Because there is no RallyX option

[2gmitsueclipse]

The Laser (When it's done), will be moving to a studded class (fwd). Should drop at least 30 seconds off what the non-studded AWD can do. I cannot tell exactly how fast the car went, but it was the top of 3rd on the straight at the end of the video.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Had a good time at the Febrrrruary Rally cross with the Detroit region SCCA at I-96 Speedway. The weather certainly lived up the event name as I do not believe it even reached 10 degrees.

AM: The course was long and very rough in spots. My runs were consistent. By lunch, we were contending with two others for 2nd place with less than 1 second between us.

PM: The course was smoother and seemed quicker. The first two runs felt good pushing the car a little more each time. The third run however, was met with 3 cone penalties and a spin-out. Even with a spin-out, we stilled pulled in a 75 sec. run. This of course, took us out of the running for 2nd place as this run added at least 10 sec. to the day's total with penalties. The last run of the day resulted in a 67 sec run, good for fourth place.

Here are some great shots from the event courtesy of Micheal Wood:

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Wow, you're involved in quite a few different racing ventures. Good job on maintaining the car through and through. She's looking real good. Keep up the good work.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Wow, you're involved in quite a few different racing ventures. Good job on maintaining the car through and through. She's looking real good. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the kind words. I have put a lot of time in maintenance to keep this thing running! Like you, I am wanting to have this car transition to road course/ time attack only. I am at a crossroads though. I am not sure how far I want to take this car as it is pretty clean. I have been gathering parts for the conversion for a little over two years now. I have been playing around with the idea of doing an AWD swap to the 99 GST and already have an AWD shell waiting to be plucked. If I go this route, I would not feel so bad about caging the AWD converted car.

But for now, I need to finish the Laser, then move on to the next project.

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Reminds me of an old Jay-Z song.

I got 99 problems, but a....

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Reminds me of an old Jay-Z song.

I got 99 problems, but a....

Dear god, is that an old song now????

I got 99 problems, but a DSM ain't one
If you having DSM problems I feel bad for you son
I got 99 problems, but DSM ain't one

Hit me​

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Finally got a nice day where I don't any job/school related demands, so I decided to swap the fluids for summer events. Jack up the car and notice a gear oil leak has very recently revealed itself. Hoping for the best, I pull the down pipe and transfer case.

Upon inspection, it appears that only the input seal to the transfer case is the cause. I was quite relieved to find no other leaks from the transmission.

I changed this seal just over a year ago, so I wanted to find the cause. Well, it appears that the seal was ever so slightly sitting uneven. I am going to assume this is the cause as there is zero play on the shaft. In the pic below, you can see that there is a slight height difference between the left and right sides. Luckily, I always seem to have spare seals for issues just like this.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Removal was easy thanks to the help of a drywall screw. Makes removal much easier for stubborn seals that are reinforced with metal. This method also works well for tight areas like the transmission output shaft. You must however, be careful not to scratch/score sealing surfaces.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Not having a Rallycross event since February, left us itching for some action. The Detroit Region SCCA hosted last weekend's May event at Thistle Hill. It was great to see friends and let off some steam. We managed to secure 2nd place at the event after putting down some very quick times in the afternoon as the course was better suited to the DSM.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Had a good day autocrossing with the SVR SCCA group today. Despite adverse weather, I managed to clutch 1st place in STX. The winning run took place just before the course became a skid pad. It was a fun, fast, and technical course. My favorite being a long sweeping corner with a decreasing radius at the outermost portion of the course. The higher speeds made several obstacles more challenging for entry speed.

Fastest Run:

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Had a great weekend competing in the 2016 SCCA RallyCross Great Lakes Divisional Championship running in the Prepared AWD class. This two day event in composed of two run sessions on Saturday and one long run session on Sunday. We competed at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan. This is a tricky course as it is made up of a rough outer bowl, with a smooth inner bowl. The course is primarily clay making it much like pavement when dry, and grease when wet. I was torn between what tires to take with me to the event. Much of the course is rather smooth making a street/summer tire providing the best grip on the inner section. The catch is though, the course is intermittently wetted down to keep dust down. It could be between run groups, or even in the middle of runs rendering summer/street tires useless. There was hot sunny weather predicted for Saturday, and a chance of rain on Sunday. I opted to bring the Blizzak 245/45/17 snow tires to maximize the contact patch, yet still have grip on the outer portion which was a bit sandy. As a back-up for Sunday, I brought along 195/65/15 General Arctics for possible slop. The Blizzaks proved to be an awesome choice on Saturday, but not on Sunday.

Saturday:

Morning runs where hot, but went well. I felt a loss of grip on the inner bowl because I had too little air pressure. I held 1st place by 2.5 seconds. In the Afternoon runs, I increased pressure about 5 psi. I had much better grip on the inner bowl. Times dropped by over a second. All day, I had been tempted to shift to third, as I was nearly redlining second, but figured it would have not dropped any time. At the end of the day, I defended 1st place with a 5.5 second lead.




Sunday:

Rain was predicted, but not until after the event. I took a chance on keeping the Blizzaks for the day. Well, Michigan had other plans. My first run produced the fastest run for the class, but rain began. This is where my tire choice failed me. I dropped 6 seconds in one run due to the mud on the outer bowl, and grease on the inner bowl. The event was concluded after only 2 runs for my run group instead of 6 due to safety concerns on the inner bowl. Figuring the runs today may have "washed away" yesterday's standings, I anxiously awaited the results. I had managed to keep 1st place by just 9 tenths of a second!




This was an awesome weekend with great people and fun driving. I have to say, it feels really good to pull ahead of a Subaru dominated class. I should receive some shots of the event soon, but for now, here is the awesome award for the event:

 

[TAMA_player]

Woohaaa, congrats on that 1st place!!

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Woohaaa, congrats on that 1st place!!

Thank you sir! The only part that will suck, is the couple hours of cleaning clay from under the car from the rain.

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Absolutely fantastic. My hats off to you, sir.

 

[TAMA_player]

Thank you sir! The only part that will suck, is the couple hours of cleaning clay from under the car from the rain.

Yeah maybe that sucks, but she will feel you really take care of her!

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Yeah maybe that sucks, but she will feel you really take care of her!

She gets plenty of attention. Next weekend, she needs to be ready for a road course event. At least a day's worth of prep.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Here are some shots taken from the event:

After tech, divisional championships require competitors to allow others to inspect the cars in their class:

The damn water truck that is an evil scourge on run groups:

Some great shots taken during Saturday and Sunday's event:

 

[TAMA_player]

This photos shows just a good looking car sitting there:

View attachment 305846

View attachment 305847


But then that 1st place is to remind everyone that the DSM platform has been kicking a$$%$ since '89, and its not stopping in the near future.....

View attachment 305849

View attachment 305850

(Sorry if my english is a little broken.... is not my natal language.... )

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

There was a 1g that took 2nd in Stock AWD as well. I look forward to moving into the 1g platform for RallyCross.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

I used to be plagued by exhaust issues during RallyCross events due to my ride height (Stock). My exhaust is composed of a modified heavily RRE downpipe and old-school Buschur Racing cat back. One of the biggest issues were fitment as the exhaust hung lower than I preferred for these types of events. One of the solutions were quite simple. Use hose clamps on the rubber exhaust isolators to fine tune the adjust of the exhaust system. I had seen this used to repair a ripped isolator during an event, and figured it would be a great way to gain some additional clearance. For those that are OCD like myself, this solution would be a great way to get your exhaust sitting right where you want it.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Car is prepped for the RallyCross event. With an 80% chance for rain, opting for the rally tires. Hopefully these will be able to paddle the White One through the mud. Should be a bit of sideways fun, but don't particularly enjoy the hours of post-cleanup.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Had a great day at Thistle Hill with the Detroit Region SCCA RallyCross group! The morning was met with light, steady precipitation leading to very messy runs for all run groups. We managed to get an early lead on the pack by a decent margin. The afternoon runs had much more grip and was able to ride the top rpm range of 2nd gear widening the time margin. Really pleased to have taken 1st in class by nearly 23 seconds!

Shots from the day:

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Congrats!

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Congrats!

Thanks!

Most complained about the conditions, but I felt it was a great way to practice car control. The only down side to the event will be the clean up.............

Hours and hours.......

 

[GST with PSI]

What suspension are you on currently, Nate? Just the KYB AGX + springs?