Rallycross questions

I attended a rally driving school at the beginning of the year and had more fun that I was expecting. I decided to fix up my old car and rally cross it. I have never driven on a track or competed while driving so I have a lot to learn.

My car is a 1986 BMW 535is. Here is a picture: http://i.imgur.com/M8IPbay.jpg. The car looks good but it sat for a long time before I got it. In the last few months, I have replaced replaced most of the rear suspension rubber and most of the cooling system along with other standard maintenance. I also installed a skid plate, battery tie down, and mudflaps in preparation for rallycross.

Here are my questions:

I am tall with a long torso and don't fit in the car with a helmet. My current plan is an aftermarket seat mounted as low as possible and a deep dish steering wheel. Does that restrict me to Prepared class or higher in SCCA rallycross?

I live in central Florida. As far as I can tell courses are normally gravel, coral, and sand. If there is grass and dirt, there is only a half inch of it before hitting sand. Events are 1-3 hours away. If I only have one set of wheels, do I go with winter tires, all seasons, or something like a light truck tire?

What spare parts do you normally bring to an event? The car has a full sized spare and I normally carry belts, water, and oil with me. Are there any parts that are likely to break and be fixable at the event?

What do cars generally fail inspection for? I looked through the rules and it looks like I am missing battery terminal covers. Anything else that is easy to forget?

I believe changing the seat bumps you to at least Prepared. We ran into that last year at our Challenge event with someone that had been running Stock with a racing seat locally.

When you say one set, do you mean one set to race with plus get there/back? Or one and THAT's IT. If so, I'd say winter snows.

Spare parts? You sound good, I'd add an air tank filled up before you leave. Hydraulic jack/stands/board for underneath. Throw in some duct tape and zip ties, don't forget water/sunscreen/bigstupidhat.

Big thing for us (myself included) is loose battery hold down. Make sure it's good or bring a reliable strap to hold it down. (Also be sure there's no play in the wheels when they try to shake them side to side)

If you're running at The Firm it'd be cool if a magazine did a feature on someone getting into Rally-X for the first time and prep work that needed to be done to their nearly 30 year old RWD weapon of choice.

Seat and wheel each bump you to Prepared.

This can be a liberating thing. In Prepared you are not restricted to stock sized wheels and it is now acceptable to be missing ground-facing non-metallic trim (read: undertrays and air dams)

In reality, most regions tend to look the other way for minor rules transgressions for new people.

Either the steering wheel or the seat (or both together, of course) would put you into PR. I'd also look into either a CGLock or a Schroth Rallye harnessbelt system as well. You can pay much more attention to what you're doing when you aren't hanging on for dear life.

For spares, you're probably pretty good but, like Jerry said, add zip ties and some duct tape. I like to also have a spool of wire (like steel wire, not electrical) for those things that zip ties can't do. If you have anything that is fairly easy to get to but prone to breakage, it would make sense to bring it with you -- for example, I keep a couple extra lug studs and nuts in the toolbox and I used to keep a spare ignition module handy.

Most common thing I've failed cars at tech because of is the battery tie down and the second most common thing is having a DOT-only helmet. If you're using your own it has to be either Snell or SFI certified. For Snell, it has to be 2000 or newer (next year, the 2015s will be out, so you'll need a 2005 or newer).

In prepared, you're probably going to be at a bit of a tire disadvantage if you're using a put-it-on-at-home compromise tire. I'd go with a snow tire to get a good tread and soft compound. If you can swing it, though, using regular street tires to get there and back and then switching to a set of rally tires on site could give you an edge, depending on conditions. I'm usually dealing with hard-pack or mud, though, so I'm not 100% sure what would be best. Look at the folks who run Sandblast and see what tires they're choosing -- if memory serves, I think they're using a soft compound gravel tire that's been cut for a mud pattern, but don't quote me on that.

If you do go with a second set of tires to put on at the event spend the money to get a cordless impact.

Most importantly, have fun and remember that endurance and staying out of the cones are just as important as going fast. I've gone from leading my class and most of the AWD cars to nearly DFL overall because of an electrical connector coming loose on my last run of the day adding 45 seconds to my overall time. It was a fast fix to unbelt, fix, rebelt, and get going again, but that time adds up so fast.

Thanks for all the help.

Depending on time and money, I will be splitting time between SCCA and The Firm. The Firm does not allow rally tires so those are out for now. I only have one set of wheels for the car right now. Is there any concern in running winter tires in 100+ degree weather?

Looks like I am in prepared. Headroom isn't with a helmet isn't even close.

It has been fun working on the car the last few months. Every repair is the first time I have ever done the job. I am waiting for the one where I don't have to buy any tools to complete it. It is currently in the shop for new rear subframe bushings (because I am lazy) and new front shocks (because I am afraid of spring compressors). If I get it back in time, there is a test and tune day at The Firm this weekend. Otherwise, I will have more time to fix the front suspension for SCCA next month.