Building an off-road/rallycross capable Mazda2 project... "A New Build Thread...woohoo!"

1778 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Blackcloud, 6 mo ago

blackcloud13

Discussion Starter · 11 mo ago

Delusional aging Japanese import car guy with a wild hair to build a fun, reliable, "BUDGET" (as if that were a thing) off-road/rallycross Mazda2 with my daughter.

We're starting this build with a lightly "tapped" salvage auction 2011 Mazda2 1.5L 5 speed manual with low miles and apparently cared for.

I am looking for stage rally/rallycross parts, modifications, and build ideas. I know through research and experience that a lot of the hardpoints, parts, and performance goodies from the Fiesta are compatible, and most of the breakable bits are cheap. I'm hoping that will equate to a rebuild and transformation into something I can reliably use to participate in local and regional rallycross events and to take advantage of the 1000's of miles of gravel and fire roads of the southwest.

So here's my first question...which organization has the largest presence in the southwest region, particularly AZ for rallycross events where I can join up and begin volunteering at events? SCCA, ARA, NASA...all of the above?

Thanks in advance for any assistance and advice. We're here to make friends, have fun playing with cars, and along the way, just maybe..."learn some stuff".

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mellow65

· #2 · 11 mo ago

i fully support any car project with your kids!!!!

in your area it seems that it's more of a NASA thing, but also ARA is down there too. They don't do much in the way of rally cross, they are more stage rally. Up here SCCA was the main rallycross people, but not sure else where. I would look at hooptie cross, they seem to be having way better luck with finding land to run rally crosses on vs the SCCA, again up here anyways.

I'm not familiar with the mazda2 enough to know if they cross over to any other platform. But for rally cross the recipe is pretty simple, keep it as stock as you can, get some new shocks, and go have fun. I don't rally cross, so I can't comment on the rules and classes, but i do know the more you mess with it, the more you get bumped in classes. sometimes simpler is better.

Good luck with the build!!!

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FarnansFotoz_

· #3 · 8 mo ago

blackcloud13 said:
Delusional aging Japanese import car guy with a wild hair to build a fun, reliable, "BUDGET" (as if that were a thing) off-road/rallycross Mazda2 with my daughter.

We're starting this build with a lightly "tapped" salvage auction 2011 Mazda2 1.5L 5 speed manual with low miles and apparently cared for.

I am looking for stage rally/rallycross parts, modifications, and build ideas. I know through research and experience that a lot of the hardpoints, parts, and performance goodies from the Fiesta are compatible, and most of the breakable bits are cheap. I'm hoping that will equate to a rebuild and transformation into something I can reliably use to participate in local and regional rallycross events and to take advantage of the 1000's of miles of gravel and fire roads of the southwest.

So here's my first question...which organization has the largest presence in the southwest region, particularly AZ for rallycross events where I can join up and begin volunteering at events? SCCA, ARA, NASA...all of the above?

Thanks in advance for any assistance and advice. We're here to make friends, have fun playing with cars, and along the way, just maybe..."learn some stuff".
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Weirdly enough I too am looking into building my 2011 Mazda 2 into a rally vehicle. It's a lot of fun to rip down dirt roads in and I love its snappy steering response. I've also come to learn how to whip around turns on the dirt roads of NJ and NV. Being that I live in Las Vegas now, I've found that NASA has a bigger presence but I also hear a lot about SCCA near Pahrump.

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steve

· #4 · 7 mo ago

FarnansFotoz_ said:
Weirdly enough I too am looking into building my 2011 Mazda 2 into a rally vehicle. It's a lot of fun to rip down dirt roads in and I love its snappy steering response. I've also come to learn how to whip around turns on the dirt roads of NJ and NV. Being that I live in Las Vegas now, I've found that NASA has a bigger presence but I also hear a lot about SCCA near Pahrump.

Bentmettle. Paging @bentmettle. Is this the same as a fiesta?

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bentmettle

· #5 · 7 mo ago

steve said:
Bentmettle. Paging @bentmettle. Is this the same as a fiesta?

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It has a lot of fista platform commonality, but it's going to need a lot of Mazda branded parts for the powertrain and I assume maybe some of the front fascia?

Cheap RallyX build with your kid would be a good project. I wouldn't bother with a rebuilder for stage rally since you'd be more likely to be chasing Mazda specific body parts that are only going to get harder and harder to find.

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logicallychallenged

· #6 · 6 mo ago

I thought this Mazda was just a different outer skin over a Fiesta chassis and the same engine? Apparently not...

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Blackcloud

· #7 · 6 mo ago

logicallychallenged said:
I thought this Mazda was just a different outer skin over a Fiesta chassis and the same engine? Apparently not...

Suspension and some under body panel parts are interchangeable, but it is severely limited. Wheels are 4x100, but on the Fiesta they are 4x108, so the rally wheel options are limited. Found out as a surprise that the Fiesta radiator support is compatible, and about $150 cheaper with only a minor difference in the A/C area. Saved me time and money. Now trying to decide on suspension now. I've been told the Koni sport (yellow) would be the best option to retain ride height and use the factory springs to maintain full suspension articulation for bumps and jumps. Bilstein B14 was also suggested, but they are coilovers with 20mm minimum lowering built in and more oriented for tarmac use. I welcome any experience or opinions before I fork out $900 plus on a budget beater race car. Thanks everyone.