First Rallycross!

"johnr240z" (johnr240z)
03/31/2014 at 08:25 • Filed to: rallycross, ford focus, focus svt

I had my first rallycross a couple weekends ago with my SCCA region. I've been talking about doing it for years but it seems like I was always making up excuses for why I couldn't do it. This year I finally got everything together, registered and forced myself to do it. It was totally worth it.

I originally bought my Focus SVT a couple years ago as my DD but also with the goal of eventually doing some off road racing. It's relatively cheap and FWD which is good for getting started. Only the Focus SVT isn't the most reliable car; I've kept a spreadsheet of all the maintenance and work I've done on the car and it's fairly long and depressing. The Focus ZX3 is probably a cheaper more reliable option but ah well, I still love my SVT.

Saturday was the driver's school. Basically we sat around and talked for an hour about the program, rules, rallycross and stage rally. Then we went out to a practice course where the instructor watched us do runs and tried to give us some tips. I was the only FWD car in the class, about 80% were Subarus of course, and the instructor had only driven AWD for the last 10 years so he didn't really have any tips for me. Still, it was helpful to get myself accustomed to sliding between cones.

First race of the season was the next day. I originally entered in the Stock class but realized after the drivers school that my stock suspension would not survive the season so I moved myself up to Prepared class. If you move from Stock to Prepared or Modified mid-season then you lose your points. However, you can enter a stock car in the Prepared or Modified class.

I wouldn't concern yourself too much about your class, just modify your car as you want and have fun. At this level, it's more about driver skill than your car anyways.

I checked the entry list and apparently my region is seriously lacking in FWD cars. No one else was registered in Prepared FWD and only about 5 cars in Modified. Lots of Subarus and E30s out there. So 1st place by default!

Overall, probably one of the funnest weekends of my life. 11/10 would do again. Even if you don't have a car to race I recommend spectating an event. You're allowed to ride along with the drivers and everyone I met is friendly and helpful.

Next race is April 13th. I have a lot of work to do on the car before then... most important is a skid plate. If anyone has tips for building a Focus skid plate let me know. It looks like I'll have to fabricate my own somehow. Also, please if you have a FWD car sign up for the WDCR SCCA region rallycross! I need more competition.

And thanks to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the sweet pictures of my car.

DISCUSSION (30)

707Miata > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:30

Kinja'd!!!

I'm still trying to figure out how this picture even happened haha

Tom McParland > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:30

Kinja'd!!!

Awesome! Though I find your lack of rally lights on the Focus disappointing.

johnr240z > 707Miata
03/31/2014 at 08:34

The course was mostly gravel so it would get badly rutted in places. Right before this, there's a bit of a dip in the gravel so at speed you would get some air. There are course workers just like an autocross event and we would use rakes to try and patch up some of the holes as they get bad. Still it was impossible to keep everything even with all the cars going through.

johnr240z > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 08:35

That's the plan eventually! I need skid plate and some suspension adjustments first. I smashed my header and cat pretty badly in some places. It would have been fine at standard Focus height but the SVT is a bit lower.

Tom McParland > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:37

You should check out our resident rally racer-

http://dustyventures.kinja.com/

https://twitter.com/DVMSteve

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:40

Id love to go try one of these; but I have a Civic, so...

johnr240z > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
03/31/2014 at 08:42

There were a couple civics in the Modified FWD class. Not a bad car to use specially if it's old.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:44

Kinja'd!!!

Sadly, this is mine. A 2013 LEASE. I think it might void it. Haha

But, if I ever find this $1000 beater I've been looking for, I'll be golden.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:49

NICE I am jelly I wish I could do this but I have no car

johnr240z > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic
03/31/2014 at 08:52

Get a rental car! Just also get good coverage.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:53

rental wrx or rental awd 911

cbell04 > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 08:59

Come on! We all know it was the Zetec kicking in bro!! :)

Axel-Ripper > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 09:27

Ever since I sold my e28 I've missed rally-x. I'd like to do it some more but its pretty limited in scale down here and I've only got my Sonic (which is slowly going STC) and that is worth too much to me to take off road (I've seen bumpers on reasonably new cars come loose from their bodies, and I think I went through 4 left rear shocks in the 2 years I competed).

Slow4o > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 09:34

Nice. I rallyed my SVT about 2 months after I got it last July. Still haven't made another one yet because I ended up putting Direzza ZII's on it, so I need to buy some rally wheels. I figure 200 treadwear rated tires aren't the best for rally haha. Also what has given you problems with the SVT? Mine hasn't been too bad: had to fix the IMRC once (and need to do it again) and it eats rear O2 sensors, which doesn't really matter. Also I did my timing belt last week, but I think something is slightly off still because it is running funny. Have to wait for another free day to do the work with my buddy again.

johnr240z > Axel-Ripper
03/31/2014 at 09:35

Kinja'd!!!

True. Here's a picture of a 2011 STi that was at the event. The front and rear bumpers were falling off but he also didn't care. I think they were kind of falling off to begin with, he said he's been through 3 rear bumpers. He bought the car specifically for rally. They did say that this course was rougher on the cars than the old one at Summit Point Motorsports Park. I guess it depends on the region.

johnr240z > Slow4o
03/31/2014 at 09:44

Yeah the rear o2 sensors are a constant thing because it's located directly below the front axle. If you hit a bump you smash it. I just bought a high flow cat that relocates the o2 sensors to the side to prevent this. For timing belt, did you get a CEL afterwards? If you don't set the VCT correctly it can cause problems when installing the new one. There's plenty of threads on it at the focusfanatics forum.

I bought the car at 80k and the previous owner didn't take great care of it. From my maintenance log, I've done about all the maintenance myself:

-plugs, wires and ignition coil (I think one wire was bad I was having a problem on one of the cylinders)

-both o2 sensors a couple of times

-clutch master cylinder was leaking brake fluid onto the clutch pedal (common on SVT but takes about an afternoon to fix)

-radiator cooling fan resistor and wiring (resistor was blown and wires melted, common but easy fix)

-thermostat oring, housing (coolant leak, very common on focuses in general but easy)

-timing belt, water pump, drive belt, tensioners, pulleys, etc

-oil pan gasket (could be partly my fault from when I jacked up the engine to do timing belt)

-motor mounts

-idle air control valve

-ignition cylinder (key would get stuck and not start car)

That's all the random things then of course regular maintenance stuff. I used royal purple in the trans. Hawk pads for brakes. I replaced the suspension with new SVT parts since I didn't want to race on the ones with 100k miles. If you want to see my log let me know and I can send you the google link, might give you an idea of what to look out for.

Slow4o > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 10:40

I got one code after the timing belt for a misfire in cylinder 3. We took the timing apart again and rechecked it, and it was still in time. So we put it all back together, and at idle it sounded better, but then when I drove it, it was way down on power and then sounding like it was missing (also my buddy has done about 9 timing belts on SVT's, so everything should be done right). Checked all the plugs, and they looked fine. I also grabbed a buddies coil pack and tested it, and that didn't fix the problem. So we are just going to redo it just to make sure, since it was running fine before I changed it. I'm also going to check compression and the injectors, but who knows. Also I just leave the O2 sensor alone until I have to get it inspected, since I don't feel like changing it every 3 months haha.

johnr240z > Slow4o
03/31/2014 at 10:47

Hm.. yeah that's strange. You mentioned plugs and coil pack, did you do wires too?

Slow4o > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 10:50

Yea I used his wires on his coil pack, so that is a no go too.

KMarino > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 10:52

Any RWD cars out there? I'm considering doing the Triathlon Challenge , but don't want to destroy my daily driver 06 mustang GT. Think it could survive without damage?

johnr240z > KMarino
03/31/2014 at 11:03

Yep there were a lot of RWD cars.

Mostly E30 BMWs, a badass stripped down fox body mustang, 80s supra, RX7 and an old celica.

As far as surviving... mustang GT would be interesting lol. I think you'd be ok with skid plate, mudflaps and paint protection but you may take out a lot of cones.

Axel-Ripper > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 11:20

Yeah the one that sticks out was an 04 Audi that lost its front and rear bumpers playing in a mudpit. Was a horse track course that cut into the infield. They had to cut the infield section out for the afternoon because it started out with the stock cars at 6 inches of mud and by the time the M4 guys were done it was nearing 1.5 feet.

cbell04 > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 11:26

In all seriousness awesome post keep them coming. I'm still a little ways from entering my local events but love seeing this stuff. I'm a father of 2 that works 50+ hours a week and it's been hard to make time but I made a pledge to myself to at least attend some events this year to get myself going!

KMarino > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 12:07

I don't know if a standard skid plate exists for a 06 stang. May need to get something custom or something that costs more than I'm willing to spend.

johnr240z > KMarino
03/31/2014 at 12:34

Yeah they don't make anything for my year Focus so I'm trying to figure out fabricating my own.

Dusty Ventures > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 12:35

In regards to driving the car: with most small fwd cars if you left foot brake while still partially on the throttle you can actually get the back end to rotate and effectively "steer with the rear." It's one of the main lessons they teach in the first day of rally school

johnr240z > cbell04
03/31/2014 at 12:36

Thanks! I was kind of surprised how easy it was to actually do it, everyone was friendly and welcoming of newcomers. Hardest part was just getting my car ready for it. Try to at least get out and spectate an event this year, just riding with someone is a ton of fun.

johnr240z > Dusty Ventures
03/31/2014 at 15:39

Yeah I tried left foot braking and hand brake turns a little bit but wasn't too smooth about it. This was my first race, I've never done autocross or been on a track really. I need to find some big safe parking lot nearby to practice hand brake turns and left foot braking. Really, I can practice left foot braking on the road until I get used to it and stop smacking my head on the wheel. Problem is trying to do that and clutch.

Dusty Ventures > johnr240z
03/31/2014 at 15:49

The "simultaneously on the gas and the brake to rotate the car" thing really only works on loose/slippy surfaces (gravel and snow) or when pretty much on the limit on pavement, so it's hard to practice in a parking lot. You can, of course, practice left foot braking in general anywhere, but getting the rotation and controlling the rotation will be tougher to practice. That said, there's nothing wrong with using rallycross events to practice technique :)

Here's a little video from Team O'Neil with tips on left foot braking.

johnr240z > Dusty Ventures
03/31/2014 at 15:57

Great thanks! I plan on doing the O'Neil rally school for a little vacation sometime. Maybe I'll get to it this year.