One Savvy Cavvy Goes Rallycrossing!

"-Amateur" (amateur) 01/22/2019 at 18:27 • Filed to: None

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The $500 craigslist car goes rallycrossing in Iowa with balding street radials and a whole lot of heart.

So I ended up driving 300 miles to Iowa to chew bubblegum and race...and I’m all outta bubblegum.

I drove in Friday night going into Saturday morning in the middle of a winter blizzard onslaught. There were times I was puttering along the highway at 30 mph due to the brutality of said storm.

I survived and mentally exhausted from being hyper-vigilant throughout the drive so I don’t uhhhh.....die. The way I see it, it’s just practicing car control for the SCCA rallycross event! Not going to lie, it was a little fun driving through that. I crashed at my dad’s place overnight and set out for race day on Sunday.

I stopped my car and took a picture of my trip to Vinton Iowa, really beautiful scenery if I do say so myself.

I made it, it was like 5 degrees F outside and no matter how many layers I piled on, it hurt to be alive out there. Who care when there’s racing to be had, A mirite?

There were 20 or so racers who came to rally, many of them in Subies.

Now those not in the know, rallycross is an offroad course in dirt/snow/gravel where you race the stage putting down your best time. We ran 10 times each and so the final result is your CUMULATIVE time. The lower your final time, the better! I’m used to autocross where only your fastest run counts, so I thought this change of pace was pretty neato!

I registered the little bugger in the stock FWD category and kind went at it the only way I know how, headfirst and blind.

Few design notes, rallycross really rewards good footwork. To know one’s surprise, I struggled getting the power down out there but the J-body chassis is quite forgiving. I’m not saying a 20 yr old Chevy Cavalier is the ultimate driving machine by any means but it telegraphs its intentions way ahead of time so I always know what it’s doing.

The suspension did a good job absorbing the blows the terrain dealt it, I credit that to it being worn from 160,000 miles of wear and tear...really more of a marshmallow than steel and gas charge struts at this point.

Now with raw final times, I finished midpack at 13th out of 22 overall. I did managed to get a trophy spot at 2nd place in my class! My competition was a Pontiac Grand prix, a Chevy Corsica and a Dodge neon. Interesting to note, I was faster than a couple Subie’s with their sweet AWD nectar of the gods.

My only regret is that I didn’t put snow tires on my car, it would have worked miracles for me...oh well, it builds character. After thrashing my car, I went on and drove it 300 miles home without skipping a beat. The roads were arguably better on the way home.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 19:04

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That chevy corsica was FAST. Basically the car I learned to drive in, but the oldsmobile version. 3.0 v6 front wheel drive and 3 speed auto.

Urambo Tauro > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 19:05

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Awesome, l ooks like fun!

I’ve never participated in and actual autocrossing or rallycrossing event , but I used to play around in the snowy parking lot while waiting for my carpool to show up. On days when it was my turn to drive, it made me feel so much better- prepared for however bad the roads were that day. I wouldn’t feel too bad about not having snow tires. Like y ou said, it builds character!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 20:03

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Nice! Rallycross is Autocross’s little brother who dropped out of high school but got his GED, works at the gas station, and smokes a pack of menthols a day.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 20:24

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I applaud you for your efforts. I want to go to a RallyX even in Rice Lake Mn on the 16th. 

BaconSandwich is tasty. > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 20:37

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Nicely done!

shop-teacher > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 20:44

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Nicely done! I can't wait for them to start back up around here. Yeah, you should definitely get some snow tires.

QCGoose > -Amateur 01/22/2019 at 22:36

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Very cool! Davenport, IA resident here; I had no clue we had any kind of rallycross events in our state, so this is a pleasant s urprise.

-Amateur > QCGoose 01/23/2019 at 05:31

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They are surprisingly far and few in northeast illinois, my choices were either Michigan or Iowa. I think I chose right.

-Amateur > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/23/2019 at 05:33

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I definitely like RallyX over AutoX, it’s just grittier. Not a bad way to spend a day!

-Amateur > shop-teacher 01/23/2019 at 05:37

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It’s in the works, people seem to run them year round for rallyX. Snow or dirt, it’s the go to tire it seems. 

-Amateur > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/23/2019 at 05:41

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My dad had an olds cutlass ciera with the 3.0V auto that I drove around back in the day . It’s a pretty sweet smooth engine that had torque in all the right places!

-Amateur > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 01/23/2019 at 05:44

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Never have truer words bee n spoken

-Amateur > Urambo Tauro 01/23/2019 at 05:47

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I feel like we all started in empty parking lots! It’s a rite of passage at this point. 

shop-teacher > -Amateur 01/23/2019 at 07:09

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Yep, they make a huge difference.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > -Amateur 01/23/2019 at 07:26

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Snows up front, leave the crap tires in the rear.

You get used to this setup and it drifts like a rwd when pushed in corners, but being fwd, you can carry a lot of speed, using the throttle to bring it back in.

Good to hear you had fun.

-Amateur > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 01/23/2019 at 23:46

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I’m going to actually try that then! I’m curious to see how this plays out when I go for that setup hopefully by next race.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > -Amateur 01/24/2019 at 07:10

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I’ve ran a few vehicles this way. You need to be careful though, it makes it almost “snap steer”. You get good with it and it’s a very quick setup.