Help me win decals!

Because they each add 5hp. Go here and "like" my photo on Facebook if you would please.

MR2 Rallycross photo

done :) I remember days of tossing my Mr2 down gravel roads

Thanks! Can't wait for the season to start again!

I liked yours because you seem like a nice guy.

But I really wanted to like this one - because instead of skanky-looking car show girls, this guy put his girl in a white button-down men's dress shirt. Which is about 100000x sexier than booty shorts on some skank.

What Irish said.

I've always thought that an MR2 or a Fiero would make a good rallycross car.

Money no option, I'd build a national contending Cayman for M2, but sadly it is an option...

Meh, taking a car that costs as much as the entire rest of the class combined and winning that class isn't anything special.

If you have money to buy a Cayman, you have money to buy something half the price and stage rally it instead for the same overall price and more excitement.

It's like a local guy who has a GT2 and just autocrosses it...never takes it to the real track. When he wins, nobody cares and just says he bought the win. When he doesn't win, everybody is secretly saying "that guy can't drive."

driving slow car fast > driving a fast car slow

btw, there is no more M2....it's MR and MF....

irish44j wrote: btw, there is no more M2....it's MR and MF....

Ah. I wasn't sure that the change had been made at the national level yet. I'm glad that it has.

BTW, have you seen national level autocross these days? There are people turning 100,000 dollar cars into parking lot cone chasers. I'd guess that rallycross isn't too far behind.

Honestly, a Cayman wouldn't be THAT out of place. People are running brand new STis and Evos in rallycross, and they run 30K+ all day long. An early non-S Cayman can be had for that kind of money... Besides, who wouldn't be in awe of a street legal slightly lifted Cayman with mud flaps and a Martini livery?

Every new Vette costs more than a base Cayman

Liked it, because I like it.

Rallycross is getting more serious. Just look at Mr. Irish's motor swap. I've also stood in awe watching last years open class winner drive around the car that she should be taking to nationals this year. If you build to the rules, it's quite possible to have a car that is more powerful and a lot lighter than any stage rally car. Rallycross is the wild west right now, and it's awesome.

Maroon92 wrote:

irish44j wrote: btw, there is no more M2....it's MR and MF....

BTW, have you seen national level autocross these days? There are people turning 100,000 dollar cars into parking lot cone chasers. I'd guess that rallycross isn't too far behind. Honestly, a Cayman wouldn't be THAT out of place. People are running brand new STis and Evos in rallycross, and they run 30K+ all day long. An early non-S Cayman can be had for that kind of money... Besides, who wouldn't be in awe of a street legal slightly lifted Cayman with mud flaps and a Martini livery?

Yeah, it's the main reason I stopped doing autocross.. It basically became all about who can spend the most money to get a fast car and set it up to the max extent of the rules. And this area has so much money, it just stopped being fun to do it recreationally. At some point, the high-dollar cars are simply to fast for even the best driver to beat in a well-setup car. My 09 WRX is pretty well set up, but in STU against Evos prepped to the letter of the rules, it was mid-pack at best.

Rally-x would be harder, since few other AWD cars can hang with the fairly cheap subies and evos in stock or prepared form. Oddly, we had no EVOs run with our club this season....just subies and a stray Audi A4. You could show with a high-dollar AWD car like an S5 or 335xi, but I doubt they'd beat the subies that cost less than half as much...

I don't think rally-x will go that direction. Auto-x is for guys with their weekend Porshes who don't want to mess them up, so they don't go to the real track, they go to the parking lot where the car will still be undented and shiney when they leave. They can throw a lot of money at them knowing that the car won't end up with rock chips and clay coating the entire engine bay, and they can still take them to cars&coffee the next morning, haha...

Rally-x, you'd have to be a real big baller to bring out a high-$$$ car to play, because it IS going to get scratched up, the interior coated with dirt and mud, the underside coated with clay that never ever comes off, and so on.. Not saying a Cayman wouldn't be fast (it would), but I"m not so sure it would dominate the well-prepared Miatas, RX7s, or e30s, which are much lighter. At least not so much so to justify the price racing against the cheap old RWD guys. Also would depend on the venue. Our courses are on rocky, gravelly, hardpack clay. Except when wet, when the clay turns more slippery than ice. I think of our 9 class winners this year, only 1 or 2 of them had more than 200hp. Nationals look to me like an autocross in a mowed field....

Also I think the culture of rally-x respects the cheap builds and creativity over " buy they best parts to get that extra 1/10th second". Hell, I get made fun of for showing up at an event in a 28-year old BMW that is "too shiny" and had new Bilstein HDs on it, haha...... And trust me, it ain't that shiney :)

Cayman would rule stage rally RWD though, I'd think. And I most definitely would like to see one. THough I have to wonder - if it would be a good rally car, why hasn't anyone done it yet. THere are other $$$ cars in stage rally, so it's not a money issue. IDK enough about that chassis to know.

I'm enjoying watching the Braid 911 rally-x build though. mid/rear-engine porsches are uniquely advantageous for rallycross RWD class because of their traction and weight balance, and I'm sure they do well.

mazdeuce wrote: Liked it, because I like it. Rallycross is getting more serious. Just look at Mr. Irish's motor swap. I've also stood in awe watching last years open class winner drive around the car that she should be taking to nationals this year. If you build to the rules, it's quite possible to have a car that is more powerful and a lot lighter than any stage rally car. Rallycross is the wild west right now, and it's awesome.

haha.....my motor swap? $300 200k motor to get me UP to a whopping 140hp hahahaha.....I did it less to be "serious competitor" and more because I wanted the car, when loaded with all my gear, to be able to drive up the hills on the way to the track without downshifting to 3rd and flooring it Also because it's my only project car, so I have to keep tinkering with it, whether my mods make it faster or slower :) It's not that I can't afford to spend the money (my WRX has more in its suspension than all my e30 mods combined), it's that it's far more fun to do it on a budget with a car that started with 100hp and is now a monster at 140hp :)

We're all competitors locally, but nobody in the MOD RWD class has more than about $5k total into their car (and that includes the purchase price). We all try to see who can be fastest "on the cheap."

and the best thing about rallycross is its LACK fo extensive rules. The rules are so simple, and allow a great deal of creativity in setup (especially important, since at least once in the season you'll probably have some part held together with hose clamps or zip ties) :)

since I got this thread off topic, let me repay the favor with more MR2 rallycross goodness.

we have two running locall (AW12s), and this one has a camry V6 swap. Actually probably gives a good idea of how a Cayman would do - similar p/w ratio I'm guessing. He runs up with the front of the Mod RWD class, puts up similar times to me and the two RX7s.

Edit: couldn't find the pic I wanted...here's one of us staging....an old Scirocco, 3 e30s, 2 RX7s, and an MR2.

Serious as in developing a car to make it faster, not serious as in spending cubic dollars. If it was purely about fun then the development to go faster wouldn't be there. What I really like about rallycross is that the development isn't nearly as expensive as it is in autocross. That $300 engine probably has 90% of the power that you can put to the ground anyway. I actually want to see rallycross develop like this. If there was nothing to do but show up and drive then it would lose a lot of interest for me and a lot of car guys. I like to tinker, I think a lot of rallycrossers like to tinker. The MR2 that started this post looks like a great car to tinker with and make into a great rallycross car.

mazdeuce wrote: Serious as in developing a car to make it faster, not serious as in spending cubic dollars. If it was purely about fun then the development to go faster wouldn't be there. What I really like about rallycross is that the development isn't nearly as expensive as it is in autocross. That $300 engine probably has 90% of the power that you can put to the ground anyway. I actually want to see rallycross develop like this. If there was nothing to do but show up and drive then it would lose a lot of interest for me and a lot of car guys. I like to tinker, I think a lot of rallycrossers like to tinker. The MR2 that started this post looks like a great car to tinker with and make into a great rallycross car.

ah, yeah then I totally agree with you there. I thought maybe you were referring to the high -dollar world of "Global Rallycross" somehow trickling down to the local level, which would truly be a shame.

I was actually looking at MR2s when I was looking for a rally-x car, but locally people still want top dollar for them. And there was the issue of cargo space since I have to drive 2 hours to the track. One of our local MR2's straps all four rally wheels/tires on top of the engine bay, butted against the back of the cabin and secured with a strap. I can't seem to find the pic though :)

Thanks for the help on the contest. While I was out of town at a convention this weekend more photos were added and the tuner kids with their 1000 Facebook friends are kicking in. Meh, we'll see what happens.

I am starting my second season in a few months and probably going with a tow hitch and HF utility trailer. Unless I don't get off my butt to do it and perhaps I'll strap 4 tires on the back as well!

irish44j wrote: One of our local MR2's straps all four rally wheels/tires on top of the engine bay, butted against the back of the cabin and secured with a strap. I can't seem to find the pic though :)

thanks...funny that you can find my pic but I can't, lol...

I just remembered that you posted it in my build thread.

I've had a few of you mention it to me, wondering if my Mk1 has enough room to do the same.