So I've been doing alot of research and a buddy of the family does racing for a living. I really would like to get into rallying. Do you think the OZ would be a GOOD rally car depending on what work needs to be done to it. Or whats another good not too too expensive car to get for that. Has anyone every tried actually rally with there OZ's?


-Ben

 

I don't think it'd be a competitive rally car for a few reasons like it's size, lack of power, availability and price of parts and general experience in the community. As a rule, only rally a car you have no problem righting off completely. This means, start small, say a 1000$ beater with a roll cage.

 

I want a subaru but i cant afford a WRX or STi right now.

 

Do not buy a subaru as your first rally car, it's a waste of the car and will make it very difficult for you to be competitive. Most if not all rally car drivers start out with small, low power, FWD cars like older GTIs. Stepping into an AWD, turbocharged car right out of the bat is asking for trouble.

 

10-4 ^

 

Absolutely. I would check out Rally America's guidelines for a rally car. It will certainly show how little you will want to rally a car you actually would want to drive on the street. You are actually forbidden to start out with a turbo AWD, you must begin with a NA fwd car until you get some experience. I would buy a used cheap rally car that is already at spec or near spec for regulated competition so you can focus on learning how to drive it instead of the tedious process of making it conform to guidelines. Of course, you'll need to learn these guidelines, but save some time and grab a car that is nearly ready to go. Check out:

www.rally-america.com

And,

www.rallyclassified.com (for a used rally car)

Good Luck! And don't rally an OZ

 

There's not much for me to say. They covered the biggies.

But to beat this horse one more time: DO NOT RALLY YOUR DAILY DRIVER.

 

Alternatively you could pay Pat Richard 10000$+ to rent one of his prepped rally cars with service team and see if you like it.

 

Find a Mazda 323 AWD! Very hard to find, but a great "sleeper"!

 

I used a Sentra Spec-V for my first Rally car...FWD and not the most powerful car in the world, but it handled surprisingly well. When my GV4 started to die, I began using that, which was loads of fun to drive.

 

My wife's Focus my have a use after all. I could see turning that into a starter rally car.

 

A guy in the local subie club uses a Focus as his rally car.

 

Ford has consistently dominated the WRC Manufacturer Championship, so maybe the Focus isn't as worthless as I originally thought.

 

Start out with a MKI or MKII GTi, they're quick, great control, and most importantly, cheap! trust me it's a great first car to rally with...(look into rally schools like O'Neil's and you'll see the VW's they start their drivers out with)

 

I agree, dont do anything until you go to a rally school (Team O'Niel seems like the best one out there)

Then buy a used car that is already rally prepped. That way, if you end up buying a bunch of parts for it, its because you broke the used ones on your first outing and you need to replace them.