Chevy & GMC Vans

Hey all, I'm a psudo noob, had posted a bit and lurked a lot on the other board, and have finally made my way over here, and have a few questions to throw at y'all.

Originally I had wanted to go with a 4 inch lift, stubby big tires, black out the grill and add a bullbar, a light rack on the top and call my 97AWD a day, unfortunately its now my daily driver, and the 4 inch lift would bring it down from "acceptable" gas mileage to "terrible". At 20-30k miles a year, I cant reason to do the lift. Now I still take her off the asphalt, and get plenty muddy and have some fun, and now one of the things that I used to do locally with my old MK3 Supra I want to try with the Astro.

Rallycross.

Rallycross is like autocross on dirt and mud. Lots of fun. My problem is I'm not terribly sure how to set up the van for the courses. Has anyone been involved with a rallycross event or higher speed trails event? I'm not expecting to be the fastest vehicle on the dirt, but I still want to compete. So I'm thinking that putting a addco rear sway on it, and possibly new tires (can't go studded, but can put on winter rubber, no mud/stubby truck tires allowed though). Anyone have any advice to throw my way, anything else I should look for or do?

Here's the SCCA page
http://wdcr-scca.org/RallyCross/tabid/88/Default.aspx

As far as I can find, the Astro should be able to compete, there aren't any regulations against trucks or vans, and a few trucks have competed in the past.

And here's a good pick of the old girl coming back from a little adventure.

I have never competed or even been to one of those events so....

I would suggest a good set of LT rated tires, some really good shocks like Bilsteins or KYB's and definitely install the rear sway bar. I would also install a monster tranny cooler and a Transgo HD-2 shift kit. If budget allows, swap in some 4.10 gears as well.

Thats awesome you could tow a race car there, unhook the trailer and line up in the van !

ScottS wrote:Thats awesome you could tow a race car there, unhook the trailer and line up in the van !

ROFL!

I don't know man, I like your first thoughts. I lifted mine 4+ inches and haven't noticed much of a difference in milage. It just bounces like crazy on the stiff springs. I just took a road trip from Tampa, Fl to Marion, IL and the mileage seemed ok to me (I didn't actually check to see what kind of milage I was getting).

I say lift that monster and let her wild side out!!

I'm sorry... I don't want to seem rude but I don't understand the logic.

Why can a guy worried about gas mileage (a few dollars a week) be interested in participating in a competition which, in my limited knowledge, should imply damage to the vehicule and excessive wear to it's components?

This damage and wear would not only be expensive but would also mean your daily driver might be out of service for the necessary repairs.

Gosh... I'm such a party pooper.

The truth is, if you want to modify your van, it's going to cost you some money. You do it for fun. The way I see it, I do what I want to do to my van but I know it's going to take many years to get to the point where I want it to be...

- As for what mods to do to your van... Sway bars & shocks are definately necessary.

The rest is wheel travel, vehicle height (not sure if you need more clearance or lower gravity). You don't seem inclined to do mods of this nature...

On the other hand, one thing that would definately help is losing excess weight. Even for your daily commutes. That carpet in the bottom of your van is really heavy. Seats? How many do you need? Plastic molding? Headliner? Then, if you're really into it... speakers won't make you win races...

Good luck with your project!

ScottS wrote:Thats awesome you could tow a race car there, unhook the trailer and line up in the van !

My buddy with his nissan 240 is planning on attending as well. All we need is a trailer to make the impression.

Mat Mobile wrote:I'm sorry... I don't want to seem rude but I don't understand the logic.

Why can a guy worried about gas mileage (a few dollars a week) be interested in participating in a competition which, in my limited knowledge, should imply damage to the vehicule and excessive wear to it's components?

This damage and wear would not only be expensive but would also mean your daily driver might be out of service for the necessary repairs.

Gosh... I'm such a party pooper.

The truth is, if you want to modify your van, it's going to cost you some money. You do it for fun. The way I see it, I do what I want to do to my van but I know it's going to take many years to get to the point where I want it to be...

- As for what mods to do to your van... Sway bars & shocks are definately necessary.

The rest is wheel travel, vehicle height (not sure if you need more clearance or lower gravity). You don't seem inclined to do mods of this nature...

On the other hand, one thing that would definately help is losing excess weight. Even for your daily commutes. That carpet in the bottom of your van is really heavy. Seats? How many do you need? Plastic molding? Headliner? Then, if you're really into it... speakers won't make you win races...

Good luck with your project!

All reasonable points, but rallyx isn't as hard on a car as you would imagine. Its on a prepared course (devoid of rocks, treestumps, trees near it, etc) and its short, only a few heats at about two minutes (or less) each. Its not like running the baja 1000. I'm still considering the two inch lift just to make clearing tall curbs a bit more worry free, but that wont be until spring, and even that isint something I'm much concerned about doing in the long run.

The gas mileage is a big deal because I pretty much commute for a living, I spend more time on the road between the stores I call on than I do in the stores themselves. As for the seats, 90% of the time they sit in the garage, the van gets called on all the time by friends to be the workhorse of the group. The carpet and stereo are staying, I'm not planning on stripping her for the sake of a few lbs. Not to mention the stereo is one of the best (stock at least) of any car I've had the pleasure of riding or driving in, blasting it is half the fun!

All reasonable points, but rallyx isn't as hard on a car as you would imagine. Its on a prepared course (devoid of rocks, treestumps, trees near it, etc) and its short, only a few heats at about two minutes (or less) each. Its not like running the baja 1000. I'm still considering the two inch lift just to make clearing tall curbs a bit more worry free, but that wont be until spring, and even that isint something I'm much concerned about doing in the long run.

The gas mileage is a big deal because I pretty much commute for a living, I spend more time on the road between the stores I call on than I do in the stores themselves. As for the seats, 90% of the time they sit in the garage, the van gets called on all the time by friends to be the workhorse of the group. The carpet and stereo are staying, I'm not planning on stripping her for the sake of a few lbs. Not to mention the stereo is one of the best (stock at least) of any car I've had the pleasure of riding or driving in, blasting it is half the fun![/quote]



A few races may just solve that commuter problem you have.

Interested in your build and the results. Sounds fun as hell! Will be watching this thread.

the van gets called on all the time by friends to be the workhorse of the group.---looks to me like a good source for build $.

Best of luck.

9dawgs wrote:I don't know man, I like your first thoughts. I lifted mine 4+ inches and haven't noticed much of a difference in milage. It just bounces like crazy on the stiff springs. I just took a road trip from Tampa, Fl to Marion, IL and the mileage seemed ok to me (I didn't actually check to see what kind of milage I was getting).

I say lift that monster and let her wild side out!!

Is that what I have to look forward to? You never said I might need a kidney belt!

Is that what I have to look forward to? You never said I might need a kidney belt!

Oh yeah, didn't I tell you??? The kidney belt is included in the kit. You have a choice of colors even, I picked "ruptured red". That way when I bleed you can hardly notice!

While I'm all for Rallycrossing an Astro, I highly suggest not doing so with your daily driver. You can find these vans running decently for cheap, so pick up another. Grumpy the Rally Van was purchased for $250.

This video shows some nice rallycross style Safari abuse.

ihatemybike wrote:While I'm all for Rallycrossing an Astro, I highly suggest not doing so with your daily driver. You can find these vans running decently for cheap, so pick up another. Grumpy the Rally Van was purchased for $250.

This video shows some nice rallycross style Safari abuse.

That's an awesome video! Almost makes me want to go out and get one just so I can tear it up in the woods! Ha! Those kids were having some fun that's for sure

i built a raced two different early rabbits for rallyx and autox, and did a ton of events. short of a broken exhaust and a bent control arm things went pretty well without incident. before you put to much effort in, email your local chief scrutineer of whatever sanctioning body you will participate with and make sure the will allow the astro to race. after a couple rolled pickups they got sensitive about top heavy rigs here, so it would be good to check. while it's true that most of the courses are low impact, occasionally the track gets super rutted and having some clearance is needed to keep from destroying your rig. unfortunately the front subframe lift isn't going to do anything for clearance unless you go high enough to fit big tires- screwing up your gear ratio for acceleration. the idea is to not let the courses get too brutal though, so a good set of shocks and some all terrains should do the job if they are on the ball.

Well, she'll be legal to run.

Hello,
I wanted to ask before I showed up. I wasn't sure who
but I figured you were the man to ask. I'm
planning on entering a 97 Chevy Astro AWD into the
upcoming "Ryan's Revenge - RallyX #1". My question is
this, would you guys let it run? It is a larger
vehicle, and although wide, being a van, is a bit top
heavy. Currently it's stock so I'd be running in Stock
AWD class (I guess). I just wanted to make sure that
there wasn't a regulation that I missed or if there is
a track limitation on vehicles. Thanks
-Ryan

(And yes, I do know I'm not quite right in the head
for wanting to run a van at a rally event, but it's
all I have to enjoy after my mk3 supra died.)

Hi Ryan, Nick passed your e mail along to me. You can run the van, there are no vehicles prohibited except no convertibles. You would run in stock AWD. You will need to drive to conditions. Conditions include your RX skills, type of vehicle and course conditions. Suggest you get a feel for turn stability, slide factor and especially what happens when your suspension becomes upset or unweighted. Suggest you pre-register and let me know if you have other questions.



Mark Hoerath

WDCR RX Chair

That's awesome they will let you run. Now you need to get lots done to get it ready.

This will be awesome follow...need pics and videos!