Rally Cross
"Oh my gosh, this freak kept his writeband!"
Thanks to "Slayer" from Rav4world.com, we've set up the first Norcal Rav4 Meet. It was held on Sunday, November 6th 2005. With helmet in hand, we headed to Tracy for the last Rally Cross event of the season. This would be my first time racing the Rav4 anywhere other than the streets and getting beat by Audi A4's, Acura Integra's and Scion XB's. After downloading a bunch of rallycross videos online, I was ready!
BEFORE THE EVENT:
We're all pretty excited and I don't think I'm the only one who can't stop talking about taking our Rav4's to a race where we're almost sure to come in last place. It should be fun and we'll take lots of photos. Hopefully everyone will be safe and we get plenty of dirt and maybe some mud on our cars. Them Subaru's better watch out. Make way for our SUV's!
DAY OF THE EVENT:
Partying 'til 2:00am the evening before, I was hardly ready to wake up by 6am in time for our meeting at 7am. I made it to the meeting spot at 7:30am (30 min late). Thanks guys for waiting for me! And so sorry to keep you guys drooling over McDonalds. I hope you enjoyed your pancakes and McMuffins.
Apparently the helmet I brought wasn't approved b/c it was too old and didn't pass current regulations even though it was labeled SNELL and DOT (Department of Transportation). I borrowed one. There were plenty. You'll see Ron's goofy orange one in the photos. He won the best time by the way. Next time I get the good luck helmet! it must be the sweat soaking in.
Here's a bit of the track. The track was definitely longer than most people expected. Apparently last time they had something like this, the track was much shorter and there were less people.
Gosh there were tons of people. 93 participants. And here we are at the before-driving meeting to let everyone know the rules, regulations and operation.
How about a little parade? Reg and Ron getting to know the track. This might be important so you dont' miss turns. I missed turns anyway. Ugh.
Fellas watch out! Miriam's speeding through! She definitely started beating her times between the 1st and 4th runs! Good stuff! Congrats on our first Rally Cross!
Ron beat me by almost 10 seconds! How did he do that? What's up with your 2WD? Guess you're just an awesome driver. Teach me how to complete this under 110 seconds.
Here's me going through the tracks. Yes, I took off that spare tire cover and now my tires are pretty dirty!
Gotta have the famous Rav4 meet-type photos...all lined up. This is a bit bring, but here it is anyway. Like the scenery?
How about another view. This one's a bit more interesting. My car's way in the back though. Miriam doesn't yet have a site, so here's a close-up of her Rav4.
Let's try spicing up the configuration. Here's a little treat. I'm loving this one!
Liking the angle?
AFTER THE EVENT:
MY TIMES: (4 runs total)
119.583 seconds (knocked down 0 cones) Gotta have some music. There's no radio reception, so I popped in my favorite Korean CD, Baby Vox. I'm running in 4th gear the whole way through.
118.916 seconds (knocked down 0 cones) Trying something a bit different but keeping the music on, I slipped into 2nd gear during the whole run. I couldn't reach high speeds during the last straightaway....maybe we need that 4th gear after all!
115.581 seconds (DNF - Did Not Finish, I missed a turn!) Darn, I missed a turn???? Stupid cones aren't clearly marked...or I'm blind. Music was turned off for this run. I was thinking I needed to concentrate more, but my time just increased! I accidentally slipped from gear 2 to Neutral and revved towards the end of the run w/o moving an inch. I made a friend out there on the track and he recommended the famous e-brake drift turn. It spun my tail around, but ended up slowing me down. I spoke with the Champion and he said the same thing.
120.415 seconds (DNF - Did Not Finish, I missed the same turn!)I had to go in reverse for this one!...I couldn't cut the turn sharp enough and it was either hit the cone, or back up. After thinking for too long, I pushed to reverse and drove out. Darn.
CONCLUSION:
- I'm definitely doing this again!
- I'm starting to care less about the neon lights and crazy fun stuff and thinking more about performance parts more than ever.
- Glad I have sports suspension.
- It was a blast and we need to have more Rav4's and yes, CRV's out there next time!
- Sharing helmets might make your head itch.
- Girls can race!
- 200,000 miles cars can still run, but sometimes they spew out white and blue smoke!
- Old fellas race mini coopers too!
Every great day has to end. My little Rav4 was being followed by an aggressive good-looking beast! It's none other than: "Slayer"
PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc.
PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's.
PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics
PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades
PAGE 5: Undercar Neons
PAGE 6: Future modifications
PAGE 7: More exterior photos
PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm
PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces
PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment
PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks
PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures
PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights
PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads
PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now?
PAGE 16: More carbon fiber
PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI)
PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps
PAGE 19: Vent Visors
PAGE 20: H&R Springs
PAGE 21: Talking car mod
PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California
PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish
PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing
PAGE 25: Brake light cover
PAGE 26: Radar Detector
PAGE 27: GPS Navigator