Rally Prep

The path to rallying is paved with S's:

Safety
Safety is the first and most important thing in a rally car. You'll need a cage, racing seats to keep you snug and dry, and a 5 point harness to keep you in the seat when the car is on it's roof, sliding on the forementioned cage. For all the safety aspects (assuming that you're actually aiming for running SCCA rallies), you'll want to get a copy of the SCCA Performance Rally rules, figure out which class you want to run in, and start building your car accordingly.

Suspension
The main thing to beef up on any rally car is the suspension. Almost all suspension parts will break at some point while rallying. Get strong suspension components, and get spares.

Speed
Once you've got the car in the rally (satisfied all the safety rules), and are finishing rallies (having your uber-tough suspension components), then you can start fooling around adding speed.

BTW, being most of the way through this process, I can tell ya, it can't be done cheaply. Some of the production classes are less expensive, but you'll still need the basic safety equipment, which will set you back a chunk of change.

Also, if you're going to get real serious about building the car, start trolling the "Car Construction and Equipment" forum over at SpecialStage.

later,

Hold yourself

Rallying is rediculously expensive. i mean more than you first think. you have to really plan things out. And you have to factor in breaking something everytime your in the woods cause the trees and rocks arent forgiving. i have wrecked once and it cost way to much. broke all my rear control arms and my right front. smashed my frame in the front, snapped the bumper cover and damaged my hellas. ahhh. yea i really didnt think about wrecking when i was rallying. but when it happens it really happens. as other said. safety is the main important part. screw the power first. but you need a serious cage, seats, harnesses, and i will stress RALLY TIRES. street tires dont work even when messing around. and make sure your AWD is working before you go up there trying to drift.
just remember anything rallying isnt cheap. i have spent 15k and could only compete aggressivley at PGT. but shooting for open.

I think you guys may have missed my question a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the advice. I am fully aware of the costs involved in rally racing. I am not going to be racing my car soon, probably not for several months. When I mention cheap things that can be done, I meant things such as removing all that black rubber crap from the underside of the car, removing certain parts of the interior that just add weight, measuring the underside for future skid plate design....buying that special plastic to make some good mud flaps...etc. The guys a S.S. were good enough to mention these inexpensive things that have to be done. And don't worry safety will be where most of my future money goes. Im not stupid.
Anyways, thanks again....let me know if you think of anything.

-Andy

hmmm. something cheap and fun.
--maybe buy some hellas and mount them. pretty expensive though.
--how about you get some LDPE(low density polyethelene) and bolt it up under your driver and passenger sides, also the gas tank. that would be fun and very useable. i wish i would have had that when i punctured a hole in my floorboard as a rock cut it wide open. also you could protect your control arms and trailing arms. bending those are expensive.
--relocate fuses inside
--buy a few cutoff switches
--hoodpins
--maplights
--paint a few toe hooks yellow
--make brake ducting(ram air)
--buy medi kit and hazard triangles
--try to fabricate a wheel scraper to get the mud from knocking your balance off
--5mm wheel spacers

there are A few suggestions. its really hard to say what you want to do. a lot of things cost money. have fun. and dont hold back. just cut and tear.


oh my special stage. its filled with a bunch o a$$es. most arent to nice.
Aaron