Hey, Rally Guys....

[Maugan_VX]

Hey guys, thinking about trying this rally thing, after I found out more about it, it seems to be something the VX is well suited for.

My question to you is... how much crap breaks during a rally event. People over on another board are telling me to rent an econobox and get the cheapo insurance on it. Doesn't sound promising. Do I have more of a chance of causing cosmetic damage or mechanical? For those of you that do offroad trails, how would you compare the experience and evaluate the risk?

I know I sound a bit timid about putting my VX through her paces, but I just got rid of a vehicle that I did nothing but fix stuff on, and I'm not wanting to return to that anytime soon. If I wrench on the VX, I want it to be because I chose to add something to it, not because its broken.

Thanks.

[Joe_Black]

What you're looking at is rallycross unless you plan on caging the VX. There's actually an active rallycross program in your area through the local SCCA region. When I get home I'll post a link to the rallycross site near you.

Heraclid and I have been rallycrossing both our VX's this year and the only issue experienced by either of us has been a dismounted tire on my part. Now that was with the stock 18" Duelers which I don't feel are well suited to the rigors of competition. What I've done is acquired a set of 15" alloys from eBay and have Yokohama Geolandar MT+ tires strictly for rallycross. Heraclid has been running BFG MudTerrains on his OEM 16" wheels and hasn't had any tire issues and did much better than I in the last event's wet course conditions.

So go check out a local rallycross and see what you think, then decide based on what you come away with. It is a very addictive sport, and could lead to greater (and more expensive!) aspirations. I've had a shell to build a Ford Sierra RS rally car for some time, but my recent involvement in promoting rally in Florida has really put a fire under me to get the project underway. I actually came very close to building my IronMan to ClubRally specs, but ultimately decided to stick with the Ford and use the IronMan as the tow vehicle. That'll be a sharp photo! ;Do;

[Maugan_VX]

http://www.thscc.com/rallycross/events/2004/2004-0925info.html

This is the rallycross event I'm interested in. Sorry for not clarifying, I'm new to it all :D Actually, I can't do this particular weekend coming up because I have to do a photo shoot for my sailing team on saturday. To many hobbies.. conflicting with each other :)

As far as the Taars are concerned, it says on the website that for this particular event, street tires only because of the tendency for the course to develope ruts.

I've got my old trooper steelie rims with 30" duelers. Think they would get the job done?

[Joe_Black]

Yo've got the right website, plus I'll see if i can post some other stuff in your region to look at. Check out my wesite as well for some additional rally links and such: Fort Meade RallyCross. (http://www.planetarydomination.com/rally.htm)

Any extra set of tires/wheels are good so you still have something to drive home on in case of mishaps. I went with 15" wheels and the smallest diameter tire I could find to get a little lower gearing since rallycross isn't about top-end, and ground clearance isn't much of an issue for the VX.

A nice thing to have also is a SCUBA tank and regulator setup for air tools, so you can change your wheels quick and have the other benefits portable air provide. You can pick up used SCUBA regulators for $20 - $40 on eBay and all the fittings for air tool use (adapter, LP reg, 150 psi pop valve, chuck) are less than $40. If you're certified you can just rent a tank for about $3.

What kind of sailing Maugan?

[Maugan_VX]

I've got a scuba setup already from back in my paintball days, but no air tools. I've got an electric impact wrench I can run off an inverter if need be. Think I'll have a problem getting tech certified?

Distance Beach catamaran sailing. We're putting together a promo package for potential sponsors for a race called the Atlantic 1000. We're only doing half of it because of the time it takes, but its 500 miles from The florida keys to Tybee Island GA on a "hobie" cat (except ours has as much in common with a hobie in the sense that a yugo has four wheels just like a porsche)

[Joe_Black]

The SCUBA fill adapter you've got for paintball probably doesn't have a regulator, just a straight connection and bleed for a HPA tank. Used to do that too. Had the only VM68 (very, very custom) at WorldCup! ;Do; You need the SCUBA regulator to drop the SCUBA tank's 3000 psi down to 125 - 150 psi for the low pressure regulator which then drops it to 90 psi for the air tool.

Your Atlantic 1000 sounds like a hike in an open cat. I had some friends that raced Prindles, but I've never been much of a multi-hull nut. Had a Hunter 30 that I ran to Bermuda once and the Bahamas a few times, and am currently shopping Catalina 22's. Just something for weekend coastal cruising that the VX can easily tow, since we're ideally located between both coasts.

[Maugan_VX]

I've got the multistage Unireg that I can get to drop down to an acceptable pressure, might have to get a secondary one though, I dunno, I'll play around with it, but the fact remains that I don't have air tools, and can't really justify the price of them right now :) World Cup was the heat man... I played in 3 of them.

The race is referred to as the "ironman of sailing" event. I've committed myself to a training regiment that includes a lot of swimming naturally :D It takes 5 days, with stops at checkpoints overnight. It amounts to about 100 miles a day, but can probably feel a lot longer than that if the wind completely dies out.

How long have you guys been doing the rallyx thing?

[AlaskaVX]

We have only had one event up here but DAMN, that was the most fun I have ever had driving! I used the stock tires/wheels and the worked pretty descent, I think I got 5th or 6th out of 20? I wouldn't worry about flipping it, I had mine sliding completely sideways through a few gates. Of course it was a great day for a rally! Rained a lot in the morning and cleared up for the race, nice somewhat wet dirt. No-one had any problems with anyrthing at our event.

[Heraclid]

Just do it and have a blast! You definitely would risk more body damage in most off-roading. Joe and I were at Uwharrie and made it without any damage except a very insignificant gouge in my factory skidplate, but the potential for damage out there was substantial. Rallycross is much different. You see some tires popping a bead, but that's the worst I've seen. In our case, Joe owns the course property and fastidiously keeps up with it, so it is to a great degree a controlled environment and you won't get a lot of surprises. It does get pretty rutted sometimes, but that kind of a course is really to your advantage.

I had much the same questions before I got into rallycrossing, and all I can say is that once you get out there and do it, all of that will go away. You will find that you can push the VX much further than you thought you could. I have progressively pushed mine harder, and have had no noteworthy handling issues. It has felt remarkably well-behaved in the twisties of a rally course.

In the hands of the right driver, a VX will hang with the Subaru WRX's. Tone raced his out in Texas with great success and John Schellenberg (our SCCA guy for the Ft. Meade rallycrosses) saw him race. By all accounts, Tone was a very aggressive driver and probably didn't have the optimum tires, but he whipped everybody's butts anyway. The VX is limited more by its driver than by itself. Rallycross is quite the adrenaline rush too - watching it from the sidelines doesn't do it justice, because it will look slower that way. The twisties are there to keep the speeds down for safety. However, in the driver's seat the sensation of speed is incredible. It's something you need to just go out and do, and then I think you'll understand and be hooked. :-)

Joe, got a question I've been meaning to ask you. Meaning to ask long enough that I forgot the name on the side of what I saw, but it was a very distinct-looking small boat. I swear I saw it being towed by a truck in my rearview mirror and thought he was hauling a classic car at first. The top of it looked that way. Very cool. Any clue what it may have been? Started with the letter "O"... that's all I remember.

Hey, lets modify a VX to cross water in a selectable boat configuration. I just saw a pretty cool Subaru-powered Camaro on TV that did it.

[Maugan_VX]

I'll go ahead and enter the next time it comes around my area.

Any recommendations on a helmet since I'm apparently supposed to get one :P

NOTE: I'd like something that, when push comes to shove, will damage my head, since I think the interior of the VX has more value. (Speaking purely in insurance #'s here) :)

[Simon Templar]

I spent the 60's and 70's heavily into TSD rallying. Both within SCCA and outside. But I suspect that is not what you're meaning.

Alas there is precious little interest anymore in TSD. Rallycross and the like is all the rage these days. Pity.




.....sT

[Heraclid]

You can use helmets with the following ratings - Snell M95/SA95, Snell M98/SA98, or Snell M2000/SA2000 helmets. DOT approval without an accompanying Snell rating is not enough.

Helmets with the M designation are motorcycle helmets, and helmets bearing the SA designation are for automotive sports. The SCCA allows motorcycle helmets in rallycross, but not for road rally stage competition. The SA designation reflects stricter standards regarding impact resistance and fire resistance but is not required for rallycross. Basically Snell 95+ is good enough, regardless of whether it is a motorcycle helmet or better.

I use a Snell 2000-rated Fulmer motorcycle helmet. The rating is important, not the brand. I checked out a few different helmets by different manufacturers and the Fulmer felt best for me, but that's just personal preference.