Rallycross

I'm thinking of participating in a rally cross event in mid June with my stock 4x4 double cab TRD Sport. The organizers don't require the cars to be prepared in any way but do recommend a decent skid plate.

As you'd expect there's some ticked out WRXs and Evos but there are plenty of people showing up in plain sedans with FWD and no ground clearance to speak of. I figure the TRD Sport has got 4wd, a slip diff (right?), much more ground clearance and a factor skid plate so I should be able to just show up and go.

If anyone has done some rally cross with their Tacoma I'd love to hear your thoughts and experience.

 

Be careful of that stock front skid. It's not very rugged. It also might not cover the oil pan, but I don't know how far back the TRD skid goes.

 

True, Mine bent the other day going over some snow...

 

Ground clearance isn't going to help you, the rallycross courses are specifically built to where lower cars can maneuver them without damage. The skid plate is to prevent rocks or anything from damaging the undercarriage. A tacoma won't do any good in a rallycross event, It isn't quick enough nor built for it. I rallycrossed a wrx that I used to own and it was lowered on coilovers and did fine, only had something hit the skidplate once or twice and never did any damage.

 

A Rallycross can be many different things dirt or pavement....depending on where you are located and the club/association who's sponsoring & setting it up.

Locally here, the Corvette club hosts events in parking lots where they setup a course (with cones) and you run against the clock. The pavement courses are more readily available in my area. Anyone can do them..... you just have to follow the safety rules. There might be 'classes' where your times are ranked in that class but there's no 'winner' (per say). Maybe bragging rights....

A friend of ours has been doing these rally crosses for years in many different vehicles. He currently runs a Corvette but he's run soooo many different vehicles over the years. It's funny as hell to see him drive a TurboCharged Chevy Sprint (from the 80's) and literally SPANK the times of some of the Corvettes. This guy has also participated in the "One Lap Of America" many times.

There's also Road Rally's to look into.....they're fun too. Again, depending on your local area and what type of events they're having.
TSD Road Rallye (Time Speed Distance) where you have to finish stages in an exact allotted amount of time. YOu get deducted points for anything above & below that. It can get soooo critical..... My husband and his friend had a Rallye Computer setup in the vehicle and it would tell them how ahead or far behind they'd be in any given stage and they'd adjust accordingly.

 

you will be fine. have fun and drive within your limits. I assume its off road?

 

What you described here is Autocross, rally cross is exclusively on dirt or snow, but same tight course concept. And there are definitely winners, each event you score points, enough points and you gtt invited to the national events. Trucks and other vehicles with a high center of gravity are not allowed to do autocross events. At least not ones sponsored by NASA or SCCA.

 

I'm not looking to score points or anything I just want a bit of an upgrade from sliding around lamp posts in a snowy parking lot. My main concern is preventing damage I guess. Sounds like I might be okay with the stock skid plate. It covers the bottom of the motor kinda. Everything from the transmission pan back is exposed.