Two Guys Rally

An Experiment Begins

Last year I complained about how caked in snow my wheel wells got. My solution for the past year was to get out of the car and use an ice scraper to remove chunks of snow/ice. That worked, but there has to be a more elegant solution. Some people suggested non-stick cooking spray (also for camera lenses I hear). Others suggested wax compounds like Rain-X. So I figured I would try them out.

A few days ago I decided to spray my rear right wheel well with PAM (the oh so famous spray on oil). So far that wheel well has been accumulating much less snow than the other wheel wells (I also didn’t spray that well), so the initial trial seems promising. So over the next few weeks as it snows and I go and play in said snow I’ll be testing out various chemicals to prevent buildup. 

Before I get started officially, I was wondering if you had any ideas as to what else would work? I’m looking for cheap/elegant solutions.

So far:

• PAM/Spray on cooking oil
• Rain-X (usually for your windshields) 

Snow Tires or Not?

Around this time of year I always debate whether or not I should get snow tires for my car. I know Mark has a set and puts them on (and refuses to take them off until practically the summer), but I’m always wondering whether it is worth the money.

On one hand snow tires offer a perception of safety in the snow (I’m told it snows a lot here in Rochester but I do not agree with that statement). On the other, I’ve gotten along just fine without snow tires (All seasons) and had a ton of fun doing it. 

I do not need them for accelerating (AWD helps a lot in that regard) but I could benefit a ton in terms of Braking and steering. So should I stick with my all seasons (that worked wonderfully last winter) and experience with them or should I invest a few hundred dollars for snow tires (and probably wheels as snow tires for my wheels are a bit pricy)? What do you do?

Off Topic: What Do You Do?

While I realize it (probably) has nothing to do with Rally Racing I am curious as to what you do for a living. So what do you do to pay for food and housing?

Do you turn tricks? Do you develop software? Do you work at Starbucks? Are you a trustfund baby? Do you harvest organs from orphans and sell them on the black market?

If you’re curious about what I do: I am not completely independent as school is quite pricy. But I am trying to break free(and pay for a race car) by writing software for primarily the iPhone/iPod Touch (but contracts for other systems happen too). 

Question: What Is Your Favorite Aspect of Rally?

I’m eager to read what interests you in Rally. Is it the competition? Is it the engineering? Does the star factor related to the top racers keep you coming back for more? What gets you going for Rally?

Personally, I find the competition and engineering the most appealing (probably a reason I love F1 too). Sure, there a whole lot of other reasons that keep me coming back but what pulls me out of the slumps is the amazing things that happen in Rally. Find any rally “highlights” video on youtube and what those cars and drivers do makes my jaw drop (competition pushes the drivers and engineers). Pure amazement.

So comment below, or throw me an email (twoguysrally gmail). I really am interested.

Some other common reasons I’ve heard in the past: offroad racing, friend/family member involved, alcohol (really), pit girls…

Question: Favorite Racing?

While I would guess that most of you favor Rally Racing I bet there are a few of you who prefer other racing. So what is your favorite type of racing? 

I’m also curious about why that’s your favorite type of racing. So go crazy in the comments or email us (   twoguysrally (ATTTTTTT) gmail    ).

While I’m asking you questions I might as well ask: What do you think would help TwoGuysRally?

Do You Enjoy Hairpins?

I think hairpins, when not the only thing on the track(ie not autocross in so many places), are one of the neatest corners to watch. They are also some of the hardest to do really well (handbrake turn much?). Here’s a video of mostly hairpins taken by WRC drivers:

Link for the RSS peeps. Once again, I love YouTube.

Do you enjoy hairpins? Driving them? Watching them? ¿Making them?

Question: What Is Your Dream Car?

Perhaps it is curiosity, or more probably writer’s block, but I’d like to know what your dream car is. Everyone usually has a different one so there are some pretty interesting answers out there. So comment below!

For me there are so many choices, but this obsession with rally narrows it down a little. Rally Prepped cars are so different to drive than your standard car, but I really do dream about driving them. I would have to say my dream car is a WRC Citroen Xsara. It just seems like such a fun car to drive, check it:

A link to the video for your RSS junkies.

So what is your dream car? An M3? Subaru WRC Car? McLaren F1? Go crazy.

I Want More From US Rally Coverage

I was perusing Rally America’s site and one thing caught my eye: air dates for rally coverage on ESPN2. Im excited to see that American rally is making it on to TB, but I’m dissapointed at the same time. STPR, which took place in early June, will not air until July 27th along with Oregon Trail(April 20th) and the Olympus Rally(May 19th). Three rallies, which happened months ago, only get one hour of coverage from 5pm - 6pm (so 42 minutes) total. I think it is a shame we only get 10-15 minutes of coverage per event on TV months after they happened.

Thank god for the X-Games Rally, which will air on ABC for much more than 15 minutes of Rally highlights. How do you guys think the coverage should be handled? During the event have daily highlights and recaps? A whole rally channel to cover every aspect of Rally 24/7? Highlights only? I’m eager to hear what you think.

Which Car Would You Choose?

If you were to make a rally car, which of these cars would you choose and why?

• VW Golf GTI (’93)
  
• Subaru Impreza STI (’08)
  
• Suzuki SX4 Crossover (’08)
  
• Mazda Protege (’00)
  

Granted they have differing price ranges, but there are some pros and cons for each of them. For the older Golf GTI I would say a big con is possible frame damage, but it is the cheapest option. The second cheapest option, the Mazda Protege would be an uncommon rally car (which could be a good thing) but I’m not sure on the frame damage again (2 accidents).

The next two options increase in price a lot. The Suzuki SX4 Crossover (w/ AWD) is a 2.0L Naturally Aspirated car that comes brand new at $15,000. However the Suzuki is the lightest of the bunch stock but it has yet to be rally proven in the US (the WRC has a Suzuki team that debuted this year). Finally we come to the most expensive option, a brand new STI coming in at $33,000. The STI is the only one in the bunch designed for rallying (with the help of Petter Solberg). However, it is also the heaviest of the bunch…stock, and the most expensive.

So which would you choose?

Summertime

Summertime is here in Arlington, Virginia. The days are longer now, the nights are warmer and there is beautiful weather to drive in.

Hopefully you all are enjoying stellar driving weather (which is pretty much anything to me). Let us look forward to a wonderful summer.

Mark just moved to a new apartment so he won’t be writing again until he has his internet up. There is a rumor kicking around that he is working on the technical details of his next Turbocharger article. If you haven’t already read the first two articles: Part One and Two are here on TwoGuysRally.

I am fully distracted by TwoGuysRally, Family&Friends and a small company I am working on. I am trying to figure out how to make this site easier to navigate for you. I feel like my past articles are ignored by new readers (Google Analytics feels that way too).

If you are new to the site check out some previously popular articles including: How To J-Turn and its Video. How To Double Clutch and its Video.

Otherwise, does anyone have any suggestions as to how the site should look and feel and navigate?