Night navigation rallys

B

B4 soon

Petrolheads
Ive been talking to a couple of lads about getting into night navigation rallys-theyve been going on in the uk for years but apparently are a new thing here-just wondering if anyone has any experience of them? As far as i can make out it seems to be perfectly legal cheap fun-only 3 requirements for the car-two rear mounted spotlights,a map light and a sump guard-any car can be used(no commercials)and engine size can actually be detrimental to things i.e. if the result is a draw,whoever has the smallest engine wins! I was thinking that there have been a few strange breeds trickling in from japan over the years-I can recall a 2.0diesel 4wd corolla and a 1.6 4wd civic-I think an AWD car would be an advantage as some of the roads are no more than tracks at times. Of course an older impreza or legacy would be great but the cars do take a beating and the idea is budget motorsport. Any suggestions for a car or does anyone have experience of an event?
 
Subaru Justy with a turbo fitted. Small, Light and AWD. Turbo would kick her into action to.
 
Not a bad suggestion-but hard to find and most stuff doing the events are less than 1500euro-but a standard justy would be fine.
 
This is good fun and a great cheap introduction into motorsport, you will be hitting rally stages before you know it.It does be on over here,well it was a few years back but your best bet is to google it or chat to someone from motorsport Ireland.

A man I knew used to do it, It was a great bit of cheap fun and a very good base for rallying. He had a an Audi 80 at one stage for it :shock2: Just use what ever you can get cheaply. A pug 205 / golf / fiat uno or punto would also be ideal.
A mazda 323 4wd was also available from japan but could be rare enough to find :ponder:
 
audi 80 quatto,but with every thing 4 wheel drive ,theres a lot more to go wrong,great idea do,it would be a great bit of craic even if you werent competitive
 
I remember the mazdas well-they ran in the group A era of world rallying-but unfortunately they command a higher price than would be practical. I would love to go rallying but the costs involved just spiral year on year. I think for the sake of reliability an n/a car would be better-but ive just thought that an old starion turbo might be entertaining! An audi 90 quattro would be good too-if one could be found.
 
Myself and my cousin did Night navs for a season before buying real race cars!!
Was savage fun!!
Its not really about the car you have..honest! The average speed they require you to have over most stages is like
30 mph or so-trust me-dosnt sound like alot..but take one wrong turn and you're buggered for every checkpoint all night.
We had a clapped out 1992 Astra 1400 with savage spots, a rock solid sump guard and some gravel tyres with huge profile(raised the car up rightly and gave better ratios for muddy stuff)...kills me to say one of the most fun times I had was in that Astra!!!
I've never had so much craic in a long while!! Was only talking with my cousin bout getting back into it the other day. You need a motorsport Ireland clubman lisence tho.
Other than that you need a tow rope-trust me!!,a plotter, and a special device to read maps in the car without distracting the driver-it has a magnifying glass and a bulb and plugs into cigarette lighter. Ordanance survey maps for the region too.
Most of the roads you'd think twice bout bringing a tractor down-im not joking. I remember pushing the car soo many times to get it out of a sticky situation :roll:
If I was doing it again I think a Justy would do the trick nicely,or maybe a nice cheap Forrester S-turbo..lovely ground clearance,4wd and 170bhp?? 4wd not essential tho. Kinda more fun without it...imagine going into a farm or a forrest or a field and not knowing if you could get through what lay ahead :lol:
Keep it simple tho..half the fun is pushing some shitbox way beyond its limits!!

The most important thing in night navs is the navigator tho! You need someone who can get you to where you need to be at the time required..otherwise you accrue lots of penalties.
They throw lots of sneaky things at you to make you fu*k up,but thats half the fun. Someone accurate, patient and really competitive will do fine.
Make sure you bring motion sickness tablets too!!! We learned the hard way!!
Go for it! Night navs rule :thumbsup:

Paul phelan in motorsport ireland is an expert and previous champion..he's really helpful with any questions!
 
@scoobeydoo-forester s turbo-best suggestion so far-but again prob a bit on the expensive side for something that will get wrecked in a few events. I think that if i cant go 4wd then prob an old carina or a volvo-built like a brick sh1thouse!!!
 
auld lad used to do this about 20 yrs ago and knows paul phelan, he did or still does auto tests.

afaik 4wd is not needed at all. good luck with it. ya will have a laugh

:thumbsup:
 
[quote author=Legy C link=topic=11041.msg132403#msg132403 date=1227776637]
Look no further than that sierra! its perfect for whats needed
[/quote]

Fancy taking up night nav Tony? God help your poor co-pilot, they'd want good medical cover. When Nugget comes home he'll be looking for something to do. Gwan horsie..!!!
 
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