| nater | 05-08-2006 11:46 PM |
[QUOTE=kemon78]thanks again for the help Nate![/QUOTE]
No worries man, like I said, sorry about getting confused there for a second...
Your car is awesome. The more I thought about it, I went back and looked at the dynocomp time attack car, and they are set up amazingly similar (which is a great thing). I wish you guys the best of luck, and I hope you get the heat issue resolved.
No worries man, like I said, sorry about getting confused there for a second...
Your car is awesome. The more I thought about it, I went back and looked at the dynocomp time attack car, and they are set up amazingly similar (which is a great thing). I wish you guys the best of luck, and I hope you get the heat issue resolved.
| WRXedUSA | 05-09-2006 04:17 PM |
Any updates from Georgia?
| Patrick Olsen | 05-09-2006 04:30 PM |
Problems at No Problem Raceway. How horribly ironic. :( To go from consistent top 10s to 67 and 48 for the two runs at No Problem hurts pretty bad. Hopefully they can start clawing their way back towards the top at Roebling Road.
| DrBiggly | 05-09-2006 05:27 PM |
I tried to call Jon earlier; didn't get an answer. It took the OLOA folks forever to upload the results from NPR to the website.
-Biggly
-Biggly
| trhoppe | 05-09-2006 06:13 PM |
Luke was fast at Roebling today. Something like 4th overall in the first session, and he went faster in the 2nd session.
No results just yet though.
-Tom
No results just yet though.
-Tom
| DrBiggly | 05-09-2006 06:52 PM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]Luke was fast at Roebling today. Something like 4th overall in the first session, and he went faster in the 2nd session.
No results just yet though.
-Tom[/QUOTE]
I heard the same thing (via like 4th party.) He's trying hard to catch up after yesterday's breakdown and crappy times. Gonna be a tough battle; exciting to watch for sure. :)
-Biggly
No results just yet though.
-Tom[/QUOTE]
I heard the same thing (via like 4th party.) He's trying hard to catch up after yesterday's breakdown and crappy times. Gonna be a tough battle; exciting to watch for sure. :)
-Biggly
| Rally_wgn | 05-09-2006 08:09 PM |
Man!, I wish there was some TV coverage on this.
| mofugga | 05-09-2006 08:18 PM |
keep it on the pavement luke, don't push too hard ;)
| Rally_wgn | 05-09-2006 11:45 PM |
One Lap site updated. Luke appears to have gotten 4th in both RR events and moved up to 15th overall, second in class behind the EVO :furious:
Great Job guys in getting it back in contention :banana:
Great Job guys in getting it back in contention :banana:
| esteve | 05-10-2006 12:27 AM |
[QUOTE=Rally_wgn]One Lap site updated. Luke appears to have gotten 4th in both RR events and moved up to 15th overall, second in class behind the EVO :furious:
Great Job guys in getting it back in contention :banana:[/QUOTE]
Yeah, great job. They would need to average at least 20 points per event on the EVO so their work's cut out but anything can happen. It's probably gonna be very close and if anyone can pull off an awesome comback it would be Luke. Damn BOV. :mad:
Great Job guys in getting it back in contention :banana:[/QUOTE]
Yeah, great job. They would need to average at least 20 points per event on the EVO so their work's cut out but anything can happen. It's probably gonna be very close and if anyone can pull off an awesome comback it would be Luke. Damn BOV. :mad:
| trhoppe | 05-10-2006 12:29 AM |
Its going to take 5 races of being 1 spot ahead for him to tie. They have 5 races left, then the drag events, then 2 more races and then a skidpad. Its going to be close methinks :)
-Tom
-Tom
| WRXedUSA | 05-10-2006 09:14 AM |
Just more reinforcement why Nasioc hates BOV's.
:lol:
:lol:
| Bonzo | 05-10-2006 09:24 AM |
Road America weather looks like rain, (60% chance) high of 53 with winds 15 to 20 out of the NW.
| KC | 05-10-2006 09:28 AM |
[QUOTE=WRXedUSA]Just more reinforcement why Nasioc hates BOV's.
:lol:[/QUOTE]
2nded!!!
:lol:[/QUOTE]
2nded!!!
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 10:03 AM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]Its going to take 5 races of being 1 spot ahead for him to tie. They have 5 races left, then the drag events, then 2 more races and then a skidpad. Its going to be close methinks :)
-Tom[/QUOTE]
Agreed. :)
-Biggly
-Tom[/QUOTE]
Agreed. :)
-Biggly
| Crawford/I-Speed | 05-10-2006 01:57 PM |
We have a customer who is running this event also. Kudos go out to Kevin Jones, just a normal Joe having fun with his car:) Currently I think he is in third behind Luke, who is an awesome driver.
Personally I don't car who wins, I just like knowing there are a lot of competitive Subaru�s out there. But, there is still that EVO...grrrr;) Can anyone confirm that the EVO is running 275's, GT35R and on 116? If that's true then, that' will be a tough car to beat.
Good luck Subaru's!
Chris
Chris
Personally I don't car who wins, I just like knowing there are a lot of competitive Subaru�s out there. But, there is still that EVO...grrrr;) Can anyone confirm that the EVO is running 275's, GT35R and on 116? If that's true then, that' will be a tough car to beat.
Good luck Subaru's!
Chris
Chris
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 02:30 PM |
I don't know what turbo the EVO is on, but it's putting down plenty of power. The tires are huge but they are on quite the disadvantaged compound in the rain at least (and personally I think in the dry.) I don't think the car got sorted out in time, otherwise it would be running up front IMO. :)
-Biggly
-Biggly
| Rally_wgn | 05-10-2006 03:05 PM |
Well with VIR #1 and #2 down Luke has moved to 11th overall and he has beaten the EVO on the south course but placed behind him on the North course. Man I wish I had been able to go and cheer Luke and the rest of the Subaru teams on.
LOoks like Putnam Park is gonna be cold and damp tommorrow, hmm...
LOoks like Putnam Park is gonna be cold and damp tommorrow, hmm...
| Johnny Butane | 05-10-2006 03:25 PM |
[QUOTE=Crawford/I-Speed]We have a customer who is running this event also. Kudos go out to Kevin Jones, just a normal Joe having fun with his car:) Currently I think he is in third behind Luke, who is an awesome driver.
Personally I don't car who wins, I just like knowing there are a lot of competitive Subaru�s out there. But, there is still that EVO...grrrr;) Can anyone confirm that the EVO is running 275's, GT35R and on 116? If that's true then, that' will be a tough car to beat.
Good luck Subaru's!
Chris
Chris[/QUOTE]
The Evo is running the AMS GT35R kit, 2.3L stroker and Kumho MX 295's.
jeff
Personally I don't car who wins, I just like knowing there are a lot of competitive Subaru�s out there. But, there is still that EVO...grrrr;) Can anyone confirm that the EVO is running 275's, GT35R and on 116? If that's true then, that' will be a tough car to beat.
Good luck Subaru's!
Chris
Chris[/QUOTE]
The Evo is running the AMS GT35R kit, 2.3L stroker and Kumho MX 295's.
jeff
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 03:42 PM |
[QUOTE=Rally_wgn]Well with VIR #1 and #2 down Luke has moved to 11th overall and he has beaten the EVO on the south course but placed behind him on the North course. Man I wish I had been able to go and cheer Luke and the rest of the Subaru teams on.
LOoks like Putnam Park is gonna be cold and damp tommorrow, hmm...[/QUOTE]
Dangitall, I'm only a couple of hours and really wanted to go. BOO for personal responsibility and not calling into work. :(
edit: Results from VIR#1 (South Course): [url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV10[/url]
Results from VIR#2 (North Course): [url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV11[/url]
As of now the results for VIR#3 (Full Course) aren't up yet.
-Biggly
LOoks like Putnam Park is gonna be cold and damp tommorrow, hmm...[/QUOTE]
Dangitall, I'm only a couple of hours and really wanted to go. BOO for personal responsibility and not calling into work. :(
edit: Results from VIR#1 (South Course): [url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV10[/url]
Results from VIR#2 (North Course): [url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV11[/url]
As of now the results for VIR#3 (Full Course) aren't up yet.
-Biggly
| Carnot | 05-10-2006 04:15 PM |
VIR #3 is posted now. Jon just nipped Luke.
-Bryce
-Bryce
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 04:33 PM |
[QUOTE=Carnot]VIR #3 is posted now. Jon just nipped Luke.
-Bryce[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV12[/url]
Indeed he did.
edit: Looks like Luke is going to have to gain about 30 points for each event from now on to take out Jon, barring any more mechanical failures from either camp.
-Biggly
-Bryce[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res=EV12[/url]
Indeed he did.
edit: Looks like Luke is going to have to gain about 30 points for each event from now on to take out Jon, barring any more mechanical failures from either camp.
-Biggly
| Johnny Butane | 05-10-2006 04:35 PM |
Anyone know what suspension setup Luke and Doug are using?
jeff
jeff
| pleiades | 05-10-2006 04:45 PM |
[QUOTE=Carnot]VIR #3 is posted now. Jon just nipped Luke.
-Bryce[/QUOTE]
w00t! Go Jon!!
I liked the video posted at VIR with Luke & Jon out on course together. Two mean ass black beasts!
-Bryce[/QUOTE]
w00t! Go Jon!!
I liked the video posted at VIR with Luke & Jon out on course together. Two mean ass black beasts!
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 04:54 PM |
[QUOTE=pleiades]w00t! Go Jon!!
I liked the video posted at VIR with Luke & Jon out on course together. Two mean ass black beasts![/QUOTE]
Where was this video posted?
I liked the video posted at VIR with Luke & Jon out on course together. Two mean ass black beasts![/QUOTE]
Where was this video posted?
| javid | 05-10-2006 05:06 PM |
[QUOTE=Johnny Butane]Anyone know what suspension setup Luke and Doug are using?
jeff[/QUOTE]
off the shelf tien basics and hotchkis comp bars.
jeff[/QUOTE]
off the shelf tien basics and hotchkis comp bars.
| TopSpeed | 05-10-2006 05:10 PM |
They are Tein Flex.
| gotsol | 05-10-2006 05:24 PM |
Man, way to go Luke and Doug!
| Johnny Butane | 05-10-2006 05:30 PM |
Thanks for the info TopSpeed and Javid.
jeff
jeff
| trhoppe | 05-10-2006 05:45 PM |
Even with all the issues, Luke is still looking good for a top 10 finish. He's going to have to whoop up on Jon to take top place in class though, and we all know Jon is not going to want that to happen :)
-Tom
-Tom
| trhoppe | 05-10-2006 05:46 PM |
On a side note. With a TopSpeed tune on the UTEC, Tein Flex coilovers, and Yoko tires, Luke picked up right at 4 seconds A LAP at Roebling Road from his JIC setup/
-Tom
-Tom
| CirrusWRX | 05-10-2006 06:01 PM |
w00t - keep up the good work!!!!!
| DrBiggly | 05-10-2006 06:14 PM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]On a side note. With a TopSpeed tune on the UTEC, Tein Flex coilovers, and Yoko tires, Luke picked up right at 4 seconds A LAP at Roebling Road from his JIC setup/
-Tom[/QUOTE]
That's a LOT of time to pick up from some seemingly incremental upgrades.
-Biggly
-Tom[/QUOTE]
That's a LOT of time to pick up from some seemingly incremental upgrades.
-Biggly
| javid | 05-10-2006 06:23 PM |
tires: 1 sec
+70whp: 1 sec
good shocks: priceless
my jics need to go!
+70whp: 1 sec
good shocks: priceless
my jics need to go!
| TopSpeed | 05-10-2006 08:54 PM |
Did someone say Video clip? ;)
| WRXRATED7 | 05-10-2006 09:25 PM |
[QUOTE=TopSpeed]Did someone say Video clip? ;)[/QUOTE]
Here's a video clip of Luke WRXedUSA took at MAM. Right Click SAVE AS so my server doesn't blow up. :D Enjoy.
[URL=http://members.cox.net/todd-coniglio/MVI_2331.AVI]LUKE TOPSPEED MAM[/URL]
Here's a video clip of Luke WRXedUSA took at MAM. Right Click SAVE AS so my server doesn't blow up. :D Enjoy.
[URL=http://members.cox.net/todd-coniglio/MVI_2331.AVI]LUKE TOPSPEED MAM[/URL]
| pleiades | 05-10-2006 09:53 PM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]Even with all the issues, Luke is still looking good for a top 10 finish. He's going to have to whoop up on Jon to take top place in class though, and we all know Jon is not going to want that to happen :)
-Tom[/QUOTE]
Yes indeed! Do I smell a larger friendly wager? ;) :lol:
-Tom[/QUOTE]
Yes indeed! Do I smell a larger friendly wager? ;) :lol:
| Rally_wgn | 05-10-2006 10:29 PM |
God i love the sound of Luke's car, Boxer Rumble FTW!!
| trhoppe | 05-10-2006 10:41 PM |
[QUOTE=pleiades]Yes indeed! Do I smell a larger friendly wager? ;) :lol:[/QUOTE]
You wanna try to get some of your $$ back? ;)
-Tom
You wanna try to get some of your $$ back? ;)
-Tom
| javid | 05-10-2006 11:12 PM |
[QUOTE=WRXRATED7]Here's a video clip of Luke WRXedUSA took at MAM. Right Click SAVE AS so my server doesn't blow up. :D Enjoy.
[URL=http://members.cox.net/todd-coniglio/MVI_2331.AVI]LUKE TOPSPEED MAM[/URL][/QUOTE]
Luke was going way faster than 45mph through there. :lol: OK that was bad :(
[URL=http://members.cox.net/todd-coniglio/MVI_2331.AVI]LUKE TOPSPEED MAM[/URL][/QUOTE]
Luke was going way faster than 45mph through there. :lol: OK that was bad :(
| WRXedUSA | 05-11-2006 12:32 AM |
Apparently Ken thinks Roebling is the next round on the Rally-America series. :lol:
[url]http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/day-three-of-the-blockscotto-one-lap-assault-172965.php[/url]
[IMG]http://www.jalopnik.com/images/2006/05/ol_4nascar.jpg[/img]
:lol:
[url]http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/day-three-of-the-blockscotto-one-lap-assault-172965.php[/url]
[IMG]http://www.jalopnik.com/images/2006/05/ol_4nascar.jpg[/img]
:lol:
| lukerussell | 05-11-2006 02:43 AM |
Finally a post. Kind of a daily log. Since Thursday, I have slept 17.5 hours. All my hotels listed as �internet available� are not. Or I�ve gotten in at 5am and wanted to sleep til 6:30 instead of post. I apologize for any falsities, spelling and grammatical errors, etc.
May 3 � I skipped out of work early, 3pm. Make it to the ATL around midnight.
May 4 � met my partner in crime, Doug at Top Speed, at 9am. We replaced all fluids, added an oil cooler, corner balanced the car, put a hitch on the car for our parts/tools trailer and took care of some other misc. items. We left Top Speed at 5:30pm, fought ATL traffic, decided we�re not going to make it to a hotel, ate some tasty White Castles in TN, continued all the way to South Bend, IN. We show up in the Tire Rack parking lot at 6am.
Cinco de Mayo � We slept in the freezing cold truck for 2 hours. It�s cold and windy. We register, attempt to apply decals in the gusty wind, go through tech (they�re now painting tires so they know if you�ve swapped during the event � rules are the 4 tires must last the entire event, other than a blowout, etc.) we attend the drivers meeting, find a spare tire for trailer at Meijer (pronounced meyer), drink beers, go to the provided dinner, drink beers. While I appreciate Kicker paying for dinner, the caterer needs to work on that fried chicken. Down in the south, it�s crispy. This chicken was something other than crispy. Imagine sitting in a hot tub, you reach over into your bucket of KFC and accidentally drop your thigh in the water. Then you let it float around for a few minutes before you eat it. Yummy. The rest of the night we watched all the driver�s attempt to put the moves on the only single female team on One Lap, drink beers, then I remember I�ve only slept 2 hours in the last 30, go to sleep. Some time during all this Ken Block shows up in his Gumball 3000 car all pimped out w/ the sweetest paint job ever, prodrive wrc carbon fiber rally wing, etc.
May 6 � Wet Skid contest, and I�m not talking about the kind in your shorts. We disconnect the sway bars, turn shocks to full soft and lower the air pressure in the tires. If I�m Luke Skywalker then my Yoda is Tom Hoppe � at least for set up advice. He and Doug�s bro say to turn the dccd two from full lock and turn the rear shocks all the way up. I give it a try. I was a bit slower than last year. I still think the Michelin PS2 is the best wet tire. And as usual, the wet skid pad was: FWD domination. This contest is made for fwd cars, and they took the top 6 spots. I think the top 9 cars were all on PS2s. The results are hilarious, a PT Cruiser and HHR in the top 10. That�s great! Pro drivers in their crazy mobiles w/ monster hp getting spanked by everyday joes in economy cars. I ended up 17th overall, 4th in class. I think last year I was 9th overall and maybe 3rd in class. While not an ideal start, I�m still in shooting distance of the class leaders and right on the big boys too.
Packed up the car and headed to Autobahn Country Club. Chicago traffic was nasty as usual. The first group to go off included the 4 big boys. Ron Adee in a 800 whp on pump gas twin turbo chevy engined wide body carbon fiber tube frame Viper. Oh yea, this is his home track and he can easily tune the car to hit 1000whp if needed. Danny Pop, Mr. Super AutoX master in a nasty fast Z06 � all motor, but faaaast. Brian Smith, pro driver driving one of Hennesy�s Vipers. Mark Divia, another fast driver in a 600whp Porsche turbo � he has won the last 2 one laps. I started the second group w/ a twin turbo wide body carbon fiber vette behind me, then Joel Lipperini in an STi � current SSC Run Offs winner � stock power but decent suspension mods and Lipperini is a set up freak like Tom. Also a new M5, and �Hollywood� Hushcle (sp?), another well known driver in a bad Jeep SRT-8 w/ carbon fiber hatch and rear doors, roll cage, stripped (says it still weighs 4400 lbs.). Doug and I decided to turn up the wick, really push and send a message. Of course if we didn�t win our class, we�d be all discouraged, but oh well. I haven�t been to the track. My one practice lap I missed a shift and reved close to 8000 rpm and nearly slid off course. Since you only get one practice lap, you must push the car, push the braking zones and push the corner speeds so when they wave the green flag, you know exactly where the limits are. Doug really did a number with the tune. I�ve never driven anything that fast, and when I launched the start (you start from a stand still), I was instantly at 7000 rpm, second gear went by in a flash too. I said �holy stinking crap bucket�. Full throttle out of sharp corner put me into a full drift 4 wheel spinning power slide a little opposite lock and I was able to keep the throttle buried � so it was all good. Half way through lap one I noticed smoke in the passenger foot well, which freaked me out. I was checking gauges, smelling the air, wondering what was going on � and not concentrating on driving. After it was over, I figure out it was the new external wastegate that dumps right there, or could�ve been tire smoke. I kept checking the mirrors and never saw the corvette, so that was good. I also hunted down the Jeep (praise the lord) and almost got to pass him. Eric is an awesome driver, he was cutting curbs to the grass, tracking them out to the grass, doing everything to get that beast to handle. Despite all that everyone said I was fast, faster than the evo, even my trap speeds ;). I was something like 8 seconds faster a lap than the fastArs srt-4s that whooped me in the wet skid. So after they told me that I felt pretty good. Mr. Subaru Rally Driver DC Shoes Owner Ken Block hadn�t gone yet. He could be the black horse this year. We�re driving along in the night, waiting for results to be posted. Unless he is super fast, first in class and top 7ish is definitely possible.
May 7 � We get to the Motel 6 past midnight, sun and windburnt from spending the day at Autobahn. We finally get the results, something about 1st in Class and 5th overall. We�re stoked, tired, but stoked. Ken Block is shown as a dnf, nobody seems to know why � seems to have cut off on course. We feel good, agree to set up the car and drive the car conservatively and cruise to the finish. We think we can stay competitive and even continue to win in class by being conservative. MAM ended up being a wonderful track, very fun. I did not like the Autobahn South Course at all. MAM was wide open, you could really toss the car around and not get in trouble. The first run group consisted of the same big guns mentioned before. The crazy viper Ron Adee spun. Apparently his clutch was failing and he was pushing the braking zones to try to make up for it. After the Porsche crosses the finish line, his wheel falls off. They put it back on and continue in the afternoon. My group this time was funny. Noble, me, Noble, Ultima GTR. None of those cars even came up to my door handles. Uneventful, it felt good and we wait for the results. 6th in the event, now 4th overall and of course still 1st in class. However Jon in the Evo is just a tick behind me. That Evo will be a monster once it gets dialed in. It�s just a matter of time before it starts taking firsts in class. I�m enough ahead that I�m OK with that.
Lake Effect Racing ([url]www.lake-effect-racing.com[/url] has all kinds of video and photos up) mounts a roof cam to the car. We turn the car up about 2 psi for the second event. I don�t like it because it makes me shift in 3 spots right before braking zones. I quickly turn it down before the green flag. I don�t know if I was trying to show off for the camera or what, but I way overdrove the course. If they post that video, I�ll look like a retard driver. I�ll admit I usually have some non-traditional lines, but that was not the case here � I just drove retarded. I do hope they post my Autobahn video, it�s much better and you get to see me hunt down the Jeep anyway. I was a second slower for the second session, due to the retarded driving. Also somebody spun and left all kinds of debris in a fast corner � which I had to be careful through for all 3 laps, oh well. We pack quickly as we have an 1100 mile all night trip to No Problem Raceway in the New Orleans area. We get calls on the road saying we came in 8th. Some fast vettes and an RX7 improved on their second round and got ahead of us. Adee in the Viper was having serious clutch issues and dropped way back again. He�ll be back at No Problem ready to go. While I�m a bit ahead of him now, he�ll just need a few events to take 4th away from me. If everything goes well, I don�t think we can lose 5th overall or 1st in class.
May 8 � Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays. Sucky Sucky day. We get in at 6am from an all night drive. Somebody said the Alpine Stars WRX was pulled over w/ 5 police cars and he was a no show. Hmmmmmmm? I�m groggy as all heck, go out on the warm up lap and we got problems. I come in the pits, which is a 10 second penalty, but I�ll get to restart. We torture the car on a road tune and we get it working perfectly again. We restart and same problems. I limp the car around the track for a dead last finish. Everybody seems to agree the problem is the BOV. We jam it shut, beat the crap out of it on a road tune and head for session 2. My first lap was wicked fast, then same problems again. Something about the G loads and bouncing around the track that the car didn�t like � even though it ran perfecting doing pulls on the highway. Tonight is a long night, we�re going to swap the BOV, ECU and Plugs, � and while were at it, swap rotors, do an oil change, drink beer and swap tranny fluid. While top 10 and 1st in class isn�t impossible � it is unlikely. So I�m not going to think about it, have fun, and see where we finish.
May 9 � Holy Stinkin Butt Crack. Ends up it wasn�t the BOV, but a silicone hose w/ a small leak we couldn�t identify until it completely blew on the highway. I even had a spare on me. Suck, a $20 part sending us from 3rd to 27th overall and 1st to 3rd in class. We get to Roebling after putting the previous day behind us. We�re just out to have fun now. The first session we end up 4th overall, running laps at 1:20. The Ultima GTR is hooked up now and has proven it can be the quickest car here. He kills everyone. I�m 1.5 seconds off of 2nd place, the Viper. The second session I try to push a little further, for the fun of it, get some nice drifts off corners, and cut 2 laps at 1:19. The Ultima dominates again. The Viper runs a 4:05.4, the Porsche a 4:05.5, me a 4:05.6 � so close, yet so far away. That would�ve totally made up for yesterday, a 2nd overall � oh well. We head to the Oval in Florence. Talk about needing to practice before hand. I heard a good �ol boy explaining the line, I try it, and it don�t work. I fly into the corners, then for some odd reason, half way through, there is no grip and I shoot up the track it the world�s worst push � so I have to slam on the brakes, re-aim, and nail the gas. I kept trying to power through w/ the gas, but everything I did just generated horrible push. A few more laps and I would�ve figured something out, but that�s not how one lap works. Somehow I end up 7th. By the end of the day, we somehow move from 27th to 15th overall and move to 2nd in class.
May 10 � I finally learn that horsepower can not always be overcome. VIRs long straights ate me up. Stock Z06s were killing me. Not to mention the AMS Evo. It�s hard to make up for losing 3 seconds per straight (x2) per lap. Oh well. We were still able to get 3 top ten finishes. The important thing is my original goal of 10th is right around the corner. The Gray Noble crashed today, driver OK. The Hennessey Viper blew up. That will put me in 9th as long as nothing screwy happens tomorrow. Speaking of screwy, major rain showers in the forecast. It�s impossible for me to catch Jon if it remains dry. And probably won�t do much better in the wet, but I�d rather it rain just to shake things up a bit and see what happens. If it does rain, the drag strip will be cancelled, which means I probably won�t beat the Civic in overall. I was planning on gobbling up about 200 points there. Shows the importance of consistency.
May 3 � I skipped out of work early, 3pm. Make it to the ATL around midnight.
May 4 � met my partner in crime, Doug at Top Speed, at 9am. We replaced all fluids, added an oil cooler, corner balanced the car, put a hitch on the car for our parts/tools trailer and took care of some other misc. items. We left Top Speed at 5:30pm, fought ATL traffic, decided we�re not going to make it to a hotel, ate some tasty White Castles in TN, continued all the way to South Bend, IN. We show up in the Tire Rack parking lot at 6am.
Cinco de Mayo � We slept in the freezing cold truck for 2 hours. It�s cold and windy. We register, attempt to apply decals in the gusty wind, go through tech (they�re now painting tires so they know if you�ve swapped during the event � rules are the 4 tires must last the entire event, other than a blowout, etc.) we attend the drivers meeting, find a spare tire for trailer at Meijer (pronounced meyer), drink beers, go to the provided dinner, drink beers. While I appreciate Kicker paying for dinner, the caterer needs to work on that fried chicken. Down in the south, it�s crispy. This chicken was something other than crispy. Imagine sitting in a hot tub, you reach over into your bucket of KFC and accidentally drop your thigh in the water. Then you let it float around for a few minutes before you eat it. Yummy. The rest of the night we watched all the driver�s attempt to put the moves on the only single female team on One Lap, drink beers, then I remember I�ve only slept 2 hours in the last 30, go to sleep. Some time during all this Ken Block shows up in his Gumball 3000 car all pimped out w/ the sweetest paint job ever, prodrive wrc carbon fiber rally wing, etc.
May 6 � Wet Skid contest, and I�m not talking about the kind in your shorts. We disconnect the sway bars, turn shocks to full soft and lower the air pressure in the tires. If I�m Luke Skywalker then my Yoda is Tom Hoppe � at least for set up advice. He and Doug�s bro say to turn the dccd two from full lock and turn the rear shocks all the way up. I give it a try. I was a bit slower than last year. I still think the Michelin PS2 is the best wet tire. And as usual, the wet skid pad was: FWD domination. This contest is made for fwd cars, and they took the top 6 spots. I think the top 9 cars were all on PS2s. The results are hilarious, a PT Cruiser and HHR in the top 10. That�s great! Pro drivers in their crazy mobiles w/ monster hp getting spanked by everyday joes in economy cars. I ended up 17th overall, 4th in class. I think last year I was 9th overall and maybe 3rd in class. While not an ideal start, I�m still in shooting distance of the class leaders and right on the big boys too.
Packed up the car and headed to Autobahn Country Club. Chicago traffic was nasty as usual. The first group to go off included the 4 big boys. Ron Adee in a 800 whp on pump gas twin turbo chevy engined wide body carbon fiber tube frame Viper. Oh yea, this is his home track and he can easily tune the car to hit 1000whp if needed. Danny Pop, Mr. Super AutoX master in a nasty fast Z06 � all motor, but faaaast. Brian Smith, pro driver driving one of Hennesy�s Vipers. Mark Divia, another fast driver in a 600whp Porsche turbo � he has won the last 2 one laps. I started the second group w/ a twin turbo wide body carbon fiber vette behind me, then Joel Lipperini in an STi � current SSC Run Offs winner � stock power but decent suspension mods and Lipperini is a set up freak like Tom. Also a new M5, and �Hollywood� Hushcle (sp?), another well known driver in a bad Jeep SRT-8 w/ carbon fiber hatch and rear doors, roll cage, stripped (says it still weighs 4400 lbs.). Doug and I decided to turn up the wick, really push and send a message. Of course if we didn�t win our class, we�d be all discouraged, but oh well. I haven�t been to the track. My one practice lap I missed a shift and reved close to 8000 rpm and nearly slid off course. Since you only get one practice lap, you must push the car, push the braking zones and push the corner speeds so when they wave the green flag, you know exactly where the limits are. Doug really did a number with the tune. I�ve never driven anything that fast, and when I launched the start (you start from a stand still), I was instantly at 7000 rpm, second gear went by in a flash too. I said �holy stinking crap bucket�. Full throttle out of sharp corner put me into a full drift 4 wheel spinning power slide a little opposite lock and I was able to keep the throttle buried � so it was all good. Half way through lap one I noticed smoke in the passenger foot well, which freaked me out. I was checking gauges, smelling the air, wondering what was going on � and not concentrating on driving. After it was over, I figure out it was the new external wastegate that dumps right there, or could�ve been tire smoke. I kept checking the mirrors and never saw the corvette, so that was good. I also hunted down the Jeep (praise the lord) and almost got to pass him. Eric is an awesome driver, he was cutting curbs to the grass, tracking them out to the grass, doing everything to get that beast to handle. Despite all that everyone said I was fast, faster than the evo, even my trap speeds ;). I was something like 8 seconds faster a lap than the fastArs srt-4s that whooped me in the wet skid. So after they told me that I felt pretty good. Mr. Subaru Rally Driver DC Shoes Owner Ken Block hadn�t gone yet. He could be the black horse this year. We�re driving along in the night, waiting for results to be posted. Unless he is super fast, first in class and top 7ish is definitely possible.
May 7 � We get to the Motel 6 past midnight, sun and windburnt from spending the day at Autobahn. We finally get the results, something about 1st in Class and 5th overall. We�re stoked, tired, but stoked. Ken Block is shown as a dnf, nobody seems to know why � seems to have cut off on course. We feel good, agree to set up the car and drive the car conservatively and cruise to the finish. We think we can stay competitive and even continue to win in class by being conservative. MAM ended up being a wonderful track, very fun. I did not like the Autobahn South Course at all. MAM was wide open, you could really toss the car around and not get in trouble. The first run group consisted of the same big guns mentioned before. The crazy viper Ron Adee spun. Apparently his clutch was failing and he was pushing the braking zones to try to make up for it. After the Porsche crosses the finish line, his wheel falls off. They put it back on and continue in the afternoon. My group this time was funny. Noble, me, Noble, Ultima GTR. None of those cars even came up to my door handles. Uneventful, it felt good and we wait for the results. 6th in the event, now 4th overall and of course still 1st in class. However Jon in the Evo is just a tick behind me. That Evo will be a monster once it gets dialed in. It�s just a matter of time before it starts taking firsts in class. I�m enough ahead that I�m OK with that.
Lake Effect Racing ([url]www.lake-effect-racing.com[/url] has all kinds of video and photos up) mounts a roof cam to the car. We turn the car up about 2 psi for the second event. I don�t like it because it makes me shift in 3 spots right before braking zones. I quickly turn it down before the green flag. I don�t know if I was trying to show off for the camera or what, but I way overdrove the course. If they post that video, I�ll look like a retard driver. I�ll admit I usually have some non-traditional lines, but that was not the case here � I just drove retarded. I do hope they post my Autobahn video, it�s much better and you get to see me hunt down the Jeep anyway. I was a second slower for the second session, due to the retarded driving. Also somebody spun and left all kinds of debris in a fast corner � which I had to be careful through for all 3 laps, oh well. We pack quickly as we have an 1100 mile all night trip to No Problem Raceway in the New Orleans area. We get calls on the road saying we came in 8th. Some fast vettes and an RX7 improved on their second round and got ahead of us. Adee in the Viper was having serious clutch issues and dropped way back again. He�ll be back at No Problem ready to go. While I�m a bit ahead of him now, he�ll just need a few events to take 4th away from me. If everything goes well, I don�t think we can lose 5th overall or 1st in class.
May 8 � Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays. Sucky Sucky day. We get in at 6am from an all night drive. Somebody said the Alpine Stars WRX was pulled over w/ 5 police cars and he was a no show. Hmmmmmmm? I�m groggy as all heck, go out on the warm up lap and we got problems. I come in the pits, which is a 10 second penalty, but I�ll get to restart. We torture the car on a road tune and we get it working perfectly again. We restart and same problems. I limp the car around the track for a dead last finish. Everybody seems to agree the problem is the BOV. We jam it shut, beat the crap out of it on a road tune and head for session 2. My first lap was wicked fast, then same problems again. Something about the G loads and bouncing around the track that the car didn�t like � even though it ran perfecting doing pulls on the highway. Tonight is a long night, we�re going to swap the BOV, ECU and Plugs, � and while were at it, swap rotors, do an oil change, drink beer and swap tranny fluid. While top 10 and 1st in class isn�t impossible � it is unlikely. So I�m not going to think about it, have fun, and see where we finish.
May 9 � Holy Stinkin Butt Crack. Ends up it wasn�t the BOV, but a silicone hose w/ a small leak we couldn�t identify until it completely blew on the highway. I even had a spare on me. Suck, a $20 part sending us from 3rd to 27th overall and 1st to 3rd in class. We get to Roebling after putting the previous day behind us. We�re just out to have fun now. The first session we end up 4th overall, running laps at 1:20. The Ultima GTR is hooked up now and has proven it can be the quickest car here. He kills everyone. I�m 1.5 seconds off of 2nd place, the Viper. The second session I try to push a little further, for the fun of it, get some nice drifts off corners, and cut 2 laps at 1:19. The Ultima dominates again. The Viper runs a 4:05.4, the Porsche a 4:05.5, me a 4:05.6 � so close, yet so far away. That would�ve totally made up for yesterday, a 2nd overall � oh well. We head to the Oval in Florence. Talk about needing to practice before hand. I heard a good �ol boy explaining the line, I try it, and it don�t work. I fly into the corners, then for some odd reason, half way through, there is no grip and I shoot up the track it the world�s worst push � so I have to slam on the brakes, re-aim, and nail the gas. I kept trying to power through w/ the gas, but everything I did just generated horrible push. A few more laps and I would�ve figured something out, but that�s not how one lap works. Somehow I end up 7th. By the end of the day, we somehow move from 27th to 15th overall and move to 2nd in class.
May 10 � I finally learn that horsepower can not always be overcome. VIRs long straights ate me up. Stock Z06s were killing me. Not to mention the AMS Evo. It�s hard to make up for losing 3 seconds per straight (x2) per lap. Oh well. We were still able to get 3 top ten finishes. The important thing is my original goal of 10th is right around the corner. The Gray Noble crashed today, driver OK. The Hennessey Viper blew up. That will put me in 9th as long as nothing screwy happens tomorrow. Speaking of screwy, major rain showers in the forecast. It�s impossible for me to catch Jon if it remains dry. And probably won�t do much better in the wet, but I�d rather it rain just to shake things up a bit and see what happens. If it does rain, the drag strip will be cancelled, which means I probably won�t beat the Civic in overall. I was planning on gobbling up about 200 points there. Shows the importance of consistency.
| AndrewSS | 05-11-2006 03:04 AM |
^ what an event... thanks for posting up that "log" - anyway, good luck and be safe!
and geesh get some sleep! :lol:
and geesh get some sleep! :lol:
| pleiades | 05-11-2006 06:52 AM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]You wanna try to get some of your $$ back? ;)
-Tom[/QUOTE]
I was just thinking it would be nice to take even more of your cash! :p
-Tom[/QUOTE]
I was just thinking it would be nice to take even more of your cash! :p
| WRXedUSA | 05-11-2006 09:29 AM |
[QUOTE=lukerussell]The rest of the night we watched all the driver�s attempt to put the moves on the only single female team on One Lap[/quote]
:lol:
[QUOTE=lukerussell]I said �holy stinking crap bucket�. [/quote]
:lol:
[QUOTE=lukerussell]I was something like 8 seconds faster a lap than the fastArs srt-4s [/quote]
:lol:
:lol:
[QUOTE=lukerussell]I said �holy stinking crap bucket�. [/quote]
:lol:
[QUOTE=lukerussell]I was something like 8 seconds faster a lap than the fastArs srt-4s [/quote]
:lol:
| CirrusWRX | 05-11-2006 09:31 AM |
Thanks for the updates! I think I speak on behalf of many of us readers of your stories that we all live vicariously through you (as I sit here at my cubicle, phone ringing with an obvious "problem" on the other end...)
| DJ_Swammi | 05-11-2006 10:06 AM |
Did somebody say "rally"? ;)
[img]http://www.jalopnik.com/images/2006/05/ol_5hooker.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.jalopnik.com/images/2006/05/ol_5hooker.jpg[/img]
| trhoppe | 05-11-2006 11:36 AM |
Looks like Luke is back in the hunt. The wet conditions this morning killed Jon K and Luke big this morning.
Danny Popp in the Z06 might beat him, but he is cheating, so hopefully they will penalize him even more. The conditions were drying, so he pulled into the pits and took the 10 second penalty to run last in the dry, while everyone else ran when they were supposed to. Bull****!
Either way, he's in 1st in Mid Priced sedan as 6 cars snuck in between Luke and Jon.
-Tom
edit: not overall, the track completely dried out and some of the last class cars got him
Danny Popp in the Z06 might beat him, but he is cheating, so hopefully they will penalize him even more. The conditions were drying, so he pulled into the pits and took the 10 second penalty to run last in the dry, while everyone else ran when they were supposed to. Bull****!
Either way, he's in 1st in Mid Priced sedan as 6 cars snuck in between Luke and Jon.
-Tom
edit: not overall, the track completely dried out and some of the last class cars got him
| 10th Warrior | 05-11-2006 11:57 AM |
[quote]The conditions were drying, so he pulled into the pits and took the 10 second penalty to run last in the dry, while everyone else ran when they were supposed to.[/quote]
sounds like a 'mechanical' ;)
Way to go, Luke!
sounds like a 'mechanical' ;)
Way to go, Luke!
| Rally_wgn | 05-11-2006 12:50 PM |
Nice one Luke, thanks for the update Tom.
| WRXedUSA | 05-11-2006 02:21 PM |
Thanks Yoda.
| WRXedUSA | 05-11-2006 02:47 PM |
Horry Clap!
The AlpineStars WRX got pulled over and ARRESTED!
[url]http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/every-little-thing-must-go-wrong-blockscotto-one-lap-vir-173034.php[/url]
[quote=Rides Magazine] Everyone is waxing poetic about how they got out of triple-digit speeding tickets, except for our buddy Gabriele, who got arrested in Louisiana - apparently for not stopping. He claims he was looking for a safe place to pull over; we believe him[/quote]
The AlpineStars WRX got pulled over and ARRESTED!
[url]http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/every-little-thing-must-go-wrong-blockscotto-one-lap-vir-173034.php[/url]
[quote=Rides Magazine] Everyone is waxing poetic about how they got out of triple-digit speeding tickets, except for our buddy Gabriele, who got arrested in Louisiana - apparently for not stopping. He claims he was looking for a safe place to pull over; we believe him[/quote]
| trhoppe | 05-11-2006 03:00 PM |
"showering the track with dirt"
Don't do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Tom
edited: for misunderstanding
Don't do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Tom
edited: for misunderstanding
| subieworx | 05-11-2006 03:06 PM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]Looks like Luke is back in the hunt. The wet conditions this morning killed Jon K and Luke big this morning.
Danny Popp in the Z06 might beat him, but he is cheating, so hopefully they will penalize him even more. The conditions were drying, so he pulled into the pits and took the 10 second penalty to run last in the dry, while everyone else ran when they were supposed to. Bull****!
Either way, he's in 1st in Mid Priced sedan as 6 cars snuck in between Luke and Jon.
-Tom
edit: not overall, the track completely dried out and some of the last class cars got him[/QUOTE]
If you think that's bad you should see his autox courses. Last one of his I ran was damn near literally 4 straights with four turns (think big box). There was a box I didn't have to think about turning to get through....I beat him in an sti on street tires by .4...hehehe
Danny Popp in the Z06 might beat him, but he is cheating, so hopefully they will penalize him even more. The conditions were drying, so he pulled into the pits and took the 10 second penalty to run last in the dry, while everyone else ran when they were supposed to. Bull****!
Either way, he's in 1st in Mid Priced sedan as 6 cars snuck in between Luke and Jon.
-Tom
edit: not overall, the track completely dried out and some of the last class cars got him[/QUOTE]
If you think that's bad you should see his autox courses. Last one of his I ran was damn near literally 4 straights with four turns (think big box). There was a box I didn't have to think about turning to get through....I beat him in an sti on street tires by .4...hehehe
| bjorn240 | 05-11-2006 03:24 PM |
[QUOTE=trhoppe]"other cars aren't pushing it in turns"
No, slow and smooth is fast dumbass. It shows that you are getting your ASS handed to you.
[/QUOTE]
Hey, Tom, when you put things in quotation marks, you're actually supposed to quote them. It's funny like that. Scotto (not Ken) was talking about understeer, not effort -- "the other cars are pulling way harder, not to mention none seem to be pushing in the turns."
So let's see, you attributed comments to Ken that were actually Brian's, and you didn't actually quote something Brian said; you just made it up.
Now who's the rolleyes?
Sheesh,
- Christian
No, slow and smooth is fast dumbass. It shows that you are getting your ASS handed to you.
[/QUOTE]
Hey, Tom, when you put things in quotation marks, you're actually supposed to quote them. It's funny like that. Scotto (not Ken) was talking about understeer, not effort -- "the other cars are pulling way harder, not to mention none seem to be pushing in the turns."
So let's see, you attributed comments to Ken that were actually Brian's, and you didn't actually quote something Brian said; you just made it up.
Now who's the rolleyes?
Sheesh,
- Christian
| Crawford Performance | 05-11-2006 03:29 PM |
[QUOTE=bjorn240]Hey, Tom, when you put things in quotation marks, you're actually supposed to quote them. It's funny like that. Scotto (not Ken) was talking about understeer, not effort -- "the other cars are pulling way harder, not to mention none seem to be pushing in the turns."
So let's see, you attributed comments to Ken that were actually Brian's, and you didn't actually quote something Brian said; you just made it up.
Now who's the rolleyes?
Sheesh,
- Christian[/QUOTE]
Christian,
Thanks for clearing that up.
Quirt
So let's see, you attributed comments to Ken that were actually Brian's, and you didn't actually quote something Brian said; you just made it up.
Now who's the rolleyes?
Sheesh,
- Christian[/QUOTE]
Christian,
Thanks for clearing that up.
Quirt
| 555ideways | 05-11-2006 03:34 PM |
...someone get Hoppe another bottle of haterade. He's makin no sense.
I bet a million bucks that Ken and "Scotto" are havin' fun no matter what. You want to see Ken get serious about motorsport, then go to the rally results.
-Paddy
I bet a million bucks that Ken and "Scotto" are havin' fun no matter what. You want to see Ken get serious about motorsport, then go to the rally results.
-Paddy
| trhoppe | 05-11-2006 04:17 PM |
understeer? what?
[quote]not to mention none seem to be pushing in the turns. [/quote]
edit: misunderstanding
-Tom
[quote]not to mention none seem to be pushing in the turns. [/quote]
edit: misunderstanding
-Tom
| trhoppe | 05-11-2006 04:18 PM |
I don't doubt they are having fun, but don't sound like you are kicking everyone's ass on your website while you aren't. Also don't screw up the track for people that ARE here to compete by showering it with dirt ON PURPOSE.
-Tom
-Tom
| bjorn240 | 05-11-2006 04:42 PM |
Tom,
1) "Push" is a term used commonly to describe understeer.
2) If you actually read the sentence Brian wrote, it's clear that the antecedent of the pronoun "none" is "the other cars."
So, if we supplement the pronoun with its antecedent, we would get (and I quote the sentence in it's entirety):
[QUOTE]As usual he seems fast through the turns I can see, but it�s evident on the straightaway that the other cars are pulling way harder, not to mention none [B]of the other cars[/B] (ed.) seem to be pushing in the turns.[/QUOTE]
Later, to further emphasize the severe nature of the understeer, Brian adds: [QUOTE]If the STi had a theme song, it would be Salt N Pepa�s �Push it.� [/QUOTE] and [QUOTE]the STi pushes right off the track.[/QUOTE]
I agree that it's not good to pull dirt onto the track, but I've known Ken for a pretty long time, and he's a very conscientious guy. I am willing to bet he wasn't doing any cutting he thought would disadvantage anyone else.
English is my second language, but posting on NASIOC in Swedish sucks.
- Christian
1) "Push" is a term used commonly to describe understeer.
2) If you actually read the sentence Brian wrote, it's clear that the antecedent of the pronoun "none" is "the other cars."
So, if we supplement the pronoun with its antecedent, we would get (and I quote the sentence in it's entirety):
[QUOTE]As usual he seems fast through the turns I can see, but it�s evident on the straightaway that the other cars are pulling way harder, not to mention none [B]of the other cars[/B] (ed.) seem to be pushing in the turns.[/QUOTE]
Later, to further emphasize the severe nature of the understeer, Brian adds: [QUOTE]If the STi had a theme song, it would be Salt N Pepa�s �Push it.� [/QUOTE] and [QUOTE]the STi pushes right off the track.[/QUOTE]
I agree that it's not good to pull dirt onto the track, but I've known Ken for a pretty long time, and he's a very conscientious guy. I am willing to bet he wasn't doing any cutting he thought would disadvantage anyone else.
English is my second language, but posting on NASIOC in Swedish sucks.
- Christian
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét