Slow old poop
15+ Year Contributor
- 707
- 7
- Jul 24, 2005
-
Cedar Rapids,
Iowa
About twice a year, Damien de la Huerta holds an HPDE at MAM. He gets about 40 cars, charges $150 for a day, and you get virtually unlimited track time. With three groups running every 20 minutes like clockwork, you can get in one session every hour, all day long. It's perfect for a test n' tune. Here's the report.
Encounter with Thieves
We arrived at the Marriot in Council Bluffs around 9 pm, and checked into our rooms. Should we unload the suitcases or walk across the street to Applebys and have dinner? We decided to lock everything steal-able in the cab of the truck and the Eclipse on the trailer, and have dinner.
Big mistake.
We were gone about an hour and, when we got back, discovered that someone had smashed in the passenger side window of the Eclipse, stole all the suitcases, helmets, Brents camera case with a professional Nikon and lenses (About $3,000), and the Scanmaster, and were in the process of taking out the Apexi when somebody spotted them. They fled in a cloud of dust.
Bummer. The loss of personal possessions (track clothes) was not a big deal, but the camera certainly was a heavy hit. Well check into the insurance coverage on Monday. They got my Rehab is for Quitters T shirt, though, and thats irreplacable.
Theft from hotel parking lots is a major crime problem in Council Bluffs, Iowa, because Omaha, Nebraska, is only 5 minutes away on the interstate. City police are not allowed to pursue thieves across the state line unless they are in hot pursuit of someone who has committed a major felony. Breaking into cars is not considered such a felony, so the thieves are brazen. If a cop shows up, they head for the border, knowing they cant be pursued across the state line.
What really torques me off is that Marriott refuses to install video surveillance equipment and adequate lighting, even though they are fully aware of the problem. The Settle Inn, next door, is lit up like daylight, has cameras, and is our preferred place to stay on race weekends.
A word to the wise: Dont leave anything in the race car or the truck overnight in hotel parking lots.
Adventures at the track
Someday, I am going to write a book about all the things that can go wrong with a DSM at a road course event, because I am going through all of them.
First, the bolts holding the turbo to the exhaust manifold loosen up, so you have to take off the heat shield twice a day and tighten the muthas. If you dont, they loosen enough to allow hot exhaust gas to escape, melt the timing belt cover, and the melted cover shreds the timing belt. Been there, done that last year, and lost an engine because of it. So now, whilst we await a set of bolts that are being drilled for safety wire from AMS ($40), checking the turbo bolts at the track is a regular item. A word to the wise: new bolts, lock washers, and Loc-Tite do not solve the problem. Only safety wire will stop it (we hope)
Second, excessive vibration loosens EVERYTHING on the engine under road race conditions. The furshlugginer radiator cap came loose, fer Petes sake, and I ended one session in a cloud of steam. We safety wired the mutha, and it didnt come loose again. (How do you drill a hole for safety wire at a race track? You take a very sharp Phillips head screwdriver, and hammer a hole in the cap)
Third, running boost for 20 minutes of WOT tends to build up crankcase pressure, and force oil out of every gasket. Toward the end of one session, I was smoking out the left side pretty bad, but it was coming from under the car, not the tailpipe. Inspection revealed that the pan gasket was leaking. Cure: we unplugged the PCV and ran the hose to a catch can. No more smoke.
Fourth, keep an eye on the dipstick. We have ours tied down with tie-wraps, but it still comes loose under high crankcase pressure. I ended one session in another cloud of smoke when the dipstick popped out. Good thing I installed a Carbontrix (sp?) hood scoop, because I saw every cloud of smoke as soon as it happened. Mike the Mechanic finally really tied it down so tight well have to cut the tie wrap to check the oil. There has to be a better solution.
The final killer was another vibration-caused problem. In the final run, the starter fell out! The bolts vibrated loose, the starter fell out, shorted across the motor, killed the electric power, and I coasted to a stop on the side of the track. Back to the pits on the hook again. This time, we couldnt fix it. One bolt is lost completely, and something or other (pronounced sumpin nuther, down South) shorted in the cable from the starter to the fuse box. So we put it back on the trailer and came home.
Still at 10 psi!
This is the second event in a row where we tried to increase boost from 10 psi. The last time, the manual boost controller snapped off. This time, we had a new boost controller, but the thieves stole my Scanmaster, so we couldnt monitor knock. Mike the Mechanic did not want to kick the boost without seeing knock, so we ran it at 10 psi again.
So I decided to explore the limits of the tires and try new lines, instead. After all, thats what a test n tune is for, right? With much sliding, chirping under acceleration (dont you just love the sound an AWD DSM makes when its cornering at the limit, accelerating like crazy, and spinning the front tires? Only an AWD car makes a sound like that!), and flat-spotting tires, I tried corners every which way.
Mike, Jon and Brent, observing from the cheap seats, said I had an unusual line into one corner (14?) and managed to lay down a patch of fresh rubber under braking that was building up as the day wore on. I loved that line, though. It short-cuts the corner so much that I could inhale lesser cars. The boys said I almost T-boned a Z06 that was taking the conventional line. Nah, wasnt even close. I just wanted to get his attention so hed move over and let me by, so I let him see the Diamond Star on my hood up close and personal out his driver side window. He let me by on the next straight.
Only one really good thing came out of all the experimenting: The M Coupe that won TTB at Autobahn last month was there, and I ran with him a couple of times. I was able to hang on his bumper lap after lap, but couldnt pass. So, if we ever get the boost up to 15 or 20 psi, I might actually be competitive at the Road America NASA event.
Encounter with Thieves
We arrived at the Marriot in Council Bluffs around 9 pm, and checked into our rooms. Should we unload the suitcases or walk across the street to Applebys and have dinner? We decided to lock everything steal-able in the cab of the truck and the Eclipse on the trailer, and have dinner.
Big mistake.
We were gone about an hour and, when we got back, discovered that someone had smashed in the passenger side window of the Eclipse, stole all the suitcases, helmets, Brents camera case with a professional Nikon and lenses (About $3,000), and the Scanmaster, and were in the process of taking out the Apexi when somebody spotted them. They fled in a cloud of dust.
Bummer. The loss of personal possessions (track clothes) was not a big deal, but the camera certainly was a heavy hit. Well check into the insurance coverage on Monday. They got my Rehab is for Quitters T shirt, though, and thats irreplacable.
Theft from hotel parking lots is a major crime problem in Council Bluffs, Iowa, because Omaha, Nebraska, is only 5 minutes away on the interstate. City police are not allowed to pursue thieves across the state line unless they are in hot pursuit of someone who has committed a major felony. Breaking into cars is not considered such a felony, so the thieves are brazen. If a cop shows up, they head for the border, knowing they cant be pursued across the state line.
What really torques me off is that Marriott refuses to install video surveillance equipment and adequate lighting, even though they are fully aware of the problem. The Settle Inn, next door, is lit up like daylight, has cameras, and is our preferred place to stay on race weekends.
A word to the wise: Dont leave anything in the race car or the truck overnight in hotel parking lots.
Adventures at the track
Someday, I am going to write a book about all the things that can go wrong with a DSM at a road course event, because I am going through all of them.
First, the bolts holding the turbo to the exhaust manifold loosen up, so you have to take off the heat shield twice a day and tighten the muthas. If you dont, they loosen enough to allow hot exhaust gas to escape, melt the timing belt cover, and the melted cover shreds the timing belt. Been there, done that last year, and lost an engine because of it. So now, whilst we await a set of bolts that are being drilled for safety wire from AMS ($40), checking the turbo bolts at the track is a regular item. A word to the wise: new bolts, lock washers, and Loc-Tite do not solve the problem. Only safety wire will stop it (we hope)
Second, excessive vibration loosens EVERYTHING on the engine under road race conditions. The furshlugginer radiator cap came loose, fer Petes sake, and I ended one session in a cloud of steam. We safety wired the mutha, and it didnt come loose again. (How do you drill a hole for safety wire at a race track? You take a very sharp Phillips head screwdriver, and hammer a hole in the cap)
Third, running boost for 20 minutes of WOT tends to build up crankcase pressure, and force oil out of every gasket. Toward the end of one session, I was smoking out the left side pretty bad, but it was coming from under the car, not the tailpipe. Inspection revealed that the pan gasket was leaking. Cure: we unplugged the PCV and ran the hose to a catch can. No more smoke.
Fourth, keep an eye on the dipstick. We have ours tied down with tie-wraps, but it still comes loose under high crankcase pressure. I ended one session in another cloud of smoke when the dipstick popped out. Good thing I installed a Carbontrix (sp?) hood scoop, because I saw every cloud of smoke as soon as it happened. Mike the Mechanic finally really tied it down so tight well have to cut the tie wrap to check the oil. There has to be a better solution.
The final killer was another vibration-caused problem. In the final run, the starter fell out! The bolts vibrated loose, the starter fell out, shorted across the motor, killed the electric power, and I coasted to a stop on the side of the track. Back to the pits on the hook again. This time, we couldnt fix it. One bolt is lost completely, and something or other (pronounced sumpin nuther, down South) shorted in the cable from the starter to the fuse box. So we put it back on the trailer and came home.
Still at 10 psi!
This is the second event in a row where we tried to increase boost from 10 psi. The last time, the manual boost controller snapped off. This time, we had a new boost controller, but the thieves stole my Scanmaster, so we couldnt monitor knock. Mike the Mechanic did not want to kick the boost without seeing knock, so we ran it at 10 psi again.
So I decided to explore the limits of the tires and try new lines, instead. After all, thats what a test n tune is for, right? With much sliding, chirping under acceleration (dont you just love the sound an AWD DSM makes when its cornering at the limit, accelerating like crazy, and spinning the front tires? Only an AWD car makes a sound like that!), and flat-spotting tires, I tried corners every which way.
Mike, Jon and Brent, observing from the cheap seats, said I had an unusual line into one corner (14?) and managed to lay down a patch of fresh rubber under braking that was building up as the day wore on. I loved that line, though. It short-cuts the corner so much that I could inhale lesser cars. The boys said I almost T-boned a Z06 that was taking the conventional line. Nah, wasnt even close. I just wanted to get his attention so hed move over and let me by, so I let him see the Diamond Star on my hood up close and personal out his driver side window. He let me by on the next straight.
Only one really good thing came out of all the experimenting: The M Coupe that won TTB at Autobahn last month was there, and I ran with him a couple of times. I was able to hang on his bumper lap after lap, but couldnt pass. So, if we ever get the boost up to 15 or 20 psi, I might actually be competitive at the Road America NASA event.
... I'll be sure to use loctite on everything I bolt onto the block. 
Maybe I can make it to the next Autobahn event ...
But waiting 2 1/2 hours for a cop to show up and then going up to Walmart at midnight to get toiletries and clothes sucked. My long sleeve shirt ended up being too tight, uncomfortable, and I'm sure I looked like a complete tool. WTF 
But it doesn't hurt Rich to work harder at making up the horsepower with better driving. His "tire and line testin" made for some good entertainment at the least. You should've heard the peanut gallery in the spectator stands (well, mostly me), especially at the previously mentioned ZO6 encounter. But a little more horsepower when we kick the boost is going to take this potent little Eclipse to a very interesting level. Look out TTB! 
