What to do for first time Rallycross?

[CaptainSlow]

Any advice for a first time rallycrosser in the FiST? Thinking about going to the Central NY Region event on the 22nd. I have autoX experience, but practically 0 snow/winter experience coming from Houston.

Really worried about damaging the car, but at the same time I really really want to give it a go. Other forums have said it's not too bad if you don't push it? Will be on Michelin Premier A/S tires, and all I've done is mudflaps and RMM replacement (stock suspension and wheels with McGard spline lug nuts).

I've contacted the Skid Plate Guy to see if maybe I could get one at the event since it's close to Syracuse, but they're pretty pricey from what I can tell.

 

[KentRatke]

This is just my two cents, but these are street performance cars not really rally cars (other than what the marketing department wants). I wouldn't recommend and wouldn't even take my car on gravel.

 

[jdubs]

I've contacted the Skid Plate Guy to see if maybe I could get one at the event since it's close to Syracuse, but they're pretty pricey from what I can tell.

You pay to play they say.

There's a few here who have explored it. Not something I would ever do. I have the same fear of breaking things that you do.

Please do let us know how it goes though. Always fun to read about what others are trying that's different.

 

[Pete]

You pay to play they say.

There's a few here who have explored it. Not something I would ever do. I have the same fear of breaking things that you do.

Please do let us know how it goes though. Always fun to read about what others are trying that's different.

skidplate, mudflaps, and 15" wheels is what you would need to have a fun and worry free time. You will want more tire to absorb the bumps. I did dirt roads a lot when I first got the car. Also look into the rear skid plate as it is easy to puncture the evap system when going off road.

 

[Pete]

You pay to play they say.

There's a few here who have explored it. Not something I would ever do. I have the same fear of breaking things that you do.

Please do let us know how it goes though. Always fun to read about what others are trying that's different.

skidplate, mudflaps, and 15" wheels is what you would need to have a fun and worry free time. You will want more tire to absorb the bumps. I did dirt roads a lot when I first got the car. Also look into the rear skid plate as it is easy to puncture the evap system when going off road.

 

[Racer83L]

This is just my two cents, but these are street performance cars not really rally cars (other than what the marketing department wants). I wouldn't recommend and wouldn't even take my car on gravel.

I suggest you poke around on here for a bit

https://teamoneil.com/

 

[92FOX]

Subscribed to see where this goes.

 

[GAbOS]

Cheap set of snow tires that are as knobby as you can find.

 

[Jesse]

Rally is SOOOOO much fun! I recommend it as it will really hone driving skills. Few things I recommend doing in order to have the most fun.... Stock suspension is o.k. ride height is decent on FiST and most people don't want to drop 3-4k for rally style suspension So I'd just rock the stock susepsnion for now... Most rally cross that are smaller dirt events a skid plate isn't going to be a requirement, but will certainly help keep things cleaner and safer just in case there is a big rock hidden or something.

Get some Rally Tires and 15/16" wheels that are Rally style (Not very many openings for rocks and dirt and mud to get on your brakes) SPARCO TERRA good choice and cheap (125 each)
http://www.rm-autosports.com/black-rocket-gravel-rally-tire-br-44-205-60-16/ (This or similar Rally Tires around 150-200 each)


That's really all you need sounds like you got mud flaps already they will help keep your car cleaner too, but your going to need a nice power washing session after every event.

if you want to get really serious then get a LSD and some rally suspension and you can be pretty competitive even against awd cars

 

[Brick]

I've done a NASA rallycross event out here in california. You can run your car stock no problem. 17 inch rims, aint no care. Just push it to your comfort level. Are you okay with debeading a tire? Then go like hell! If not, maybe dont hit that rut too hard!

The smartest thing I saw the whole weekend were people getting 2wd rental vehicles and going HARD on the rallycross course lol. One debeaded a wheel, but they purchased the.... damage coverage or whatever to go with the rental.

At least out here, you can see the terrain, and the course before running it to get an idea of debris. I went with mud flaps and no other mods and had a BLAST. I will be going out again later this year.

The video is boring, but here's my experience. [video]https://youtu.be/OH9Ofzbu8Mo?list=PLEJwK65YqbCh4zLKeV5nj9SGHOCQqhtHX[/video]

 

[CaptainSlow]

UPDATE!!! Completed my first Rallycross event! I'll post videos later once I get around to editing it.

First off, BIG BIG THANKS to Chris! (aka [MENTION=1773]skidplateguy[/MENTION] ). The skid plate they have is definitely a must for rallycrossing. Arranged purchase over email and picked it up AT the CNYRP event, AND he installed it onto the FiST in no time! Cool dude, and even better driver. Got a lot of really good pointers. He drives a non-ST fiesta, but modded for rallycross. You can hear it saving your junk as you fly down the course!

Did much better as the day progressed, going from 2:25 ish to 2:08+1 cone (ST Octane should've prepared me, but I couldn't execute...). Fastest times were from Subarus at around 1:51 ish IIRC.

Few things I learned:
-Power sliding is the best thing ever
-Rallycrossing isn't terrible for cars, but definitely not good for them(see below)
-Stock wheels + brakes = rear-wheel gravel shovels. On the way home I could feel vibrations from how imbalanced they were. Pulled over and removed about a quarter inch thick layer of mud and rocks from the inner rear wheels, and all was fine afterwards.
-Definitely need to have a separate Daily Driver before I'd be willing to go balls to the wall in the FiST on rallycross.
-Avoiding obstacles and preserving your vehicle is as important as trying to drive fast. There were some pretty sizable rocks out there that could do some damage if you're not careful
-Because there's fewer people crazy enough to risk a car, there's more lap time! Everyone got to have 7 runs, each run was about 2 minutes! (My norm for AutoX was 4 runs for the day at ~60 seconds each). There was an optional bracket round afterwards, but I couldn't stay (1.5 hr drive back home)

Mods/not-stock items on the FiST that day:
- Skid Plate from the Skid Plate Guy
- Rally Armor mudflaps
- Michelin Premier A/S Tires in 205/45-17
- Cobb RMM
- DHM Resonator delete
- Cobb Stage 0 tune (not really a mod, but it's technically not stock)

Photos from the day:
Before Rallycrossing... (btw, car 544 is Chris's car, 16 is mine)

This guy lost his exhaust...

After Rallycrossing...

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Does Chris have bona fide gravel rally tires on that NA Fiesta??

 

[CaptainSlow]

Pretty sure he does. He even has "@SKIDPLATEGUY" in white on his tires. Didn't grab better picts of his car/don't recall the tires he was running but here's an up-close picture with the tread pattern visible.

 

[CaptainSlow]

First Run:
Run 1

Last Run:
Run 7

 

[M-Sport fan]

Pretty sure he does. He even has "@SKIDPLATEGUY" in white on his tires. Didn't grab better picts of his car/don't recall the tires he was running but here's an up-close picture with the tread pattern visible.

Yeah those are definitely gravel tires, they look like DMack DMG2s, but I'm not positive on that.