Ok, Knobby rally tires work great in the mud or loose dirt. Worth maybe 3 or 4 seconds on a one minute course.

Better than my modest Rally tires.

Tried my best to be consistent and reduce errors but it was tough.

Results for event 5
http://www.sccahawaii.org/2010result...319_rallyx.pdf

Got 5th overall raw time out of 18. First in Modified FWD.

Tough competition in Modified AWD and Prepared AWD.

We had some of the better autocross drivers in attendance.

 

Some pictures from the last event-

Knobby mud tires rule.


Toyota Celica Alltrac was best new comer.


Surfing the dirt wave around a tight corner


Even Jettas can have fun in the dirt



No wonder I could not see anything out the right except for a wave of dirt.

MINI in loose dirt

 

Next event coming up in one week and a new stock MCS is entered under stock FWD.

Been rainy this week. That might help keep the dust down for the next event.

 

I love reading that you Rallycross your Cooper.

 

Sorry there were no MINIs in the Last Rallycross.

The fastest time was posted by an old Toyota FX-16 (like a corolla) running only a few modest engine mods and 14" Rally tires.

Shows a FWD car can do very well with the right driver.

The stock MINI that was going to come out lacked a Skid plate so the driver used a prepared AWD Subaru WRX with rally tires.

My MINI is knocked out of action with some repairs to the engine and suspension.

Reality check-
Honestly, Rallycross can be tough on the suspension/bearings/bushings of an older car. Everything gets rattled with uneven surfaces even if each run is only a minute long.

My MINI is 8 years old now with 74000 miles so my bushings were all worn out by time and past wear and tear. After a few Rally events everything was showing the wear so a full replacement was needed. So far my shocks are OK but they too are at risk.

I am not certain that I will be returning my MINI to Rally for this season even if I could do it. I might want to keep it running for my son to use for daily driving.

 

Rallycross coming up next weekend.

Attendance down a bit but will see how things go

We will have back to back events over the weekend

July 16 rallycross
July 17 autocross

 

My wife and I ran our first rallycross this past weekend. We bought our 2002 MCS just for that purpose

I bought a set of 16x6.5 Rota Slipstreams and had a set of Blizzaks mounted up for general winter duty and, at least for now, rallycross. Some Winterforce tires (slightly harder compound than the Blizzaks) may be in our future if we keep running events.

We're both experienced autocrossers, but this was our first time competing on dirt (though I did attend a 2-day rally school at Tim O'Neil this fall). It was crazy fun, but soft due to a lot of recent rain.

I placed 1st in our Stock FWD class, and my wife was 3rd out of 6. Overall the car did great. With the ABS fuse pulled, the car was easy to rotate with a little left-foot braking and very predictable. I haven't seen many pictures yet, but here are a few:

 

Just starter reading about RallyX and it sounds like a ton of fun. This is the first I've seen/read about using the MINI. I love my '10 MCCS too much to use it, but this has inspired me to try to find an older one to use.

what about the new spec b package for rallyx?

 

Thanks for your interest in RallyX.

The MINI spec b is not for RallyX-
http://jalopnik.com/5860046/mini-joi...ve-auto-racing

It is built for spec b events on a track. This allows more than one car company to have a car that will compete on a relatively flat playing field vs other cars. Of course there is some difference but mostly it will be the driver's skill that determines the outcome.

The MINI base model or Cooper S is well suited for RallyX but will need some modification to do it's best.

RallyX is highly variable for the course and can be very rough on the car's suspension and body depending on how the terrain is. A new car is not a good choice and even an old car will have to hold up to being bounced around. By 3 to 6 events you will see what I mean. I would suggest checking the body and suspension after and before each event.

If the MINI is used with about 70K miles on it then suspension bushings and perhaps engine mounts might need replacement.

How a Rally MINI is different-

Suspension- ride height as close to stock as possible and not overly stiff. Even adjustable coilovers tend to lower the car some. Stiffer shocks and springs are not necessarily helpful. Disconnecting the front swaybar can help to rotate the car if needed.

Wheels and tires- More narrow and 15" is best due to limited availability of Rally tires that will fit the MINI. Stock sized wheels 15x5.5 or 15x6 will work. Wide is not better. Snow tires can be used but have a soft sidewall which flexes and is not optimal. True Rally tires have a very stiff sidewall even though side profile is relatively tall. Stock tire diameter of about 24" is better and smaller tires will reduce ride height and clearance from the ground which is uneven. Rally tires come in many tread designs and rubber compounds each suited for a different course. You may be faced with changing course conditions with each run- loose dirt, gravel, hard paced dirt, rocks, mud, paved ground, grass, ruts, etc. There is no one tire good for everything. Both snow tires and rally tires get beat up from events and will not last unless you are careful. Always inflate tires higher to keep the tire on the wheel better and to prevent dirt and debris from interfering with the tire bead and dismounting the tire or flatting it.

Power- Even 100 HP is enough if weight is kept low. A base MINI is fine. Speeds are relatively slow.

Protection-
Skid plate for the front under the engine helps- protects the power steering fan and lower parts of the car. Make sure the lower front bumper screws are on tight. Your car may act like a snow plow at times if the terrain is very loose. An X brace is possible for those that are driving in modified classes.

Harnesses- Are helpful to hold you in place tight. Schroth harness with quick release is easy to clip in for events and is removed for daily driving.

Brakes- stock brakes will work OK. Mostly you are controlling your speed and planning ahead. No hard stopping due to lack of traction and high skidding potential.

Air filter- gets real dirty if dusty, KW or foam filter that can be cleaned regularly makes sense.

Using Stock MINI wheels and tires- You can drive a RallyX with these but don't expect much. Summer tires won't give you traction, and all season tires not much better.

Using a lowered MINI- Not a good idea since ground clearance will be reduced and risk for scraping everthing in your way is high.

Cheapest options-
Stock MINI cooper, stock 15" wheels if they fit over the front brake calipers, basic Snow tires that are cheap-
Firestone Winterforce 185/65-15 $80 each
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....5FWF&tab=Specs

 

Thanks for all the info.