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I've had very few issues over the years, but maybe I'm just special (my mommy says I am). So I just wanted to see what other people are breaking at rallyxes that makes 99.9% of Subaru WRX owners afraid to try it.

I'll start...

Over the past 6.5 years of owning Subarus and rallyxing every one of them, driving them around in the rallyx field on a regular basis, blasting down rutted gravel roads in the mountains at up to 90 mph, and just generally driving them in all the ways that they were designed to be driven, I've had the following issues:

Car: 2001 Subaru 2.5RS
Problem: aftermarket camber bolt at left rear shifted at a rallyx and caused tire to rub strut
Cause: camber bolt was at partial adjustment setting, which guaranteed it to slip
Fix: removed aftermarket camber bolt and reinstalled non-adjustable factory bolt
Note: I now use the same camber bolts on all four corners of my 2000 RS due to issues with the 04 STi strut geometry, but they're set at full negative, so they haven't slipped - and they never will.

Car: 2001 Subaru 2.5RS
Problem: killed a pair of Konis at a rallyx school (both in the rear)
Cause: was using stock (soft) springs and cut bumpstops with rebound set pretty stiff on a severely rutted course, which bottomed them out repeatedly
Fix: stopped using Konis for rallyx

Car: 2000 Subaru 2.5RS
Problem: stuffed dirt into the bead of a rally tire at a rallyx
Cause: driving as if rally tires were impervious to bead stuffing
Fix: tried to stop driving like an ass (see below)

Car: 2000 Subaru 2.5RS
Problem: stuffed dirt into the bead of another rally tire
Cause: I drove like an ass again
Fix: sold the tires to Brian Herring after buying a different brand of rally tire.

Also played around in the field many times with Christine's previous car, a 2003 Honda Civic EX coupe, and never hurt anything.

So let's hear about the problems you've had, and why you've had them.

I debeaded a 17" street tire once from trying to go faster by understeering.

The charcoal canister fell off once. It turns out that I forgot to put back in a mounting bolt that held it up when I removed the sway bar so this was my fault; it would have fallen off in street driving quite soon as well.

I got a lot of dust inside the WRX once when I opened the doors too soon after stopping moving after a run. Oh the horror!

--Kevin H.

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2003 WRX (again!)

I got my car dirty. Didn't like it so I stopped RallyX for a while.

I think I may have pulled the front of the front fender liners off, but there still in place. Can't think of anything else that I've broken.

1992 *Mint* Plymouth Acclaim

Problem: Car is too heavy to be competitive
Fix: rip out interior, add racing stripe, gold wheels, and red oh shit handles

Problem:Destroyed stock half shaft
Fix: Called over the K car man, Joe Dobner, went to Autozone, replaced within 15 min.

Problem: Destroyed another half shaft
Fix: Return new half shaft, tried again.
Real fix: Solid motor mounts

Problem: After installing motor mounts car wont shift into "1"
Fix: Drive it in "2"

Problem: Trash can hood scoop flew off on I-40
Fix: use other half of trash can and more JB weld.

Problem: Mid pipe exhuast hanger fell off.
Fix: Rip out entire system.


Problem: at least a bakers dozen debeads
Fix: jack, air pump, Luter's tire mounter.

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traded the ultimate driving machine for a hatchback.....

• Debeaded a tire a couple of times, kind of a pain, but always fixed at event and continued running on that tire. Now I ask the tire guys to put bead sealant on whenever they mount tires on the Neon.
• Blew a KYB GR-2 (cheapie) rear strut.
• Knocked alignment out a couple times.
• The most major thing was somehow managed to put a hole in my oil filter at one of the BMW Farm events. Don't know how since there aren't any rocks, but anyway it was immediately obvious so we ran out and got a replacement and a quart of oil and were good to go again.
• Had my starter motor quit on me at an event once. I don't think that was related to the event, though, just coincidence, as replacing the starter solved the problem.
• Broke a rubber exhaust hangar. Haven't bothered to replace it yet.

The Neon currently has 275,000 miles and is still a great daily driver.

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Carl Fisher

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=4651531

I've only rallycrossed twice, but plan to more. My old Maxima isn't fast enough to break anything! PJ and I are in the same class. Our cars are heavy and slow. I anticipate problems de-beading tires and axle stuff.

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Rubbin' is Racin'

i really wonder Kevin if it is as simple as "i don't want to break my car".

the WRX is a performance vehicle at an attractive price point. this lends itself to the buyer willing to stretch his budget to purchase one. add in insurance and the price of gas and this vehicle becomes more of an investment to be protected. getting back and forth to work is paramount now to pay for the new ride. thus, the thought of this vehicle as a weekend warrior toy is no longer in the equation. while these people may recognize the cars abilities, they feel they can not "afford" to put their cars into such a situation. ie "how will i get to work if i break something"

then there are the closet ricers who buy for the street mods and tool around town looking for hondas to blow off at red lights.

Sti track cars, nothing more to say there.

and lastly, the average joe family guy that buys a subaru for the reliability & the ocassional need for a AWD vehicle.

think about all the Corvette, BMW, & Porsche owners that are horrified by the thought of putting there garage queens on a track. it could be worse.

oh, hope i did not hijack your post.

You did.

Next!

PS - I've broken way more stuff that puts the car out of commission for several days just doing routine maintenance than I expect I ever will at a rallyx.

PPS - I also think it's funny how pretty much everybody who says he can't afford to break his car at a rallyx and be without it while it's being repaired risks rolling it up into a little ball on a regular basis while daily driving. Or even worse, the ones who don't want to get them dirty will drive them into a lake or something if the opportunity presents itself.

Ok, back on topic!

I think the worst I've done to my trusty WRX is debead a tire and I haven't even done that in the last couple of years. My fender liners are loose but they got that way consuming autocross cones!

Simon

RS:

* Hit 3 shrubs and sheered a Grade 7 bolt head off my skid plate

* K&N Filter Charger of a brand new filter after 1 rallyX (not THAT bad, but it was crusty)

* Center Console power quit qorking after 3 rallyXes

* Some plastic bits in the interior have been shaken loose/now rattle

* Brake caliper nipple ripped off by someone.....

STi:

* Took a flying header into the ground one day..... later, the rest of the bumper was finally destroyed..

Nothing bad, but I would consider suspension a complete consumable. As long as you are fine with replacing clunking STI struts, and you put a skid plate on the car, I would consider it "good 2 go".

I can quite honestly say that between RallyX and AutoX (car purchase prices out of the equation), it costs me more to run an autoX car for a season than it does for a rallyX car.... prb by about 200%. If we just talk maintenance, prb more like 150%. Even with Rally Tires, rallyX is MUCH cheaper.... and 'more fun'.
- dow

Hey, water is cleaner than mud!!!

upside down, i broke all sorts of stuff, wheels mainly, motor mount, exhaust hanger, not much to break on the toyota, radiator line on hte eta,
the electronic choke has quit, shocks are worn out, that s about it...
ive busted also brakes on track on the sentra, axle, burn up a clutch at hte dragstrip on my car, (glazed it big time) stuff ahs broke, it happens when you run older cars, oh well

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hey yall,watch this...

Ripped both front fender liners form the CRX on course - evidently
Honda hadn't planned for full compression full lock suspension movement.
Fix: who needs fender liners?

Debeaded one tire once and had a slow seal leak from dirt packing another time.
Fix: now run tubes in front tires
Alternate fix: don't drive sideways into ruts

The inside of the CRX has looked dirtier than Kevin's field for the last 2 years.
Fix: don't drive the CRX until the next RallyX
Fix for others: keep your windows up (esp if you have A/C)

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Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

at what time will the crx be driven at the next rallyx? time is often a difficult factor this is very true

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hey yall,watch this...

In order of the cars I have driven:

1. 90 Civic Si

- Nothing

2. Dirtmaster

- Nothing that I remember while I was driving it.
(Except for tire debeading, everything that is breaking on that car is the victim of poor pre-event prep!)

3. 325es

- I think I put a few scratches in the Krylon on the hood when I hit a small tree on an "unconventional" line.
- Lost a side marker lamp (possilbly from said tree)

4. 97 Outback Sport

- On my first outing I knocked a mudflap loose

Never even lost/loosened a fender liner -- BUT I do renew/replenish every loose fastener I can find on the underside of the car before going out to the events. Prep, prep, prep. Make everything on the car as tight as possible. That's the key to having a zero-failure rallycross car

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1