be surprised what fun a old foxbody is in the dirt/mud/snow with proper tires (snows on all 4 wheels) and a good driver. My first stang towed trucks around in the snow, went off roading with bronco's and jeeps, and spend a lot of time in an old quarry.

Edit: always can check davids farm on youtube for suggestions....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MDp9ryPur8

I feel obligated to bump up this thread for the two guys who were recently asking this question, since this thread was so full of great suggestions that might be useful for someone else.

And to think you guys had me THIS close to going hardcore after an Isuzu Stylus

I am still considering an SN95 Mustang.

Other threads germane to this topic (maybe Irish can post them in the first post, too)

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/beater-rallycross-car-what-the-heck-am-i-doing-here/73076/page1/

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/what-rally-cross-car-would-you-build/79153/page1/

EvanB wrote: How about a Mazda 323 with a turbo 1.6? Kinda like a FWD 323GTX.

The easy way would be a Capri XR2

Bumping for good measure and because I just did my first event in my buddies 2015 WRX

And people pointed out we could have a truck+trailer+multiple rallycross cars for the price of his :P

I did say I wanted my next track toy to have a flat 6 or a v8 soundtrack so maybe a RWD rallycross Fox Body/SN95 would be fun

It definitely seemed like to me AWD>FWD>RWD and lighter is better, traction is the issue power did not make much of a difference except somewhat in AWD that could get the power down

Food for thought: If you are only running locally, there is very little competition in non-AWD classes. That said, if you do end up going 2wd, I would appreciate more competition :)

If I were to get a different car (which I am considering), I'd be leaning heavily toward a decent 02-06WRX. They can be found pretty cheap these days. That + some rally tires will be capable of FTD or close and you'll have a fun class to run in.

Jaynen wrote: It definitely seemed like to me AWD>FWD>RWD and lighter is better,

I feel like RWD>FWD>AWD is more accurate, rallycrossing AWD is just boring.

Jaynen wrote: Bumping for good measure and because I just did my first event in my buddies 2015 WRX And people pointed out we could have a truck+trailer+multiple rallycross cars for the price of his :P I did say I wanted my next track toy to have a flat 6 or a v8 soundtrack so maybe a RWD rallycross Fox Body/SN95 would be fun It definitely seemed like to me AWD>FWD>RWD and lighter is better, traction is the issue power did not make much of a difference except somewhat in AWD that could get the power down

A mustang would be fun for sure. But just so you know, you will NOT win in a Mustang unless your region is terrible. We've had our share of various Mustangs come out (some driven by good rallycross drivers) and there weren't even remotely competitive against the Miatas, e30s, RX7s, etc. with similar levels of modification. They did create some awesome sidewayz pictures though.

ProDarwin wrote: Food for thought: If you are only running locally, there is very little competition in non-AWD classes. That said, if you do end up going 2wd, I would appreciate more competition :) If I were to get a different car (which I am considering), I'd be leaning heavily toward a decent 02-06WRX. They can be found pretty cheap these days. That + some rally tires will be capable of FTD or close and you'll have a fun class to run in.

Depends on where you are running locally (not sure if he's in your region?). In DC region (one of the largest in the country), Mod RWD is far and away the most competitive class, with 6-8 cars/drivers able to win any given event. Usually our top 6 or 8 drivers in Mod RWD are all within 10 seconds of the winner...I hear it's similar in New England (huge Mod RWD classes) and I know there are a lot of fast RWD guys in Ohio/Detroit.

The AWD classes all seem to have 2 or 3 top dogs, and they are close to each other all the time, but the rest of the field isn't close to them.

New England and other snow regions seem to be more AWD-centric for obvious reasons. And some regions are very FWD-centric and competitive in those classes. Our region is pretty light on FWD, though the few that do come are very fast, in general. So, bottom line is see what is competitive in your region. If you want competition, get that class. If you just want easy wins, well you can come here and run Stock RWD by yourself lol.....

As for me, my daily driver is a WRX and I've rallycrossed a few Subarus. Not for me, I thought they were pretty boring and as much as I love my WRX on the street, no interest in rallycrossing it whatsoever. RWD is far more fun (and FWD marginally more fun as well). FTD.....yeah, perhaps true (though I've seen plenty of RWD and FWD cars take FTD at different events)....but unlike autocross, FTD is meaningless in rallycross since run groups have different conditions, so nobody even cares. If anyone ever brags about FTD at rallycross here, they just get laughed at

YMMV, of course!

There was a white sentra that looked pretty fast at the practice school.

I will admit the various rwd cars did look to be enjoying themselves.

Awd was the dominant class for the practice including a couple instructors full in rally cars.

It was very different than autox and very different than full on high speed off road so so I had nothing to compare it to

Subaru anything seems like the easy button, driving AWD after years of autocrossing RWD was interesting slamming the brakes to get the front to turn in at all etc very different than a miata on an autocross course, much more aggressive inputs required.

Get an H6 Subaru and put an exhaust on it just for the Porsche GT Cup Car soundtrack :P?

Never underestimate the power of stock front. I once saw a stock 2012 Civic Si run the fastest total time of the day, by a fair margin. Competition included a selection of modified Subarus.

It seems like THSCC only runs a few classes

The following classes will be supported by THSCC: U2 - Normally-aspirated, 2-wheel-drive vehicles having an engine displacement of 2400cc or lesss

O2 - 2-wheel-drive vehicles with forced induction or an engine displacement between 2400cc and 6000cc

O4 - All 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Then there is an S and a N version of each for Street vs Winter/Rally tires

What makes the difference on a good car for rallycross? Factory LSD? Short Wheelbase? Light weight? Does suspension itself really make a difference? Do you want balanced weight or weight over the drive wheels?

btw I tried to left foot brake it was very uncomfortable and for sure made me slower for now, wonder whether an auto is much of a penalty in rallyx

In reply to Jaynen:

Locally, Ed runs (ran?) An auto WRX and wound up consistently at the pointy end of the field.

I think the fwd/awd/rwd question has a lot to do with how you drive. I'm a throw-it-in-kick-it-sideways-power-it-out kind of guy so overpowered FWD suits that method pretty well. Put me in a Miata and I'll just be spinning around all day if I try to drive the way that comes naturally to me.

What's made a big difference for me (other than having a block without any extra holes and CV joints that don't split apart) was adding a limited slip and putting a rear sway bar on. That's for FWD, but it gave me the ability to either left-foot brake or pull the parking brake to rotate around corners easily and pull the front around. I think tires and suspension are probably the biggest things to look for, no matter the platform you start with. A decent snow tire at least paired with stock suspension in like-minded condition will give you everything you need to tighten the loose nut behind the wheel.

For now we will still run my buddies WRX but if I end up with a truck and we get more into it then we may split something cheap.

People at RallyX seem more laid back and likely to let you thrash on their crap cars so i might be able to try a FWD or RWD and see how it is

irish44j wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Food for thought: If you are only running locally, there is very little competition in non-AWD classes. That said, if you do end up going 2wd, I would appreciate more competition :) If I were to get a different car (which I am considering), I'd be leaning heavily toward a decent 02-06WRX. They can be found pretty cheap these days. That + some rally tires will be capable of FTD or close and you'll have a fun class to run in.

Depends on where you are running locally (not sure if he's in your region?).

Yeah, same region. THSCC doesn't have a deep field in any class (only about 30 drivers). But about half of the cars/drivers are in Subarus and the other half is mixed among other stuff.

Last time I ran WDCR, AWD was the place to be, but that was like 2010-2011ish (woah, time flies )

Jaynen wrote: What makes the difference on a good car for rallycross? Factory LSD? Short Wheelbase? Light weight? Does suspension itself really make a difference? Do you want balanced weight or weight over the drive wheels?

LSD certainly helps. Short wheelbase and narrow body/track also help just like autox. Its funny to watch a Miata just plant it and go straight through an offset slalom where larger cars have to actually slalom.

If you plan on modifying it, ground clearance. Subarus seem to be able to get lower and still have plenty of clearance/travel. Our Sentra would not fare well if lowered... the oil pan/exhaust would be even closer to the ground and the reduced travel would be an issue, especially for the rear beam axle.

Additionally, if you want to modify it, buy something that has an aftermarket for this type of thing (Subaru, for example).

Sentras don't have enough suspension travel for the street, IMO. There's like an inch of up travel at stock ride height.

I understand that most events allow trucks to run. Has anyone seen a Ridgeline out there? Its turning radius isn't particularly impressive, but its traction and surefootedness are. The one advantage it might have over most other trucks would be the IRS. Besides the turning radius, the relatively high cg and inability to tighten the corners with the handbrake are minuses. 

I haven't seen one, but anything that large would be absolutely miserable in any slalom.

I've found some videos and pics of a Ridgeline and other trucks running. As you say, slalom would be a bitch. OTOH I was looking at the main venue in my area (Prarie City) and slalom isn't really part of the picture. Other than dealing with tendencies towards understeer , trucks were handling themselves just fine. Hmmmmmmm. I have this idea of taking Frankenfiat there and running both the car and the tow vehicle