1999 Chevy Cavalier - Rallycross Edition

moxnix wrote:

simon_C wrote: Ive always heard that you shouldn't rallycross on steel wheels as they will just tear off the hub, In fact I've seen it happen in rallyx. The steel wheels cant take the lateral loads like an alloy wheel can.

I did 2 years of rallyx on a set of steel wheels on our subaru with many drivers in the car every event without a problem.... Then this happened. I bought a set of alloy wheels for that car right after that. Since you are running stock class when looking at other cars wheels make sure they are the same width as your stock wheels and within the offset range for stock class.

Yeah again sorry about that....... Made for some good photos though.

When I get the P5 up again (and find a worthy skid plate for it) you both can feel free to take it out on as many recon laps you feel is necessary.

JtspellS wrote: Yeah again sorry about that....... Made for some good photos though. When I get the P5 up again (and find a worthy skid plate for it) you both can feel free to take it out on as many recon laps you feel is necessary.

Nothing to be sorry about. The impreza is back up and running fine and ready for the next set of victims.

For dramatic effect with the whole steel wheel thing, I think it was bout this time i realized something was amiss lol.

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Gaunt596 wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: Wow. That was too much time and too much money for a rusty, busted Cadavalier, but I commend you for the perserverence Unfortunately, these cars are truly awful for rallyx (poor suspension design, limited travel, poor forward grip, the list goes on). I personally would suggest selling it and buying something else if that could possibly be in the cards. But, if you do stick with it, please prove me wrong! If nothing else, I will be following this.

lol, now someone tells me. and i realized going into this that i *might* get $100 from a junkyard for the car when its all said and done. The only reason i bought it was because i got impatient searching for something that ran that wasn't over a grand, and settled for this. the plan for the future is either an 94-98 SN95 Mustang v6, because cheap RWD fun, or a GC/GD impreza, but im leaning toward the impreza because of parts availability and that it should be a bit nicer to work on. also open to suggestions for something other than an SN95 for RWD provided it is somewaht easy to work on and i can get parts easily without searching junkyards, as theres a whopping 1 within a reasonable drive from me.

Are you out to win or have fun? If it's the latter, then go run the piss out of this thing. I've seen worse at a rally-X. You probably won't break it. You have put enough into it (work, and material) that there is no sense bailing on it.

If you are out to win, then use it anyway - Rally-X is about the driver and not so much the platform. When you get better, upgrade. Then you can sell it to some newb for a few bucks.

I remember when I had my '01 2.2 Cavalier that guys would do horn-switch-triggered dry fifty shots with impunity. But then again, Pick N Pull had a huge amount of those engines for about 80 bucks a pop. Not sure what the SCCA would think of that though, plus your budget will get pretty big as soon as you start hitting up speed shops for a fix.

Don't worry too much about being competitive, it's still a pretty fun car in the dirt, and it's not like you're ruining a beautiful jewel of a rare car if you wad it up. Disconnect the handbrake buzzer or it'll drive you insane.

90s-early 00s Subaru Impreza/Legacy/Forester/Outback wheels should fit, I've done the opposite before.

If there's a Cavalier/Sunfire convertible in your local junkyards, they came with a bunch of pseudo-aftermarket bracing that you can bolt onto your coupe. The strut bars in particular are an easy pull.

NGTD wrote:

Gaunt596 wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: Wow. That was too much time and too much money for a rusty, busted Cadavalier, but I commend you for the perserverence Unfortunately, these cars are truly awful for rallyx (poor suspension design, limited travel, poor forward grip, the list goes on). I personally would suggest selling it and buying something else if that could possibly be in the cards. But, if you do stick with it, please prove me wrong! If nothing else, I will be following this.

lol, now someone tells me. and i realized going into this that i *might* get $100 from a junkyard for the car when its all said and done. The only reason i bought it was because i got impatient searching for something that ran that wasn't over a grand, and settled for this. the plan for the future is either an 94-98 SN95 Mustang v6, because cheap RWD fun, or a GC/GD impreza, but im leaning toward the impreza because of parts availability and that it should be a bit nicer to work on. also open to suggestions for something other than an SN95 for RWD provided it is somewaht easy to work on and i can get parts easily without searching junkyards, as theres a whopping 1 within a reasonable drive from me.

Are you out to win or have fun? If it's the latter, then go run the piss out of this thing. I've seen worse at a rally-X. You probably won't break it. You have put enough into it (work, and material) that there is no sense bailing on it. If you are out to win, then use it anyway - Rally-X is about the driver and not so much the platform. When you get better, upgrade. Then you can sell it to some newb for a few bucks.

Yup, fun is the #1 priority, it's also a car I can try all my crazy ideas on and not feel bad, nor have to fix to go to work the next day. Any replacement car is a few years out, no sense getting a faster car until I can outdrive the car I have

On another note, An Ebay Special fart can is on the way.... which oddly enough according to youtube should sound okay on these cars..... i guess a cheap car needs a cheap exhaust

The Dynomax Super Turbo sounds OK on a 2.2

How do you like the KYB replacement struts?

Not sure yet, I'll let you know after this weekend. They did lift the car considerably even after settling, but they replaced worn out 180k original struts.

Also, they banned Nos and water/meth outright for Scca for all types of racing, I'm guessing too many popped engines

ssswitch wrote: I remember when I had my '01 2.2 Cavalier that guys would do horn-switch-triggered dry fifty shots with impunity. But then again, Pick N Pull had a huge amount of those engines for about 80 bucks a pop. Not sure what the SCCA would think of that though, plus your budget will get pretty big as soon as you start hitting up speed shops for a fix. Don't worry too much about being competitive, it's still a pretty fun car in the dirt, and it's not like you're ruining a beautiful jewel of a rare car if you wad it up. Disconnect the handbrake buzzer or it'll drive you insane. 90s-early 00s Subaru Impreza/Legacy/Forester/Outback wheels should fit, I've done the opposite before. If there's a Cavalier/Sunfire convertible in your local junkyards, they came with a bunch of pseudo-aftermarket bracing that you can bolt onto your coupe. The strut bars in particular are an easy pull.

As much as I'd love to add bracing and all the cool bits, the stock class really means stock. once I get a good amount of experience under my belt, I'll look into maybe moving into prepared and that's when all the fun bits come into play. Here's the rule book, section 3.3 goes into what I can and can't do 2016 Rallycross Rulebook

Well, the weekend is over, and the car survived! it didnt come out unscathed, and i need to do some further inspection, but as far as i can tell i got away with nothing other than a busted body weld. The car wants to run hot, so i had to keep the fan running between runs so i didnt overheat it, not sure why as its got plenty of coolant and new hoses, and the radiator was flushed. Fastest run of the weekend for me was a 58.790 with no cones, heres the in car from that run, pardon the shake, i need to figure out a better mount than a suction cup on the windshield.

In car Video

almost got bumped to prepared Front Wheel drive, for whatever reason the replacement strut assemblies i got from rock auto have the car sitting a bit high, and as a result i had to go pull up my receipts from where i had ordered them from rock auto. after running with them they have come down a touch and the spring rates seem to be okay, i wasn't bottoming out very much except for one or two really deep spots.

Overall it was a fun event, but im looking forward to the next regional, as it will give me wayyyy more seat time for the money. I also have a buddy of mine coming out to co-drive for the event in august, and hes done lots of track days and some autocross but never driven on gravel before.

These cars can be hard to burp, have you bled it with the little brass screw on the water neck on the head? Another possibility is the water pump impeller, if steel, has rusted away.

BrokenYugo wrote: These cars can be hard to burp, have you bled it with the little brass screw on the water neck on the head? Another possibility is the water pump impeller, if steel, has rusted away.

I have not, thank you for letting me know that existed, i will try that and see if it helps

Gaunt596 wrote: Well, the weekend is over, and the car survived! it didnt come out unscathed, and i need to do some further inspection, but as far as i can tell i got away with nothing other than a busted body weld. The car wants to run hot, so i had to keep the fan running between runs so i didnt overheat it, not sure why as its got plenty of coolant and new hoses, and the radiator was flushed. Fastest run of the weekend for me was a 58.790 with no cones, heres the in car from that run, pardon the shake, i need to figure out a better mount than a suction cup on the windshield. In car Video almost got bumped to prepared Front Wheel drive, for whatever reason the replacement strut assemblies i got from rock auto have the car sitting a bit high, and as a result i had to go pull up my receipts from where i had ordered them from rock auto. after running with them they have come down a touch and the spring rates seem to be okay, i wasn't bottoming out very much except for one or two really deep spots. Overall it was a fun event, but im looking forward to the next regional, as it will give me wayyyy more seat time for the money. I also have a buddy of mine coming out to co-drive for the event in august, and hes done lots of track days and some autocross but never driven on gravel before.

I wouldn't sweat the suspension too much. As you learned, there are always a few people at national-level competitions that want to complain about everything. When we heard about Chang trying to gig you on the struts, we were laughing that you should have just replied "Dude, it's an old Cavalier. If I beat you by having taller rockauto struts, then you're not a very good driver" haha....

I know rules are rules (a reason why I went straight to Mod class and never bothered with the other classes), but for the most part people are not going to care what you do to a Cavalier unless you start beating them with it ;) Especially at local events.

So you're comign to the next WDCR event?

irish44j wrote:

Gaunt596 wrote: Well, the weekend is over, and the car survived! it didnt come out unscathed, and i need to do some further inspection, but as far as i can tell i got away with nothing other than a busted body weld. The car wants to run hot, so i had to keep the fan running between runs so i didnt overheat it, not sure why as its got plenty of coolant and new hoses, and the radiator was flushed. Fastest run of the weekend for me was a 58.790 with no cones, heres the in car from that run, pardon the shake, i need to figure out a better mount than a suction cup on the windshield. In car Video almost got bumped to prepared Front Wheel drive, for whatever reason the replacement strut assemblies i got from rock auto have the car sitting a bit high, and as a result i had to go pull up my receipts from where i had ordered them from rock auto. after running with them they have come down a touch and the spring rates seem to be okay, i wasn't bottoming out very much except for one or two really deep spots. Overall it was a fun event, but im looking forward to the next regional, as it will give me wayyyy more seat time for the money. I also have a buddy of mine coming out to co-drive for the event in august, and hes done lots of track days and some autocross but never driven on gravel before.

I wouldn't sweat the suspension too much. As you learned, there are always a few people at national-level competitions that want to complain about everything. When we heard about Chang trying to gig you on the struts, we were laughing that you should have just replied "Dude, it's an old Cavalier. If I beat you by having taller rockauto struts, then you're not a very good driver" haha.... I know rules are rules (a reason why I went straight to Mod class and never bothered with the other classes), but for the most part people are not going to care what you do to a Cavalier unless you start beating them with it ;) Especially at local events. So you're comign to the next WDCR event?

yup, planning on making both days, even though i only had one paid vacation day this year the Union at work means i can cheese a few extra days for rally. If things work out id like to make it to all the remaining events of the season. I 100% expected to get E36 M3 over something on the car, but i expected the toggle switch for the E-fan to raise more concern. Id like to go to mod, but the car i really wanted originally was a neon, i stumbled across Rallynotes.com and fell in love with them. As a result im saving for the car i really want, and then ill go nuts, probably build it to full NASA Open 2wd light spec.

And heres the full in car video series from the weekend Cavalier Rallycross

My Ebay special exhaust showed up today. it looks good overall, all the welds seem okay, and all appear to be TIG welded rather than MIG or Flux Core. on the downside, i think im missing the 2bolt flange and the gasket, or the picture that was on ebay was a Generic one. the box was pretty beat up, so it may have fallen out in shipping. Ill have to check the auto parts store when i go to install it, as im willing to be they have the part. Ill try and get some pictures up when its not 4:15 AM here, PM shift for the loss

When I replaced the stock convertor on our Sunfire with a Magnaflow (at just over 100K), we picked up 3mpg city and 6mph hwy.

Now I wish I had held on to mine for Rallycross. I put over 200k miles on it with almost no maintainance. I used the same snow tires and it was pretty much unstoppable in winter. With as much rot as you have check the coolant pipe on the front of the engine. Mine rusted through and started to leak.

TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote: When I replaced the stock convertor on our Sunfire with a Magnaflow (at just over 100K), we picked up 3mpg city and 6mph hwy.

Yeah, again id love to but the stock class limits me to the OEM converter. Im still torn on where to go with the car, i feel like i could get more out of it with mods but at the same time im afraid im gonna be balls deep into this thing and then have it suddenly become a Lawn ornament due to drivetrain failure. plus with me being so inexperienced, im 100% sure theres lots of time to be made up in me just not sucking at driving. hell, in one weekend i went from 70 second average times to mid 60's, and im sure i can go faster. also, whats the standard procedure to measure usable wheel travel? after seeing some of the pictures from the event, it appears that ive got next to no suspension travel but id like to be sure its not that i wasn't pushing the car hard enough

Wall-e wrote: Now I wish I had held on to mine for Rallycross. I put over 200k miles on it with almost no maintainance. I used the same snow tires and it was pretty much unstoppable in winter. With as much rot as you have check the coolant pipe on the front of the engine. Mine rusted through and started to leak.

Coolant pipe is okay, tiny amount of surface rust but the oily coating everything in the engine bay got seems to have saved the car from rust for the most part.

Also, how the hell do i multi-quote, i can do it on another forum and its driving me mad here

In reply to Gaunt596:

Maybe that was my problem. It didn't leak like most of them.

Wall-e wrote: In reply to Gaunt596: Maybe that was my problem. It didn't leak like most of them.

Could be. while i appreciate the lack of rust, having to soak every tool i use in purple powr after working on the car is getting old. what does GRM use to de-gunk engines?

GUNK engine foam and a pressure washer.

simon_C wrote: GUNK engine foam and a pressure washer.

Alright. might have to "borrow" a pressure washer but that seems like a plan. i was hoping for some mud at frostburg so i could let it dry and then scrape off all the crap, but no such luck.

In reply to Gaunt596:

I used to hit a coin op car wash at night if I needed to power wash an engine or underside.