NOS / AMS Hillclimb Evo takes 1st at season opener
May 11, 2010, 08:29 PM
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NOS / AMS Hillclimb Evo takes 1st at season opener
Well … it was a crazy week/weekend for the NOS Energy Drink hillclimb team, powered by AMS Performance. The first race of the season always presents unique challenges, and 2010 was to be no exception.
The install and fabrication work for the new goodies mentioned in Dave’s “Evo Updates” post got wrapped up Thursday evening at Built-by-Bones Ft Collins shop. See this thread for more photos of the build.
I headed out to CORE early Friday morning to put in a shakedown session before heading off to our first hillclimb of the season. A few good laps proved that the improvements made in the off season were well worth it, but suddenly the clutch pedal stopped working and the car was loaded back on the trailer via the “ratchet strap of shame” method.
I towed it over to Tobz Performance where they tore into the car minutes after arrival. Knowing the clutch hydraulics weren't holding fluid, Tobz & crew had to remove the transmission to determine the root cause of the problem. Once the culprit was discovered we contacted AMS Performance for guidance. They quickly (and I do mean quick … these guys are awesome) gathered the necessary parts to repair the car and over-nighted them from Chicago to Tobz’s shop. Saturday (which under normal circumstances would be a practice day down in Canon City) the parts were installed, car put back together and we were off to CORE for another, hopefully uneventful, shakedown. We made a few handling adjustments out at CORE, but otherwise she was ready for competition. We mounted some fresh tires and headed home.
Sunday morning (Race Day) we got up at about 5am to head down to Canon City. Our best time last year was a 3:19. On our first run, with no practice, we ran a 3:23, securing 2nd place. Our goal for 2nd and final run was to try to beat last year’s time. We blasted up the hill to a 3:16.22, 3/100ths short of the Rally AWD record! Bummer to be so close to that record and not grab it, but that 3:16 was enough to take first place in the Rally AWD class, making the weekend’s drama well worth it. We’d be remiss not to mention that Nate and Brandye Conley were also driving the wheels off their STi and took second place a mere 7/10ths back.
Many, many thanks to Rich & Eric at AMS Performance for the after hours assistance. We wouldn’t have gotten back on the road if it weren’t for them. Special thanks to Tobz Performance for fitting us in their busy schedule. Next race is CORE out in Deer Trail June 5th and 6th. We won overall last time we were at CORE and we’re looking forward to defending. And be sure to mark your calendar now for the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb on June 27th.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for videos!
Dave
The install and fabrication work for the new goodies mentioned in Dave’s “Evo Updates” post got wrapped up Thursday evening at Built-by-Bones Ft Collins shop. See this thread for more photos of the build.
I headed out to CORE early Friday morning to put in a shakedown session before heading off to our first hillclimb of the season. A few good laps proved that the improvements made in the off season were well worth it, but suddenly the clutch pedal stopped working and the car was loaded back on the trailer via the “ratchet strap of shame” method.
I towed it over to Tobz Performance where they tore into the car minutes after arrival. Knowing the clutch hydraulics weren't holding fluid, Tobz & crew had to remove the transmission to determine the root cause of the problem. Once the culprit was discovered we contacted AMS Performance for guidance. They quickly (and I do mean quick … these guys are awesome) gathered the necessary parts to repair the car and over-nighted them from Chicago to Tobz’s shop. Saturday (which under normal circumstances would be a practice day down in Canon City) the parts were installed, car put back together and we were off to CORE for another, hopefully uneventful, shakedown. We made a few handling adjustments out at CORE, but otherwise she was ready for competition. We mounted some fresh tires and headed home.
Sunday morning (Race Day) we got up at about 5am to head down to Canon City. Our best time last year was a 3:19. On our first run, with no practice, we ran a 3:23, securing 2nd place. Our goal for 2nd and final run was to try to beat last year’s time. We blasted up the hill to a 3:16.22, 3/100ths short of the Rally AWD record! Bummer to be so close to that record and not grab it, but that 3:16 was enough to take first place in the Rally AWD class, making the weekend’s drama well worth it. We’d be remiss not to mention that Nate and Brandye Conley were also driving the wheels off their STi and took second place a mere 7/10ths back.
Many, many thanks to Rich & Eric at AMS Performance for the after hours assistance. We wouldn’t have gotten back on the road if it weren’t for them. Special thanks to Tobz Performance for fitting us in their busy schedule. Next race is CORE out in Deer Trail June 5th and 6th. We won overall last time we were at CORE and we’re looking forward to defending. And be sure to mark your calendar now for the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb on June 27th.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for videos!
Dave
May 12, 2010, 02:06 AM
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Were is Canon City? I wish you could try the Vermont hill climbs. Okemo and Burke are my favorites. Fast and technical with dire consequence if you go wrong!
I am looking into going to Pikes Peak to see Jeff run the mountain after traveling from Australia. Jeff placed 2cd overall at Mt. Washington years ago in his factory Ralliart RS Evo 5. Hope to meet you and see you guys race to the top of Colorado.
I am looking into going to Pikes Peak to see Jeff run the mountain after traveling from Australia. Jeff placed 2cd overall at Mt. Washington years ago in his factory Ralliart RS Evo 5. Hope to meet you and see you guys race to the top of Colorado.
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May 12, 2010, 07:40 AM
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Word.
You love to get it done with every available second before race time. Nice work. Updates for this year look nice, I think you'll be happy with them. I think you are getting close on dialing in the major issues. It's fun when you can just "tune" things instead of always reworking things.
You love to get it done with every available second before race time. Nice work. Updates for this year look nice, I think you'll be happy with them. I think you are getting close on dialing in the major issues. It's fun when you can just "tune" things instead of always reworking things.
May 12, 2010, 09:09 AM
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Were is Canon City? I wish you could try the Vermont hill climbs. Okemo and Burke are my favorites. Fast and technical with dire consequence if you go wrong!
I am looking into going to Pikes Peak to see Jeff run the mountain after traveling from Australia. Jeff placed 2cd overall at Mt. Washington years ago in his factory Ralliart RS Evo 5. Hope to meet you and see you guys race to the top of Colorado.
I am looking into going to Pikes Peak to see Jeff run the mountain after traveling from Australia. Jeff placed 2cd overall at Mt. Washington years ago in his factory Ralliart RS Evo 5. Hope to meet you and see you guys race to the top of Colorado.
I grew up just outside Boston, so coming back for a few events would be a blast, but cross country travel is something we've yet to figure out how to budget for, as it just gets expensive really quick.
It was really a pleasure to not have to worry about looking at gauges this weekend...just put the pedal down and focus in on the road.
I'm really hoping to get in a couple test sessions in this year with some of the new aero bits, and want to try and optimize our gravel suspension for use on tarmac. I really want to pick up a Traqmate to fiddle with, but I've been having all sorts of trouble with my ChaseCam, and nobody over there can seem to figure out what's wrong with it.
Dave
May 16, 2010, 01:38 PM
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After countless hours of computer crashes and generating file types that didn't include the sound, I have finally finished a video from our winning run at Temple Canyon.
I'm kicking myself at all the places I left time on the road, but with only 2 shots at the road on race day, I have to be content with the fact that we had no major screwups and loaded the car back onto the trailer under its own power....there's always next year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kEjmzwEzUY
Dave
I'm kicking myself at all the places I left time on the road, but with only 2 shots at the road on race day, I have to be content with the fact that we had no major screwups and loaded the car back onto the trailer under its own power....there's always next year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kEjmzwEzUY
Dave