TOP 5 QUESTIONS OF ALL TIME
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Revisons to Canadian rally car
classes will be discussed at the National AGM on January 14th,
2012. Look out for new updates to be posted here once the new
class structures are announced. |
WHO TO CONTACT IN YOUR
AREA
The Canadian
Association of Rally Sport (C.A.R.S.) is the governing body of
Rallying in Canada and has affiliated club all across the nation.
Each region in
Canada has a number of clubs, one of which is probably near to
your city or a city near you . To find out which Rally club is
nearest to your home go to "Clubs" page of the Canadian
Association of RallySport. Most clubs have regular meeting schedules, you
should phone the closest club in your area and ask when is their
next meeting so that you can attend and join the Canadian Association
of Rally Sport. You can attend a number of events and volunteer
in them without becoming a member but you will need a membership
to obtain a Rally License.
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HOW TO GET YOUR FIRST RALLY LICENSE
To obtain your
first rally license you need a club membership, a medical examination
(Forms available at the Club), a First Aid certificate and a
Regional license fee.
To upgrade to
a National license you need to have successful completed at 2
events or one event and the Rally School.
Keep
in mind the entry fees to a regional rally and the Rally school
are practically the same amount but as a beginner you will learn
more from the Rally School than doing one more rally.
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IS THERE SOME DRIVING COACHING AVAILABLE?
So far the only
C.A.R.S. accredited Performance Driving Rally School in Canada
is the Advanced Driving Dynamics School in Calgary, Alberta.
There is plenty of information about this school in this site.
just go to RALLY
SCHOOL
For other Rally
Schools around the world check or LINKS page to direct you to those sites
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CAR CATEGORIES AVAILABLE TO COMPETE IN
In Canada
(USA Rules are practically identical) There are basically 6 different
classes you can compete in and these classes can be divided into
two distinct groups: A-
Production (stock no-mods) cars and B-Heavily Modified cars
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PRODUCTION CAR
CLASSES |
MODIFIED
CARS CLASSES |
PRODUCTION SPORT:
P3 and P2
Production vehicles with
engines up to 2000cc. of corrected displacement. Cars usually
seen in this category are: VW Golf GTI 8v and 16v, Mazda RX7,
Toyota Celica, Honda Si, VW Scirocco, etc.
Limited modifications
allowed making this class easy to start with and easy to maintain.
Vehicles are allowed to have upgraded and/or adjustable suspension,
Limited Slip Diffs remaped ECUs and removal of some interior
trim. For more details please read Rule Book: http://www.carsrally.ca/CARSRally/Default.aspx?tabid=92
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PRODUCTION GT
These are production vehicles
with turbocharged or supercharged engines and with 4wd systems
that must be competed in stock form as it was sold by the manufacturer.
Vehicles in this class are allowed a few modifications such as:
suspension, removal of some interior trim, free turbo boost,
etc. For more details please read Rule Book: http://www.carsrally.ca/CARSRally/Default.aspx?tabid=92
Cars usually seen in this
category are: Subaru WRX, Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS, Lancer EVO,
Eagle Talon, Mazda 323 4wd, Toyota Celica 4WD, Izusu RS 4WD,
etc.
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GROUP 2
This car class is similar
to the Open Class listed below but with three basic restrictions
1- No 4wd. 2- No Turbos or Superchargers. 3- Maximum corrected
displacement of 2450cc.
Cars usually seen in this
category are: VW Golf GTI, Mazda RX7, Ford Focus, Toyota Celica,
etc.
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GROUP 5
This newly instituted
class for 2006 has been popular in the USA for many years.
Class consists of 2WD
vehicles with larger engine displacement that ones found in Group
2. Maximum corrected displacement of 5.1 litres. Cars usually
seen in this class are 2wd Talons. New 2.4 liter Lancers, 2.5
liter and turbo Dodge Neons, Mazda RX7 turbo, Toyota Celicas
Turbo, etc.
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OPEN
CLASS
Cars in this class are
usually AWD Turbocharged vehicles with engines of aprox. 2000cc.
These cars can be heavily modified from engines to transmissions,
interior and even some exterior modifications. Depending on the
car and how it is build, this class could become the most expensive
to compete in... but also the fastest. I recomend you DO NOT
start rallying in this class!
Cars usually seen in this
category are: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Sunbaru WRX STI, Audi Quattro,
etc
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WHAT
IS "CORRECTED DISPLACEMENT" ?
Cars come in all shapes and forms from
normally aspirated engines to turbocharged engines.
In order to make
it a fair playing field between different engine sizes and designs
the motorsports world has come up with "Multipliers"
for some engine types that might give them an unfair advantage
over other more basic designs. These multipliers are applied
to the engine size as follows;
A Turbocharged
or supercharged car has a 1.7 multiple added to its engine size
Example: A VW
Golf with a 2000cc engine fits in the Production 3 class (production
based cars of 2000cc or less) But a similar car such as a Subaru
Impreza WRX which also has a 2000cc engine with a turbocharged
now gets a 1.7 multiple :
2000 x 1.7 =
3400cc There fore it's "Corrected Displacement" is
3400cc placing it in the Production 4 class.
This
is very important to know when you are choosing the vehicle you
want to compete in
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WHAT TYPE OF CAR SHOULD
I BUY OR BUILD?
This is a question
that is asked most often. Jorge Dascollas has been involved with
this sport since 1984 and has successfully competed with a wide
range of cars and classes, from RWD - Open class - Mazda RX7
to FWD - Group - Golf GTI to 4WD - Production Class - Mitsubishi
Eclipse.
He has prepared
the information below that covers a wide range of often asked
questions. Please keep in mind that car class rules are presently
going through some changes and for this reason some facts might
change in the future.
As you can see
above under Available
Car Categories
, Rally classes
are divided into two major groups; MODIFIED CAR CLASSES and PRODUCTION
CAR CLASSES. Just the same you can also divide drivers into two
types of competitors;
1- If you are
the type of person that likes to drive a rally car but do not
really like spending a lot of time in the garage working on that
car, You really enjoy jumping into the driver's seat but when
maintenance work is required, it better be simple or the kind
of work any garage or dealership can handle and will not require
getting a second mortgage on your house to fix it: Then you are
the type of competitor that PRODUCTION CLASS is exactly made for.
2- If you are
the type of person who enjoys just as much spending time working
on the rally car as driving it in a rally, enjoys modifying components
and always trying to find ways to make your car go faster with
new technology or your own ingenuity even if the cost of running
such car is high, Then the Open Class, Group 2 or Group 5 are
the classes of car you belong in.
HOW MUCH
DOES IT COST TO BUILD ONE?
Please first
refer to the blue table above where PRODUCTION CLASSES and classes such as OPEN CLASS, GROUP 2 and GROUP N
are explained so that you know what class you would like to compete
in.
The figures listed
below for each class is a general estimate based on actual costs
of building previous rally cars and current prices of manufacturing
shops so that you can compare the average cost of building a
car versus buying a used rally car if you happen to be lucky
enough to find one already built rally car for sale, if so, it
will almost certainly be a better deal to buy it than to build
your own, don't kid yourself; there are always hidden costs when
building a Rally car and a used rally car is usually sold for
less than what it cost to build it.
OVER AND ABOVE
THE PRICE OF THE BASIC STREET VEHICLE THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED;
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ITEM |
LOW |
HIGH |
ROLL CAGE
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$1,500.00
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$3,000.00
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SEATS (pair)
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800.00
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2,000.00
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HARNESSES (BELTS)
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500.00
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600.00
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TRIP COMPUTER
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500.00
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1,100.00
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SKID PLATES
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150.00
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400.00
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MAP LIGHT
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50.00
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65.00
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FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
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100.00
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150.00
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TOW ROPE & TRIANGLES
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50.00
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50.00
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TOTAL
COST TO PREPARE A VEHICLE
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$3,650.00
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$7,365.00
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The above
prices are only general guidelines and do not include federal
or provoncial taxes, prices will vary according to your city
or region, quality of parts and labour and how resourcefull you
are. |
BUSINESSES THAT SELL OR MANUFACTURE RALLY
EQUIPMENT IN CANADA
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HOW
MUCH CAN I BUY A USED RALLY CAR FOR?
There
are average prices, of cource, there are exceptions
PRODUCTION
SPORT
Price range from
$5,000 to $20,000 (Canadian) depending on preparation and shape.
P3 cars commonly
used: VW Golf GTI 8v and 16v, Dodge Neon, Toyota Celica, Mitsubishi
Lancer 2wd, Volvo, Chevy Sunfire, Optra, Ford Focus, etc.
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Group
2 & Group 5
Price range from
$5,000 to $25,000 (Canadian) depending on preparation and shape.
Cars commonly used:
Group 2: Any 2 liter normaly
aspirated 2WD car, from FWD Golf GTI to Rotary engine RWD Mazda
RX7s
Group 5: Any engine up
to 5100cc normaly aspirated, Turbo or supercharged but 2WD only
such as: Dodge SR-T, Lancer 2.4 liter, Golf GTI and 1.8T, Toyota
Celica
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PRODUCTION
GT
Price range from
$8,000 to $30,000 (Canadian) depending on preparation and shape.
P4 cars commonly used:
Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, Impreza WRX, Mitsubishi Eclipse / Eagle
Talon, Toyota Celica 4WD, Isuzu RS 4wd, etc.
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OPEN CLASS
Price range from
$10,000 to 200,000 (Canadian) depending on preparation and shape.
Most Open Class
cars in Canada are AWD - Turbo and between $20,000 and $80,000
Presently the top Open Class cars in the championship are between
$60,000 and $150,000
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