DaveK

iTrader: (21)

I'm going to be posting our adventures at the 2009 PPIHC in this thread so as to leave questions about the build in the existing thread.

Thanks for reading!

Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

As you guys know, with just a week before the 2009 PPIHC the team made the decision to go for some additional power, and a Forced Performance HTA 35R was fitted to the AMS V-band turbo kit. To make it plug-and-play, a TiAL 0.63 stainless steel exhaust housing was used. During initial tuning on the dyno, the fuel system was found to be inadequate.

Knowing that running lean can cause a host of problems, I knew we had to add another fuel pump. A late night in the garage (working till 5am) got that second walbro installed in series, necessitating a re-tune. With Martin on the AMS/NOS transporter from Cali to Chicago, I made a strategic move to go pick him up in Fort Collins. I don't think he had any idea what he got himself into, but I am extremely grateful for all his help. After tech inspection and the driver's meeting in Colorado Springs, I hopped in the audi for the trek up to Fort Collins. We got back to Colorado Springs around midnight and set to re-tune the Evo.

We had plenty of fuel to get the AFRs back where they should be in the upper revs and I think we were able to turn the boost up a PSI or two.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

The first day of practice had us running the all pavement section from Cove Creek to Devils Playground. With over 5,000 vertical feet separating Colorado Springs and the race course, a safe tune is priority number one. Every time the car arrived back in the pits, Martin jumped into action reading datalogs. After our 2nd run we decided to unplug the Hallman MBC and switch to the AEM EBC in hopes of gaining back some spool time. Unfortunately the EBC didn't seem to be functioning so after one run we swapped back to the Hallman MBC. 28psi felt pretty damn good, but the car felt a bit laggy. At first we just chalked it up to the elevation, but Martin dug a bit deeper and closer inspection of the datalogs revealed a problem with the car’s MIVEC system (no signal). We missed out on top spot in our class by a second or two but were hopeful we could address the car’s power delivery and claw our way back into the lead on the next day.

Back in Colorado Springs we began chasing wires around the engine bay to determine the source of the problem. After a thorough troubleshooting session, the problem was isolated to a bad cam sensor. Luckily I had a spare on hand, and after dropping that in, the datalogs showed a clean signal once again. After some late night tuning sessions, boost was hitting 600rpm sooner. Power was hitting so hard, with the Exedy Triple Carbon clutch a bit cold, we were able to get a bit of clutch slip during 4th gear roll-ons. Once we got some heat in it, it took all the abuse we could throw at it.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Day 2 of practice had us running the upper section of the mountain, Devils Playground to the Summit, which is all dirt. Some late night rain left the course a bit muddy on the first run, which caught out one of the factory Fords. Once the Fiesta was back on its wheels, the rest of us got to practicing. With the lag problem fixed, the NOS Energy Drink/AMS Performance Evo was now hitting hard. So hard in fact that problems with the intercooler couplers started to surface. When I installed the new HTA 35R turbo, I clocked the outlet as close to what the TR30R was as possible. However, the outlet was moved slightly, and the existing coupler that connected the turbo to the LICP was just a touch too short, and 30psi was enough to blow off the coupler. With some quick work by the service crew (and some burnt arm hair), we were back on the road for the next run. The coupler was loosened, and attached to the turbo first, then tighened to the LICP. On our second run, the car made great power and we were able to secure the top spot in class for the day, with a 7 or 8 second advantage over 2nd place. Unfortunately on that run, the dogbox started to act up, with the shift lever popping out of 3rd gear repeatedly, causing us to loose precious seconds. On our final run of the morning, the coupler popped off again entering Boulder Park, so we busted a quick 180 into the pits to hang out with the photographers.

Back in town, we sourced a new 45 degree coupler with longer 'legs' and grabbed some lunch and a nap. With me dreading a transmission swap in the parking lot, I made the call to leave the dogbox in the car for qualifying. Our afternoon work consisted of replacing the short IC coupler and getting decals placed so the car would look great for qualifying day and Fan Fest. We pulled out a fresh set of side skirts and moved some logos around on the car.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Our third day of practice found us in the Qualifying section, running from the Startline to Glen Cove. This section has us running for about 2 minutes on pavement and 3 minutes on dirt. A surprise visit by fellow NOS Energy Drink teammate ACP yielded some great information regarding our gearbox issue. Andrew’s been racing with dog-box transmissions for years and when the gearbox starts to wear, some gears won’t stick. The good news is that holding the shifter in gear will get you by for a while, so no gearbox swap would be in the cards. To preserve 3rd gear for race day, I decided to use the gear as sparingly as possible, leaving the car in 4th or skipping 3rd gear during up- and down-shifts. This cost us time for sure, but I was hoping that we'd have 3rd gear available on race day.

More tweaking of the boost controller yields 30psi, but more boost equals more power and more power equals more heat. We found that on the longest of the three mountain sections, the coolant temps were creeping up. Highs around 212 were cause for concern, as practice sessions are in the early morning, but come race day, the car would be competing during the early afternoon.

Through the last two days, we tested out both the BFG Drag Radials and the Kumho W710s, both in the 275-40-17 size. Dry and dusty conditions showed the Kumhos to be the faster tire this year, but to be on the safe side, we would have both tires available. On our last run coming out of the Ski Area turn, another intercooler coupler blew apart...not a slipping hose clamp, but a fist size hole right in the side of it. If you have silicone IC couplers, be sure to check them at least every 6 months for signs of fatigue! Oil from the intake tract starts to seep into the silicone and weakens the fibers holding everything together.

Despite the mishap, we ended up the fast qualifier in our class, 7 seconds ahead of our nearest rival, earning an invite to Fan Fest for the 2nd year in a row. Realizing that the couplers on both the inlet and outlet of the IC were the same age, I decided it would be prudent to replace both of them, giving us a fresh set of couplers all the way around. We also took the to a friends shop to power wash it so it'd be nice and shiny for Fan Fest.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

The NOS Energy Drink crew came out to man the event, with 1000s of cans of tasty NOS (tangerine, fruit punch, and my favorite grape) and a 30 foot spread, including pictures of the entire drivers lineup. The Evo was parked out front, and whenever crowds started to dwindle, we’d treat the crowd to the sounds of 20psi and launch control. Huge crowds would form almost instantly, but once dark, the car spitting flames drew the attention of law enforcement too, and that was that.

Over the course of the 5 hour event, many kids (and even a few adults) hopped into the car to imagine what it’d be like piloting the car up The Mountain. I spent most of the evening answering questions about the car to passers by. I'm guessing there might've been a few EvoM members that stopped by...so if you have pics, please post 'em up!

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Despite being an "off" day, lots needed to get done. I drove back up to Denver to pick up a fresh set of tires. Thanks to my tire guy Chris @ Discount Tire (92nd & Wadsworth), we had 2 sets of tires waiting, one of the Kumho W710s, and one set of BFG Drag Radials. Since we felt the W710s to be the superior tire this year, I had Chris mount up a brand new set of the W710s.

When I got back to Colorado Springs, the entire crew set in to optimize the cooling system. We are still running the CBRD drag radiator (just 1" thin), so we knew we'd need to help it out to help keep the car cool on a 12.4 mile run with a car making 600whp. Ducting was added to ensure all air passing through the bumper would be forced through the intercooler and radiator. Once that was done, we added additional water misters (Home Depot FTW ), so we'd have 3 hitting the radiator and two hitting the intercooler. To make sure we had enough capacity, we filled the 2.5 gallon tank and let it run till it went dry. We got 9.5 minutes out of it, but had a few small leaks, so I patched those up. Hopeful that with the leaks fixed we'd have closer to 11 minutes of run time, everyone headed off to bed at 11pm.

Whew! That should cover everything up until race day. We should have an official race day press release done shortly and I'll post it up as soon as its completed.

Thanks again to everyone who's been following the progress on the build, and huge thanks to all my sponsors for helping make this year a reality!

RoumKoTeam

iTrader: (2)

Great job on the finish. I saw a few videos of the car, sounds like a beast. Maybe next year we will come out to test the mountain hah.

Hiboost

iTrader: (9)

Nice writeups, I'll be following along for sure.

RichK@AMS

a







The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) is a grueling, week-long event. Out of bed at 3:00 am to get up the mountain for a practice session that starts at 5:15 am, back down the mountain by 10:00 am to spend the remainder of the day and well into the evening sorting out any bugs encountered during test runs. Repeat…twice. Then pray to the racing gods it all comes together when you get your one shot on race day. And that’s just the logistical side of things … the road itself is a hairpin haven, half dirt – half asphalt road with 156 turns stretching from 9,400 feet to a final elevation of 14,110 feet. The drop-offs are serious, the guard rails are few and far between. When you see the mountain road the Kerns are willing to navigate a high-powered race car up, you’ll re-think your definition of “extreme sport”.

As the PPIHC Race Director is so fond of saying, we’re all at the mercy of the mountain come race day. Truer words were never spoken for this the 87th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill climb. Rain, lightning, and even snow peppered the day. The less than ideal conditions and arduous nature of the race humbled even the most distinguished racers in attendance like Marcus Grönholm and Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima.

Final Pre Race Preparations — with just a week before the 2009 PPIHC the team made the decision to go for some additional power, and a Forced Performance HTA 35R was fitted to the AMS V-band turbo kit. To make it plug-and-play, a TiAL 0.63 stainless steel exhaust housing was used. During initial tuning on the dyno, the fuel system was found to be inadequate. Just a day before the event, a second Walbro pump was added to the system, necessitating a re-tune. With Martin from AMS Performance arriving in Colorado mid-afternoon on Tuesday, he was put straight to work adjusting the fueling curves.

Friday night before the race marked the official Fan Fast and the NOS Energy Drink crew came out to man the event with 1000's of cans of tasty NOS and a 30 foot spread including pictures of the entire NOS Energy Drink Team drivers lineup. The AMS / NOS Energy Drink Hill Climb Evo was parked out front, and whenever crowds started to dwindle, we’d treat the crowd to the sounds of 20psi and launch control. Huge crowds would form almost instantly, but once dark, the car spitting flames drew the attention of law enforcement too, and that was that. Over the course of the 5 hour event, many kids (and even a few adults) hopped into the car to imagine what it’d be like piloting the car up The Mountain. Dave spent most of the evening answering questions about the car to passersby.

The run order for 2009 was reversed from the last couple years, with the motorcycles and quads heading to the start line first. The Unlimited division always gets to choose when to run, and Monster Tajima decided it would be best to run early in the day to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. Summer on Pikes Peak can mean rain, hail, or snow, sometimes all in one day. As fast qualifier we were given the choice to start 1st or last in our class, and based on some rain about 20 minutes before our class was set to run, Dave opted to start last to give the road a chance to dry. It looked like the correct decision up until a red flag brought the race to a halt for 20 minutes, forcing the two fastest cars in class to take the starting flag under a cold rain.

Concerned about not overly spinning the tires, Dave backed off on the launch, but didn’t take off cleanly. A second quick launch and the Evo was off. It was immediately apparent that something was wrong. Instead of 30psi on the boost needle, it was registering 8psi. In addition to the boost leak issue the team was also battling a gearbox wear problem which was causing random 3rd gear disengagement. Dave decided to hold every gear in to minimize the chance of forgetting to hold 3rd gear in and having it pop out at an inopportune time. With all these challenges the team knew a shot at the record was out the window, but knowing anything can happen, they pressed on hoping to salvage a class win. But given the circumstances, Dave and Allison set a very respectable time of 12 minutes and 10.335 seconds , garnering them 2nd place in class and a mere 40 seconds off Grönholm and the factory Ford team. Although rumor has it Grönho lm had his own turbo issues to contend with. Just goes to show, even with immense preparation and loads of talent, Pikes Peak can bring any racer to his knees.

The team’s next event will be the Land’s End Hill Climb in Grand Junction Colorado on August 8th & 9th, where they look to defend their win and lower the record they set in 2008.



Dave & Allison would like to thank the following sponsors for their help:


* NOS Energy Drink www.drinknos.com

* AMS Performance www.amsperformance.com

* Exedy Racing Clutches www.exedyusa.com

* AEM Performance Electronics www.aempower.com

* TiAL Sport www.tialsport.com

* DHP Composites www.flickr.com/photos/dhp_composites/

* Spark Tech Ignitions www.sparktechignitions.net

* Forced Performance www.forcedperformance.com

* Salta Motorsports www.saltamotorsports.com

* Check Point Racing www.cp-racing.com

For current info about the team’s activities, please visit the team's
Facebook fan page and visit the team’s Youtbe Channel

Please visit our official 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Gallery for more images from the event.

Stay tuned for videos from the event.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Article just posted on speed hunters:

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009...ke-s-peak.aspx

Dave

WheelGap

iTrader: (4)

Great article. I like your little checklist on the dash, especially "ACD Mode". I've done an entire RallyX heat in Tarmac mode because I forgot to push the button. I've driven halfway home from events on the Interstate in Gravel mode because I forgot to put it back.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Its even more important when you're running the MoTeC MDC, as I turn the system off when I'm coming back down the hill to save wear & tear on the pump, and with the aggressive diffs, it makes for a smoother ride too. The MDC remembers what mode you're in when the car is shut off, so most times I have to bring it back to the right mode after I turn the car on.

Dave

WheelGap

iTrader: (4)

Speaking of diffs, I'm assuming the Wavetrac held up okay? Seeing those 6 little friction surfaces made me wonder how it would hold up to something like rally. Maybe it's too soon to tell.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Its certainly not as aggressive feeling as the Cusco I used last year (no clunking & popping around tight corners). I also switched from a 1.5way front 2way rear, to a one way front and 1.5way rear, put different tires on, added the MoTeC, doubled the power, etc., so any direct comparison is pretty hard to comment on.

Dave