AutoX vs RallyX: Suby longevity

[lorenkb]

I'm hooked on RallyX for sure, especially with my close proximity to a dry lakebed. AutoX also has its appeal, what with not having to wash/vacuum the car every singe time... (I like a dirty impreza as much as anyone else, but holy cow that silt gets everywhere!) However, the suby is my daily driver, and after throwing the car around in the dirt/mud last week I have serious doubts about how long the drivetrain would last on pavement.

It may just be my lack of skill/experience but the gearing on the 07 seems ill suited to AutoX. I was having to shift into 1'st on the tight corners to keep from bogging, and I doubt the clutch/diffs would appreciate the frequent and rough shifts on pavement.

Thoughts? Are my worries unfounded?

Loren

[409industries]

STi's definitely benefit from having such close gears on autocross courses, since most cars wont reach speeds where WRX's get all the way into the powerband in 2nd. I know that i could pretty much put it in 2nd (on a STi 6 speed tranny) and just forget about the gears after the first shift. WRX's can see a lot of bouncing off the rev-limiter in first!

Autox is great fun, i did it for quite a while.. having all that grip really does make you feel like you're moving quick. I'm not sure how hard it is on the drivetrain...

Great question here, im sure there will be lots of input from others. feel free to bash my comments.

[JacksonRally]

I agree with lorenkb...on my 06 wagon (during rallyx) I am mostly in 1st, most courses are tight and 2nd just boggs too much. I love to keep my tires spinning and 1st gear redline is what it takes. Also I believe STI's start to boost at 2800rpm and the 2.5 WRX's boost at 3200rpm so thats a huge difference when trying to shift into 2nd. Now I dont have any Autox experience but I dont think it would be wise to have the tires spinning and trying to slide around a turn...traction is key. I think Autox is in general a smoother form of racing, though it will eventually wear on parts. All in all it depends on the course layout and how much you are willing to abuse your car. I do know that any off-road racing will eventually spell disaster for a stock drivetrain. The unloading and loading of the driveline while sliding and downshifting is not good for any car. Either way maintenance is key.

[Drew84]

as long as you don't launch the car wicked hard, because most auto-x courses have a short runway in to the timing lights. You will wear out tires before anything else, mabey after a few seasons you will need wheel bearings. Its definatly more car friendly than rally-x

[lorenkb]

I guess I should clarify that my plans stop at lakebed type rallyx. There is no way I could justify putting a daily driver through some of the rougher rallyx courses... some of the videos posted made me cringe in thinking how long the struts are going to last.

I guess what it comes down to is whether or not the dirt allows some give that makes it easier on the car than pavement would. Maybe I should just learn how to drive slowly until I can rev-match without thinking about it as opposed to just shoving it down a gear :oops:

Loren

[Drew84]

most auto-x course you can leave the car in 2nd and forget about it. You may have to learn to left foot brake to keep the revs up. Down shifting will make you slower than just working through the bogging of the engine. I ran my friends S2000 last weekend and I did the whole course in 1st gear, but thats what you get with a 9k rpm redline.

[katnip]

tarmac is way harder on the drivetrain than dirt. I have no problem rallyxing my RS, autox is not something I wish to offend my car with more than occasionally. the lack a grip in the dirt is way easier than the abundance of grip on tarmac on the entire car. don't worry about a little lake bed rallyx, your suby is built for the dirt and will do fine!

kat

[sidewindr]

RallyX= 1st gear most of the time, rock chips, dirt everywhere, blown beads.

AutoX= shift to 2nd gear and stay, LFB to keep boost up, hard on clutch and wheel bearings but clean car.

Meets= Clean car, no wear and tear, but get fat from all the burgers and bobas.

2002 PSM WRX

[BlueREX04]

One thing that I have l learned about autocross is keep it smoth and walk the track and talk to everyone with the same setup as you (ie awd) see what problems they are having or tips that you can share, not to mention have a pro driver ride with you and have them give you pointers. I did that at the autox where most of my rex pictures are taken and I shaved 8 sec off my lap time... becuase I was going into the corner either too tight or too fast..

[409industries]

RallyX= 1st gear most of the time, rock chips, dirt everywhere, blown beads.

AutoX= shift to 2nd gear and stay, LFB to keep boost up, hard on clutch and wheel bearings but clean car.

Meets= Clean car, no wear and tear, but get fat from all the burgers and bobas.


Couldn't have summed it up better myself. :)

[Storz]

I leave my RS in 2nd gear for both autox and rallyx the entire time. I never really noticed my lack of a rear LSD during rallyx (oddly enough) but at one of the recent autox events I did it just felt like the rear end wasn't very happy at all.

I am much more comfortable with the car sliding around a bit than all the grip available on tarmac