Dave532
15+ Year Contributor
- 98
- 0
- Jun 5, 2006
-
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Ojibwe Forest Pro Rally 2003
August 22-23
Bemidji, MN
My Minnesota luck is getting better...
Pre-Race: After replacing the intake manifold gasket which blew out at the last event, the car was ready to go.
As my brother Bob was unavailable this weekend, Chris Huntington, the owner of Metric Auto Works filled in as co-driver for this event.
My luck at this race has been mediocre at best. 4 attempts, 2 finishes in the back of the pack. Conditions were very hot and a bit dusty. Top speed was about 100 mph.
Stage 1: a small minute-long spectator stage. I hate these type of stages and it showed. Good for the spectators though.
Stage 2: Chris and I start working on our timing and rhythm with the pace notes. Car is running warm coolant-temp wise but that is expected in these conditions. Chris is a very experienced co-driver but has never ridden with me before.
Stage 3: During this particularly rough stage, Chris throws up outside the car. I have to slow down After getting sick, Chris immediately starts to read the pace notes again. He is not going to take the time to re-attach his belts. Not wanting to make his wife a widow, I decide to take no chances and drive conservatively for the rest of the stage. He apologizes as he has never done that before...maybe my driving is just that bad!
Service: Car is doing exceptionally well. The boost controller, rally computer, intercom, etc are all working together for the first time! I find one of my Hella HID lights is inoperable however. I re-adjust the good one & off we go. Even with our "mishap" last stage we are still a very strong 2nd in class which is the best I have ever done here.
Stage 4: Night falls. We later find that we passed the leading PGT's car time on the stage which moves us to 1st in class. Chris is feeling better now that we have the windows down on stage...which is a big no-no! Hopefully SCCA isn't reading this! Also came within two feet of hitting a deer on a transit.
Stage 5: Car continues to run great and handle even better. We are really enjoying ourselves. Though I don't have the confidence with Chris that I am used to with Bob, Chris are doing very well considering it's his first time calling the notes for me.
Running into dust from the car in front of us starts to slow us down but if we have to deal with it, so does everybody else.
Stage 6: Still pushing hard, setting a good pace.
Stage 7: Stage starts out with a very fast section. I launch the car from the start by dumping the clutch at 6,000 RPM like normal.
This time however, I hear a "thump" and I start to notice a bad vibration at 70 mph plus. It gets really bad at 80 mph. We lost a lot of time on the first 1/3 of the stage due to this problem. When the stage started to become twisty (slower), the vibration went away and I pushed hard again.
Friday Finish: We finish 1st in class and 9th overall...but due to our issues on 2 stages it was a close PGT finish. The top three PGT cars were within 30 seconds of each other.
We find the vibration was caused by the front intermediate drive shaft which had come loose from the engine block.
Saturday:
Stage 8: Overnight rains help to keep the dust down but is still a problem in the braking zones. Chris feels much better and it's a beautiful day. Still warm but not hot.
Stage 9: A very fast stage. With a win already this weekend, I decide to take it easy and keep a decent pace.
Stage 10: Another very fast stage. Same plan. According to the A/f gauge the car is running lean for some reason.
Service: We find that my oxygen sensor has worked itself out of its housing.
This caused my lean-running condition (too much air & not enough fuel). The extremely hot exhaust gasses also melted my timing belt cover. A minor inconvenience. We also find my alternator is starting to work itself loose.
We make all the necessary repairs, top off the fluids and off we go. We're maintaining a strong 2nd place in class. The car in 1st is very fast on these upcoming stages & I decide to hold my position and think of the overall championship and not the win.
Stage 11: Night falls. Dust is a real problem on this stage but the car is running well.
Stage 12: Our timing is getting much better with the pace notes.
Stage 13: My 2nd favorite MN stage. A smooth fast stage where every corner leads into the next one. I post a very good time here but I notice the transmission is starting to get notchy.
Stage 14: A very long stage, my favorite. However, almost immediately I find it very difficult to shift. Seeing that I will need to change gear over 300 times this stage, I start matching revs and shifting without the clutch but staying in 2nd gear most of the time. I couldn't take the risk of missing a gear and ending up in the trees. I was so disappointed. Then we lost the intercom, rally computer and voltmeter. We lost over 2 minutes on this stage due to our problems but I built up enough of a lead over 3rd earlier that I was able to maintain my 2nd place.
Saturday Finish: We finish 2nd in class and 9th overall. I eventually find the transmission bellhousing had cracked from the previous day's loose driveshaft. Apparently the driveshaft was spinning so eccentric for a while that it started a crack in the trans case. This crack became so large during Saturday's race that when I pushed in the clutch the case flexed not allowing the clutch disc to disengage from the flywheel.
I replaced the trans case and from now on I safety wire the intermediate driveshaft bolts that attach to the engine block.
I'm still leading the points championship but a black WRX is closing in on me.
August 22-23
Bemidji, MN
My Minnesota luck is getting better...
Pre-Race: After replacing the intake manifold gasket which blew out at the last event, the car was ready to go.
As my brother Bob was unavailable this weekend, Chris Huntington, the owner of Metric Auto Works filled in as co-driver for this event.
My luck at this race has been mediocre at best. 4 attempts, 2 finishes in the back of the pack. Conditions were very hot and a bit dusty. Top speed was about 100 mph.
Stage 1: a small minute-long spectator stage. I hate these type of stages and it showed. Good for the spectators though.
Stage 2: Chris and I start working on our timing and rhythm with the pace notes. Car is running warm coolant-temp wise but that is expected in these conditions. Chris is a very experienced co-driver but has never ridden with me before.
Stage 3: During this particularly rough stage, Chris throws up outside the car. I have to slow down After getting sick, Chris immediately starts to read the pace notes again. He is not going to take the time to re-attach his belts. Not wanting to make his wife a widow, I decide to take no chances and drive conservatively for the rest of the stage. He apologizes as he has never done that before...maybe my driving is just that bad!
Service: Car is doing exceptionally well. The boost controller, rally computer, intercom, etc are all working together for the first time! I find one of my Hella HID lights is inoperable however. I re-adjust the good one & off we go. Even with our "mishap" last stage we are still a very strong 2nd in class which is the best I have ever done here.
Stage 4: Night falls. We later find that we passed the leading PGT's car time on the stage which moves us to 1st in class. Chris is feeling better now that we have the windows down on stage...which is a big no-no! Hopefully SCCA isn't reading this! Also came within two feet of hitting a deer on a transit.
Stage 5: Car continues to run great and handle even better. We are really enjoying ourselves. Though I don't have the confidence with Chris that I am used to with Bob, Chris are doing very well considering it's his first time calling the notes for me.
Running into dust from the car in front of us starts to slow us down but if we have to deal with it, so does everybody else.
Stage 6: Still pushing hard, setting a good pace.
Stage 7: Stage starts out with a very fast section. I launch the car from the start by dumping the clutch at 6,000 RPM like normal.
This time however, I hear a "thump" and I start to notice a bad vibration at 70 mph plus. It gets really bad at 80 mph. We lost a lot of time on the first 1/3 of the stage due to this problem. When the stage started to become twisty (slower), the vibration went away and I pushed hard again.
Friday Finish: We finish 1st in class and 9th overall...but due to our issues on 2 stages it was a close PGT finish. The top three PGT cars were within 30 seconds of each other.
We find the vibration was caused by the front intermediate drive shaft which had come loose from the engine block.
Saturday:
Stage 8: Overnight rains help to keep the dust down but is still a problem in the braking zones. Chris feels much better and it's a beautiful day. Still warm but not hot.
Stage 9: A very fast stage. With a win already this weekend, I decide to take it easy and keep a decent pace.
Stage 10: Another very fast stage. Same plan. According to the A/f gauge the car is running lean for some reason.
Service: We find that my oxygen sensor has worked itself out of its housing.
This caused my lean-running condition (too much air & not enough fuel). The extremely hot exhaust gasses also melted my timing belt cover. A minor inconvenience. We also find my alternator is starting to work itself loose.
We make all the necessary repairs, top off the fluids and off we go. We're maintaining a strong 2nd place in class. The car in 1st is very fast on these upcoming stages & I decide to hold my position and think of the overall championship and not the win.
Stage 11: Night falls. Dust is a real problem on this stage but the car is running well.
Stage 12: Our timing is getting much better with the pace notes.
Stage 13: My 2nd favorite MN stage. A smooth fast stage where every corner leads into the next one. I post a very good time here but I notice the transmission is starting to get notchy.
Stage 14: A very long stage, my favorite. However, almost immediately I find it very difficult to shift. Seeing that I will need to change gear over 300 times this stage, I start matching revs and shifting without the clutch but staying in 2nd gear most of the time. I couldn't take the risk of missing a gear and ending up in the trees. I was so disappointed. Then we lost the intercom, rally computer and voltmeter. We lost over 2 minutes on this stage due to our problems but I built up enough of a lead over 3rd earlier that I was able to maintain my 2nd place.
Saturday Finish: We finish 2nd in class and 9th overall. I eventually find the transmission bellhousing had cracked from the previous day's loose driveshaft. Apparently the driveshaft was spinning so eccentric for a while that it started a crack in the trans case. This crack became so large during Saturday's race that when I pushed in the clutch the case flexed not allowing the clutch disc to disengage from the flywheel.
I replaced the trans case and from now on I safety wire the intermediate driveshaft bolts that attach to the engine block.
I'm still leading the points championship but a black WRX is closing in on me.
