Mr_Clutch42 wrote:
After a week or so, I finally read through all 50 pages! I'm an autocross guy and I'm wondering if you guys stress driving ability for the new guys, or to modify faults with the cars the most, or somewhere in between. I want to do a rallycross event close to me and I'm wondering if using summer tires will be able to get me through a course or will they get too worn out and I should get a spare set of wheels and mount some all season tires on them. The car I will use is a 91 Camaro with an open diff. I'm mostly just going to have fun, hang out with some rally guys, and to drift on some dirt/gravel/grass/clay. I should also note that with the solid rear axle and worn out LSD, I even have some trouble driving the car off of soft grass when it rains.
On another note, solo racing classing isn't that difficult, especially if you're not trying to win trophies. You just ask a vet or an event worker, and they usually know what mods will put cars in Touring, Prepared, or Modified classes.
Also, what kind of gas mileage are you and the other dirty E30 drivers (especially the straight-6 guys) getting for daily use. Your response will determine how much I will kick myself for buying an E36 instead.
The tire question will depend a lot on the surface your local region runs on. Depending on where the rallycross is, regions run on gravel, clay, dirt, even crushed coral. Each have different wear properties on tires. For instance, at our old venue in the summer, the clay would bake hard and a UHP summer tire was actually faster than rally/snow tires. So check into what surface your local region runs and consult with some locals. If you're open diff, RWD, and summer tires you'll go basically nowhere on a muddy course. But you'd do ok on gravel like ours or on dry grass perhaps.
I think as to "new guys" most people start with what they have and get a feel for the driving, and then go from there. That's how I did it my first season, with a mostly-stock car aside from good shocks and a few other small things. Then I upgraded where I thought weak points were. I'd say the great majority of our drivers locally do it that way. Not often we se someone come out with a heavily-prepped car and no experience. Mostly because, unlike autocross, what setup you run has a TON to do with the surface. Running on muddy grass courses uses a much different setup from bumpy gravel courses, depending on the car and class. In autocross you can use the same setup and most venues througout the country, aside from maybe some minor camber/alignment/tire pressure chances - primarily because you won't have to deal with bumps, mud, ruts and things like that.
I autocrossed for many years, so I'm being a bit facetious about the classing, but rallycross is really a lot more basic in that respect. If it's your DD, you'll probably want to stick with stock or prepared, but if it's just a weekend toy you go mod to ditch interior, do swaps, etc. Rallycross encourages real creativity in car setup, especially in mod classes. It even says so in the official rulebook :)
As to the e30s....mine obviously isn't a daily, but with the M42 it easily gets over 30mpg going to and from events fully loaded with a set of tires, jack, gear, etc. Hell, it gets close to 30 even towing my little tire trailer. I can't really speak for the 6cyl guys, they'll have to chime in on their own. My car is also very light, so with the 4cyl and light weight, mileage is good.
Anyhow, check with your local region (what region are you in?) and talk to the guys who run there about surface and tires - they'll know best what will work for you.
Btw, lots of our guys with dedicated rallycross cars drive there on their winter tires, and then run on them. Rally tires can't be driven on the street (for very far), so those of use using rally tires have a street set (mine are star specs)...
