Anyone ever consider doing a Rally-cross with the Gladiator?

[hayasa]

I come from the Audi and Subaru world (but now Jeeps) where lots of people do track days, but there is also a healthy off-road racing community running Rallies, or for those of us without a six-figure budget, Rally-cross. This is an event where you run against other people in your class (front, rear, or all-wheel drive, and then in further classes that specify allowed modifications) and it is a fun way to practice car control in a slippery environment. Usually done in an open field, but there are lots of events involving gravel, mud, snow, or other "man made" hazards, and you run against the clock - all runs count and person with the least overall times wins (with time penalties tacked on for hitting cones, going off course, etc.)

I bring this up because I'm seriously considering a 2021 Mojave, partly because I think it would be a great platform for rally-cross. It is very stable at speed on rough terrain, has plenty of ground clearance - an issue with lots of vehicles that end up with cracked oil pans, and has lots of robust bits and pieces that should withstand pretty much anything (including mild jumps, aka "yumps"). Even right out of the box it should be competitive in the Stock AWD class. Might have to add aftermarket mud flaps which are typically required on all driven wheels, but that's it!

Hell, even Randy Pobst is into it:

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[Alfred77L8]

The video is well shot, and I like it in this kind of video, although I don't have a car

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’m a big car guy and LOVE rally. I have been to a pro rally and watched a lot of WRC videos, I question the JT’s ability to sustain speed over a typical rally course. The Mojave is great for a truck but it’s still a slow solid axle truck, and would probably be competing against vehicles with four wheel independent suspension. Even compared to a Raptor the Mojave can’t carry the same speed over rough terrain.

 

[JsnJcksn]

While not excluded in the rules, vehicles with lifts or a “tall” height to track ratio may not be allowed to compete depending on region.

 

[Rufus]

compared to a Raptor the Mojave can’t carry the same speed over rough terrain.

This. Very, very true. I have owned and flogged both very hard. Raptor is in a league of it’s own for that job.

Not saying it wouldn’t be fun but I can’t imagine it would be even remotely competitive against the other stuff running in that class. If you go into it knowing that and are just there for fun then have at it. I bet it’s a blast.

Keep an eye on your front end components, too. That’s gonna be hard on tie rod ends, ball joints, etc.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

I come from the Audi and Subaru world (but now Jeeps) where lots of people do track days, but there is also a healthy off-road racing community running Rallies, or for those of us without a six-figure budget, Rally-cross. This is an event where you run against other people in your class (front, rear, or all-wheel drive, and then in further classes that specify allowed modifications) and it is a fun way to practice car control in a slippery environment. Usually done in an open field, but there are lots of events involving gravel, mud, snow, or other "man made" hazards, and you run against the clock - all runs count and person with the least overall times wins (with time penalties tacked on for hitting cones, going off course, etc.)

I bring this up because I'm seriously considering a 2021 Mojave, partly because I think it would be a great platform for rally-cross. It is very stable at speed on rough terrain, has plenty of ground clearance - an issue with lots of vehicles that end up with cracked oil pans, and has lots of robust bits and pieces that should withstand pretty much anything (including mild jumps, aka "yumps"). Even right out of the box it should be competitive in the Stock AWD class. Might have to add aftermarket mud flaps which are typically required on all driven wheels, but that's it!

Hell, even Randy Pobst is into it:

I've got an ST185 Celica I've been wanting to get finished for rallycross, I'm familiar with it. But personally I don't think the Gladiator sounds like it'd be much fun in Rallycross, too cumbersome. And that's coming from somebody that autocrosses an SRT10.

But anything is worth trying out once, if you want to. I just wouldn't base my purchase decision of a high-end mid-sized truck on it's rallycross-ability. If I were running the event, I'd be hesitant to even let it on the course.

I maintain that if you want to go fast on dirt the best bang for the buck out there right now is a first gen SVT Raptor SuperCab, with the 6.2L. And minus the Torsen front end. Easier to get more travel out of those. And it's pretty much a collector vehicle, take care of it and you're not going to take a hit on it.

::edit:: speaking of which just did a quick search and this guy came up. I had a '14 CrewCab for a little while. I do miss it sometimes. I'd like to get another one day, but as outlined above.

 

[dcmdon]

I used to own a 2004 STi and used to flog the crap out of it on dirt roads. It was great fun with zero electronic nannies, but a very advanced AWD system.

I have a 22 Mojave with SelecTrac and have hammered it down some USFS roads and it's a blast. Obviously cornering speeds aren't what they would be in a car, but it really does seem to come into its own when you hustle it down a bumpy dirt road.

 

[hayasa]

Glad to see my 3 year old post finally got some love! I ended up buying a 22 JT Mojave and love it. I am firmly convinced it would dominate the Stock class, especially with the unique gearing in 4-Lo. Keep in mind that in RallyX you rarely go over 20 mph (at least in my neck of the woods where the courses are all about curves and trying to stay on the course, so a Raptor or TRX would be way overpowered.) The only issue I foresee would be the general rule that vehicles must be wider than tall, and even with the Mojave's wider stance, it is still too tall by a smidge. I've seen some other pickup trucks run the courses and they do pretty well, but none of them are lifted like a stock Mojave.

 

[Chad1376]

Glad to see my 3 year old post finally got some love! I ended up buying a 22 JT Mojave and love it. I am firmly convinced it would dominate the Stock class, especially with the unique gearing in 4-Lo. Keep in mind that in RallyX you rarely go over 20 mph (at least in my neck of the woods where the courses are all about curves and trying to stay on the course, so a Raptor or TRX would be way overpowered.) The only issue I foresee would be the general rule that vehicles must be wider than tall, and even with the Mojave's wider stance, it is still too tall by a smidge. I've seen some other pickup trucks run the courses and they do pretty well, but none of them are lifted like a stock Mojave.

I was reviewing rules last week, just out of curiousity. For stock classes, there isn't a specific minimum Track/Height limit, but there is this general statement below. It seems it would be highly dependant on how comfortable the chair/steward was with letting you run. Probably based on the type of terrain too. A rutted course would be more likely grab the side of the tire and create a rollover, where a smooth drifty type of course might be less of a hazard.

There's a few autocrossers in my region that rave about how much fun rally-cross is. I might need to suck it up and buy a shitbox sedan to try it out.

 

[Jobofly]

Man I didn’t know this existed but would love to do this with my Mojave.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

If you wanted to run a stock truck in rally cross, I think a first gen SWB Raptor with an extended cab would be awesome.

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