Opinions on rallycross with the MSP

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DistantTea

Member
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Mazdaspeed... of DOOM!
So how many people here have rallycrossed their MSP? As soon as the local seasons start up we're going to be rallycrossing our screampop every chance... but we're not buying special tires. Just some good all seasons so we don't have to change tires on a dirt trail.

I'm wondering what I should focus on though, left foot braking, reaching for that handbrake, or just using my same 'ol autocrossing slowin fast out... awe heck I'm not there to autocross I want my FWD car sideways!
 
lurch i think does pro rallying in a protege, not an msp but same thing. he can probably give you some good advice. the only close thing to rallying i do is on the dirt road that i live on, so i can't be much help :D
 
First, get a set of 15" steel wheels from TireRack. (about $40 ea). Then buy some used 15" rally tires from one of the rallyists in your area ($10-50 ea. depending on how spent). An alternative is Nokian Hakka 10s. Will be a good winter tire and work for rallycross, but not a real great sidewall for dirt like the rally tires. Then pull the fuse for ABS. ABS goes against every fiber of my being for performance driving on loose surfaces. The Progege with stock master cyl. responds EXTREMELY well to LFB. Practice it. Just remember, the right foot (throttle) controls the front end of the car and the left foot (brake) controls the back.

Good luck and have fun!
 
I started practicing left foot braking this week. Starting in my MPV (auto) while the MSP is snowstuck.

For tires the way they have made up the classes down here is mostly a street tire/rally tire divide. So we're going to get some Continental Extreme Contact tires so I don't have to be changing tires four times a weekend instead of the usual autocross two. They'll do "ok". Obviously not close to a rally tire... just like a regular street tire isn't close to a dedicated autocross tire. But good enough to have fun in I'm sure.

We're going to try to pull the ABS fuse for rallycross but last time we tried it felt like the thing was glued in there. I tried for 20 minutes to get it out without damaging the seat and I couldn't get it to budge.

So how bad are the superstiff mazdaspeed shocks going to be once the car hits the dirt?
 
DistantTea said:
So how many people here have rallycrossed their MSP? As soon as the local seasons start up we're going to be rallycrossing our screampop every chance... but we're not buying special tires. Just some good all seasons so we don't have to change tires on a dirt trail.

I'm wondering what I should focus on though, left foot braking, reaching for that handbrake, or just using my same 'ol autocrossing slowin fast out... awe heck I'm not there to autocross I want my FWD car sideways!
Click to expand...

I would think that you would have some serious problems and not be very competitive without the proper tires.
 
My wife is sending me to some ralley school in NH for my birthday, damn I am excited.
 
You get cooler by the minute, Ceej! I seriously want to go to a performance driving school, and I got bit HARD by the WRC bug this year. Can't wait for the Sweden rally this weekend -- 9PM on Speed (shameless plug).

I've consider trying out an SCCA rally, but would want to use a 323 beater instead of abuse my P5.
 
Ceej, not much reason to be competitive... when only 11 people show up and 6 of those cars are real rally cars with real drivers... I'm not terribly worried about being competitive. Its more of a casual thing around here with the point being to have fun. Even with good rally tires I doubt my first year out I could even come close to the prepped WRXs or this one hellacious 1970s VW Beetle driver.

But since they split the real rally cars with rally tires off in a seperate class then all I have to do is play with other people just like me with cars similar in fashion to mine using pretty plain street tires like mine. A WRX on OEMs, a Sentra SE on OEMs... maybe an old Audi coupe on snows... but unlike autocross where I HAVE to win or I feel like loser I think rallycross is going to be more of a fun event where the point is to get sideways, throw dirt and have fun with some cool guys and gals who want to do the same.

With my stiff autocross setup I doubt I'd do that good even with real gravel or mud spec rally tires anyways.
 
Your suspension will be fine for a rallycross. Are those contis going to be any fun on the tarmac? If they are all soft and squishy, and prevent you from having fun on the way to work, I would probly invest in a set of cheap 15" snow tires (still not rally tires) and run with them.

Either way, have a good time. :)
 
You can always do some ice racing if you buy snow tires. I bought some 15" steelies with 185/65R15 Nokians for my MSP. Lurch beat me by 2 seconds at Gingerman Raceway a couple weeks ago. I was all bummed I lost to a "regular" Protege till I saw who it was. :D -Erik
 
Yeah those Extreme Contacts are a compromise tire. We ruined our OEM bridgestones in the beginning of the year autocrossing them to hell and back. Then we bought r compounds for autocross but always knew we'd have to get new tires for the daily driver... so we're going to get the Extreme Contacts so we can skip snow tires on the MSP (since we already have them on the very nonrallycrossable MVP).

I figure with a reasonably agressive tread pattern, good low temperature ratings and pretty serious all season usage they'd do fine as a reliable rallycross tire as well. I'm not trying to be a barnstormer in the car, just want to have fun and not have to buy new summer tires as well as 15" wheels and snows.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiExtremeContact

I don't want to have a set of autocross tires, a set of rally tires, a set of winter tires and a set of summer tires. Ok thats a lie I really do but my wife would never let me.

Hey you're just up in detroit. Why don't you come down here and school us some time? I'll buy dinner.
 
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I've got used 15" Michelin and Silverstones that I will let go for between 10 and 50 bucks, depending on condition. I have around 70 used tires. Come and get em.
 
Holy crap, man. o.o Which do you prefer, the Michelin, or the Silverstones? And what size are you using? 195/65R15's, I assume?
 
For rallycross on a stock car, I would use the Silverstones. They are cheaper and work VERY WELL. You would have to be pushing a lot more horsepower and really be pushing in real rallies (not just 2nd gear rallyX) to get the good out of the added expense of the Michelins.

I ran Silverstone 15/62-15s on the rear. They use a different measuring system...but very close to a 195. These tires would be a direct fit on the Protege with a 15" rim.

I sometimes ran bigger Silverstones on the front. They fit, but barely.

Eventually, when I got down to the nitty gritty in the championship and every second counted at every rally (and we were making more horsepower), I went to the big Michelins on the front. I had to roll the flange on my fenders a little bit for these to work.
 
Hmmmmmmmmm... =) Those would fit perfectly on my RX-7, as well. How much would you want for a decent set of used Silverstones?
 
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