Slapdash Racing [nearly] finishes NEFR

[SkinnyVT]

personally I would rather have a control arm bend than something else, at those speeds something is going to give and CA is pretty damn easy/cheap to swap.

[SlapDash]

Thanks Boostesi. It's rally time in Craaaaaanston.

Yes, going to leave the CAs unreinforced so they give when smacked. Does seem the cheapest way to crash. Although the cheaper way would be to not crash in the first place. It was damn dry and slippery up there though. Felt like the tires were never really touching the ground, sort of floating on top, like a speedboat.

It bent horizontally, and was pretty much U-shaped when we pulled it out.

[Boostesi]

yeah, re-inforce the control arms you may find the next week point to be the unibody, wich will not be an easy fix when you crash lol

[Ferdinand]

So we almost made it again at this year's New England Forest Rally. We had a nearly race-ending off that bashed in the front right control arm...

Ah, so that's what happened to you. I wondered when I saw the results for day-2. Glad to hear the car, and you both, survived and had fun.

What'd you think of the new stages this year?

Why is your skid-plate hanging so low? Is that a chunk of 2x4 lumber used a spacer? Wasn't that plate then whacking every rock on the Icicle Brook stage?

There were no night-stages, correct? You should take the rally lights off when not needed, rather than unnecessarily risk losing those expensive bits against some tree.

[SlapDash]

Ferd, the new stages were awesome! By the time we got around to them they were a little rough, but nowhere near as bad as Day 2 last year. No oil pan issues at all this year and I was going faster and caring less (let's say worrying less). I'd say you missed a good time, but I know you were having just as grand a time at Rally Antarctica, or where ever your event was happening.

The skid plate was low hangin' from the hit last year and we ran out of time to fix it right proper this year. The lumber was used as a time-saver in both absorbing shock, which it did quite well, and keeping pesky rocks out of the cavernous space I created last year. For the most part, it did it's job. The forward most bolts were sheared off in the off and the thing just sort of fell down and bounced around. Although the faster I went, the wind sorta picked it up some.

There is FaceTube of the dragging skid plate somewhere. You can hear it coming before you can even see the car.

Back to the drawing board on the skid plate. The thing is mangled after two Maine rallies.

I kept the lights on for some action shots, since this was only my second rally as a driver, so when I show non-rally/non-race people the car, they sort of get what a 'rally car' looks like (i.e. you won't see stadium-sized flood lights on a NASCAR hood, say). I can explain that rally happens year-round, all day/night, in all conditions, etc. The bar is semi-quick-release (although I will need them for BRS).

It's been tough explaining what the H rally even is, but we actually got some local media coverage in the Providence Journal (our state's version of the Boston Globe).

How'd your event go? See any penguins?

[Ferdinand]

I kept the lights on for some action shots, since this was only my second rally as a driver, so when I show non-rally/non-race people the car, they sort of get what a 'rally car' looks like.

Ah, so the lights were just for bling. ;) That works. The car looks great.

I know you were having just as grand a time at Rally Antarctica, or where ever your event was happening. How'd your event go?

Deadly hot weather, and dusty. Very un-arctic like.

We smacked a big rock that cracked our differential case, and all the oil ran out. The diff survived long enough to see us through to finish all of the competitive stages, (with us in 2nd place overall!!), but then it blew up during the transit back to the final time control.

We were towed home by a competitor, and checked in on time, but were still scored as DNF because (other than a quick tow to pull you out of ditch, etc) it's a strict rule in Cdn rally that you need to complete the entire distance under your own power, including transits.

That sucked.

I'm still working on the video and story for the last stage. Will post 'em up here when done.

See any penguins?

Nope, no penguins. But we did see this beaver house with its own satellite dish and flag pole.

[Ferdinand]

Despite our disappointing finish, we had lots of fun at the Black Bear Rally located near Bancroft Ontario. Others, maybe not so much fun...



We completed all six stages, finishing 2nd overall. But our differential blew up during the transit back to the finish. So we're DNF.

Full story with photos and in-car video of each stage posted here: http://www.mco.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14340

If you just want to see the bit where the diff explodes, watch this last video. It's a long stage. If you don't want to watch it all, start from 13:05 where we come to the Tee-Left onto the smooth, wide, fast road to the finish. The differential really starts howling in pain as the speed builds.



At 13:35 the first tooth snaps off the pinion gear in the differential. Watch the steering wheel when Martin fights the sudden oversteer as the rear end locks up momentarily before the gears crunch through that loose tooth and grind it to dust.

If the diff had locked up completely, for sure we'd have been very suddenly backwards and off road into the trees. Martin wisely backs off the speed from here on to cruise the next 2 minutes until the finish at 15:23.

The differential comes apart and we lose all drive shortly after we leave the finish control and start onto the transit road.

[SlapDash]

Damn, that sound is enough to make my bank account shiver.

That's some nice stuff here, sorry about the diff and technical DNF.

That car on its side, at first glance I thought it was one of those under-the-car mounted spare tires. Then on closer inspection, holy sh*te!

[Ferdinand]

That car on its side, at first glance I thought it was one of those under-the-car mounted spare tires. Then on closer inspection, holy sh*te!

Those guys would normally have won. They're very quick. But their left front suspension tore out through that rough washout, pulling the car around, and then it tipped up on its side. It looked dramatic but it was a very soft roll. Didn't even break any windows. Had a small fire though...