Sterling302

Hey everyone, I've got a somewhat odd question for all of you. Most of my friends are import guys and they go to Rally Cross events when they're in town. One day one of them made the snide remark that my car is only good for straight lines. There is a rally cross event on the 23rd of November, and I was wondering if it would be safe to enter my mustang? I'm not talking about height (stock suspension, but the rally cross is in an open field with no hills) I'm talking about strain. I dynoed the car (not bone stock) at 425 hp and 401 lb ft of torque, so the tires will be spinning ALOT. I was thinking this would put added strain on the transmission/clutch/rear end. Is it safe?

stags

Unfortunately their comment has merit. There are those out there who would know alot more about this than me, but I can tell you even from driving a v6 (half your power, no one flame me for speaking the truth) on some dirt roads near my buddies house that it isn't a good idea. I got remotely "Spirited" once and my rear end was all over the place.

Ultimately, my bet is if its loose dirt your rear wheels dig a hole and you get stuck. Sucks but if they have your standard Subaru STIs then they have all wheel drive amongst other things, and you putting all the power to the rear will not end well on anything thats not pavement. My humble opinion.

Whenever some of my Chinese friends give me crap from their subarus I tell them either

1) You can't buy class
2) How many miles to the pound of rice do you get in that thing?

krazykevin

Im pretty sure most rally-x is seperated by FWD, RWD, and AWD. So you will still be against RWD cars. It shouldnt put much strain on your drivetrain (unless you are at redline the entire time).

Andy13186

dirt racing? i wouldnt do it just because i like to keep my car nice and relatively clean and scratch/dent free

thats something i may do in a demolition derby car, not a 2012 mustang. Youll have dirt all over everything in the engine bay, everywhere.. its also probably pointless to have over like 150 hp if your racing on dirt

Cruzinaround

You'll need to put smaller wheels and tires on the vehicle....That the Brake size will allow And as wide a cross section as possible. It also helps to have a lowered suspension with the proper damping for a rally event. And Auto cross type suspension like the Boss 302 would cut it. And you need STICKIER than normal rubber. Not the stock Pirelli's. They will fail at their limits too abruptly and you'll find the rear end fishtailing out on you entering too quick into a hairpin turn. The Mustang is actually an excellent Drift vehicle. But, in a Rally cross you need the tires to stick...not drift. So the key will be in the compound in those tires and the suspension. It won't be about HP and torque in a rally event....its more about sticking the course and completing it in a respectable time. And Yes Mustangs can do rallyX on tarmac with the course laid out. Now if you're a talking dirt track...That's completely different...And yes you can still do it in a Mustang... boils down to tires and suspension....and skills. You'll need to have some closed course practice.

whosniffedme

My advice: don't do it unless you don't care about your car.

Sterling302

Sorry for the late reply. I guess you guys are all right. I wasn't entering to "teach them a lesson" I was entering because I thought it'd be fun, but without mudflaps I really don't think it's best. I've already showed them that my American car with "no handling" Is faster than them at the autocross, I just thought it'd be fun to do some RallyX as well. I do have softer compound tires than the stock Pirelli's, but the paint damage would be pretty annoying.

Cruzinaround

Plastidip the entire car or.....use the covercraft spray on vinyl paint gaurd....Either way...you'll have fun and....then you can pull it all off afterwards. Or leave it on...I've seen some really nice plastidipped cars.

Just Sayin...

Norm Peterson

That right there is the best possible reply to their trash-talk you could ever have come back with. Remind them of it from time to time as the situation warrants.


If you ever do decide to try rallycross, spend a little time finding out how the dirt-track roundy-round guys make their tires work (it's quite dependent on ground conditions). Circle Track magazine just had a feature on tire grooving and siping that you might give you a hint or two for what to look for in tire tread patterns.




Norm

MustangVixenGT

Mustangs will fail at that, but it would destroy them on trans am racing. Mustangs are not just straight line cars that's a common misconception but Rally no no.