# What do you need to be a driver in rallies?



## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

I want to start doing rallies as a driver but have no idea where to start....
Can anyone help me out??


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

To start out, you should get in contact with your local SCCA Region. You can start out by doing Road Rallies, which use open roads and legal speeds. It may seem boring, but it is a good stepping stone to Stage Rally. Also, find out what events are going on locally and volunteer, either as a marshall or as crew for a team, depending on your talents. You can meet a lot of people involved in rally and get advice from them on where to go. There may also be Rally-Xs in the area, basically an Auto-X on a loose surface. They're great for developing skills and meeting like minded individuals.

Some people with just jump right in though. Buying or building a car and off they go. Top do this you will need your own prepped car and a budget to maintain it. While this works for some people, I'm glad I got into it slowly, learning how rallies work, helping out, making contacts, etc. before dcommiting to Satge Rallies.

The rally scene in California seems to be very active, so there should be a lot of events and activities to get involved with.

I'm sure this short bit will give you a start but also make you have more questions. Ask away.

see also:
www.specialstage.com


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## RiceBox (Apr 30, 2002)

Do a TSD rally. Even though they are done at "legal speeds" things tend to get quite hairy. Trying to maintain and decent average speed on a curvy gravel road is NOT easy. Very fun, easy on the car, and a great learning experience.


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## tolley (Jul 25, 2003)

RiceBox said:


> *Do a TSD rally. Even though they are done at "legal speeds" things tend to get quite hairy. Trying to maintain and decent average speed on a curvy gravel road is NOT easy. Very fun, easy on the car, and a great learning experience. *


I highly recommend a TSD rally if you're just starting out. I just did my first about a month ago and it was a blast. It's a great way to get into rally.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

Thanks for all the help guys...
I'll start volunteering at the events. Want to get a feel for everything... Maybe later on I should get a old 200SX and that will be my rally car


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

How hard is a rally on your car anyway??


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## tolley (Jul 25, 2003)

Stage rally: probably pretty harsh

Road rally: not too bad, but my friend did blow all 4 of his shocks on the last one. That was the extent of the damage though. Plus they were stock shocks.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

Do you guys use your daily drivers as your rally cars?

And how much do helmets go for nowadays and is there anything that I should look for in particular when buying one?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

SR20 Who Knew? said:


> *How hard is a rally on your car anyway?? *


Stage rally - you will tear seams. Reinforcement is mandatory, especially in the strut towers

Road rally - Damage to your car depends on the type of rally and how hard you want to win. It's a brisk drive on a gravel road. Sometime they have ruts & washboard. When I first started, it was easy on my car because I drove to preserve it. When I became competitive, the old Sentra started to take on some creak & groans that were never there before, some showing up right after a hard event. I have also lost an exhaust. It was going anyway but the bumpy roads shook it apart.

Rally-X - Again, how much do you want to win? I've seen cars roll in Rally-X, as well as other damage.


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

SR20 Who Knew? said:


> *Do you guys use your daily drivers as your rally cars?
> 
> And how much do helmets go for nowadays and is there anything that I should look for in particular when buying one? *


In road rally, I used my Daily Driver Sentra. In stage rally, most cars don't see much daily usage, although my current driver uses his rally car as a daily driver, sponsor stickers & all. That will stop when he puts in the proper race engine though.

Helmets - a few points to consider:
1. It's your head. Don't be cheap.
2. In rally, open face helmets are quite common, even though they don't give full protection. This helps communication if your intercom fails. It also allows some co-drivers to be more comfortable should they become car sick.
3. You'll need SA 95 or SA 2000 (preffered). "M" rated motorcycle helmets won't do for stage rally, but may be OK for Rally-X.
4. The life span of a helmet is 5 years. Unless you have to use it's head saving abilities, then it's probably garbage.
5. Try to buy at a local dealer. You can fit them on there and get the best fit. In a long rally, you may be wearing it all day, so comfort is very important. Read the instructions for fitting and make sure it fits!
6. Buy a fire retardant Balaclava. It may not be mandatory, but in addition to adding more fire protection, it keeps your helmet clean and can be thrown in the wash. You know how stinky your shoes get when not wearing socks? Think of the balaclava as a sock for your head.
7. SA2000 open face helmets start at about $150 US. This is bottom end & they go up from there, to almost $1000 for fancy carbon kevlar units that have built in intercom sets and weigh little more than a ball cap (not literally, but you get the idea).
8. Make sure the helmet you buy is compatible with the intercom you'll be using.

www.racerwholesale.com has helmets. The Bell Mag 4 is one of the most popular in rally.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

fcsmotorsports said:


> *Sometime they have ruts & washboard.*


What is ruts and washboard??


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

Rut -

---------_-------------

Washboard -

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

fcsmotorsports said:


> *The life span of a helmet is 5 years.
> *


Life Span? Does that mean after 5 Years you won't be able to use it? I don't quite understand...


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

That means after five years of use, the lining will have degraded to the point where it's no longer effective for protecting you head.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

Are intercom sets mandatory?
And which ones would you recommend?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

They aren't mandatory, but you will not be able to hear each other in a car with all the insulation torn out that is kicking up a lot of gravel and has a free flowing exhaust.

The most common set is the Terraphone. They aren't the best though as they tend to have some background noise.

Some team just use motorcycle intercoms, which are cheaper, but not made for racing.

Top of the line is Peltor, which come with the headsets already in their helmets, you just need a box to plug them into.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

I want some sort of intercom system... It just makes doing the rally more fun and thats the whole point of doing it


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

Forgot to mention - most cars won't need intercoms in TSD or road rallies. It just isn't noisy enough.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

What does TSD stand for?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

Time Speed Distance

It refers to the fact that it isn't an event where you are going for top speed, like a race, but that you are trying to match an average set out for various parts of the event. The closer you are to that average, the fewer penalties you take. The person with the fewest penalties = teh winnAr.

Before WRC and SCCA Pro Rally, nearly all rallies were run this way, but with challenging base times to have to meet.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

What determines the average set for each part of an event? Is it determined by a particular car or something??


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

The average is for the roads themselves. It must be under the posted speed limit but still challenging.

For example, you may be asked to travel at 45 mph for 3.59 miles, then change to 47 mph for 2.42 miles. It is up to your navigator to figure out if you are in the right place at the right time, either by calculating by hand or using a rally computer.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

So I would have to keep my speed as consistant as possible? And the navigator has to know if were at the right place at the right time... How is that figured out?? (sorry for all the questions... I just post them here so if anyone else wants to know they won't have to ask.)


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

You would try to stay as constant as possible.

Your navigator tries to caculate where you should be at any given time.

Here's a bit of reading on how that's done, and TSD in general:
http://www.mco.org/download/rally/TSD_TheVeryBasics.pdf


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

During a TSD rally are the roads still open to the public?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

Yes, that's why the avg speed can't be greater than the speed limit.

Most TSDs take place in remote areas, often at night with little traffic, but you still always have to be wary.


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## tolley (Jul 25, 2003)

For your first rally though, I wouldn't worry about calculating as much as just trying to stay on course. Thats a tip that the rallymaster told me before the rally and believe me, the first time, just staying on course and completeing the rally is an accomplishment in itself! Gotta love those traps...


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

tolley said:


> *For your first rally though, I wouldn't worry about calculating as much as just trying to stay on course. Thats a tip that the rallymaster told me before the rally and believe me, the first time, just staying on course and completeing the rally is an accomplishment in itself! Gotta love those traps... *


Good advice. In TSD, there are 3 things to do, in order of importance:

1. Stay on the road (This isn't a race!).
2. Stay on the route.
3. Stay on time. Fat lot of good doing all those timing calculations does if you're of course.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

How long are these events usually? Is it just one day or would I have to stick around for more than one day?


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

tolley said:


> *Gotta love those traps... *


What do you mean?? Like holes in the ground or something?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

"Traps" are navitgational tricks used by rallymasters to make you try to go off course or do the wrong timing.

They aren't used in all TSDs.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

The navigator has alot of work to do... But its still probably fun...
Would it be wise to have a cold air intake on the car when doing a road rally? Or would it get all clogged up by all of the stuff on the road?


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## landlord (Jun 11, 2002)

this should be made a sticky, lots and lots of great info!


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

SR20 Who Knew? said:


> *The navigator has alot of work to do... But its still probably fun...
> Would it be wise to have a cold air intake on the car when doing a road rally? Or would it get all clogged up by all of the stuff on the road? *


Funny you should ask. Yesterday in the Stage rally, a Subaru with a CAI went through a water splash and seized the enigine. A very expensive car wash.

Same goes for road rally. Quite often there is standing water on the road and you won't want to slow right down for it.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

fcsmotorsports said:


> *Same goes for road rally. Quite often there is standing water on the road and you won't want to slow right down for it. *


How deep of water are we talking about here?


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

It really depends on the event. There isn't always water and if there is it shouldn't be more than a couple inches deep. They will warn you about it though.


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## SR20 Who Knew? (Jul 29, 2003)

What kind of clothes would you wear to a road rally? Do you need a racing suit tahts all fireproof?


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## tolley (Jul 25, 2003)

For just a regular road rally? You don't need to wear any fireproof stuff. Normal clothes are fine. All it is is just a brisk drive on public roads. Nothing too crazy.


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## Tickwomp (May 27, 2003)

dang i need to try this after i get some more suspension work. sounds really fun


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