this maybe a stupid question

how many of you actualy get out there and race off-road? i read some of these forums and it seems like your all rally fans but do any of you actualy get out there i know here in nor cal theres a few off-road camps that will let you tear it up on the jeep trails well the ones that arnt covered in 4 foot deep holes

Rally isn't exactly off-roading. I prefer the paved stages with tight narrow roads and tight hairpins. You can't do that at a jeep camp.

Rally isn't exactly off-roading. I prefer the paved stages with tight narrow roads and tight hairpins. You can't do that at a jeep camp.

That's right, rallying is actually done on real roads but sometimes they can be extremely rough but by no means off-roading in the typical sense of the word. Infact the roads picked as stages are either cottage backroads or forest access roads all of which are open to the general public to drive, however some are either not maintained at all anymore or are not maintained during the winter. But to answer your question, I have been involved in Canadian rallying all my life and now that I am in Northern Ontario I am frequently driving on backroads that could easily be used as a rally stage. My rally club back home actually runs organized rallycross events which are basically autocross events but on gravel.
Here are couple of pics from last years event...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/da_moose/Rallycross3.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/da_moose/Rallycross2.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/da_moose/Rallycross1.jpg

Hope this clears up some myths about rallying for you.

Awesome. I know this thread is a bit old but it's still on the first page here so... I love rally. I never get to watch any races and the nearest competition is a couple hundred miles from me. But I have been invited to volunteer in them twice. Maybe this is the year. Anyway, I know what you mean about the roads. I've taken my crx on plenty of dirt roads and back access roads in the mountains here in SC and NC. Let me just say that if you don't know what you're doing you could end up well, dead. I've been pretty lucky and don't really do that anymore because I'm not sure my car can take the abuse.

da_moose, where did you get those lights?

da_moose, where did you get those lights?

My father had a few sets lying around from the old rally car so he gave them to me. They're Bosch Rallye 225's, I know Four Star Motorsports sells them (had to buy one from them because I broke one) but other than that I don't know where else to get them. They are basically equivalent to Hella 4000's which can be found all over the place. Hella's usually run about 175 CAD each (not a pair).