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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
June 2003
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Re: Initial D Spec 4AGE
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Tue, 10 June 2003 03:46
 
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im from adelaide, 19yo
this might be interesting to anyone reading
i was thinking of starting out in GROUP N3
just need a spare car 1st, thought the corolla would be good because its lightweight, fairly nimble and RWD, and would be a good basis to learn some real driving skills, competeing with it in a rally situation. i could rally my S4 rx7, but its an infini (you know the version out of gran tursimo) and theres only 600 of them so i dont really want to wreck it rallying it
this following paragraph might be interesting to anyone reading
Group A:
A8 (including WRC) 2 litre turbo 4WD, A7 - two litre two wheel drive non turbo, A6 - up to 1.8 litre 2WD non turbo, A5 up to 1.4 litre non turbo 2WD etc.
Group N:
N4: up to 2 litre turbo 4WD, N3: up to 1.8 litre non turbo 2WD, N2: up to 1.4 litre non turbo 2WD, N1: up to 1.0 litre non turbo 2WD
In the Australian Rally Championship the classes for Group A are known as PRC (Production Rally Car). They basically mirror the Group A classes from PRC4 (class A8) down to PRC1, however PRC5 encompasses over 2 litre cars such as the Datsun 240z/ 260Z and the newly instigated Aussie Car Class (Steve Winwood had thought until now that I had forgotten!) I reckon so much more can come from the Aussie Car Class - they are one direction Aussie rallying can take into the future. Manufacturers have cars for this class. Class PRC6 also exists, for now out of homologation cars such as the Galant VR4 and the Mazda 323 4WD.
The sort of cars that are usually used by new crews include the ubiquitous Datsun 1600, and the odd Galant to mix in . Then came along the Stanza, and the 240 and 260Z. The Escort was also mixed in with all of these. Not to mention the Corolla. Most of these cars are now cheaply built up into rally cars. These cars are all rear wheel drive however. The road cars of the '80's and '90's moved to front wheel drive and therefore the available rally cars as we knew them changed. Newer cars, such as Hyundai Excels and the front drive versions of the Corolla make effective rally cars, as do the ever popular Charade in various guises make effective rally cars, but are only just stating to be built into rally cars. This is mostly due to cost of the original cars and the cost of building them up in to rally cars.
So if you want to start off in the sport then the way to go is to usually buy somebody else's old car, unless you have a lot of ready capital to build exactly what you want. But how do you know this? Start off in a cheaper, preferably well built car. And don't look for the fastest car with the most power. look for a car with good handling characteristics (easier to learn to drive) and a good roll cage - the car will last longer as well as being safe for those little 'learning experiences'! A standard engine and gearbox combo will be plenty to get you started - and surprisingly quick in some cars too!
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