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What is a "Not-so-ultimate" MAXATTACK! car?

8K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  ajax 
#1 ·
We've all been paging through the "ultimate maxattack! car" thread for quite some time now, and it has got me thinking a little bit. The most common thing you hear newbies talking about at the spectator stages is "I think I'm gonna turn my car into a rally car." You either ask them what car they have, or you see them jump in it.....it just happens to be a "_______" and it makes you wonder why in the world they would want to rally the thing.

Obviously there are cars out there that would make HORRIBLE rally cars. Now I'm not asking for people to list obvious cars that would be horrible to rally. But I'm wondering, out of experience either driving, co-driving or crewing, what is a not-so-ultimate maxattack! car? Is there a certain 2wd car out there that you thought would just conquer all, then built and drove/co-drove/crewed, and discovered it to be absolutely worthless on the stages?
 
#8 ·
Looked okay on video getting pulled out...

The most un-ultimate rally car that's out there is a Saturn. The guys running it are so cool, and Dennis Martin showed that it could be beat on and do okay, but seriously, I've never driven a less inspiring car in my life. And I drove one for a few years. Friends drove it on our rallysprint course and couldn't believe how shitty it was.

I also drove a Ford Escort for a while, even though Paul, I'm not Seth Green, Donlin seems to have fun in one, and what's his name, crazy Ecuadorian or Dominican dude from Florida that was amazingly funny and fun both seem to have fun in them, but I'd put them high in the list of cars I've driven that are uninspiring and should never be a rally car.

The last car in my list of uninspiring 2wd econoboxes that my parents let me drive for a short period of time that may be a rally car is a Geo Metro. But I'd rally a Metro. At least it doesn't weigh shit.
 
#10 ·
Shaun, the car held up suprizingly well. Other than what we broke on the practice stage (brake rotor, wheel, half shaft, inner and outer tie rod ends, ball loint, front quarter panel, door, and I should probably get a new knuckle while I'm at it) we only added the skid plate, 3 tires, and a strut tower mount. I ended up driving the car back to Bemidji after I got pulled out.

Grant, congratulations, you've come to a similar conclusion that I have: the car was designed for 16 year-old girls.

There was another car that I forgot about: Ford Aspire. There was one at Rallye de Paris last year. My first rally ever and I passed somebody on stage.
 
#11 ·
The most common thing you hear newbies talking about at the spectator stages is "I think I'm gonna turn my car into a rally car." You either ask them what car they have, or you see them jump in it.....it just happens to be a "_______" and it makes you wonder why in the world they would want to rally the thing.
the best one ever i heard in my years of volunteering a guy wanted to build a Chrysler mini van with a twin turbo Mitsubishi 3000gt motor.

i swore he was joking but the more i talked to him the more and more he talk about it, and he was serious. he swore the thing handled great.
 
#12 ·
the best one ever i heard in my years of volunteering a guy wanted to build a Chrysler mini van with a twin turbo Mitsubishi 3000gt motor.

i swore he was joking but the more i talked to him the more and more he talk about it, and he was serious. he swore the thing handled great.

Well, there was this guy who turned his into a drag car that does 12s. Might not translate well to the stages though...

http://www.turbovan.net/van.html
 
#14 ·
From another point of view, a few other non-ultimate Max Attack cars, but I'm going to take a different approach on this one and see if I can offend any sensitive people. I'm going to focus on cars that people are currently rallying and doing decent with. By the way, I'm just having fun here so don't actually get offended please. I drive and spent probably twice as much as you building one of the cars on this list.
Subaru. Any model. No one's going to know you're 2WD and will just think your slow.
Eclipse or Talon. This is a really hard one. Same as above applies, but with the engine you really can make alot of power and you can get decent suspension for the thing. Gearbox that doesn't have a 220MPH top speed is a little bit harder, but okay.
Honda CRX. C'mon, grow up and get a Civic like the rest of the Pep Boys regulars.
Non-SRT4 Neon. You're not a 16 year old girl from the trailer park, so why drive a rally car that gives that impression.
Any VW. Welcome to a life of bad gearboxes, broken halfshafts, and bent rear beams. At least there'll be 15 other people living that same life at each rally though so there's lots of spares.
Merkur XR4TI. Congratulations. You are now in the special crowd of people that get to puke everytime they see how ugly their rally car is. Did you decide on that on your own or are you just another JVL fan boy? Good luck with all that hack job wiring and broken 20 year old connectors. At least all the rust will keep them from coming apart.

Okay, enough kidding around, in more seriousness, I think the only car that makes any sense to build is a Mazda. Want something new? Go with a 3. Want something a little more affordable? FWD or RWD will dictate a Protege or a RX7. Currently they are the only US manufacturer with real contingency money and it's been shown that the cars can do fairly well.
 
#15 ·
Okay, enough kidding around, in more seriousness, I think the only car that makes any sense to build is a Mazda. Want something new? Go with a 3. Want something a little more affordable? FWD or RWD will dictate a Protege or a RX7. Currently they are the only US manufacturer with real contingency money and it's been shown that the cars can do fairly well.
i've been thinking that too. also the mazda 6 for those awd nuts out there. mazda's are good looking and with a nice contingency, good combo.
 
#26 ·
Is a Ford Focus a good maxattack car? I thought about looking into buying Roman's old black and pink one last year when he was selling it, but I heard that a lot of guys who run them don't like them because they are REALLY heavy for a car that size.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Yes and No depends on the trim and the class. I went on a dirt drive with a friend , me in my fully prepped stock 2wd 93 imp, my friend in his 2002 ZX3 130hp/140 TQ . after a while i let him drive my car around, and he let me drive his. His car was noticeably faster than mine. his was bone stock and a lil slower in the corners, and didn't handle dips too well. but in rally trim i'm sure it would be Amazing, the SVT though comes stock with 170HP and a 6-speed *Drools* Curb Weight 2598 lbs. 2600 lbs is lil on the high side and if you run production you'll likely be 2650 with cage.. if you go G2 and luck out that maybe the doors have a lot of weight in them / heavy glass to lexan you could get the weight down **i'm guessing here* maybe by 200 lbs ? My car is 2450 -2500 fully topped off ready to go btw.

though remember you will be up against fast Group-5 vehicles with fast drivers. Bill holmes is an amazing driver! and he has like 500HP++ , Jim Morris is very fast in a V8 camera with 500HP++. Lauchlin in his SRT4 probably only was making 350HP , but in a lighter car, and being one of the best drivers in the nation it doesn't matter if he's giving up 150 HP to some of the other guys. Josh wimpy is an other top notch driver!! His car is a great G2 car imo (probably 180HP++ and sub 2300 lbs ??) and honestly looking at the numbers i wouldn't pick his car over Bill holmes Ford powered roto tiller! But yet he drove faster ! *Note i'm guessing on hp and weights


but back to your point, Yes a Focus Can be a great MaxAttack car IMO if you get a car that has near 200HP , and is lightish (2250 lbs) an amazing driver can make that configuration do the impossible and come out on top! Again look at the specs, and then look at how Josh Wimpey did! I think he tells his car to ignore physics and somehow his car listens! also watch his incar at some point. Great lines, smooth inputs, and WOT everywhere possible, and a few places it shouldn't be.

I think a very important part of what car to pick boils down to How important is it to you that your car's Specs are near the top of your class?
and how much of a fan boy are you to a particular car?

I was honestly too much of an Impreza fan boy to start with anything else, and i've been loving my decision ever since. :D
 
#28 ·
You know I was thinking the same thing. From the rumors of the Fiesta being a 12-13k car the Mazda2 will probably be around that. It has a 105 or so HP motor so you're down 20 horses. But getting Mazda contingency would be awesome.
 
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