Tag Archives: Rally America

Another Rally xD Podium at NEFR

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Our favorite rally team, the TEIN-supported Rally xD, had a pretty good weekend at round 6 of Rally America,  the New England Forest Rally event. Although not at the top of the podium, they were able to secure a 2nd place finish.

As they had dealt with in past events, a few troubles came their way. This time, a transmission swap was necessary to keep the xD in competition. After about 35 minutes, the team got the car back on the gravel.

xd nefr 3 (Custom)

By then, the damage had already been done. Driver Matthew Johnson had a lot of ground to cover. He and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey did well, cutting the margin to within a couple of minutes. Again, enough to garner a second place finish.
As always, the hard working driver and crew pushed beyond their limits to get the car to the finish.

xd nefr 1 (Custom)

 

Great job, guys!

 

 

Rally xD Hits Some Hurdles at 100 Acre Wood

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Minor setbacks. Every person/team faces some. Whether it be minor or major is another matter. But, it seems like the Rally xD views any setback as minor, since they quickly get their car back to racing no matter the circumstance.

xd 100aw 1 (Custom)

The Rally in the 100 Acre Woods event on February 22-23 brought such a “minor” circumstance for the team. Day 1 saw some transmission and electrical woes. However, not much could be done at the time. Fortunately, the transmission held up through the day’s stages.

Skipping out on some well-needed rest, the crew got to work after Day 1’s stages, putting in their backup transmission. Luck seemed to be running out as differential issues now plagued the recently swapped transmission.  To add to the fading performance of the car, the power steering was starting to fail.

xd 100aw 3 (Custom)

Not deterred by these events, driver Matthew Johnson continued a valiant effort to make this a podium finish. End result- 2nd place!

xd 100aw 2 (Custom)

Well done, guys!

Photo credit: Scion Racing

Season Starts With A Win!!!

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Congrats to the Rally xD team for their efforts this past weekend (Jan. 24-25)!

The Sno*Drift Rally is never truly an easy race (is any rally race easy?), but they once again took the season opener with a 1st place finish! Their new driver, Matthew Johnson wasted no time in getting accustomed to the xD, and piloted the car to what seemed like an easy victory.

I was following whatever updates they posted on Facebook and Instagram to see race stats. Basically, it looks like they led the whole time.  Yeah, humble brag baby!!!

Here are some pics they shared from their Facebook Page

xd sno drift 3

Matthew Johnson has quickly taken a liking to the xD!

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Hot shoeing through the cold snow. The xD held the lead in their respective class for the whole rally.

xd sno drift 2

The crew that keeps the xD in tip-top shape worked late nights and early mornings to make sure they kept the competition at bay.

Read more about the event here at Rally America

Once again, big congrats to these guys for their hard work and determination! We definitely look forward to the next race!

Rally xD Team- Same Great Car, New Driver

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We’re catching up with our friends, the Rally xD team, to see what’s in store for their 2014 campaign. But it seems that as soon as we do, they’re right back out there racing again.

Sticking with last year’s competitive chassis, the team has  made a few upgrades in a quest to be a reliable gravel spitting machine. We’re glad to be on board once again as their suspension provider. In fact, they’re using the same suspension they used last season.

rally xd 2014 (dampers)

 

All we did was clean them up and checked them out. Fortunately, their custom Group N. dampers got a clean bill of health and ready for more abuse. Or racing, rather.

Also in store for the team is a new driver! Read about him in the link below

Matthew Johnson

Being that the upcoming Sno* Drift Rally kicks of this weekend, the crew has already started enjoying their Winter wonderland in Atlanta, MI and doing some shakedown runs.

rally xd 2014

Best of luck to these dudes. Oh, and happy birthday to their Crew Chief, Philip Chase!

Be sure to follow the Rally xD team on their Facebook page

Just Another New Year,,,,, FOR RACING!

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Not only is 2013 an exciting year for TEIN in regards to new products, but we are also prepping for a great year of racing. One of the teams we assist in Rally America, and who we are quite fond of writing about, the Sparco Rally xD team is starting to put the finishing touches on this year’s chassis.

Aesthetically, it may look to be just about the same. But, as the saying goes, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And this chassis lives up to that saying!

Much more fabrication is going into this new car. As it is, the Rally xD team are facing some serious competition. Some of which are tried and trued platforms used internationally. The Rally xD is one of few cars that doesn’t have that sort of background. For the past 4 years, this team has been the guinea pig in getting a Scion xD into a competitive vehicle. As I’ve stated  before, and as I say again, these guys are doing such a great job at it.

Although I don’t feel at liberty to cough up the details on the new car, I will say that their TEIN dampers for 2013 are a big step up from the HG-based dampers of years prior. This year, they’re using 2-way adjustable dampers based loosely off of the Group N. dampers. Basically, it is height adjustable and compression and rebound adjustable. This damper project was completed through our Specialized Damper Program- a program also available to the public!

Below are a few photos of the team’s progress on the vehicle, as well as their new TEIN dampers.

I’m sure I can dig up a few more photos of the car build. But I’m sure they’d appreciate if you gave them a follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (@RallyxD,,, easy enough to find!), which they are very active on. Tons of photos for all of you to see! So, please do so and be sure to wish this hardworking crew the best of luck for 2013!

Other than this team, we look forward to another great program of events for the year ranging from Time Attack to the Formula Drift series. As always, we’re glad to be involved!

Rally xD Sno*Drift 2012

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January 27th 2012 saw the start of the Rally America Championship series, and the TEIN sponsored Sparco Rally xD is off to a great start.

The Rally xD team managed to nab a 2nd in class win in spite of the frigid temperatures of Atlanta, Michigan and the subsequent snowy/icy/slushy road conditions they faced.

Andrew-Comrie Picard and Jeremy Wimpey returned once again as driver/ co-driver, piloting the xD expertly against the likes of Fiestas and Focuses, and even some Evo’s and STi’s.

 

After the event was finished and the team returned to sunny SoCal, the Specialized HG Dampers were removed from the xD and brought to us for a tear down and refresh before the next event.
Close, in-house repairs are definitely an advantage when you need your products back ASAP.

The next Rally America event will be February 24-25th in Salem, Missouri.

Check back for more coverage and results of the TEIN sponsored Sparco Rally xD in future Rally America events.

(Pictures via rallyxd.com & scion.com)

FINAL ROUND of 2011 Rally America

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This past weekend was the final round (Rd. 6) of the 2011 Rally America series. TEIN sponsored Sparco Rally xD made the trip out to Maine for the New England Forest Rally. Andrew-Comrie Picard and Jeremy Wimpey returned as driver/ co-driver. The winning combo last drove the car at round 4 in Oregon to the 2WD class win.

At NEFR the newly improved xD faced a plethora of Ford Fiestas including 2010 2WD Chris Duplessis (who drove the xD last year), 2009 2WD Champion Dillon Van Way in another Fiesta and 2011 2WD Champion Wyatt Knox in a MazdaSpeed 3.

Since Oregon the xD has undergone major modifications mainly in the power department. Greddy tore down the motor and installed Carrillo forged rods and pistons to beef up the 1.8L. The fuel system was upgraded as well which netted a significant power gain. The 1.8L Scion xD now produces 200 WHP, up 35 WHP from the last outing. Not big by HP number but if you look at percentages that is a big difference.

Greddy engineers working on the 2ZR-FE.

Carrillo components help beef up the short block. Power is still left at a conservative 200WHP.

The HG suspension worked perfectly over the rough terrain and various sized jumps.

NEFR was a real test for the car and newly modified engine as it has some long stages, three 16 mile stages and one 19 mile stage. The crew tells me the motor ran flawlessly but there were other issues to deal with at every service. Loss of 3rd gear, a slipping clutch, damaged exhaust system, cracked wheel, punctured tires…

The crew working hard during service to inspect and repair the xD.

Some of the chassis modifications that Design Craft made prior to NEFR also paid off. This tubular brace was added to the underbelly of the car for added reinforcement against all the offroad abuse. Even with this, the oil pan took a hit. Without this who knows what would have happened to the oil pan.

At the end of the 2 day rally, the Rally xD finished second in class and sixth overall. OVERALL. Meaning against 4WD turbo STIs, EVOs and WRXs.

Left to Right – Kenji from Greddy, fabricators Gary, Len and Ben from Design Craft, Co-driver Jeremy W., Driver ACP, Team Manager Gordon, and Jason.

Look for a video soon.

Rally xD at SnoDrift 2011

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I just got back from the first round of Rally America – Sno*Drift. The event is held about 4 hours North of Detroit in Atlanta, MI. The area is beautiful and the people are friendly BUT the weather is really cold. Coming from sunny and warm Southern California means that I am used to 60 degree Winters with an occasional rain storm. 10-20 degree temps and wind chill put most of the California based team into survival mode.

2010 2WD Champions are back in a new Scion xD.

2010 Champion Driver, Chris Duplessis getting ready for battle.

2010 Champion Co-Driver, Catherine Woods who is usually is all smiles is in competition mode.

The xD was already in Detroit when the crew arrived to Michigan as it had been on display at the Detroit Auto Show the week prior. If you cannot tell this xD is not the same as the car that was run last year. This is a brand new xD which was built just before SEMA. It only had 50 miles on the odometer when the Rally started.

The brand new car needed a thorough tech inspection.

The engine remains almost stock with the only additions being a TRD drop in filter, aftermarket header and Greddy exhaust. The transmission has been upgraded with a Quaife differential which was installed only two days before the event. Coilovers are a custom application HG which have 2-way damping force adjustment. Light weight Volk CE28 wheels and BFG snow tires round out the performance mods. This new car is lighter with various carbon fiber body panels, lexan rear windows and chassis weight reduction. Seats, belts, steering wheel, in-car comm., helmets and driving suits are all Sparco. The guys at Design Craft Fabrication did a great job building the car and getting it ready for the event.

The rally started on Friday in the early afternoon. After the first 6 stages Chris and Catherine pulled out a solid lead in the 2WD class. There was only one service during day one in which the xD came back missing both light pods. Going into the night stages the service crew scrambled to get the recovered pods back onto the car but only 1 made it back on in the limited service time. The lights only lasted about 5mins until the relay blew out forcing Chris to drive with only the OEM lights. A flat tire on stage 7 put Chris and Catherine about 10mins behind the 2WD leader at the end of day one.

After day one the service crew repaired all damage, checked over the car and made preparations for day two. Luckily the folks at a nearby resort allowed the crew to use their heated garage.

On the start of day two Chris and Catherine were determined to make up the lost time and fight for the top podium spot. The next two services went smoothly and the only damage to the car was cosmetic. Chris’s skill on snow and ice served the team well as he was able to make up about 9mins. in 7 stages (truly amazing). There simply were not enough stage miles for the xD to make up all the lost time.

The Rally xD finished in 2nd place in the 2WD class which is a great finish considering this car had ZERO testing.

Great job Gordon Ting and the crew of the Rally xD.

Photos courtesy of Duane and Joey of the Octane Report. See more event coverage at the OctaneReport.com