BRZ Rally Car

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Yeah, I do intend to shoot them a message to pick brains a bit. 
 

I was also thinking vibration, but so far haven't found a loose connection. Reseated all the important ones. I'm sure I'll figure it out. 

I've recently taken a liking to these cars and this thread isn't helping at all. Awesome build so far and keep it coming!

On one of the FB groups, I saw a UTV guy is signing up for a rallyx in your region, so you may have a participant/class there soon if his comments are accurate. 

In reply to Lof8 - Andy :

Yeah!  I think he was the guinea pig, but you may very well get your wish of running at Panthera next year if whoever makes that call didn't see any issues- his wasn't that fast, but also didn't look like it posed any sort of increased risk to me.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Very cool!  Glad to hear he was safe and not that fast!  Lol

AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Yeah, I do intend to shoot them a message to pick brains a bit. 
 

I was also thinking vibration, but so far haven't found a loose connection. Reseated all the important ones. I'm sure I'll figure it out. 

So it seems it was a coil boot. 
 

The NB has a weird, but neat setup that has 2 coils on top of the spark plugs, then an additional wire coming off of each for the other 2 cylinders. (The NA's have 2 coils at the back of the engine with 2 spark plug wires coming out of each.)

I swapped coils and the misfire moved with the coil, so I figured I'd try the cheap boot before a new coil even though I'd replaced the boots last year and this one looked completely fine to me, but I slapped the new boot on and it fired up just fine, no misfire. 
 

Hard to say if Rallycross is to blame, but if I keep driving it to events I may stash some spare coils and boots just in case. 

Some cool pictures Alan Olson took this past weekend:

Nothing exciting to report this weekend, but I did notice that the pinch welds were taking a beating just from tire changes so I welded some 1"x1" angle to them to beef them up a bit, then seam sealed and coated them with bed liner since they're going to have a hard life down there.

Most of the upcoming work is going to make it a considerably worse road car, and I have to admit I've grown a little attached to it in "prerunner mode" with the interior intact so I might wait a week or two before I start pulling the creature comforts out.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I was just considering something similar to that to brace the pinch welds on the Miata. Seems like it went well for you. 

AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I was just considering something similar to that to brace the pinch welds on the Miata. Seems like it went well for you. 

I did the same thing on the E30 and I'm pretty sure it saved a lot of damage when we hit that big rock with the rocker at NEFR

thats pretty brilliant, ill be stealing that idea for the focus. 

irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:

AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I was just considering something similar to that to brace the pinch welds on the Miata. Seems like it went well for you. 

I did the same thing on the E30 and I'm pretty sure it saved a lot of damage when we hit that big rock with the rocker at NEFR

Awesome feedback. That's on the shortlist for winter then. The Miata is looking like it could be in decent shape for Rallycross next year. 

On another note, how does SCCA membership work? Seems like a silly question, but... For the last Rallycross I had to pay $15 extra for a weekend membership, which is pretty normal, I get that. If I actually go fot a full year membership I think it was $70? Is that just for one region, or does that work across SCCA as a whole?

In reply to AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) :

Probably an extra $5-15 for region dues on top of the $70. But while you do join a specific region, the membership is good at all events anywhere.

In reply to AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) :

Also note you can get discounts when joining the first time or if you are under 25 or in the military.

If you join within 60 days of your weekend membership you should be able to use that for a $15 discount on first year membership.  If you are referred by a current member that is another $15 off.

I don't see the referral/weekend discounts on the current membership application but I also did not try to join thru the online application so they may be available there.  You may need to call and make sure they are still active.  SCCA phone number is 1-785-357-7222 or 800-770-2055

Shawn Roberts #347489

In reply to moxnix :

Cool, thanks everyone! 

This makes me want to take up rallycross, stage rally and/or having a BRZ/FRS. 

In reply to Andy Neuman :

With sufficient sponsorship, I'd lend you the car for an event every now and then- it would look good with Good Times Racing graphics! 

Andy Neuman said:

This makes me want to take up rallycross, stage rally and/or having a BRZ/FRS. 

That's what I keep saying!

I have a coworker that has a 2013 FRS that I keep an ear out on. I showed him some pics of this one today and he said about selling it cheap. I said let me know a price and I'll see if I can do it. That conversation has happened a few times though. Maybe someday. 

Andy Neuman said:

This makes me want to take up rallycross, stage rally and/or having a BRZ/FRS. 

You and me both. I just need space for a fourth car, and a welder, and a bigger garage, and some money. No biggie. 

In reply to thatsnowinnebago, AWSX, Andy, anyone else who wants one :

Honestly, if you want one of these inexpensively, I'd consider buying one with a blown engine and either dropping in a junkyard motor or building an improved one if that's your thing.  Maybe even a swap, but I'm not sure how well developed any of the kits out there are.  This platform is incredibly easy to work on, even by Japanese standards, and so far at least none of the CANBUS or other computer stuff has gotten mad at me.  I kind of want another as a road car once the cage is in this one.

So how inexpensively are we talking about?  

Not that I have been sort of wanting one of these for a while or anything.......

In reply to moxnix :

The cheapest running one I have seen was $3k at copart with some front end damage, cheapest overall was $2500ish with a blown engine and missing body parts being sold by a shop, but more commonly they pop up right around $5k with blown up engines on craigslist and facebook.

I really enjoy your threads, but it's times like these that living in Peru is incredibly frustrating - I reckon one of these would be right up my street, but the cheapest BRZ/FRS here I've seen was $16k and that was pretty ropey.  As used cars hold their value so much,  even damaged/blown up they're over $10k...Any running E46 is generally north of $7k (and I've only seen 2 manuals in the last few years), WRXs $10k upwards

Keep on making me jealous!

In reply to paul_s0 :

What are the import laws like there?  I'd be happy to start stockpiling some awesome used cars for you to ship in if it makes sense, or even roadtrip something down there some day when the world opens back up...

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Stickers are on the way. I just need to order more free time in life. Can we slow the earths rotation so there is more time in each day. Beginning to realize I actually like working and that is where my time keeps disappearing.