Or not...
Or not...
If you're going to be in the DC area on December 2nd we have a rallycross that should have the full field of competitors here, at Summit Point raceway. try to make it out as I think we have one of the biggest real drive fields in the country between stock prepared and modified. Plenty of people will be happy to give you a ride alongs to see how the cars handle.
In reply to pinchvalve :
They lifted
irish44j said:octavious said:I know RWD cars are not the best, truthfully they are probably the worst,
this is not a good start.....
just like other motorsports, rally cars run in classes. so RWD cars aren't running against subies. But plenty of RWD cars finish on the overall podium.....
and if you're like me, and first wanting to learn rallycross and car control, RWD is super fun. Compared to AWD and FWD that I've done before, RWD seems to offer the most feedback and behavior changes based on driver inputs. If you're wrong, you know right away.
My RWD car next to much faster stuff:
The fastest RWD car of the day:
Ovid_and_Flem said:Cool...but sl and slc mercs are over 4000 lbs. Plus manuals hard to find.
The R107 has a stock curb weight of 3500 and you can pull a lot out with just the beefy stock seats. Hell, my W116 race car weighs 3250 with 800lbs of drivetrain. And the Mercedes 722.3 is a lovely automatic. All you have to do is disconnect the vacuum lines to firm up the shifts. Very strong auto with a big factory cooler. In fact, it's the same auto used in 928s as well. As far as the car goes, the suspension is really strong and you get good stock travel. There's factory LSDs available, although often the ratios are very high. Rear uses a beafy semi trailing arm. It's known for a little corner-exit oversteer a la e30BMW. Unlike the sedans of the era the front uses a standard double A-arm setup.
If you have to have a Coupe though, the C107 was only built until 1981. Newer engines shouldn't be too difficult to swap in if that's what you're wanting.
I will agree that, aside from a snowy parking lot and sleepy cops, there is no better way to learn car control that RWD rallycross.
At this point I'm looking towards a p71 for a rallyx/dd
As am I.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:, anything with less than 15lbs/hp will be plenty fun.
ouch, that hurts me :(
I'm probably closer to 18 ;)
My racecar is 38lbs/whp and it's still fun
Sounds like you're already on the right track! Take a look FTD and season standings for different events/regions. Miatas, E30s, and E36s were popular older cars for RWD, but there are plenty oddball cars that would be lots of fun.
FB RX7s will probably be slower than the Miata...but are infinitely cooler (in my opinion). I'm not sure if the live axle works for you or against you in rally-x. Add a vintage rally paint scheme and win the day. I want one. FC RX7s may be easier to find, but not as cool.
RWD Celicas are super cool as well. The 22RE engine is a truck engine...so that might not meet the screaming Group B-style noise criteria. Durability and parts availability is probably a benefit.
Volvo 240s, especially w/a turbo or v8 swap. Lots of mods and good community. You can say they're plenty of safe for the family to ride in as well!
Datsun/Nissan has lots of rally cred..but 510s are pricey. V6 Z-cars are cheap, but also much more complicated.
Since you're already in the P-car club, a 944 would totally fit the bill.
If you're planning on racing rally-x regularly, make sure you know how many events you'll be able to do each season. My local SCCA chapter only does auto-x and most of the FL rally-x events are 2-3 hours away. I bought a 91 318i (e30) with the thought that the lighter twin-cam 4cyl would be great for rally-x (the price was also right). I've paused the rally conversion just because there aren't that many events that are nearby. The oil pan placement is also a big problem. Without a lot more clearance and a sump guard, it probably wouldn't go well for any bmw w/the M42/M44 4cyl engine.
Hoondavan said:Sounds like you're already on the right track! Take a look FTD and season standings for different events/regions. Miatas, E30s, and E36s were popular older cars for RWD, but there are plenty oddball cars that would be lots of fun.
FB RX7s will probably be slower than the Miata...but are infinitely cooler (in my opinion). I'm not sure if the live axle works for you or against you in rally-x. Add a vintage rally paint scheme and win the day. I want one. FC RX7s may be easier to find, but not as cool.
RWD Celicas are super cool as well. The 22RE engine is a truck engine...so that might not meet the screaming Group B-style noise criteria. Durability and parts availability is probably a benefit.
Volvo 240s, especially w/a turbo or v8 swap. Lots of mods and good community. You can say they're plenty of safe for the family to ride in as well!
Datsun/Nissan has lots of rally cred..but 510s are pricey. V6 Z-cars are cheap, but also much more complicated.
Since you're already in the P-car club, a 944 would totally fit the bill.
If you're planning on racing rally-x regularly, make sure you know how many events you'll be able to do each season. My local SCCA chapter only does auto-x and most of the FL rally-x events are 2-3 hours away. I bought a 91 318i (e30) with the thought that the lighter twin-cam 4cyl would be great for rally-x (the price was also right). I've paused the rally conversion just because there aren't that many events that are nearby. The oil pan placement is also a big problem. Without a lot more clearance and a sump guard, it probably wouldn't go well for any bmw w/the M42/M44 4cyl engine.
Will a skid plate should be put on whatever car you get regardless. Well the m42 oil pan bus it a little lower than would be ideal, there are several m42 bars including mine that run stage rally. I have done something like 60 rallycrosses an about 10 stage rallies, and I only just broke the oil pan at New England Forest rally this year on a hit so hard that it broke my entire skid plates dented my gas tank and the passenger floor as well. as a small side note there is a German company that makes steel lower oil pans for m42 cars. In terms of the original thought they can do well in rallycross, I have managed to win two championships here at DC which other huge rule drive crowd, as well as a Northeast division championship and in East Coast championship. the only place that the m42 cars have trouble is if the course is extremely hilly when the more powerful cars can run away from you up hills.
In reply to irish44j :
Good info, a steel pan would help. Not to hijack this thread, but what kind of suspension are you running? Stock height?
Hoondavan said:In reply to irish44j :
Good info, a steel pan would help. Not to hijack this thread, but what kind of suspension are you running? Stock height?
Apologies for the grammar - was using voice recognition on the phone. Guess my phone doesn't recognize what I'm saying lol.
Right now, Bilstein HDs all around. Front springs are just a basic Ground Control-style "fake coilover" with Eibach coilover springs (225 lb, I think ). The rear I've messed around with various stock and non-stock stuff but have gone back to using e36 M3 stock rear springs, as I think they're a pretty good rate and they raise the car up about an inch in the rear. Fronts are adjustable height so I usually have the front a bit higher than the rear (slight reverse-rake). And no swaybars.
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