Should be around 3800lbs, depending on the year 300-325HP. Tis true, it probably has more power than most rallyx cars. However it’s also probably 1000-1200lbs heavier. It also has massively soft suspension and a wheelbase the length of a football field.
While it’s not quite an autox where you’re dancing around a parking lot, it still needs to be maneuverable. Understeer is not your friend.
Way back when, a guy showed up with a dual engined GM something or other. It sounded awesome and I’m sure it had a ton of power, but it wasn’t the right place for it. It was too heavy so he had to take it easy over the bumps. It didn’t corner for squat, but when it was flat and straight he did OK.
I will take it to the scales in a week or so to see where the weight it at with it gutted. With stock seats I am hoping for 3500~ It is going to be a beast for sure, but anything at its limit is fun + AWD should keep it loose under power.
I’m not attacking you…but clearly there is a reason no has done this before…I appreciate being different and all, but this just seems like trying to stick a square peg into a circle…
I don’t take offence to it. I don’t think it has been done because the car is massive and generally they are very expensive car with a fairly horrible transmission that likes to explode. I got it cheap and it is something I have been wanting to do for a while, because you don’t see alum cars on the road course.
No matter what you drive, going fast on dirt is fun. The lighter the better in this case. Having Quattro is the saving grace here. FWD or RWD would just be hopeless. This should be interesting.
lighter is always better. I will be interested to see how the tq split works on a car that has a front bias but has no weight on the rear end. My W12 has a 60/40 tq split but will slid out the rear end under power without a problem. The drivetrains are dramitically different between the two vehicles though so that comparison may not apply.
Do you know how I know you know nothing about rally cross?
Because
A) The lighter the better is not true in these types of events. GRM just did a good article on this very topic. There was a dude who used to come in a 3,600 lb Pontiac FWD shit box and mop up.
B) FWD and RWD cars will regularly beat the AWD cars. Just look at any results from these events. The FTD is usually from a FWD CRX.
What’s more important in RallyCross than which wheels drive the car, or how much the car weighs?
Not sure I’ve seen the CRX run, so I won’t offer any opinion. However for 99% of the events I have been to and run, I generally have FTD with either the 90 or the Coupe. However if the CRX was there when I ran, I can guarantee I had a faster time. Only once did a car ever have a faster time and it was because I missed a gate and had to loop back to catch it. In most cases I will best the next fastest time by a few seconds.
Can a 3600lb car do well? Sure, see your comment about the driver. I won’t disagree with that in the least. One other key is what you said about being a shitbox. When you don’t care about your ride, you go faster.
Can a FWD or RWD beat AWD, sure, absolutely it can happen. But all other things being equal, AWD will win. Theres a reason they run AWD Subaru’s in WRC as opposed to FWD. OK, yes I get it that Subaru’s are inherently AWD. But look at the results from any NASA or Rally America, or even going back to SCCA and NARRA days and the AWD’s will always be at the front of the pack. Will there be FWD’s up there, sure, with some very talented drivers behind the wheel.
I’ll agree with your comment about the drivers and tires for sure. I do remember one event I did where it was massively muddy. I had Michelin gravel tires on and they sucked in the mud. They just loaded up and were useless. The best tires for that day were Kumho’s and the couple of cars that had them did really well. It happens.
FWD or RWD > AWD? Not a chance, go tell M Sport that they should be running a FWD car instead of AWD, see what they say.
As far as me not knowing anything about rallyx or rally for that matter, you need to do your research first. I don’t know how old you are, but my guess is I’ve been doing it a lot longer than you’ve been alive.
I can’t make this event, but I’ll make every effort to get to one of the next ones. Stop by, bring a helmet and I’ll take you for a couple laps. The deal is, you puke, you clean it up.
Then you tell me which is faster.
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By the way, why would you try to make the point that heavy cars mop up, yet the consistently fastest car is a CRX? Huh?
updates: This car has a insane amount of ground clearance with weight removed. I am still waiting on a steering rack but the car is otherwise ready to go.
I can’t find the vid but some of you OG guys might remember when I took my M5 off-roading onto a track guys were “mudding” on just to troll M5Board? That was some of the most fun I have ever had in a car.
