| trhoppe | 05-02-2003 12:42 AM |
One Lap of America Update thread
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--------------------------Day 1-------------------------------------
We packed up our stuff around 4:00, picked up our newly mounted spare tire (thanks Brian and Steve!) and our spare IC pipe (thanks Nick) and started heading out of town. As you can tell the internet connection on my cell phone works pretty well (albeit slowly). I don't know how people can deal with dial up on a daily basis. 2 hours into the trip we had a little excitement in the form of witnessing a little high speed chase. A big SUV passed us on the left followed by a cop with his lights on. We wondered for a few mins why the SUV was not pulling over, then he started to speed up. About 30 seconds later another cop joined in and the pack of 3 started to speed up. I tried to catch up for a sec, but my better judgement kicked in. As soon as I slowed up a tad, 2 more cop cars zoomed by and dissapeared. We also got to use out GPS system in Washington DC. We tried to be smarter then the Street Atlas software and took a wrong turn. After recalculating the route, the GPS led us back to the correct highway without a hitch. Right now we are passing baltimore and heading north on I-83.
Here are a few pictures of our trip so far.
Car all packed up and ready to go
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_01.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_05.jpg[/IMG]
Bye Cathy!! See you in 10 days :)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_03.jpg[/IMG]
Added the Names on the window.
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_04.jpg[/IMG]
My new fire extinguisher. I hope we don't have to use it :)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_06.jpg[/IMG]
Here is the "setup". Laptop, cell phone, internet, radar detector (in va so its "hidden", and GPS. With the glovebox closed it actually looks pretty "neat"
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_02.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We packed up our stuff around 4:00, picked up our newly mounted spare tire (thanks Brian and Steve!) and our spare IC pipe (thanks Nick) and started heading out of town. As you can tell the internet connection on my cell phone works pretty well (albeit slowly). I don't know how people can deal with dial up on a daily basis. 2 hours into the trip we had a little excitement in the form of witnessing a little high speed chase. A big SUV passed us on the left followed by a cop with his lights on. We wondered for a few mins why the SUV was not pulling over, then he started to speed up. About 30 seconds later another cop joined in and the pack of 3 started to speed up. I tried to catch up for a sec, but my better judgement kicked in. As soon as I slowed up a tad, 2 more cop cars zoomed by and dissapeared. We also got to use out GPS system in Washington DC. We tried to be smarter then the Street Atlas software and took a wrong turn. After recalculating the route, the GPS led us back to the correct highway without a hitch. Right now we are passing baltimore and heading north on I-83.
Here are a few pictures of our trip so far.
Car all packed up and ready to go
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_01.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_05.jpg[/IMG]
Bye Cathy!! See you in 10 days :)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_03.jpg[/IMG]
Added the Names on the window.
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_04.jpg[/IMG]
My new fire extinguisher. I hope we don't have to use it :)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_06.jpg[/IMG]
Here is the "setup". Laptop, cell phone, internet, radar detector (in va so its "hidden", and GPS. With the glovebox closed it actually looks pretty "neat"
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_02.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Scooby South | 05-02-2003 07:21 AM |
Good Luck guys...made this a Sticky for ya...:)
Bill
Bill
| KC | 05-02-2003 08:18 AM |
Watch out for wild boars! :D
Have fun and can't wait to hear the updates. :)
Have fun and can't wait to hear the updates. :)
| elgorey | 05-02-2003 08:27 AM |
good luck Tom!
and geez, clean your dashboard! ;) :lol:
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_02.jpg[/IMG]
and geez, clean your dashboard! ;) :lol:
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day1_02.jpg[/IMG]
| Fitz | 05-02-2003 09:32 PM |
Best of luck guys. You'll have an awesome time.. gauranteed.
Fitz
Fitz
| trhoppe | 05-02-2003 10:01 PM |
--------------------------Day 2-------------------------------------
We showed up in Painted Post, NY (Race Start and Finish) at about 5:30am. We had quite a lot of fun in the last 100 miles of the journey, as we drove through some small towns at high rates of speed. Almost seemed like a stage in Rally Britain. We had one funny surprise as well. We had our GPS going and rattling off some directions. "Turn Left on North road in 10 seconds" mmkay. So we turn left, go about two blocks and notice that the road just dead ends into a lake. The GPS had us just going right through. I guess there was a bridge or something there back in 01 when the map software was made. There was a little sign by the road and a big huge wooden pallet. "Ferry is Running, come down the hill and I will get you" riiight. We had to turn around and choose an "alertnate" route. With the GPS in hand, it was no problem though. We slept in until about 1:00pm today, then got up and went to register. We picked up our packet, route book, and free duffel bag. What we were not expecting were the 100000 stickers that came with the packet. And you guys thought the car had a lot of stickers on it BEFORE we left. Well we went to the carwash, gave the car a bath and spent the better part of an hour applying stickers. fun fun fun :-) Then we went to grab a bite to eat, went to Wal Mart to pick up a few goodies (CB radio, 3 way car power adapter, Armor All, and some snacks and water), and finished off by going to the driver's meeting. I have found out that Steven is a total coffee addict. I don't think the guy can go 2 or 3 hours without having a cup of coffee. After showing up at 5:30am to the hotel, Steven goes to grab a cup of coffee, I dunno how he does it. We are back at the hotel now, 56K dial up is MUCH nicer then the 14.4 connection I get on my cell phone. The photo upload only took about 2 minutes. I will be watching some track video tonight, and hopefully getting to sleep in about an hour. Tommorow we are off bright and early to Watkins Glen for the first 2 time trials. We are going to be arriving at the track at about 7:00am and the first car off is at 8:30.
Another thing co-drivers are good for :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_01.jpg[/IMG]
I wish we had some 94 octane in Raleigh!!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_02.jpg[/IMG]
The uhhm "ferry"???
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_03.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_04.jpg[/IMG]
The Domokun Own3s joooO!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_05.jpg[/IMG]
And you guys thought I had a lot of stickers before we left!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_06.jpg[/IMG]
By popular demand, a nice clean dashboard
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_07.jpg[/IMG]
Steven bought some cable ties, and now everything is nice and neat
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_08.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We showed up in Painted Post, NY (Race Start and Finish) at about 5:30am. We had quite a lot of fun in the last 100 miles of the journey, as we drove through some small towns at high rates of speed. Almost seemed like a stage in Rally Britain. We had one funny surprise as well. We had our GPS going and rattling off some directions. "Turn Left on North road in 10 seconds" mmkay. So we turn left, go about two blocks and notice that the road just dead ends into a lake. The GPS had us just going right through. I guess there was a bridge or something there back in 01 when the map software was made. There was a little sign by the road and a big huge wooden pallet. "Ferry is Running, come down the hill and I will get you" riiight. We had to turn around and choose an "alertnate" route. With the GPS in hand, it was no problem though. We slept in until about 1:00pm today, then got up and went to register. We picked up our packet, route book, and free duffel bag. What we were not expecting were the 100000 stickers that came with the packet. And you guys thought the car had a lot of stickers on it BEFORE we left. Well we went to the carwash, gave the car a bath and spent the better part of an hour applying stickers. fun fun fun :-) Then we went to grab a bite to eat, went to Wal Mart to pick up a few goodies (CB radio, 3 way car power adapter, Armor All, and some snacks and water), and finished off by going to the driver's meeting. I have found out that Steven is a total coffee addict. I don't think the guy can go 2 or 3 hours without having a cup of coffee. After showing up at 5:30am to the hotel, Steven goes to grab a cup of coffee, I dunno how he does it. We are back at the hotel now, 56K dial up is MUCH nicer then the 14.4 connection I get on my cell phone. The photo upload only took about 2 minutes. I will be watching some track video tonight, and hopefully getting to sleep in about an hour. Tommorow we are off bright and early to Watkins Glen for the first 2 time trials. We are going to be arriving at the track at about 7:00am and the first car off is at 8:30.
Another thing co-drivers are good for :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_01.jpg[/IMG]
I wish we had some 94 octane in Raleigh!!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_02.jpg[/IMG]
The uhhm "ferry"???
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_03.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_04.jpg[/IMG]
The Domokun Own3s joooO!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_05.jpg[/IMG]
And you guys thought I had a lot of stickers before we left!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_06.jpg[/IMG]
By popular demand, a nice clean dashboard
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_07.jpg[/IMG]
Steven bought some cable ties, and now everything is nice and neat
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day2_08.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| WRXinWhite | 05-02-2003 10:31 PM |
Hope to see you guys at Road America on Monday
| Bonzo | 05-03-2003 12:06 AM |
this thread rocks!
nice dash, I was thinking the same thing prior to the cleaning:p
I hope to be at RA on Monday too.
Gud Luck
nice dash, I was thinking the same thing prior to the cleaning:p
I hope to be at RA on Monday too.
Gud Luck
| thechickencow | 05-03-2003 01:16 AM |
Good luck (like the others)...
And I'm thinking about heading to Road America monday as well, but I'm wondering on what time stuff will be going down. As of now I have to work in the afternoon, and I'm probably 2.5 hours away.
And I'm thinking about heading to Road America monday as well, but I'm wondering on what time stuff will be going down. As of now I have to work in the afternoon, and I'm probably 2.5 hours away.
| stumpz | 05-03-2003 09:54 AM |
Good Luck Gents. Thank you from all of us who want to be in your shoes.
Suresh
Suresh
| zoomfactor | 05-04-2003 01:19 PM |
Steven needs to try some Cuban coffee:devil: for a real kick!
Best of Luck at the Glen!
Best of Luck at the Glen!
| MattN | 05-04-2003 01:37 PM |
Update....Must....Have......Update.......
| MattN | 05-04-2003 01:48 PM |
OK, found some. Looks like Tom/Steven finished 37th in the first event at the Glen with a total time of 7:47.540. In the 2nd event they finished 21st with a 7:23.372. Looks like they are currently 5th out of 18 in class. Not bad for a buch of jackasses :)
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/History/2003/results/EVENT01.HTM[/url]
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/History/2003/results/EVENT01.HTM[/url]
| MNbiker | 05-04-2003 02:16 PM |
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by CarbotechMatt [/i]
[B]OK, found some. Looks like Tom/Steven finished 37th in the first event at the Glen with a total time of 7:47.540. In the 2nd event they finished 21st with a 7:23.372. Looks like they are currently 5th out of 18 in class. Not bad for a buch of jackasses :)
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/History/2003/results/EVENT01.HTM[/url] [/B][/QUOTE]
Yep, not a bad start - you guys are running with a pretty significant horsepower deficit. The Thunderbird leading the mid-priced sedan category has a MERE 600 flywheel horsepower!
[url]http://www.cobrasc.com/cobrasc.htm[/url]
[B]OK, found some. Looks like Tom/Steven finished 37th in the first event at the Glen with a total time of 7:47.540. In the 2nd event they finished 21st with a 7:23.372. Looks like they are currently 5th out of 18 in class. Not bad for a buch of jackasses :)
[url]http://www.onelapofamerica.com/History/2003/results/EVENT01.HTM[/url] [/B][/QUOTE]
Yep, not a bad start - you guys are running with a pretty significant horsepower deficit. The Thunderbird leading the mid-priced sedan category has a MERE 600 flywheel horsepower!
[url]http://www.cobrasc.com/cobrasc.htm[/url]
| trhoppe | 05-04-2003 04:57 PM |
--------------------------Day 3-------------------------------------
Day 3 started out with us getting up a bit late, but still making the track on time. We set the wake up call as well as the alarm clock at 5:30. We heard the wake up call and picked it up, but I guess we never heard the alarm. Next thing I know, Steven is yelling "Dude, we need to get up!". We got up at around 6:30, and were out of the hotel by 6:40 and on the road. After a fuel and food stop, we made it to the track by 7:15 (gate opened at 7:00). We made it early enough to get a parking spot in the garage as well. Then it was time to walk the track. We got our trusty scooters and took off. We made it all the way to the pits, when the Watkins Glen guys yelled at us for driving on the scooters. I guess its safe enough to go 130mph through their track, but not safe enough to drive on a little scooter. Mmmmkay. So we ended up hoofing it around Watkins. It wasnt too bad, but the elevation changes made walking a little bit of a PITA. I'm looking forward to using the scooter at IRP tommorow. We got the car unpacked and ready to go after we got back in the paddock. We hung out for a little while and got to witness the first casualty of the event. The Diablo stuffed it into a tire well and did some heavy damage to the drivers rear fender. Also tore the radiator all up on that side. Some ducktape, cable ties, rivets, and 2 hours later, the diablo was out on track for the afternoon session. Amazing. When it came time for me to drive, I was a bit nervous. I haven't driven the car with this suspension on a track at all, and didnt really know what was going to happen. I took the first session pretty easy. I didnt drive nearly 100% and left a LOT of time out there. Luke Russel and another guy in a WRX (forgot his name) drove very well and were sitting about 10-13 seconds ahead of me (3 laps combined). In first place was the SRT-4 Neon, with a total ringer driver. The car is a full Mopar entry, with a Mopar engineer to tune the car, and a National Champ Neon driver. They are actually getting PAID to run this event. In 2nd was the super thunderchicken. The 600hp supercharged Thunderbird, its a screamer. The other WRX was in 3rd, an IS300 with Lexan windows and a 375whp Supra TT motor was sitting in 4th place, Luke was in 5th and I was 6th in class, and 37th overall (out of >80 drivers). We were all ahead of 2 other WRXs and the two EVOs, followed by a few GTis, and a few police package Caprices. I was a little dissapointed, but I knew I drove slow. The afternoon was a little different though. The Thunderchicken seemed to make up the difference on the SRT-4 although both of them were REALLY fast. I also drove over 20 seconds faster in 3 laps then I did in the morning. I seemed to have gained on the other two WRXs and the IS300, but I was still slower then the SRT-4 and the Thunderchicken. I felt much better about my driving, and I think I will gain quite a few spots over the rest of the field. We didnt stick around for the results and we probably won't see the final day results until tommorow morning. We are now on our way to a checkpoint at Summint Point in Akron, OH, and then off to Indy for tommorow's race. We should get there around 3:00am, so we should be able to pull off 3 hours of sleep in an actual hotel bed :-)
Pictures will come later, we have a BUNCH.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 3 started out with us getting up a bit late, but still making the track on time. We set the wake up call as well as the alarm clock at 5:30. We heard the wake up call and picked it up, but I guess we never heard the alarm. Next thing I know, Steven is yelling "Dude, we need to get up!". We got up at around 6:30, and were out of the hotel by 6:40 and on the road. After a fuel and food stop, we made it to the track by 7:15 (gate opened at 7:00). We made it early enough to get a parking spot in the garage as well. Then it was time to walk the track. We got our trusty scooters and took off. We made it all the way to the pits, when the Watkins Glen guys yelled at us for driving on the scooters. I guess its safe enough to go 130mph through their track, but not safe enough to drive on a little scooter. Mmmmkay. So we ended up hoofing it around Watkins. It wasnt too bad, but the elevation changes made walking a little bit of a PITA. I'm looking forward to using the scooter at IRP tommorow. We got the car unpacked and ready to go after we got back in the paddock. We hung out for a little while and got to witness the first casualty of the event. The Diablo stuffed it into a tire well and did some heavy damage to the drivers rear fender. Also tore the radiator all up on that side. Some ducktape, cable ties, rivets, and 2 hours later, the diablo was out on track for the afternoon session. Amazing. When it came time for me to drive, I was a bit nervous. I haven't driven the car with this suspension on a track at all, and didnt really know what was going to happen. I took the first session pretty easy. I didnt drive nearly 100% and left a LOT of time out there. Luke Russel and another guy in a WRX (forgot his name) drove very well and were sitting about 10-13 seconds ahead of me (3 laps combined). In first place was the SRT-4 Neon, with a total ringer driver. The car is a full Mopar entry, with a Mopar engineer to tune the car, and a National Champ Neon driver. They are actually getting PAID to run this event. In 2nd was the super thunderchicken. The 600hp supercharged Thunderbird, its a screamer. The other WRX was in 3rd, an IS300 with Lexan windows and a 375whp Supra TT motor was sitting in 4th place, Luke was in 5th and I was 6th in class, and 37th overall (out of >80 drivers). We were all ahead of 2 other WRXs and the two EVOs, followed by a few GTis, and a few police package Caprices. I was a little dissapointed, but I knew I drove slow. The afternoon was a little different though. The Thunderchicken seemed to make up the difference on the SRT-4 although both of them were REALLY fast. I also drove over 20 seconds faster in 3 laps then I did in the morning. I seemed to have gained on the other two WRXs and the IS300, but I was still slower then the SRT-4 and the Thunderchicken. I felt much better about my driving, and I think I will gain quite a few spots over the rest of the field. We didnt stick around for the results and we probably won't see the final day results until tommorow morning. We are now on our way to a checkpoint at Summint Point in Akron, OH, and then off to Indy for tommorow's race. We should get there around 3:00am, so we should be able to pull off 3 hours of sleep in an actual hotel bed :-)
Pictures will come later, we have a BUNCH.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| trhoppe | 05-04-2003 06:05 PM |
--------------------------Day 4-------------------------------------
Todbay can be called transmission day. We got to the track nice and early. I took the scooter for a run around the track, while Steven was nice and unpacked and got the car ready. Im sitting pretty, and in 21 starting position after my good run in the afternoon yesterday. I get ready to launch the car for my first lap. 4000 RPMs, nice and steady and I let out the clutch. The thing grabs instead of slipping, maybe I let her out too fast. The wheels light up for a sec and the BAM, there goes the tranny. I try it one more time in 1st and nothing, no gear, I dump it in 2nd and just go. I get up to speed and can hear something is up, but screw it, I go for it. I ran an awesome 3 laps though. I gained up that almost 10 seconds I lost at the start and was the 4th fastest guy in Mid Price. 10 seconds behind 1st and only 2 secs behind 3rd. It would have been CLOSE if the car hadnt had broken. Pulling into the pits though, I could feel the tranny just giving up. You could hear the bits rolling around in there. We ended up going to the store and picking up some more fluid and a drain pan. We drained it to find a LOT of metal with some chunks of gear. Put more fluid in there, and the thing still makes a ton of noise decelerating. Acceleration is fine, but its very loud on deceleration. With a few phone calls, Dale from BOXER4RACING got us a new transmission to be delivered in about an hour. We decided to drain it one more time and go out for the afternoon time trials. Go hard or don't go at all. Draining the 2nd time, we found a LOT more metal including 2 almost full teeth. Now also, the tranny did not go into 5th at all and was popping out of 4th really bad. I couldnt have that as the track was 50% 4th gear. Also with the big pieces floating around in there, there was quite a possibility of the thing locking up and throwing me into a wall. We decided to take a DNF on the afternoon runs. We are now on our way to Tire Rack limping the car there. Once we (hopefully) get there, Steven will run the skidpad in 2nd gear where we should make up some of the points we lost this afternoon. We also have the tranny in the back seat, ready to go in at 7:00 after the Tire Rack event is over. Hopefully we can have the tranny in by 11:00 and be off to Road America in the morning. Luke drove great both sessions, beating my by 2 secs in the morning to take a firm hold of 3rd place in Mid Priced Sedan. I was right there behind him, but losing the 300 points by taking the DNF will put me 8th or so out of 15 cars. If we can make it back to the Top 5 after a DNF I will be REALLY happy. Also, another Suby bit it at IRP. It hit a wall I believe in Turn 15 and busted a front left wheel and bent a bunch of sheet metal. A few minutes with a hammer though and a borrowed wheel later, the car was ready to battle in the afternoon. I will update hopefully LATE tonight on the tranny situation. Hopefully we will be on the way to Road America with a new tranny.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Todbay can be called transmission day. We got to the track nice and early. I took the scooter for a run around the track, while Steven was nice and unpacked and got the car ready. Im sitting pretty, and in 21 starting position after my good run in the afternoon yesterday. I get ready to launch the car for my first lap. 4000 RPMs, nice and steady and I let out the clutch. The thing grabs instead of slipping, maybe I let her out too fast. The wheels light up for a sec and the BAM, there goes the tranny. I try it one more time in 1st and nothing, no gear, I dump it in 2nd and just go. I get up to speed and can hear something is up, but screw it, I go for it. I ran an awesome 3 laps though. I gained up that almost 10 seconds I lost at the start and was the 4th fastest guy in Mid Price. 10 seconds behind 1st and only 2 secs behind 3rd. It would have been CLOSE if the car hadnt had broken. Pulling into the pits though, I could feel the tranny just giving up. You could hear the bits rolling around in there. We ended up going to the store and picking up some more fluid and a drain pan. We drained it to find a LOT of metal with some chunks of gear. Put more fluid in there, and the thing still makes a ton of noise decelerating. Acceleration is fine, but its very loud on deceleration. With a few phone calls, Dale from BOXER4RACING got us a new transmission to be delivered in about an hour. We decided to drain it one more time and go out for the afternoon time trials. Go hard or don't go at all. Draining the 2nd time, we found a LOT more metal including 2 almost full teeth. Now also, the tranny did not go into 5th at all and was popping out of 4th really bad. I couldnt have that as the track was 50% 4th gear. Also with the big pieces floating around in there, there was quite a possibility of the thing locking up and throwing me into a wall. We decided to take a DNF on the afternoon runs. We are now on our way to Tire Rack limping the car there. Once we (hopefully) get there, Steven will run the skidpad in 2nd gear where we should make up some of the points we lost this afternoon. We also have the tranny in the back seat, ready to go in at 7:00 after the Tire Rack event is over. Hopefully we can have the tranny in by 11:00 and be off to Road America in the morning. Luke drove great both sessions, beating my by 2 secs in the morning to take a firm hold of 3rd place in Mid Priced Sedan. I was right there behind him, but losing the 300 points by taking the DNF will put me 8th or so out of 15 cars. If we can make it back to the Top 5 after a DNF I will be REALLY happy. Also, another Suby bit it at IRP. It hit a wall I believe in Turn 15 and busted a front left wheel and bent a bunch of sheet metal. A few minutes with a hammer though and a borrowed wheel later, the car was ready to battle in the afternoon. I will update hopefully LATE tonight on the tranny situation. Hopefully we will be on the way to Road America with a new tranny.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| driggity | 05-04-2003 07:34 PM |
Ouch, sorry to hear about the tranny :( Hopefully it all goes well from here on out.
| Bonzo | 05-04-2003 09:21 PM |
Weather for Road America is predicted to be wet and cool. Possible mid day respite from the rain and then return in the afternoon.
this might slightly favor all wheel drive, however the abundance of fast corners and long straights will keep everyone equal.
this might slightly favor all wheel drive, however the abundance of fast corners and long straights will keep everyone equal.
| KC | 05-05-2003 10:19 AM |
This is all I have to say:
[B][SIZE=9]DOH![/SIZE] [/B]
[B][SIZE=9]DOH![/SIZE] [/B]
| KC | 05-05-2003 11:00 AM |
Congrats on the Skidpad guys!!!!!!!
Top Subaru at .938 G's and 15th overall for that event! :D
-kC
(Now, if I can only pull those numbers in competition in the wagon) ;)
Top Subaru at .938 G's and 15th overall for that event! :D
-kC
(Now, if I can only pull those numbers in competition in the wagon) ;)
| Bonzo | 05-05-2003 01:04 PM |
Hot off the press from this morning at RA. I very wet, rainy and cold Road America. I won't rain on there parade;) but the tranny is in and Lukes ride is running w/o a hitch. Saw some very cool cars trying to get the power down in the rain out of T5.
btw the srt-4 is fast. well the one they had with the driver and some extra power. Put some big time on the 2 porsches it ran with. Obvious credit gores to driver in either situation.
DOH? My point was their was'nt going to much help at this track with awd. A smaller and tighter track would have been a different story.
[IMG]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/pf426e663e6ef5d7223b90b80549015b0/fc354399.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/p7d611773af083e7d3bbb1d53fdcd6b50/fc35439b.jpg[/IMG]
btw the srt-4 is fast. well the one they had with the driver and some extra power. Put some big time on the 2 porsches it ran with. Obvious credit gores to driver in either situation.
DOH? My point was their was'nt going to much help at this track with awd. A smaller and tighter track would have been a different story.
[IMG]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/pf426e663e6ef5d7223b90b80549015b0/fc354399.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/p7d611773af083e7d3bbb1d53fdcd6b50/fc35439b.jpg[/IMG]
| zoomfactor | 05-05-2003 02:39 PM |
Damn SRT-4
�
�
Shhhh! Or all of the OT SRT-4 trolls will be jumping this thread.
| Bonzo | 05-05-2003 03:24 PM |
Re: Damn SRT-4
�
�
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by zoomfactor [/i]
[B]Shhhh! Or all of the OT SRT-4 trolls will be jumping this thread. [/B][/QUOTE]
:eek: :disco: :lol: :lol: I posted for that very reason cuz you know it IS the fastest car.;)
[B]Shhhh! Or all of the OT SRT-4 trolls will be jumping this thread. [/B][/QUOTE]
:eek: :disco: :lol: :lol: I posted for that very reason cuz you know it IS the fastest car.;)
| KC | 05-05-2003 04:20 PM |
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Bonzo [/i]
[B]DOH? My point was their was'nt going to much help at this track with awd. A smaller and tighter track would have been a different story.[/B][/QUOTE]It was in regards to the tranny 'malfunction'. :) [sarcasm]Obviously a defective unit from the factory that required immediate replacement[/sarcasm] :D
[B]DOH? My point was their was'nt going to much help at this track with awd. A smaller and tighter track would have been a different story.[/B][/QUOTE]It was in regards to the tranny 'malfunction'. :) [sarcasm]Obviously a defective unit from the factory that required immediate replacement[/sarcasm] :D
| Bonzo | 05-05-2003 05:01 PM |
[reality] sometimes errrmm most times I am a clueless dumbass[/reality]:D
| dwx | 05-06-2003 08:48 AM |
I couldn't make it up there yesterday, sorry. I was just looking at the times for the first time trials and wow, that Neon must have a good driver, and a lot of power. The only cars that were faster than it have 500+ hp. I did a quick search on the web and yes it looks like the one guy driving is a national club racing champ multiple times, especially in the Neon. Looks like he is/was a Chrysler engineer. Seems similar to the US ProRally car that Dan Jankowski drives, since he also has an affiliation to Dodge. But good for Dodge, they will likely win the event if the car doesn't break down, but I'd like to know what's done to it.
I was also surprised at the EVOs coming in 7th and 10th.
Good job with getting the tranny in, hopefully you can make up some of the lost time.
I was also surprised at the EVOs coming in 7th and 10th.
Good job with getting the tranny in, hopefully you can make up some of the lost time.
| zoomfactor | 05-06-2003 10:05 AM |
UPDATES????
| Achilles38WRX | 05-06-2003 01:09 PM |
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by dwx [/i]
[B]but I'd like to know what's done to it.
[/B][/QUOTE]
from srtforums.com:
[QUOTE]Yes the cars were put together by factory backed engineers but figure all the car has is a Stage 1 kit (235hp), 2nd ACR struts, SRT4 springs, Quaiffe LSD , Roll bar, 22mm rear sway bar (stock front) and a Full Data aquisition system [/QUOTE]
very impressive that they're running that fast.
mark
[B]but I'd like to know what's done to it.
[/B][/QUOTE]
from srtforums.com:
[QUOTE]Yes the cars were put together by factory backed engineers but figure all the car has is a Stage 1 kit (235hp), 2nd ACR struts, SRT4 springs, Quaiffe LSD , Roll bar, 22mm rear sway bar (stock front) and a Full Data aquisition system [/QUOTE]
very impressive that they're running that fast.
mark
| dwx | 05-06-2003 01:19 PM |
Heh considering they dyno at more than that at the wheels in stock form, it's probably something over 300 hp.
| KC | 05-06-2003 01:22 PM |
And the driver is no slouch either.
| Dussander | 05-06-2003 01:30 PM |
Someone call Dale, Tom or Steven and find out what is up.
| Dussander | 05-06-2003 05:27 PM |
Luke said they (Tom and Steven) got the new Tranny in and are doing fine now. I *might* drive over to Memphis tomorrow and help Luke out if someone closer can't do it.
| trhoppe | 05-07-2003 02:38 AM |
Day 3 and 4 Pictures
Entering Watkins Glen
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_01.jpg[/IMG]
Waiting in line behind a sick Supra
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_02.jpg[/IMG]
The garage at Watkins Glen
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_03.jpg[/IMG]
Checking the tire pressures and getting ready
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_04.jpg[/IMG]
The new harness is all ready to go
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_05.jpg[/IMG]
The first victim of One Lap. The Diablo got stuffed into a tire wall
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_06.jpg[/IMG]
Some white and red duck tape, some twist ties and rivets. Good as new :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_10.jpg[/IMG]
Putting on the helmet and getting ready
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_07.jpg[/IMG]
Launching the car on the first competition lap
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_09.jpg[/IMG]
Entering Watkins Glen
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_01.jpg[/IMG]
Waiting in line behind a sick Supra
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_02.jpg[/IMG]
The garage at Watkins Glen
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_03.jpg[/IMG]
Checking the tire pressures and getting ready
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_04.jpg[/IMG]
The new harness is all ready to go
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day3_05.jpg[/IMG]
The first victim of One Lap. The Diablo got stuffed into a tire wall
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_06.jpg[/IMG]
Some white and red duck tape, some twist ties and rivets. Good as new :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_10.jpg[/IMG]
Putting on the helmet and getting ready
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_07.jpg[/IMG]
Launching the car on the first competition lap
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_09.jpg[/IMG]
| trhoppe | 05-07-2003 02:41 AM |
Its a Shogun! (Ford Festive with a Ford SHO Supercharged V6, 2 of 8 ever made)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_08.jpg[/IMG]
Another victim of Watkins Glen, ding Caprice is done.
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_011.jpg[/IMG]
Just a cool picture of the diablo
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_012.jpg[/IMG]
Some nice gear chunks on the drain plug
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_01.jpg[/IMG]
Getting the new tranny in the car
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_02.jpg[/IMG]
More pretty chunks in the drain, this actually drained out with the fluid
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_03.jpg[/IMG]
There is a WHOLE gear tooth, busted
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_04.jpg[/IMG]
Hey, we're in St. Loius!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_05.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_08.jpg[/IMG]
Another victim of Watkins Glen, ding Caprice is done.
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_011.jpg[/IMG]
Just a cool picture of the diablo
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_012.jpg[/IMG]
Some nice gear chunks on the drain plug
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_01.jpg[/IMG]
Getting the new tranny in the car
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_02.jpg[/IMG]
More pretty chunks in the drain, this actually drained out with the fluid
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_03.jpg[/IMG]
There is a WHOLE gear tooth, busted
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_04.jpg[/IMG]
Hey, we're in St. Loius!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day4_05.jpg[/IMG]
| trhoppe | 05-07-2003 02:51 AM |
------------------------Day 5---------------------------------
We made it to Tire Rack! We pulled into Tire Rack with plenty of time left. The tranny actually held up with no further issues. We unpacked the car, and Steven headed off to the Skidpad. He ran very well, enough for 2nd in the class, and 15th overall. Over 4 laps around a 200ft skidpad, the car averaged 0.938 lateral Gs. Not bad for a family sedan with a busted tranny on street tires. The highest recorded was a RUF Porsche with 1.0xx Gs. From there we took off to get the tranny fixed. The transmission was finished up 15 seconds to midnight last night. Thanks to Luke from the Tire Rack, and John Monnin who let us use his garage. We then took off for Road America. At 1:00am we decide to pull into a rest area to get a 30 minute power nap and continue on. We set the alarm clock on my phone for 30 mins and both pass out. Next thing we know it is 4:00am, track opens at 7:00 and we are still 3.5 hours away. Using creative driving skillz we pull into the gate a few minutes past 7. The weather is absolutely horrid. The fog allows about 200-300ft of visibility and the rain is coming down like map. Since the weather is so horrible, they decide to cut the run time short and do 1 four lap session instead of 2, 3 lap sessions, with a stop and go at the "kink". The "kink" is a pretty dangerous corner when its dry, and with standing water, it makes it even worse. The even scarier section is right after that, a 120+mph left hander followed by a HARD braking zone into Canada Corner. Even with that stop and go at the kink, I was 100+ through that section, sliding a bit in the standing water....fun!! I went out for my session and was pretty slow. They have not posted the results yet, but I was passed by one of the Evos, and I think I lost some ground to the subaru in front of me as well. After being up all night on the tranny, I did not want to take ANY chances with the car, and just driving the way I was, I was still ALL over the place. I have no idea how the Evo has as much grip as it did. I tried to follow it through two turns, taking the same line, and I almost slid off the course, as he accelerated through the turn. Maybe the Kumho MXs don't like a lot of cold standing water. We are now on the way to Hallet Motor Speedway. Steven will drive tommorow at this nice track, and we can hopefully pick up a few more spots.
We also figured out, Missouri is the "Bonsai State". No one really cares about looking where they are going, looking when coming off onramps, etc etc. Also the roads are absolutely HORRIBLE. I guess the big springs have something to do with it, but NC roads are smooth as glass compared to the crap they have in NY, Illinois, and Missouri. Also, they have some baseball sized bugs. This last one left a 4" long smear on the windshield. Yummy.
No Pictures today, as it was raining so hard.
--------------------------------------------------------
We made it to Tire Rack! We pulled into Tire Rack with plenty of time left. The tranny actually held up with no further issues. We unpacked the car, and Steven headed off to the Skidpad. He ran very well, enough for 2nd in the class, and 15th overall. Over 4 laps around a 200ft skidpad, the car averaged 0.938 lateral Gs. Not bad for a family sedan with a busted tranny on street tires. The highest recorded was a RUF Porsche with 1.0xx Gs. From there we took off to get the tranny fixed. The transmission was finished up 15 seconds to midnight last night. Thanks to Luke from the Tire Rack, and John Monnin who let us use his garage. We then took off for Road America. At 1:00am we decide to pull into a rest area to get a 30 minute power nap and continue on. We set the alarm clock on my phone for 30 mins and both pass out. Next thing we know it is 4:00am, track opens at 7:00 and we are still 3.5 hours away. Using creative driving skillz we pull into the gate a few minutes past 7. The weather is absolutely horrid. The fog allows about 200-300ft of visibility and the rain is coming down like map. Since the weather is so horrible, they decide to cut the run time short and do 1 four lap session instead of 2, 3 lap sessions, with a stop and go at the "kink". The "kink" is a pretty dangerous corner when its dry, and with standing water, it makes it even worse. The even scarier section is right after that, a 120+mph left hander followed by a HARD braking zone into Canada Corner. Even with that stop and go at the kink, I was 100+ through that section, sliding a bit in the standing water....fun!! I went out for my session and was pretty slow. They have not posted the results yet, but I was passed by one of the Evos, and I think I lost some ground to the subaru in front of me as well. After being up all night on the tranny, I did not want to take ANY chances with the car, and just driving the way I was, I was still ALL over the place. I have no idea how the Evo has as much grip as it did. I tried to follow it through two turns, taking the same line, and I almost slid off the course, as he accelerated through the turn. Maybe the Kumho MXs don't like a lot of cold standing water. We are now on the way to Hallet Motor Speedway. Steven will drive tommorow at this nice track, and we can hopefully pick up a few more spots.
We also figured out, Missouri is the "Bonsai State". No one really cares about looking where they are going, looking when coming off onramps, etc etc. Also the roads are absolutely HORRIBLE. I guess the big springs have something to do with it, but NC roads are smooth as glass compared to the crap they have in NY, Illinois, and Missouri. Also, they have some baseball sized bugs. This last one left a 4" long smear on the windshield. Yummy.
No Pictures today, as it was raining so hard.
--------------------------------------------------------
| trhoppe | 05-07-2003 02:55 AM |
----------------------------Day 6-----------------------------
Today ended up being a pretty good day for us. We made it into the hotel at about 1:00 in the morning and actually got a half nights sleep and finally took a shower. We havent gotten a chance to since the tranny swap. We got up nice and early, and even though we took a quick wront turn out of the hotel room (GPS batteries died and we forgot to recharge it), we got to the track at 7:15. Steven took off for the course scootering and I unpacked the car. I'm very glad he took a live look at the course, as it has some tricky spots that can get you if youre not prepared. He drove very well in the morning session. A 4:50 total which was only 2 seconds behind the class leading Neon and the charging Thunderchicken, while being about 8 seconds ahead of the guys that we were trying to catch. In the afternoon session though, I guess the other guys ate some damn wheates for lunch, as everyone made up a lot of time. Luke drove his butt off and took 1st in class over the Neon and whooped everyone. Although Steven did improve his time in the afternoon it wasnt enough, and he was about 6 seconds behind the Evos that we were trying to catch. It all worked out though, as we made up ground and moved to 28th overall and took 6th in class from the Lexus as Steven beat him both sessions. Not too shabby. Steven also put the car off into the dirt at Turn 7. He overcooked the entry into the turn and chose to take the "really wide" line around the turn instead of maybe putting a wheel off into a big rut right next to the rumble strip (kinda resembling that crappy rut at Turn 8 at Summit Pointc). The funny thing is, he lost only 1 second on that lap compared to all the other laps he turned. Not too shabby.
Next, we packed the car up and headed off on our 40 mile journey to Tulsa Speedway. It was very wierd unpacking the car 30 minutes right after packing it. Kinda sucked considering we are lugging around this damn busted tranny. The track looks very interesting. The track surface was supposed to be "smooth" ompared to lasdt year. Holy hell, I would not want to have driven this thing last year if this was smooth. I watched a few cars drive the course, and decided that a speed vs distance short but slower line around the track was the way to go. I ended up carrying about 75 into the turns, a quick tap on the brakes to get the car sideways with a downshift to second and then right back on the gas to have the car pull out of the turn into the next straight. Whaddya know it worked like a champ. I placed 4th overall and 1st in MPS. The only cars that were faster then me were the RUF Porsche, a 911 Twin Turbo, and a 2003 Viper ACR :-) I guess I should give rallying a try, this was fun as hell! These are the unofficial results, as they were given to me by the t&s guy, but are not officially posted yet. I dunno where the Evos finished up, so I don't know exactly where this will place me in class, but Im pretty sure that I will move up. Especially in the overall standings, as I got some good points out of this event.
Right now, we are on our way to Memphis, TN. Its a paperclip shaped track with an almost 1\2 mile straight, 2 big U turns, and one S section. Its a TOTAL HP track with no emphasis on handling, so I know I will have a tough time with Luke, the SRT, the IS300 and the Thunderbird, but I should be ok compared to the EVOs. We also have the drag races tommorow night, where I think I can make up some more ground hopefully.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
All lined up at Hallet Motor Speedway
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_00.jpg[/IMG]
Steven in the car at the starting line
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_01.jpg[/IMG]
The Diablo almost loosing it at the dirt track
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_02.jpg[/IMG]
M5 on Lap 1, nice slide
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_03.jpg[/IMG]
M5 on Lap 2, nice spin
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_04.jpg[/IMG]
Ducktaped Viper. Hard to tell this car hit a wall with the front end
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_05.jpg[/IMG]
Me taking the slow looking, but fast time wise line
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_06.jpg[/IMG]
RUF Porsche looking fast and going fast
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_07.jpg[/IMG]
Raining like hell, this pictures describes how we feel right now :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_08.jpg[/IMG]
Man, look at all those bugs we killed
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_09.jpg[/IMG]
Today ended up being a pretty good day for us. We made it into the hotel at about 1:00 in the morning and actually got a half nights sleep and finally took a shower. We havent gotten a chance to since the tranny swap. We got up nice and early, and even though we took a quick wront turn out of the hotel room (GPS batteries died and we forgot to recharge it), we got to the track at 7:15. Steven took off for the course scootering and I unpacked the car. I'm very glad he took a live look at the course, as it has some tricky spots that can get you if youre not prepared. He drove very well in the morning session. A 4:50 total which was only 2 seconds behind the class leading Neon and the charging Thunderchicken, while being about 8 seconds ahead of the guys that we were trying to catch. In the afternoon session though, I guess the other guys ate some damn wheates for lunch, as everyone made up a lot of time. Luke drove his butt off and took 1st in class over the Neon and whooped everyone. Although Steven did improve his time in the afternoon it wasnt enough, and he was about 6 seconds behind the Evos that we were trying to catch. It all worked out though, as we made up ground and moved to 28th overall and took 6th in class from the Lexus as Steven beat him both sessions. Not too shabby. Steven also put the car off into the dirt at Turn 7. He overcooked the entry into the turn and chose to take the "really wide" line around the turn instead of maybe putting a wheel off into a big rut right next to the rumble strip (kinda resembling that crappy rut at Turn 8 at Summit Pointc). The funny thing is, he lost only 1 second on that lap compared to all the other laps he turned. Not too shabby.
Next, we packed the car up and headed off on our 40 mile journey to Tulsa Speedway. It was very wierd unpacking the car 30 minutes right after packing it. Kinda sucked considering we are lugging around this damn busted tranny. The track looks very interesting. The track surface was supposed to be "smooth" ompared to lasdt year. Holy hell, I would not want to have driven this thing last year if this was smooth. I watched a few cars drive the course, and decided that a speed vs distance short but slower line around the track was the way to go. I ended up carrying about 75 into the turns, a quick tap on the brakes to get the car sideways with a downshift to second and then right back on the gas to have the car pull out of the turn into the next straight. Whaddya know it worked like a champ. I placed 4th overall and 1st in MPS. The only cars that were faster then me were the RUF Porsche, a 911 Twin Turbo, and a 2003 Viper ACR :-) I guess I should give rallying a try, this was fun as hell! These are the unofficial results, as they were given to me by the t&s guy, but are not officially posted yet. I dunno where the Evos finished up, so I don't know exactly where this will place me in class, but Im pretty sure that I will move up. Especially in the overall standings, as I got some good points out of this event.
Right now, we are on our way to Memphis, TN. Its a paperclip shaped track with an almost 1\2 mile straight, 2 big U turns, and one S section. Its a TOTAL HP track with no emphasis on handling, so I know I will have a tough time with Luke, the SRT, the IS300 and the Thunderbird, but I should be ok compared to the EVOs. We also have the drag races tommorow night, where I think I can make up some more ground hopefully.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
All lined up at Hallet Motor Speedway
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_00.jpg[/IMG]
Steven in the car at the starting line
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_01.jpg[/IMG]
The Diablo almost loosing it at the dirt track
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_02.jpg[/IMG]
M5 on Lap 1, nice slide
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_03.jpg[/IMG]
M5 on Lap 2, nice spin
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_04.jpg[/IMG]
Ducktaped Viper. Hard to tell this car hit a wall with the front end
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_05.jpg[/IMG]
Me taking the slow looking, but fast time wise line
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_06.jpg[/IMG]
RUF Porsche looking fast and going fast
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_07.jpg[/IMG]
Raining like hell, this pictures describes how we feel right now :-)
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_08.jpg[/IMG]
Man, look at all those bugs we killed
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/day6_09.jpg[/IMG]
| TheWRX | 05-07-2003 09:17 AM |
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by trhoppe [/i]
[B]We also figured out, Missouri is the "Bonsai State". No one really cares about looking where they are going, looking when coming off onramps, etc etc.[/B][/QUOTE]
Hey there, some people do! :mad: ;)
Thanks for the great reports, this is a lot of fun to read! Nice pictures, too. Good luck for the rest of the race!
[B]We also figured out, Missouri is the "Bonsai State". No one really cares about looking where they are going, looking when coming off onramps, etc etc.[/B][/QUOTE]
Hey there, some people do! :mad: ;)
Thanks for the great reports, this is a lot of fun to read! Nice pictures, too. Good luck for the rest of the race!
| no_rex_yet | 05-07-2003 10:06 AM |
awesome updates. keep up the great work. you guys are hardcore changing out the tranny at midnight :eek: someone get that damn neon!
| zoomfactor | 05-07-2003 10:19 AM |
I want an "own3d" picture with the tranny bits on the drain plug:devil:
Nice work Tom & Steven!
Nice work Tom & Steven!
| Dussander | 05-07-2003 10:36 AM |
Thanks for taking the extra time out of your very limited schedule to keep us up to date. Good Luck!
| RyanC | 05-07-2003 02:07 PM |
Tom, you guys did really well yesterday afternoon. We got owned on the dirt, running second was a bad idea. Bad enough to drop us from 13th to 18th overall. ******! We've got some updates at [url]http://www.twofools.com[/url] but not many pics, this web connection has kinda been slow.
Ryan
car #24
Ryan
car #24
| RyanC | 05-07-2003 02:10 PM |
Tom, you guys did really well yesterday afternoon. We got owned on the dirt, running second was a bad idea. Bad enough to drop us from 13th to 18th overall. ******! We've got some updates at [url]http://www.twofools.com[/url] but not many pics, this web connection has kinda been slow.
Ryan
car #23
Ryan
car #23
| MNbiker | 05-07-2003 11:24 PM |
Tom,
It looks like you & Steven had a great day today! You REALLY kicked some tail at Tulsa!:D
You spanked those EVO's - next up, the Thunderchicken!;)
-Steve
It looks like you & Steven had a great day today! You REALLY kicked some tail at Tulsa!:D
You spanked those EVO's - next up, the Thunderchicken!;)
-Steve
| Mattr762 | 05-07-2003 11:56 PM |
Hey guys! I caught this awesome event in Tulsa yesterday by accident. My wife actually told me about it so I rushed over their with my camera.
[IMG]http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/images/DSC03715.jpg[/IMG]
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/index.htm]-->HERE<--[/URL] are all the pictures I took.
And two crappy movie shots with my digital camera:
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/MOV03713.MPG]Movie 1[/URL]
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/MOV03704.MPG]Movie 2[/URL]
[IMG]http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/images/DSC03715.jpg[/IMG]
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/index.htm]-->HERE<--[/URL] are all the pictures I took.
And two crappy movie shots with my digital camera:
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/MOV03713.MPG]Movie 1[/URL]
[URL=http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/race-track/MOV03704.MPG]Movie 2[/URL]
| scotto | 05-08-2003 05:31 AM |
Great updates Tom! Great driving in the dirt too :) Keep it up!
| zoomfactor | 05-08-2003 03:54 PM |
Any recent updates?
| driggity | 05-08-2003 05:49 PM |
Times are up on the One Lap site for the memphis stuff (not the drags though). Luke is up to Second in their class (behind the Neon) and Tom is 4th in class. Subarus are 12th, 22nd, 23rd, 46th, and 66th overall.
| MattN | 05-08-2003 06:11 PM |
Just got a call from Tom this afternoon. They did VERY well at CMP. Steven has a bunch of time on that track. They finished 2nd for the day behind an Evo and have a solid hold on 4th in class. Tom is confident that they can dispatch the 600hp Thunderturd at the autocross event and take over 3rd, no problem.
Matt
Matt
| driggity | 05-09-2003 02:22 PM |
Hmm, times are up for the Carolina stuff but not the Drags. Anyone know why? Subarus now in 12, 21, 25, 46, 66. Luke and Tom both did better than the Neon and Thunderbird in their class at Carolina but it looks like one of the Evos was flying around that track.
| MattN | 05-09-2003 06:27 PM |
[quote]looks like one of the Evos was flying around that track.
[/quote]
Tom told me that the driver of that Evo had six HUNDRED hours of seat time at CMP. I think that might be a slight advantage over Tom's 2 hours.....
[/quote]
Tom told me that the driver of that Evo had six HUNDRED hours of seat time at CMP. I think that might be a slight advantage over Tom's 2 hours.....
| trhoppe | 05-10-2003 08:59 AM |
Matt - He had about 300 hours there :) That is a bunch whichever way you look at it. The cool thing is, steven was braking through the kink at the last session, and also had to pitch the car into 8. Without those two mistakes, I think he could have had him.
You'd think I would do ok at the autox huh? I got fin OWN3D by the EVOs. The course was a very very tight go cart track. There was only a few sections where I was on boost, the car pushed like a pig, and I drove like a complete idiot. I was 8th overall and 3rd in class in both the autoxes. I also went 2 wheels off at the road course and drove the rest of it timidly and got own3d as well. I picked a REALLY bad day to have an off day. I should have had steven drive the autox after I got off track, I just had a complete ass of a day. We did end up skipping past the thunderbird, but also got hopped by the Evo driven by Jon. He ran a pretty good track time, but absolutely drove the hell out of the autox, enough for 2nd overall and 1st in class. He got me by 4 seconds over 2.5 minutes. So we got 4th in class and 18th overall. Luke was 2nd in class and 12th overall with his shaggin wagon. What chaps me is that if the transmission didn't break I would have been much higher in class and overall.
I'm going to bed now for a few days :lol:
-Tom
You'd think I would do ok at the autox huh? I got fin OWN3D by the EVOs. The course was a very very tight go cart track. There was only a few sections where I was on boost, the car pushed like a pig, and I drove like a complete idiot. I was 8th overall and 3rd in class in both the autoxes. I also went 2 wheels off at the road course and drove the rest of it timidly and got own3d as well. I picked a REALLY bad day to have an off day. I should have had steven drive the autox after I got off track, I just had a complete ass of a day. We did end up skipping past the thunderbird, but also got hopped by the Evo driven by Jon. He ran a pretty good track time, but absolutely drove the hell out of the autox, enough for 2nd overall and 1st in class. He got me by 4 seconds over 2.5 minutes. So we got 4th in class and 18th overall. Luke was 2nd in class and 12th overall with his shaggin wagon. What chaps me is that if the transmission didn't break I would have been much higher in class and overall.
I'm going to bed now for a few days :lol:
-Tom
| scotto | 05-10-2003 02:18 PM |
Great job Tom! We have to give you big thumbs up for taking valuable time out of an insane schedule to keep up us all informed!
Nice on getting that thunderbird to!
Sleep well ;)
Nice on getting that thunderbird to!
Sleep well ;)
| trhoppe | 05-12-2003 12:47 PM |
------------------------------Day 7-----------------------------
We made it to Memphis at about 12:30am last night. It was nice to get in that early and get the web updates done and get almost a full nights sleep. We did make a very wrong choice in hotels though. We stayed at "Roach (spelled R-O-S-E) Inn". I'm not one to bitch about hotel choices as 99% of the time I don't care, but this place was BAD! The towels we used to clean my wheels, were cleaner then the towels we got at this hotel, the floors were very bad, the phone was a stolen unit from a Comfort Inn in Mississippi, and the place was just plain ghetto. I was contemplating throwing my laptop away after it sat on the floor for the night, as I think it was contaminated. We needed some of that sanitizer we use at work :-) We made it to the track in the pouring rain right after 7. We found a little sheltered area and unloaded all our stuff there. It was time for me and Jon K to walk the track. Oh, my.....The drag strip was COVERED in water. 2" or so of standing water everywhere. Entering turn 1 after a 1/2 mile straight water covered the braking zone. The S's were very wet, with 1-2" of standing water in places. The braking zone to the tight S had a full river running across it. 2" of full running water, it was pretty cool. There was also a lake at the next turn. John took his shoes off and it was up to his ankles. Oh boy. The organizers decided to hold of for another 2 hours until the sun came out and they were able to dry the track a bit and to cancel the drag racing because the drag strip was undryable. Good idea. Since the main straight was closed, they had us use the hot pits as a straight, with a 15ft hole that led onto the back section of the main straight. This little 15ft wide hole was angled, and you could make a line through it, but oh boy was it tight. Especially doing 105-110 in 4th gear like I was, or 130-140 like the POrsches and Vipers. The rest of the course was pretty simple and it was easy to go fast. It was a VERY HP dependent course. Even though the straight was split, luke was easily 10mph faster then me at the end. I definetly need another 75 or so HP to be able to win. With the current suspension setup, the car feels great, but it really does need a lot more top end to be a good road race car.
I did drive pretty well today. I was 3rd fastest in the morning just a few secs off both Luke and the Neon. I made a few mistakes, and there were a few sections where I got the car sideways, so I definetly left some time out there. I was 16th overall though, but I was aided by the AWD in that. In the afternoon I was 4th fastest in the class, right on Luke and the Neon, but the Thunderchicken absolutely cleaned up and was 5 secs faster then anyone else.
Now we are sitting 4th in class and 22nd overall, not too shabby. Im barely ahead of 5th ( Stu in a WRX) and 6th (Jon in the Evo), so we still need to be fast at CMP and Beaverun to keep our spot and maybe move into the Top 20.
Last, but not least, what we think is the downpipe gasket is starting to leak. When we put it back on during the transmission swap, it looked like crap, but we didnt have another one, so we just reused it. The WRX is starting to sound like a diesel truck. Hopefully it is just the dp gasket and not either of the uppipe ones. Since everything is right there together, you can't really tell. Bill from Prestige Subaru hooked us up with new gaskets for the dp and upipe. No shipping necessary, we just picked them up at 12:30am when we drove through :-) Thanks Bill!! We will swap the dp one at CMP tommorow, which will hopefully fix the issue. If its the uppipe one, I guess it will wait until after One Lap, unless it blows out completely. Then we will be forced to swap it.
The Subaru, nice and clean ready to kick some butt at Memphis
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_01.jpg[/IMG]
Thats Luke's shaggin wagon there in the background
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_02.jpg[/IMG]
Rounding Turn 10 headed onto the pit straight, lots of walls
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_03.jpg[/IMG]
Braking into turn 7, I really like this pic
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_04.jpg[/IMG]
110mph, 4th gear, gas is matted, "oh god please don't let me hit this wall"
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_05.jpg[/IMG]
Whew! I made it!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_06.jpg[/IMG]
------------------------------------------------------------------
We made it to Memphis at about 12:30am last night. It was nice to get in that early and get the web updates done and get almost a full nights sleep. We did make a very wrong choice in hotels though. We stayed at "Roach (spelled R-O-S-E) Inn". I'm not one to bitch about hotel choices as 99% of the time I don't care, but this place was BAD! The towels we used to clean my wheels, were cleaner then the towels we got at this hotel, the floors were very bad, the phone was a stolen unit from a Comfort Inn in Mississippi, and the place was just plain ghetto. I was contemplating throwing my laptop away after it sat on the floor for the night, as I think it was contaminated. We needed some of that sanitizer we use at work :-) We made it to the track in the pouring rain right after 7. We found a little sheltered area and unloaded all our stuff there. It was time for me and Jon K to walk the track. Oh, my.....The drag strip was COVERED in water. 2" or so of standing water everywhere. Entering turn 1 after a 1/2 mile straight water covered the braking zone. The S's were very wet, with 1-2" of standing water in places. The braking zone to the tight S had a full river running across it. 2" of full running water, it was pretty cool. There was also a lake at the next turn. John took his shoes off and it was up to his ankles. Oh boy. The organizers decided to hold of for another 2 hours until the sun came out and they were able to dry the track a bit and to cancel the drag racing because the drag strip was undryable. Good idea. Since the main straight was closed, they had us use the hot pits as a straight, with a 15ft hole that led onto the back section of the main straight. This little 15ft wide hole was angled, and you could make a line through it, but oh boy was it tight. Especially doing 105-110 in 4th gear like I was, or 130-140 like the POrsches and Vipers. The rest of the course was pretty simple and it was easy to go fast. It was a VERY HP dependent course. Even though the straight was split, luke was easily 10mph faster then me at the end. I definetly need another 75 or so HP to be able to win. With the current suspension setup, the car feels great, but it really does need a lot more top end to be a good road race car.
I did drive pretty well today. I was 3rd fastest in the morning just a few secs off both Luke and the Neon. I made a few mistakes, and there were a few sections where I got the car sideways, so I definetly left some time out there. I was 16th overall though, but I was aided by the AWD in that. In the afternoon I was 4th fastest in the class, right on Luke and the Neon, but the Thunderchicken absolutely cleaned up and was 5 secs faster then anyone else.
Now we are sitting 4th in class and 22nd overall, not too shabby. Im barely ahead of 5th ( Stu in a WRX) and 6th (Jon in the Evo), so we still need to be fast at CMP and Beaverun to keep our spot and maybe move into the Top 20.
Last, but not least, what we think is the downpipe gasket is starting to leak. When we put it back on during the transmission swap, it looked like crap, but we didnt have another one, so we just reused it. The WRX is starting to sound like a diesel truck. Hopefully it is just the dp gasket and not either of the uppipe ones. Since everything is right there together, you can't really tell. Bill from Prestige Subaru hooked us up with new gaskets for the dp and upipe. No shipping necessary, we just picked them up at 12:30am when we drove through :-) Thanks Bill!! We will swap the dp one at CMP tommorow, which will hopefully fix the issue. If its the uppipe one, I guess it will wait until after One Lap, unless it blows out completely. Then we will be forced to swap it.
The Subaru, nice and clean ready to kick some butt at Memphis
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_01.jpg[/IMG]
Thats Luke's shaggin wagon there in the background
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_02.jpg[/IMG]
Rounding Turn 10 headed onto the pit straight, lots of walls
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_03.jpg[/IMG]
Braking into turn 7, I really like this pic
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_04.jpg[/IMG]
110mph, 4th gear, gas is matted, "oh god please don't let me hit this wall"
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_05.jpg[/IMG]
Whew! I made it!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day7_06.jpg[/IMG]
------------------------------------------------------------------
| trhoppe | 05-12-2003 12:49 PM |
------------------------ Day 8 ---------------------------------
We got to stay at Tim's place tonight right outside of Charlotte. We got there at about 2:00am. Had a quick meal at a Steak n Shake, checked out the brakes (still had a little pad left) and crashed on Tim's couches. We got to CMP at the perfect time in the morning. Steven went out to walk the course while I filled up with gas and unpacked the car. Since this was a track that Steven was familiar with, we were hoping for some good results. He definetly did not dissapoint. After the 1st session we were 2nd in class just a few seconds off Jon (who has 300 hours at CMP) and a bit ahead of the Neon which was in 3rd. Awesome! Between the sessions, we swapped the downpipe gasket and the front brake pads (which wore down all the way to the rivets). We then went out to bed in the new pads twice. As we found out in the afternoon session, we should have bedded the pads in some more, as they went out in Turn 8. After pitching the car into the turn and scrubbing off speed the old fashioned way, we were only 2 seconds off of Jon in the afternoon session, and still in 2nd place. Even though Jon gained some points on us, it was the minimal amount as we kept him only 1 spot ahead during both sessions. Thanks to everyone that came out to watch and support at CMP. It was really cool to hang out with everyone and it definetly made us feel better!
We had a long drive up to PA ahead of us, so we took off quickly after our run session and got on the road. Unfortunately the DP gasket was not the culprit of our exhaust leak, so we planned to swap the lower uppipe gasket once we got to the hotel in PA. With some instructions from Dale, it didnt seem like too difficult of a task.
We arrived at a nice Motel 6 about 1:00am and immediately got to work on the uppipe. It was a very easy fix and it took us about 30 mins in the parking lot. Steven got the honors of starting the car and aaahhh nice and quiet. It still has a slight leak, but that will be fixed with one of Tim's (crazyhorse) headers in a few days time :-)
We were kinda busy and didnt take any pictures, but Kevin Allen did! Thanks for the pics Kevin.
Steven drifting the scooter around the pits
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_01.jpg[/IMG]
Fully stocked Map pocket, mmmm sunflower seeds
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_02.jpg[/IMG]
Our ghetto IC water spray, it actually works!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_03.jpg[/IMG]
Me, working on our downpipe gasket, fun fun
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_04.jpg[/IMG]
Me, putting on new Carbotech Panther XP pads
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_05.jpg[/IMG]
The old Panther XP pads after a lot of track time and 5K street miles. Yes we went into the rivets
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_06.jpg[/IMG]
Steven taking a little nap between the sessions
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_07.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We got to stay at Tim's place tonight right outside of Charlotte. We got there at about 2:00am. Had a quick meal at a Steak n Shake, checked out the brakes (still had a little pad left) and crashed on Tim's couches. We got to CMP at the perfect time in the morning. Steven went out to walk the course while I filled up with gas and unpacked the car. Since this was a track that Steven was familiar with, we were hoping for some good results. He definetly did not dissapoint. After the 1st session we were 2nd in class just a few seconds off Jon (who has 300 hours at CMP) and a bit ahead of the Neon which was in 3rd. Awesome! Between the sessions, we swapped the downpipe gasket and the front brake pads (which wore down all the way to the rivets). We then went out to bed in the new pads twice. As we found out in the afternoon session, we should have bedded the pads in some more, as they went out in Turn 8. After pitching the car into the turn and scrubbing off speed the old fashioned way, we were only 2 seconds off of Jon in the afternoon session, and still in 2nd place. Even though Jon gained some points on us, it was the minimal amount as we kept him only 1 spot ahead during both sessions. Thanks to everyone that came out to watch and support at CMP. It was really cool to hang out with everyone and it definetly made us feel better!
We had a long drive up to PA ahead of us, so we took off quickly after our run session and got on the road. Unfortunately the DP gasket was not the culprit of our exhaust leak, so we planned to swap the lower uppipe gasket once we got to the hotel in PA. With some instructions from Dale, it didnt seem like too difficult of a task.
We arrived at a nice Motel 6 about 1:00am and immediately got to work on the uppipe. It was a very easy fix and it took us about 30 mins in the parking lot. Steven got the honors of starting the car and aaahhh nice and quiet. It still has a slight leak, but that will be fixed with one of Tim's (crazyhorse) headers in a few days time :-)
We were kinda busy and didnt take any pictures, but Kevin Allen did! Thanks for the pics Kevin.
Steven drifting the scooter around the pits
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_01.jpg[/IMG]
Fully stocked Map pocket, mmmm sunflower seeds
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_02.jpg[/IMG]
Our ghetto IC water spray, it actually works!
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_03.jpg[/IMG]
Me, working on our downpipe gasket, fun fun
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_04.jpg[/IMG]
Me, putting on new Carbotech Panther XP pads
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_05.jpg[/IMG]
The old Panther XP pads after a lot of track time and 5K street miles. Yes we went into the rivets
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_06.jpg[/IMG]
Steven taking a little nap between the sessions
[IMG]http://66.57.74.93/boxer4racing/images/oloa1/Day8_07.jpg[/IMG]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| trhoppe | 05-12-2003 01:11 PM |
-----------------------------------Day 9----------------------------------
We woke up kinda late for Beaverun. The alarm was set to go off at 5:45, but we woke up at 7:15, DOH! We rushed out ouf of the hotel to find that the car has lost power steering overnight. Stopping by a gas station we refill the fluid which seems to fix the problem and we take off for the track. We made it to the track just as the first run group was starting. Crap, I don't get to walk the track. It was ok though as I watched a lot of track video and I thought I had the track nailed. We unpacked in the pouring rain and put a bunch of our stuff into garbage bags to try to keep it dry. We got the car ready, and I took off to the starting line. Just as I get there, everyone seems to be pulling out of grid. Apparently a corvette went off pretty bad on the recon lap, so they are cancelling the morning session, they will instead run the gocart track twice instead of once. Good news for me! We pulled the car into our spot and took off to watch the gocart track as I didnt get to walk it. After a little while, we come back into the pits to check up on the car and bleed the brakes. To our horror there is a a lake of oil under the car. A little snooping and we realized it was the power steering fluid. There is a bolt on Subaru's that seems to work itself loose and the car will drip power steering fluid. Steven fixed it in 30 seconds. By this time, the rain has stopped and the full track dries out a bit, so we go out for our afternoon session. I am pretty confident in the car on the recon lap and everything feels great. I nail turn 1-5, 6 wasnt bad, but the rumble strip kicked me out a bit, but I was waay late into 7. I'm going about 80mph or so through this turn and accelerating and the car starts to slide to track out. I realize that there is no way I'm keeping it on the track. I turn out a bit and go 2 wheels off into the dirt. Man, dirt is rough at that speed. The car kinda twitches around a bit, but I get it back on the track and keep on going. I lost a few seconds through the "off", but more importantly, I lost some confidence. This was the most important turn on the track and I went through it tentatively through the rest of the track time, and lost quite a bit of time. I got spanked by 4 people in class and was 28th or so overall. NOT good. Jon won the class and made up a lot of ground. I had to take him out in the autox to keep my spot. We got ready for the autox and I was full of confidence going in. This was going to be it! Well, in short, I sucked big time. The car was horrible, the driver was horrible, the combo was horrible. I should have let Steven drive or something. I could not get the car to turn at all, just horrible amounts of push everywhere. I overdrove it the first time, and slowed down a lot the 2nd time, but did not speed up. It was just bad. The turns were VERY tight and I was off boost on every one of them. Just a bad experience. I eneded up 2nd or 3rd in class and 8th overall at the autox, but Jon was 1st in class and 2nd overall. He ended up stealing 3rd place behind the Neon and Luke. I was tied for 4th with the Thunderbird. Apparently he got the nod with 10 more overall points and I ended up 5th in class and 18th overall.
We packed up and headed out to Painted Post, NY to finish the event. We had to get there by 10pm in order to finish. After spendind some time chatting with everyone and having a nice seafood buffet dinner. We headed back to NC that night, so I could make Dave's wedding on Saturday. No point in sticking around for the award ceremony for no trophy :-) What really sucks, is that we would have been 2nd if not for the tranny breakage. But I guess thats racing!
No pictures, as it was raining again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We woke up kinda late for Beaverun. The alarm was set to go off at 5:45, but we woke up at 7:15, DOH! We rushed out ouf of the hotel to find that the car has lost power steering overnight. Stopping by a gas station we refill the fluid which seems to fix the problem and we take off for the track. We made it to the track just as the first run group was starting. Crap, I don't get to walk the track. It was ok though as I watched a lot of track video and I thought I had the track nailed. We unpacked in the pouring rain and put a bunch of our stuff into garbage bags to try to keep it dry. We got the car ready, and I took off to the starting line. Just as I get there, everyone seems to be pulling out of grid. Apparently a corvette went off pretty bad on the recon lap, so they are cancelling the morning session, they will instead run the gocart track twice instead of once. Good news for me! We pulled the car into our spot and took off to watch the gocart track as I didnt get to walk it. After a little while, we come back into the pits to check up on the car and bleed the brakes. To our horror there is a a lake of oil under the car. A little snooping and we realized it was the power steering fluid. There is a bolt on Subaru's that seems to work itself loose and the car will drip power steering fluid. Steven fixed it in 30 seconds. By this time, the rain has stopped and the full track dries out a bit, so we go out for our afternoon session. I am pretty confident in the car on the recon lap and everything feels great. I nail turn 1-5, 6 wasnt bad, but the rumble strip kicked me out a bit, but I was waay late into 7. I'm going about 80mph or so through this turn and accelerating and the car starts to slide to track out. I realize that there is no way I'm keeping it on the track. I turn out a bit and go 2 wheels off into the dirt. Man, dirt is rough at that speed. The car kinda twitches around a bit, but I get it back on the track and keep on going. I lost a few seconds through the "off", but more importantly, I lost some confidence. This was the most important turn on the track and I went through it tentatively through the rest of the track time, and lost quite a bit of time. I got spanked by 4 people in class and was 28th or so overall. NOT good. Jon won the class and made up a lot of ground. I had to take him out in the autox to keep my spot. We got ready for the autox and I was full of confidence going in. This was going to be it! Well, in short, I sucked big time. The car was horrible, the driver was horrible, the combo was horrible. I should have let Steven drive or something. I could not get the car to turn at all, just horrible amounts of push everywhere. I overdrove it the first time, and slowed down a lot the 2nd time, but did not speed up. It was just bad. The turns were VERY tight and I was off boost on every one of them. Just a bad experience. I eneded up 2nd or 3rd in class and 8th overall at the autox, but Jon was 1st in class and 2nd overall. He ended up stealing 3rd place behind the Neon and Luke. I was tied for 4th with the Thunderbird. Apparently he got the nod with 10 more overall points and I ended up 5th in class and 18th overall.
We packed up and headed out to Painted Post, NY to finish the event. We had to get there by 10pm in order to finish. After spendind some time chatting with everyone and having a nice seafood buffet dinner. We headed back to NC that night, so I could make Dave's wedding on Saturday. No point in sticking around for the award ceremony for no trophy :-) What really sucks, is that we would have been 2nd if not for the tranny breakage. But I guess thats racing!
No pictures, as it was raining again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Achilles38WRX | 05-12-2003 01:35 PM |
tom, thanks for the updates, looks like fun!
i've heard that some cars (including the srt4) were using nitrous this year. i thought i had read in car and driver in the past that n2o was illegal for one lap competition?
can anyone clarify this?
i've heard that some cars (including the srt4) were using nitrous this year. i thought i had read in car and driver in the past that n2o was illegal for one lap competition?
can anyone clarify this?
| trhoppe | 05-12-2003 01:39 PM |
[QUOTE]i've heard that some cars (including the srt4) were using nitrous this year. i thought i had read in car and driver in the past that n2o was illegal for one lap competition? [/QUOTE] There WERE a lot of cars using nitrous, but the neon WAS NOT. It was making right at 275 or 280hp w/o nitrous.
There is only one rule at One Lap "There are NO rules"
-Tom
There is only one rule at One Lap "There are NO rules"
-Tom
| trhoppe | 05-12-2003 01:42 PM |
So the event is over. I finally caught up on some sleep and we are both back at work (yay!). Overall, the event was a lot of fun, a lot of work, but it definetly improved me as a driver and a competitor. It taught me a lot about having fun vs. being ultra competitive. I did a LOT better when I was just having fun driving (memphis) vs. when I was TRYING to be fast (beaverun). I need to learn to tone it down a bit in the future, and have more fun, it will make me faster.
We finished 5th in Mid Priced Sedan (out of 18), and 18th overall (out of 86 that finished). AFter what we went through, I'm thrilled with that result. Top 5 and Top 20 with a DNF is VERY good. Without that DNF we could have squeezed out 2nd in class and 12th overall, but "coulda shoulda woulda" definetly applies there.
Here is a list of things that I learned or found out through the event.
1) Subaru transmissions are weak! :-)
2) The car gets HORRIBLE (5mpg) gas mileage on track
3) Bedding in pads is very very important
4) Driving 95mph takes a lot more out of you then driving 85mph
5) Driving skill and experience will always beat out HP and car prep
6) Kumho MXs SUCK, REALLY REALLY REALLY SUCK, HORRIBLY SUCK in the rain
7) Stock WRX brakes are good enough to compete in One Lap
8) Have FUN while racing, if you are NOT having fun but trying to be fast, you will be slow
9) Everyone that competed in One Lap was VERY cool. Everyone was super nice and always willing to help out. A car was pulled over overheating on the highway. We were going to stop, but 6 people already pulled over before us to help the guy out.
10) Did I mention that the Kumho MXs suck in the rain?
11) The car really smelled after 9 days of living in it, I emptied almost a full bottle of Fabreeze into it yesterday
12) Watkins Glen is a really fun track.
13) Really heavy springs + loud exhaust + rattling car + expansion joints = sucky ride
14) It was very cool being on GPS and internet, while playing a racing game in the passenger seat
15) I will be bringing a trailer next time. Unpacking and Repacking the car sucks as you watch the people with trailers just hook up and drive away
16) Next time, I am bringing a lot more HP. Driving skill AND HP is a scary combo (Neon SRT4)
17) The whole "drive 8/10ths" thing was BS. All the top guys were driving 10/10ths the whole time, and we had to drive 10/10ths to keep up. The two times I drove 8/10ths (Waktins 1st session and Beaverun) we were down in the pack.
18) The WRX is a very cool car to drive in the dirt. It was very controlled and easy to drive, and had tons of grip.
I want to thank everyone that helped us out before and during the event. Without all your help, we would not have been able to compete and finish this event. I don't want to list everyone as I don't want to forget and leave off someone!
Also, a big thanks to the sponsors!!!!
Boxer4Racing
Subaru of America
Vishnu Performance Systems
Unorthodox Racing
RallyDecals.com
I'm now looking forward to a successfull autox season. I am getting back into the swing of things next weekend in Virginia and will start the ProSolo season the weekend after that. This week will be spent tightening every bolt on the car that I can find :-)
Thanks for reading the updates and check out [url]http://www.boxer4racing.com[/url] during the season for more information about the car and how I am doing autoxing.
-Tom Hoppe
We finished 5th in Mid Priced Sedan (out of 18), and 18th overall (out of 86 that finished). AFter what we went through, I'm thrilled with that result. Top 5 and Top 20 with a DNF is VERY good. Without that DNF we could have squeezed out 2nd in class and 12th overall, but "coulda shoulda woulda" definetly applies there.
Here is a list of things that I learned or found out through the event.
1) Subaru transmissions are weak! :-)
2) The car gets HORRIBLE (5mpg) gas mileage on track
3) Bedding in pads is very very important
4) Driving 95mph takes a lot more out of you then driving 85mph
5) Driving skill and experience will always beat out HP and car prep
6) Kumho MXs SUCK, REALLY REALLY REALLY SUCK, HORRIBLY SUCK in the rain
7) Stock WRX brakes are good enough to compete in One Lap
8) Have FUN while racing, if you are NOT having fun but trying to be fast, you will be slow
9) Everyone that competed in One Lap was VERY cool. Everyone was super nice and always willing to help out. A car was pulled over overheating on the highway. We were going to stop, but 6 people already pulled over before us to help the guy out.
10) Did I mention that the Kumho MXs suck in the rain?
11) The car really smelled after 9 days of living in it, I emptied almost a full bottle of Fabreeze into it yesterday
12) Watkins Glen is a really fun track.
13) Really heavy springs + loud exhaust + rattling car + expansion joints = sucky ride
14) It was very cool being on GPS and internet, while playing a racing game in the passenger seat
15) I will be bringing a trailer next time. Unpacking and Repacking the car sucks as you watch the people with trailers just hook up and drive away
16) Next time, I am bringing a lot more HP. Driving skill AND HP is a scary combo (Neon SRT4)
17) The whole "drive 8/10ths" thing was BS. All the top guys were driving 10/10ths the whole time, and we had to drive 10/10ths to keep up. The two times I drove 8/10ths (Waktins 1st session and Beaverun) we were down in the pack.
18) The WRX is a very cool car to drive in the dirt. It was very controlled and easy to drive, and had tons of grip.
I want to thank everyone that helped us out before and during the event. Without all your help, we would not have been able to compete and finish this event. I don't want to list everyone as I don't want to forget and leave off someone!
Also, a big thanks to the sponsors!!!!
Boxer4Racing
Subaru of America
Vishnu Performance Systems
Unorthodox Racing
RallyDecals.com
I'm now looking forward to a successfull autox season. I am getting back into the swing of things next weekend in Virginia and will start the ProSolo season the weekend after that. This week will be spent tightening every bolt on the car that I can find :-)
Thanks for reading the updates and check out [url]http://www.boxer4racing.com[/url] during the season for more information about the car and how I am doing autoxing.
-Tom Hoppe
| Achilles38WRX | 05-12-2003 02:52 PM |
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by trhoppe [/i]
[B] There WERE a lot of cars using nitrous, but the neon WAS NOT. It was making right at 275 or 280hp w/o nitrous.
There is only one rule at One Lap "There are NO rules"
-Tom [/B][/QUOTE]
i guess i was ill informed, and my memory is shot, thanks for clearing that up!
[B] There WERE a lot of cars using nitrous, but the neon WAS NOT. It was making right at 275 or 280hp w/o nitrous.
There is only one rule at One Lap "There are NO rules"
-Tom [/B][/QUOTE]
i guess i was ill informed, and my memory is shot, thanks for clearing that up!
| KC | 05-12-2003 02:57 PM |
Way to go Tom. :)
See ya in a couple weeks.
See ya in a couple weeks.
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