SCCA Rallycross Great Lakes Challenge

In reply to MrChaos :

From what I understand, they also have stability control that fights you in rallycross situations.

For well under $10k you can buy a late NB with a hardtop.  They are proven, they are fun, they are durable, and they are everywhere.

A good driver in a Prepared class NB (meaning, no lightweighting allowed, no drivetrain mods allowed, no engine work allowed, just bolt on brake and suspension stuff) took 3rd in MR last weekend.  I'm sure he will chime in shortly as he's also a GRM regular.

People were ragging on Prepared all weekend but really, it's a very interesting class.  Most of the things you are not allowed to do simply do not matter for rallycross.  And there are a lot of things that you ARE allowed to do, that few people really exploit.

In reply to Knurled. :

and i have a brand new NA/NB hardtop sitting in my living room. Prepared is an interesting class. It allows a drivers seat and a dif too right?

Ooh.  Okay, I know what I want to do for my next car.  The only downside is that Ohio is pretty strong for PA (of all things).  Ed elected to not drive this weekend, instead focusing on running the event, but Orion was dominatory with his STi, which was fast when it was a Mod car, and all it needed to be PA legal was a stock intercooler (not much of an issue at rallycross), a catted downpipe (same), and he had to put a trunk with a wing on it (same).  There might have been something else like putting the rear seat back in, big deal, GD seats are made out of foam and the chinziest fabric that can accept blue dye.

On the other hand, Ohio is also arguably strong for MR, too, and I've been running MR since before MR was a class.

MrChaos said:

In reply to Knurled. :

and i have a brand new NA/NB hardtop sitting in my living room. Prepared is an interesting class. It allows a drivers seat and a dif too right?

One differential as long as it fits in the stock, unaltered housing (gears must remain stock), and any driver's or passenger's seat but it must be of a construction such that it could be used as a driver's seat.  No bolting a bicycle seat to the floor and claiming it's a passenger seat.  (I am sure someone tried it in Solo, where that rule idea came from)

Really, seats should be changed just as a driver aid.  Miata seats weigh nothing.  It's not like they are 64-way power units from a 70s luxobarge that probably weigh as much as half an entire Miata.

I think the "unaltered housing" part of the rule was specifically created to keep me from putting a 7.5" Positraction diff in an XR4Ti.  Oddly enough the splines and ring gear mating are the same between the Chevy and the Euro Ford, but you have to do some hefty case grinding to be able to load it in.

i need to try a miata with stock seats and a hardtop. i know my helmet was touching the roof when i tried in my 95 M but you sit on those seats, not in them.

On paper by my math the brz should be a terrible rallycross car but I've witnessed one be competitive against national champions so it's apparently doable. But I feel compelled to add that the same less than $10k will get you a boxster and a hardtop, aka the best rwd rallycross car . No diff required though it couldn't hurt. Definitely does have similar headroom issues as the Miata but there's a ton of room to mount the seat lower unlike in a Miata. But I'm 6'1 and only hit my head if it gets super bumpy.

Knurled. said:

MrChaos said:

In reply to Knurled. :

and i have a brand new NA/NB hardtop sitting in my living room. Prepared is an interesting class. It allows a drivers seat and a dif too right?

One differential as long as it fits in the stock, unaltered housing (gears must remain stock), and any driver's or passenger's seat but it must be of a construction such that it could be used as a driver's seat.  No bolting a bicycle seat to the floor and claiming it's a passenger seat.  (I am sure someone tried it in Solo, where that rule idea came from)

It was actually kids gokart seats that people were using in solo.

I highly recommend a drivers seat in the miata if you are at all tall.  I am 5'10" with short legs and long torso and I have a ultrashield seat in mine and even with that I was bouncing off the roof at a bouncy event a few weeks ago.

With all the rain this weekend I missed checking out the headroom in the boxster so I don't know how it compares to the miata but I think the boxster it a very good rallycross option.

My car has header, axleback, coilovers, removed rear bar, drivers seat, steering wheel, non-sport brakes, wheels/tires.

I am not completely happy with the stock torsen diff in the miata but I am not to the point that I am going to spend the money to replace it either.

dps214 said:

On paper by my math the brz should be a terrible rallycross car

What other cars have you mathed out as good for rallycross so I can start bugging my wife about them since I can't get the boxster?

I don't know, my math is flawed apparently. I also thought the boxster would legitimately struggle against the smaller lighter cars on tight nationals courses but that didn't turn out to be true. I think a factor is that a good driver can make just about anything work. Does seem like having some amount of weight to the car is good for it which isn't what I would have expected. My next choice after the boxster would be a second gen mr2, but good luck finding a serviceable one of those for much less than a boxster.

In reply to dps214 :

Sprung to unsprung weight is key, and there are lower bounds on unsprung weight defined by necessary strengths and available tire sizing.

It just so works out that Miatas are in the sweet spot.