Nissan Leaf for rallycross?

I am bored at work and have come to the conclusion that a Nissan Leaf is what I need for rallycross. I don't know why but you all likely understand what this website does to us.

1st Gen leaves are getting fairly cheap and I want to experience an electric car.  

It would be trailered to the rallycross since the rallycross is 100ish miles away, so range would not be too big of a worry.

One did the Mongol Rally.

Any charging between runs and/or heats?  How much does performance degrade as the battery charge drops?

The last rallyx I was at we put 17 race miles on the car just during the morning session (afternoon was cancelled) with 2 drivers.  I'm betting that's a significant portion of its range used up.

Otherwise I approve

It should be able to handle 17 miles at race speed easy. Theoretically performance could drop as the battery drops, but it's so controlled/limited when it's full that I've never noticed any difference. Mine pulls strong all the way to turtle mode....

I mean theoretically it would be towed to the site with a full charge which is what? 72ish miles on the low end with 65ish being realistic. So a full day rallycross shouldn't be too bad even if you are running the longer courses.

Can you turn off the traction control? I never tried to do anything sporting while we had ours, but it definitely falls into the category of vehicles that Falls Flat On It's Face For A Count Of Three if it experiences even a small amount of wheelspin.

In reply to Ransom :

3 Fuses to disable everything.

Just like most newer cars with traction nannies.

You could always tow it around the paddock between runs using the regenerative braking to top up the battery.

Adam

adam525i said:

You could always tow it around the paddock between runs using the regenerative braking to top up the battery.

Adam

I've seriously considered this.

I mentioned this in an earlier thread about these things, but I’ll repeat:

we had leafs on a film I was working on and they were pretty miserable.  They bought used ones with about 30k and a full charge netted around a 50-mile range. 

But we maybe got 15 miles out of each.  This was running with no heat or radio or anything but at full throttle 3-4 minute runs from 70-95 mph and then returning to the start mark at 55-65.  

you should definitely give it a shot though!

^That was kind of what I was getting at.  A ~70 mile charge wont go anywhere near that distance when its all WOT, high rolling resistance, wheelspin, etc.

Now what year leafs should i be looking at? It seems the 2013+ ones are better since they got better batteries and a better motor.

The LEAF is somewhat unique in that it has only passive thermal management of battery temperature and it has a battery degradation display. 

You probably would want to focus on getting the healthiest batteries you can. 2013+ also has an optional faster charger (the charger is part of the car, the EVSE is the doohickey that connects your electric supply to your car) that can speed your level 2 charge rate. 

It's probably worth mentioning there are two rear drive options available for a little less - the i-MiEV and the Smart ED. You can also get a Fiat 500e. They all have batteries close to the ground, but I think the LEAF looks less tippy. There was a factory i-MiEV Pike's Peak effort. There's a RAV-4 EV out there for more money, but possibly a little more ready-made dirt parts availability.

i doubt a smart would pass the rallycross stability test. The imiev is so rare i have never seen one. the 500e is an interesting choice since the are stupid cheap, i am seeing $8k from dealers with 25k miles or less for 2015's, but no where around here can service them since they were only sold in CARB states. Rav4 wont pass the rallycross stability test either. 

 There is just really nothing out there that speaks to me and is cheap enough to be a rallycross car, so that is why im leaning toward a leaf.

Going through the local craigslist for RWD, Manual, Clean Title I have a selection of 80s/90s domestic half ton trucks, a couple of g35's, various beat and rusty mini trucks, overpriced miatas, sn-95 mustangs, 2 fieros, a couple rx8's, a couple vw bugs,and a couple of insanely overpriced 240sx's.

The twins(brz/86) are a letdown engine wise and are still too expensive, Miatas require an additional $1000-1300 for a hard top, volvo 240/740/940's are hard to find anymore even harder with a manual, E30's are too expensive at this point, the 96-11 mustangs are not worth even trying, The 350z/G35 can maybe fit certain 16's so tire choice other than snows doesnt exist, the 3rd gen camaros are too much money for LS cars, MR2's are very few and far between, MR-S' need a iirc $2500-3k hardtop, drove a few crown vics but never really clicked with me.

In reply to jfryjfry :

Your test was the absolute worst case scenario for the Leaf. A rallycross should have quite bit more time off throttle and a much lower overall speed so the range should be noticeably higher.

In reply to MrJoshua :

Maybe. Front wheel drive has less time off throttle than rear drive, since you drive with the front wheels and the back end sort of tags along, unlike a rear drive where you have to steer with the chassis since the drive wheels don't turn.

I wouldn't do it because of how tall they are.

Are Mustangs not competitive enough to be worth trying? I had a blast with my stock 98 V6 on snow tires. The tall gearing helped a lot, never had to leave 1st. A Miata is probably better but unless I had a rust free e30 turn up on my doorstep I'd love to go for another Mustang myself. The hard top issue is also the reason I don't race my Miata. Besides being expensive they aren't easy to find in my area.

TopNoodles said:

Are Mustangs not competitive enough to be worth trying? I had a blast with my stock 98 V6 on snow tires. The tall gearing helped a lot, never had to leave 1st. A Miata is probably better but unless I had a rust free e30 turn up on my doorstep I'd love to go for another Mustang myself. The hard top issue is also the reason I don't race my Miata. Besides being expensive they aren't easy to find in my area.

Not competitive when the 2nd FOD of all classes is usually the the winner of SR. I am not joking FOD is always the same person from MA in a 2.5RS that is an extension of his body followed 80% of the time by the SR Camaro.  That person drives a 3rd Gen Z28 LS powered Camaro.  Then SR is rounded out by between 2-3 miatas. PR is all miatas and occasionally a Volvo and a New Edge stang that seems to be broken every other event.

This is the monster of SR in the region I will be running with 

TopNoodles said:

Are Mustangs not competitive enough to be worth trying? I had a blast with my stock 98 V6 on snow tires. The tall gearing helped a lot, never had to leave 1st. A Miata is probably better but unless I had a rust free e30 turn up on my doorstep I'd love to go for another Mustang myself. The hard top issue is also the reason I don't race my Miata. Besides being expensive they aren't easy to find in my area.

miata, e30, e36, MR2, RX7, BRZ/FRS (if you have money) - the most competitive RWD cars are pretty much established nationally in the most competitive regions (plus some outliers like Vaughn Micchie's gutted Porsche 924S). Could you be competitive in a Mustang or a Camaro? Maybe. Depends on how competitive your region is, how good a driver you are, and what the courses are like. In 8 years doing this I've never seen a Mustang or Camaro be remotely competitive in our big RWD classes around here (a handful have come out, though not many). At our venue at Panthera, they might do OK since those courses have huge straight uphill sections that high-power cars can make up time on. But on flat/technical course, my take is....no way either would be competitive. 

I know there ar a couple guys who have done well here and there with them, but I'd say that's the exception rather than the rule - and it says more about the drivers' skills than the car IMO. 

Go find a e36 325i. They are all over craigslist everywhere, cheap, and will be at least competitive in stock and prepared class (didn't one win nationals a few years ago?). the only real weak spot on them is the rear subframe, and there are reinforcements for that available....and it's not always an issue anyhow. Jeremy Sitar did very well in an e36 318i (rusty as hell and beat to hell) in our region against really fast guys like Shawn Roberts (miata) in PR and against all of us in MR.

I am still considering a leaf for rallycross.  I have a vehicle that can tow it on a dolly.  Run it in PF stripped with rally tires.

I really want you to do this too! (I really want to do it but need to focus on projects already in the garage)

Robbie said:

I really want you to do this too! (I really want to do it but need to focus on projects already in the garage)

Milwaukee Region SCCA is hosting six rallycross events at Byron, IL this year.  You know you want to....