Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!

[Taylor Martin]

Hello again, it's been a minute since I've really posted/engaged with Oppo, but I've been busy doing rad shit in Ohio with the one and only @i86hotdogs.

I hit 100k miles this weekend and boy were the festivities fantastic! Now, I won't lie, the weekend has been a blur. Every day was jam-packed with activities and fun. So there's a lot to try and cram into one post.

Regardless, let's dive right into the most ambitious crossover in history...

Iris and the RallyVan in one shot. I must say, the RallyVan is smaller in person, but still and absolute riot to look at (just sort of admired it for a minute or so before going inside. Sitting in it is also a riot. I got one ridealong. It's loud, and hilarious when you remember those loud, unmuffled exhast noises are coming from a Transit Connect).

I get inside and meet i86Hotdogs, his fiancee, and their two dogs, Moes and Toby. I failed to take a photo of the dogs, though that's partly because Mose, a large purebred bloodhound puppy, consistently showed affection by jumping on me. Sweet dog, but very dumb.

Anyways, his fiancee leaves and the two of us are left to our own devices. So what do we do? Why, we install front brake pads and rotors of course!

By "we" I do mean he banged out the front side in 20 minutes, then chaperoned me as I did the other side and asked silly questions while wacking wrenches with hammers... but hey, the brakes were successfully done in a fairly decent time. We were losing daylight by the time we finished, so we bedded the brakes, went to Outback, went back home, and went to bed. After all, we had to be up at 6am...

Why?

Cause it was Race Day!

Originally, the plan was for me to co-drive the RallyVan, which would've been sweet. But there was something with the transmission that made it risky, and I wouldn't want to blow someone else's transmission.

So to make up for the loss of a RallyVan, I used Iris as a RallyWagon.

There's the before shot of my crummy painter's tape numbering. Go stock front!

Setting up cones before the event. Iris was a utility vehicle at the beginning of the day, then raced.

Ripped from some legend's Facebook page. I must say, for a low, underpowered (for the weight) FWD wagon, she had some pickup in the dirt... slid very well too.

There were four runs on a longer track in the morning, then lunch, then five runs on a shorter track in the afternoon. If I'm not mistaken, this photo was taken after lunch.

Had more fun in the dirt, and someone else was kind enough to take a video of race 4 out of 5 in the afternoon.

I won't lie, I kind of forgot I had to drive the car back to West Virginia the next day... but holy hell rallycross is intoxicating.

Very happy guy. That $200 helmet was worth every penny, even if this is the only time I'll use it (spoiler alert: this will not be the only time I use it).

Race 5 of 5, however, is where things got interesting...

Not only was I beached...

But the tire blew out... Oops...

Also, that's i86hotdog's jacket. It's very big on me. Was also very cold.

Luckily, a long time ago, I decided to spoil myself with a new rim, tire pressure monitoring system, and tire to slap on the car in the event of a blowout. At the time, I didn't think rallycross would be how I'd get a blowout, but oh well.

Slapped the spare on and we drove to a bar, where I complained about ticking noises that was actually just sand blowing off the bottom (yes, you were right). Had a lovely time with the two fellahs who came in first in the FWD class with a Toyota Yaris (I was in third out of four cars, the last of which left halfway through the day. They were driving a CRX and it was rad, but something broke). Then went home. Another guy came over, we chilled and watched football, then hit the sack.

The next morning we get up and get cracking on what we didn't get to do with the brakes: rear rotors/pads and brake fluid. This time, by the time he was finished one side, I was just getting the small caliper braket off. i86hotdog's is a skilled and speedy mechanic who I'm grateful was willing to help with my car (this is the second Oppo to have done so, the first being @orneryduck with the dashcam. Iris is making the rounds).

Oh, did I mention it was snowing?

This was the only photo I took of Sunday's fun, which was after we bedded the brakes and made sure nothing fell apart. It was wet, so my phone's screen didn't work, and because of the cold it kept getting to around 75% battery, completely restarting for no reason, rebooting with 1%, then dying again... old phone problems. I think I need a new battery.

After that, I bought a new spare for the rear while also argued with my mom about how the four tires I was on would be good for another 10k at least. But after insisting that "the tires were compromised" from the rallying, and begging me to buy road flares for when I inevitably break down (another spoiler alert, I didn't break down), she agreed to pay for 4 new tires. So in essence, I paid for the spare, she bought the rest... she was well aware that was unnecessary, but she wouldn't stand down...

Will start 5 tire rotations soon!

From there, I said my goodbye's and drove home... boy was the drive miserable. It wasn't even the fact that it was snowing or anything, I just got really tired really fast. I also tried making phone calls to other pals to talk about whatever, just to stay awake, but they were otherwise occupied... oh well, I got home and now I'm eating a pizza, so all is well again...

The conclusion? Please go rallycrossing, but bring a full sized spare. Holy shit, it's the most fun I've had in a long time. And when the tire did blow, I was laughing my ass off about it. If I didn't have the spare, I would've been crying. And if I broke something vital, I would've been dead (my mother would've disowned me, and because I didn't bring my work computer, I wouldn't have been able to work till I got back to WV, so by the time I wasn't stranded anymore, I would've been fired).

But that didn't happen! Other than the tire, Iris is in better condition than when we arrived. New brakes rotors, pads, and fluid, as well as dozens of memories, and a fantastic weekend.

Go rallycrossing. This Tesla Model 3 did (before the track got too rutty... it was a rutty track)...

That's all Oppo! Take care

[HoustonRunner]

@taylor-martin Awesome! Great to see your adventures here, and not surprised about the great Oppos out there like @i86hotdogs .

[beefchips]

@taylor-martin that looks like an absolute riot!

[Taylor Martin]

@beefchips Without a doubt! Go rallycross. And if you need someone to show you the ropes, go to one of the NE Ohio events (as seen above).

[Taylor Martin]

@houstonrunner said in Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!:

and not surprised about the great Oppos out there like @i86hotdogs .

Oppos are the fucking best. I could've been killed by a stranger on the internet. Instead, we did brakes and broke my car a little... absolutely worth it.

[ranwhenparked]

@taylor-martin this is exactly the sort of content that would have been on Jalopnik in the good old days, not exaggerating. Top grade stuff

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@taylor-martin Wow, this is some good Oppo! I can attest that Iris is a good wagon. I remember you getting worried about just a rutted parking lot so this is a step up. How long was the drive to Hotdogs Headquarters?

I just love that rally van met rally wagon! Somehow you only had the second most spacious vehicle on the track.

[Chariotoflove]

@taylor-martin
Heck of a trip!

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@taylor-martin
I sense a slope that has been slipped upon...

[KITT222]

@taylor-martin Looks like a great weekend! And we may have crossed paths since I was near Wheelersburg. Driving home in that wintery stuff was fine until I had to fill-up in it.

[StuckMTB]

Awesome write up or a very excellent weekend. I’ve never done rallyX but did a few ice races a few years back, and I think it’s pretty much the same idea. I’d love to do some more if the Michigan winters ever decide to let us have consistent ice pack in the Saginaw region again. This was probably the most fun I ever had in my R53, and I really want to try it with my RWD 330 to see what’s what!

[Taylor Martin]

@ranwhenparked said in Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!:

this is exactly the sort of content that would have been on Jalopnik in the good old days, not exaggerating. Top grade stuff

I've been debating on writing about the experience on DriveTribe, though I haven't touched that platform since it debuted, where I wrote one post about how to use it haha! Just don't want to sound repetitive for any other Oppos who may come across it.

[Taylor Martin]

@whoistheleader It's not that I wasn't worried about breaking my car at the beginning of the day. It's that I genuinely forgot I should be worried about that after having so much fun.

Drive was about 5 and a half hours, and his RallyVan wasn't in attendance. Lot's of Subarus and so forth. I'd say the biggest car on there was the Suzuki Grand Vitara.

[Taylor Martin]

@silentbutnotreallydeadly said in Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!:

I sense a slope that has been slipped upon...

Oh... I've slipped. Though this is Iris' last rallycross event until she's no longer my daily driver (might bring her to AutoX every now and then).

Will start saving for a dedicated rally vehicle and tires though. Donations always welcome

[Taylor Martin]

@kitt222 said in Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!:

And we may have crossed paths since I was near Wheelersburg.

I won't Dox Mr. Hotdogs, but we were by Cleveland, so I think you were a little too far west. But we were at least in the same state! I'm glad the snow didn't stick to the roads, but I did catch some highway hypnosis watching the snowflakes hit the windscreen for too long, especially in the dark.

If I didn't wake up at a reasonable hour, I would've called off work... alas, now I'm just procrastinating so I don't have to start.

[Taylor Martin]

@stuckmtb We had a couple of people at this event, including the two guys we met up with at the pub, who had done these events. Sound like an absolute blast, though cold to say the least haha!

That mini looks good in the snow.

[MM54]

Looks like a blast! This is very close to where I live, but I was out of town this weekend and couldn't make it. I did see your picture on the local SCCA facebook page, glad you were able to make it! Barring anything unusual I should make it to the first one next year. Let me know if you're ever back out this way, my door's (metaphorically) open.

[Taylor Martin]

@mm54 said in Iris' 100,000 Mile Weekend Excitement!:

Barring anything unusual I should make it to the first one next year. Let me know if you're ever back out this way, my door's (metaphorically) open.

When is it? I'll put it on my calendar and (hopefully) have a dedicated car for it by then. And even if I don't, I'd love to come back to see you and i86hotdogs again! Ohio Oppo meet!

[MM54]

@taylor-martin I don't think the next one is scheduled yet but I'm sure Mr. Hotdogs will let us know (and I follow the group on facebook so there's that too). Something is making me think march-ish but I don't know where I think I saw that.

I'm totally down for Ohioppomeet.