Winter Challenge Rally

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Crazyswede
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby Crazyswede » Tue Feb 06, 2018 4:06 pm

good catch...100'ths of a minute not seconds ;) clearly we get rusty when we don't do these things for a while.
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ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:03 am

Thanks again for the crash course in TSD rallying. It looks like I'm probably going to have to put it on hold, as my navigator is backpedaling. If I can't find someone willing to navigate, I think I'm going to volunteer to help out with the WCR and see how it all works.
On a related note, it's a surprise to me that there's isn't a good, contemporary guide to TSD rallying, one that explains not only the arcane terminology but how a rally section works. I know there are guides out there, but I bet a new book, engagingly written and with good visuals, would make it easier to bring more people into the sport. Have you read any worthwhile books on the subject? Thanks again.

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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby Crazyswede » Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:50 pm

why is your navigator back pedaling? If we've painted it as too much of a crazy event the best advice I have is dont worry about it and just go run the event. Don't worry about anything other than following the route, the indicated speeds, and staying on the road. Even if you max out every section you will have a lot of fun and you will learn a ton in the process.
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ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Wed Feb 07, 2018 5:28 pm

I don't know exactly why he's backing out. He works nights, and says he will have a lot of snow to move after today's storm. which I know to be true. The lack of commitment bothers me a bit. The practice route we ran last weekend went OK. I'm wracking my brain trying to find someone willing to jump in. I'll figure it out, or I'll just head up there on Saturday and see what I can learn from the experienced teams in attendance.

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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Fri Feb 09, 2018 11:11 am

Funny how things work out. John Buffum put me in touch with a navigator whose driver can't make it on Saturday, so I'll be riding with a navigator who's done this rally before. It's ideal, really.
The weather looks frightful, 35-40 with mixed precip. I don't have studded tires and I'm hoping I can get by without them. This is going to be a more cautious drive than I had been anticipating.

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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby 99Super » Fri Feb 09, 2018 12:11 pm

Good Luck!
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Crazyswede
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby Crazyswede » Fri Feb 09, 2018 1:29 pm

No needed for studded snow tires. I stopped buying Nordmann and Nokia snow tires a few years ago when I found the General Artimax Artic tires worked just as well and were almost half the price. If your snow tires you have now are in the last 25% of their tread life you might have some problems.

Recommend you carry a full sized spare even if its not a snow tire
bring a tow strap
warning triangles
a shovel or two
warm boots in case you have to tromp around in the snow for a while
a headlamp or a couple of good flash lights
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ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:47 pm

Thanks to your advice and the abilities of an experienced navigator, the rally was great fun. The conditions were pretty lousy and a big chunk of the third section, which had the highest average speeds, was run in the rain on black ice. I turned a complete 360 on a paved downhill, and considered tapping out. But we pressed on and were rewarded with a long run up Route 232 past Groton State Forest, then grippier conditions at higher elevations where we could cruise along closer to the average speeds. We were maybe 20 miles from the finish when a sudden downhill with a sharp right-hand bend at the bottom ended our run. I had struggled to make proper use of the brakes all night, locked them up going into the turn and stuffed the car into a snowbank. Luckily, another competitor in a Toyota truck stopped and pulled us out, after much shoveling. So I got a big chunk of rally experience all in one night. I've never driven faster, or for longer, in worse conditions than I did Saturday night into Sunday morning. We mostly stayed on course and were competitive over the first two sections, and were doing well in the third, thanks in part to navigator Trevor Hermance's smart use of time allowances. The car was great and appears to be totally unharmed, so I can drive it to work tomorrow. Not bad for a first experience at motorsport. (And people loved that there was a Saab there. About 75 percent of the cars were Subarus. My car, a 1983 sedan, was the oldest vehicle by more than a decade. If we'd finished, we'd have beaten a lot of AWD cars.)

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Crazyswede
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby Crazyswede » Mon Feb 12, 2018 11:08 am

Great to hear it went well and good to represent the Brand. Somehow that event always aligns perfectly with exciting weather and road conditions.
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby Crazyswede » Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:35 pm

Couple of great improvements for C900's that live and play in New England:

SPG springs with spacers: maintain approximate stock ride height but with a much stiffer spring. Car will handle better and hardly ever bottom out when the road gets bouncy.

Decent shocks: We always ran the Bilstein HD's

S&R skid plate: you may have to look around for one but either an original or one of the various reproductions....these are 1/4" thick and though they are not tough enough for true rally use they can really save the underside of the car and transmission if you do bottom out or slide off the road.

IPF rectangual Headlight housings...just be sure to order the the USA market ones
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ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:40 pm

I can definitely see the value in all those upgrades. Running this rally made me think that if I were to make it a habit, I'd want a 1988 or '89, so I could have the rear-axle handbrake and a 16-valve motor. I really am devoted to the 8-valve cars, but that extra horsepower seems essential when you're trying to get back up to speed leaving a checkpoint.
The full results came out today and I came in 16th out of 30 cars (although three of those 30 didn't start), and 8th out of 17 starters in the stock class. We were 4th after the second section, though. Fuel for next year.

ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:41 pm

I'm going to run the Winter Challenge again this year. After last year's black ice, the weather report for Saturday looks a little more favorable, with cold weather all day Saturday and colder still Saturday night, which should make the ice on the roads a bit more grippy. It's raining in central Vermont right now, but there will be plenty of sand down by Saturday, I suspect. My winter beater, a 1983 900 sedan, is pretty much as it was last year, though I think it's been burning a bit more oil than it was a year ago. I sorted out the seized front caliper issue I had last year, knock on wood, and the car seems to be running as well as it ever has, oil consumption notwithstanding. I broke down and decided to run studded tires this year. The ice has been wicked this winter, so I think the studs will help. I'll post back here to let folks know how it all went.

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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby 99Super » Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:42 pm

Good Luck!
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ahanson
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Re: Winter Challenge Rally

Postby ahanson » Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:07 pm

I had a much more successful run at this year's Winter Challenge, mainly because I managed to finish the thing after stuffing the car into a snowbank with 20 miles to go last year. The conditions were also a lot better, so we were able to go a bit faster. I finished 11th of 28 starters and 7th in the stock class. Aside from finishing, the other main goals I set for myself - to get off the brake and onto the throttle and to spend more time in fourth gear as a way to run at higher speeds while taxing the car a bit less - were a bit of a mixed bag. I think I managed to do both of those things, but not as much as I would have liked. Still, progress, so I can't complain. There were some great cars there this year, including a 240 wagon and a 1960s Mercury Comet that had run La Carrera Panamericana, the Alcan Rally and some other big ones.


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