I decided to throw caution to the wind last Saturday and took my slushbox "E" to the Western Ohio Regions SCCA rallycross series seasion opener...

I got a lot of looks and "you're running THAT?" questions, but they still let me take the old girl out there...

We had a lot of rain at the tail end of last week, and parts of the course were a little "boggy" to say the least.

When all was said and done, I came in last of 23 cars (mainly prepped WRX's and the like) but I had a blast (and a time slip that claims that I was only 19th of 23, but let's not mince words).

Well, I did manage to win the (uncontested) street AWD class and, as I said, had an absolute blast...

Here are some pics:

One last one:

BTW, there were all manner of exotic machines there (many that did not run the course M Roadster, S2000 and the like) and I think my "E" got more attention than the rest of them...one guy worked at the Honda engine plant and was dying to tell his co-workers about the little "E" that could...

...I am not above a little sponsorship from Honda corporate...ahem...

Hope you like:

Bravo! Looks like a day well spent.

Awesome! = )

How deep was the mud?

Any tendency of the Element to oversteer when front wheels spun and the rear wheels received power? I had a couple of instances of unexpected 'power drift' last time I drove in mud that I am still trying to understand.

paulj

SWEET! that was great, you have made my day.

we came back from Santa Fe last week where we did some dry runs in Cactus and rocks. the rocks were to much though.

Good Job!

wowwww that is awesome!!! You should definately continue to go back and keep posting those sweet pics, i wish there was something like that around here :roll:

Did anything break? looks sweet. But I don't feel the E is durable enuff for that.

Awesome!! How Did Your Baby Perform???

Impressive. "The Little E that did!":D

So cool, when I was upstate at the end of the ski season mud is everywhere I travel. I covered my new E in mud this April and bottomed out the gas tank guard. Never got stuck !! But sure got comments from people telling me I was nuts to do this to a new car. What the hey, besides some scuffs on the plastic panels it came out fine.
A little mud never hurt ya. :-D

Not to sling any mud, but MAN you guys are nuts! :)

I have enough trouble avoiding rocks and such, much less keeping those panels clean. My "E" is eleven months old today with 13,500 miles, and the panels are already showing wear just from driving on the pavement. Then there's the rock chips; last weekend I had to buy some touch up paint to repair two small rock chips that I hadn't noticed before... UNTIL I used the pressure washer, that is! Arrgh!

Oh well, I have to keep reminding myself of two things;
1. That the Element was meant to be driven
2. That it won't stay new forever

With that in mind, I guess I can appreciate the mud boggers among us. Hey, at least the replacement panels are cheap, right?

LEGO

Thanks for all of your comments...

My muddied "E" is starting to get a cult status out there in the parking lot...people are starting to think that I am hard core (little do they know...).

For those with questions:

paulj:
The course had a variety of depths, from fairly firm, hard packed (i.e. dry) dirt at the start, to a serious bog at the back end of the course (the "low point" of this guy's pasture he was nice enough to let us use). At the worst part, it was about 4-6 inches of muck, which did dry quite a bit throughout the day.
In terms of oversteer, I think you have something of a point, but I think the effects can be easily compensated for my the driver - with enough experience (I am referring to me in terms of "experience" not you...). When the rear wheels kicked in, I usually had the wheel in some strange angle that was all right for FWD operation, but with the added "push" of the rears, I did start to get a little squirrelly (sp?) at times.
I have never had a 4Wheel Demand vehicle before - I was always AWD or RWD in performance driving, and they tend to be more preditable throughout a course.
In time, I will get more of a feel for this system (which is really not used that much) and can better compensate for it when it activates...

That said, anyone know how to activate AWD at your whim??? I know, I will search...it was a joke...

M1 1I 1K 1E:
If you are interested in Rallycrosses in your area, you can check with the SCCA's site or any local car clubs in the area - the internet is a wonderfil thing...you'd be surprised what is going on here and there...

For those of you in the Ohio area, the WOR SCCA runs a rallycross every month - it may be a drive for most, but you never know...

Problem is, the July event in the Saturday of the National Meet - let's say we ditch the game plan and invade the Rallycross!!!

booggerg:
No, there was no damage at all, other than a horrendus smell that goes along with that kind of driving. The course that was set was completely flat, so there was very little chance of rolling, and nothing to hit (other than a 1.5 foot evegreen tree that was in sad shape by the end of the day).

In terms of general durability, there are quite a few rally folk who drive Hondas (there were 1 civic and 2 matching CRXs running Saturday), but generally, rallyists shy from Hondas as not having the smash-bang-boom durability of other makes (Toyota and Subaru). I have no data on this "myth" whatsoever, and I have to say that if I had a better driver and a manual, more than a few folks would have been given a run for their money...

Maybe in a few years (after winning the lottery, which is hard in that I don't play it) I can fully stage prep an Element and hit the ProRally series...some guys in a Beetle (when the new one came out) did quite well a few years back...

ELEMENTDUDE:

Overall, the handling was very predictable and I did not even come close to getting stuck (even after coming to a dead stop in the "bog" to push out an old RX-7 at one point). Of course, my baby could use a few more ponies under the hood, but you know what you are getting into when you become an "E"person.

Some folks were a little tweaked about removing their floor mats (required for any performance auto event) because of their carpet getting messed up after walking/working the course. I replied:

"Man, I wish I had a plastic floor in my car...wait! I do!"


Once again, it was a blast, but last night I think I made a clean spot - I will let you know if a wash reveals any chips, but I kinf of doubt it, the field was pretty well plowed, and it was just mud and dirt that were flying...

...Hope to see some of you folks in July!!!

Right-On Man!!

glad to see another crazy one in the mix that would rallycross the E! hopefully we can met up at the run-offs!! FYI I run in the Califonia Rally Series. So does that mean that you are going to run the season? As for the strange rear power actuation, I overcame that by backing off of the throttle for a split second as you hand full of E- brake, and turn the wheel at the same time. as long as you carry enough speed it make for a nice turn in. And don't forget to go full throttle as soon as you get the E in the correct drift angle and you should be able to power slide you whole way around the turns. have fun and ,

Great job! :-D :-D

Kengo,

Good to see another rally geek out there...

Sadly, I don't think we shall meet at any run-offs, I don't tend to travel out of state for motorsports (I save that for my other passion, airsoft - and I will be doing that in your neck of the woods this weekend), but seeing as I am the current SSA class leader in my region, I think I have to finish out the season...

As for the driving, I am getting used to it all, but there were, sadly, no e-brake opportinuties on the course last time - buy there is always next time, right???

Hope to get some more pics on my next go...

This is the kind of thread I love to see. Great pics, great info. Next time, get someone to get some video of you on the course. :-D


-g

What is this horrible smell you speak of? Tranny burning up? or the mud?

Most likely mud and water getting on the hot exhaust, but part may have been a little burning of the tranny...a little more wear and tear than street driving, but it's not like I was going like that for hours, more like a total of six minutes (total of my time slips).

Pliskin --

I saw you on 675! it was either today or yesterday. I was going to post somewhere on here to see if the owner of the muddy E with the numbers on the rear side windows was a member here. I passed you once in the morning (You were going north) and once at about 3:40 pm (you were headed south) You're E looked awesome! I think the only reason I mainly paid a lot of attention was the yakima set up on the roof. I haven't seen too many around here with anything but the Honda setup up there. Cool!

I try to check out all the Elements that pass me, and yours definitely stands out. I was driving the muddy green one, but not as muddy as yours!!


:grin: :grin:

Justin

way awesome! i think i'll look up the California stuff and get out there one of these days....

1 quick question: stock tires, yeah?

j_m_m,

Sorry I missed seeing you...I don't think I have ever seen an "E" around here on 17's - but I will keep my eyes peeled...

Oh yeah, that would have been me - I work up in Fairborn and live in Monroe...

Yeah, I just picked up the racks used from a buddy (had to get the landing pads, or whatever) - now I just have to get something to put up there...

willy,

Yes, the tires are the stock rubber...maybe get some snow tires for the next one...we'll see...

I work in Fairborn as well, live in Yellow Springs. On that particular day, I was on my way to West Chester for a meeting.

I know Yellow Springs well...got some degrees at McGregor (the adult end of Antioch)...and it's nice to see another "E" person with the AVIC-N1...I guess great minds think alike...

last post off subject - I promise... my fiance is a professor at antioch, but at the kid's end...

Justin