Ive wanted to for a few years now and think im going to in the spring in the forester, just looking for any pointers or must haves for the car?
Winterforces and wheels to drive home on in case... Rather... For when you debead them. Just go out and have fun. Run whatever car as is. Fwiw im pretty sure i was a lot faster when the 2.5rs was bone stock compared to after i put an eg33 in it. Matter of fact i was faster in that car than in the 08sti. Something about giving zero ****s.
If the gravel tires don't work out, I'll vouch for Firestone Winterforces to be good for gravel/dirt/loose snow. They're cheap, too.
I remember reading a while back about people putting tubes in when using typical winter tires for rallyX to prevent debeading, ever tried that?
http://www.scca-racing.com/gorallyc...d86a7bb5|cb875079-a38c-4d87-8852-2bd972f4a75c Some good info. The official rules explain everything along with car classes, which to me was the most confusing.
Unnecessary imho. Plus you can still debead a tire. Honestly isnt a big issue outside of cannonfalls soybean field venue or other silty surfaces. Its also more or less a driver error issue in most situations... As evidenced by the pic of josh driving above
I second the not giving a.... *not caring if you hit cones/break something* attitude will make you run faster lap times. I am looking for another Impreza for cheap since I sold my WRXto get back into rally x as I can't justify taking a $20k STI out in the harsher elements off road. She can stick to auto x for now.
Winterforce debeads like a champ. While it has good soft surface grip, there are better options in my opinion for all-around use and not being prone to debeading. The Continental Extreme Winter Contact is nice. Rallycross tends to be a mix of soft and hard packed surfaces. A tire suited for both will yield more consistent results. The Continental is one of the better dry road winter tires, and it handles the soft stuff great too. Why am I ripping on the Winterforce? Eh. They're a little squishy on hard pack, and they do seem more prone than other tires for debeading. My brother ran a set one event, bought them brand new for rally-x and a cheap winter. It debeaded, and he sold the set with barely 100 miles on them. They're touted because they're amazingly cheap and bite really well in the soft stuff. I just think they're overrated, and there's better overall performers, just my take. I've also driven on a set driving another car without debeading, but there is definite mush and less than stellar grip on hard surfaces. The Forester's a fun start for a vehicle. It's 90% an Impeza, and all parts swap. The stock suspension will be a bit soft, and you will have a hard time transitioning fast enough through the generally tight courses we do for rallycross. You will find a firmer setup yields faster car dynamics and an ability to thread your way through the course. Whatever you do for suspension, you will want to retain suspension travel and good bump travel. This means no lowering springs and looking for spring/damper or coilover options that have a lot of suspension travel. Being new to the sport, I suggest just learning the car and learning the basics of driving on dirt. The only real annoyance is you will fight a LOT of understeer in stock form, and this is very, very annoying. Swift Sport FXT springs and a 20mm to 22mm rear sway bar will help out a ton. The stock suspension is a bit of a pogo stick, a little too raised, so the Swift springs for the Forester actually place the ride height in a better spot than stock. Adding the bigger rear sway will help neutral out the balance. The only other thing I'd do is upgrade the rear brakes to the "H6 Upgrade" as this helps neutral out the brake bias and allows you to actually use the brakes when cornering without creating a bunch of understeer.
