slcsubaru.com

So I'm headed to the rallyx nationals in Fountain CO next weekend. I guess I made this thread as a little blog to keep track of what's going on.

Instead of using my usual GF8 rallyx car I decided to take my swapped RS for a few reasons: the GF8 has no back seat and my wife and kid are coming along, it has a lot more horsepower and is in much better shape for such a long journey, and some of the other modifications should help make it a bit quicker. My in-laws are also coming in a truck so if anything goes bad we can trailer the car back to UT.

To be competitive I felt like I needed some actual rally tires instead of the snow tires I've been using. It's very hard to find rally tires in anything but 15" so I also needed 15" wheels. The next problem is clearing my 4-pot brakes. So I looked all over for a set of used rally wheels and tires. Very hard to find. But I did find some used rally tires in CA and had to buy brand new wheels from the Tirerack. I've already paid for the tires but I haven't heard back from the guy yet, so I'm hoping they get here on time.

Test fitting the 15" wheels today:

ya i hope you got those tires! Is nationals an invite only thing or is it still just an anyone is invited event? Jeez im planning ot hit every event his year finally

Anyone can go to a national rallyx. Last year it was in Tennessee and the year before that it was in Nebraska. Since it's so close this year I felt like I needed to go. It might not be this close again for two or three more years.

If you're driving a Subaru and you podium, then they have some pretty good contingency prizes:
1st: $1,250
2nd: $750
3rd: $500
There's a few other prizes too from other vendors.

Also keeping an eye on the weather, like UT it's unpredictable. On weather.com they keep changing Sunday from raining to sunny. Saturday is showing a 60% chance of rain. http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/home/tenday/USCO0145?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared
If it's really cold and snowing, then rally tires don't do too well.

Still haven't heard from the rally tire guy. He pm'd me on Wednesday, I paid him, and he hasn't logged back onto DI.com since. Hopefully though he got a paypal email and sent out the tires. He's in CA so they shouldn't take too long. If I don't get them then I have a guy in CO willing to sell me some. Or I can buy some snow tires if needed.

The tires I bought are 215/60/15. At the time it was the only size I could find. Generally a tire that wide is for cars with a lot of power. You want more power because they are heavier but you get more traction. I think a 205 size would've been best but I couldn't find any.

hopefully the difference between 205 and 215 isnt enough to really bog your car down. I have seen 16" rally tires, they just arent as easy to find. Does DI have any sort of trasnaction rating system? Like did this guy seem legit? Hopefully Aaron can help you out if he decided to never write you back?

The DI.com guy is subyspawn, he is an authorized vendor on there and everything and does stage really so I think he's legit. They don't have a feedback system though. I'm just hoping he got the paypal email on Wednesday and got them shipped out and maybe just hasn't logged onto DI since then.

Down here in CO right now. There is some stiff competition here. My intercooler hose blew off twice during runs which gets me two DNFs and puts me in dead last for the weekend. We have three more runs tomorow so Ill just have some driving.

my buddy's car used to do that all the time, even with like 3 hose clamps on the end of each pipe:( im sorry

In autocross it's not a big deal because your fastest time of the day is what counts. In rallyx it's cumultive, so one DNF pretty much kills your whole chances of winning. After looking at the coupler a little closer, it looks like I bottomed out and hit a rock or something and pierced the silicone and pushed the pipe off. I put it back together and drove down the road a few times at full boost and it looks like it will hold together so I just have to make it through tomorrow.

Well we are all done. It was lots of fun even if none of the UT guys did totally awesome. I think we all finished middle of the pack or lower. But it was the CO guys home turf and they race there all the time so that gives them an edge, they are also just fast. The weather was crappy both days, really cold, but it was a good learning experience and fun.

PICS?! sounds fun man

yeah i want to see some pics

A UT guy took like 2,000 pictures so I'll get some of those posted.

Here are some pics, a few taken by me, most of them taken by Russ Chesnut



Joe from UT


Jon from UT






It was raining freezing rain which would quickly turn to ice.


Travis' Audi from UT with four very bright HID's light for the night rallyx


Joe's Galant VR4, turbo AWD


Josh from UT




Josh






An Impreza prepped for stage rally

Gonzo representing UT






A Volvo on its way to the grocery store






Camaro built as a hill climb car


















Gonzo, ice falling off, yes it was very cold the whole weekend