VCMC Motorsport Club Forums - Blogs http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/blog.php en Thu, 17 May 2012 20:17:53 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/images/one18/misc/rss.jpg VCMC Motorsport Club Forums - Blogs http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/blog.php <![CDATA[[Video] 1 Cone with Yarko]]> http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?25-Video-1-Cone-with-Yarko Sun, 01 May 2011 06:42:49 GMT Here is VCMC and ONE18 Production latest creation - "1 Cone with Yarko"

]]> asimo118 http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?25-Video-1-Cone-with-Yarko Journey to the Nationals in the Vancouver Special: The Conclusion http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?7-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-The-Conclusion Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:15:33 GMT This is the conclusion in a series of write-ups documenting my journey to the US Nationals in Joe Cheng and Gary Milligan's latest A-Modified creation, the Vancouver Special.

THIS WASN’T IN THE TRAVEL BROCHURE

The journey to Lincoln makes the drive to Packwood seem like a trip to the corner store--a solid 30 hours over 3 days. The drive isn’t as laborious as I expect with 3 drivers sharing time behind the wheel of Joe’s minivan, but the vast expanse of nothingness, particularly through Wyoming, is a bit of a shock. I’m really bad at monitoring the fuel level in the van, so we have a few close calls, coasting on fumes into service stations. Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere would’ve been a scary ordeal. My over active imagination conjures up images from the horror film “The Hills Have Eyes.” My co-drivers are more productive with their imagination, re-designing the fuel map to squeeze even more power out of the VS. Apparently the air filters we’ve been using all season have been on the car for years and were basically clogged with crap. Now that the car can breathe, it’s appropriate to add some more fuel to the mix. After all, the race isn’t just against the other A-mod cars, it’s against the entire field of 1,157 drivers for the top index spot--a race that can very well come down to thousandths.


Home for a week: our little patch of concrete in the 17 acre paddock

FINE TUNING

We roll into town ahead of schedule on Sunday morning. This buys us an extra day of testing. You might remember from my previous reports (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) that we’ve been debugging handling problems all season and that it wasn’t until the final event in August that the VS started to stick to the asphalt. However, the Lincoln Airpark concrete is a game-changer and people typically experience excessive push on concrete. The additional grip might also necessitate clutch changes, and then there’s the new fuel map as well. Joe and Gary aren’t going to make the rookie mistake of competing with an unproven setup.

We book a test session for late Sunday afternoon, but there’s no opportunity to walk the course nor is there a course map available. I’m used to driving a course “blind,” having organized many events where there was just no time to walk. Trying to do this in the VS is futile. There’s just no time to look where you need to go. I suppose I could just slow down and figure out the line, but that would defeat the purpose of testing. I just make up the course as I go, throwing the car around aggressively to see what I can get away with on concrete. I wind up on the wrong side of the slalom and drop the left side of the car into some marbles. The tail gets a little wobbly as it skips over the debris, but I manage to catch it as the tires quickly find grip again. Even on near dead Hoosiers (product placement!) the VS clings to the concrete like bubble gum. The feature corner on the test course is a crazy-tight 180 where I thought for sure the car would plow badly, but the VS enters the turn heading into a 5-10 mph wind and it just whips around the showcase like it’s on rails. The amount of grip is very confidence inspiring.

The new fuel map passes muster, but the clutch could use some fine-tuning. This will be the focus of Monday’s testing. There’s a series of holes on the driven clutch that adjusts preload on the spring which in turn controls how quickly the clutch halves open and close. Getting this right is essential to achieving quick downshifts when we drop throttle entering corners so that the car can pull hard on exit. Pulling the clutch and re-tensioning the spring used to be a huge PITA that took the good part of an hour, but the guys have the process down to a few minutes making it possible to adjust the clutch between runs. I’m admiring the handy tool they use for holding the clutch while adjusting the spring.

Me: “Oh look, it even fits on the corner of the tool trailer perfectly!”
Gary: “That’s because I made it.”

These A-Mod guys don’t just build their own cars, they build their own tools as well.

FAST FRIENDS

It's easy to meet a lot of people at Nationals when everyone knows your co-drivers and the car. Throughout the week, a steady stream of people stop by our paddock area to chat and check out the VS. Joe and Gary have a large fan following among the FSAE teams. The coolest part is meeting all the famous autocross personalities I’ve read about for years. Autocrossers from across the continent converge on this one event, some every year for the past 3 decades!

I'm a bit surprised that many people seem to know who I am and mention that they’ve read my reports on this forum. I didn't think anyone outside of our region reads this stuff, but apparently Joe’s a pretty good press agent. Gary asks me what everyone is talking about. Oh...no wonder he's still on speaking terms with me. He hasn't read what I've been writing about him.

Among the visitors is Dan Wasdahl, 2009 A-Modified National Champion and owner of the BBR Phantom DVS-1. He graciously invites us over to his trailer to take a closer look at the Phantom. Of particular interest are the wings: huge 4-element carbon fibre pieces custom-built by renowned aerodynamics expert Simon McBeath. We spend some time admiring the car--it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it. Dan is super-cool and lets Joe drive it around the paddock later in the day.


Joe & the Phantom Reunited

AN OFFER I CAN’T REFUSE

Our Monday test and tune session is scheduled for 10am, but I mistakenly think it's for 9am. I short-circuit my course walk and head back to the trailer, but find no one else there. This is strange. I'm packing my gear for the test session when I hear: "Hey, Carol, I've been looking for you."

It's Dan.

"I still have some time left in my test and tune session. If we can get you fitted into the seat in time would you like to take the Phantom for a run?"

You had me at "Hey."

Perhaps my reputation precedes me: someone who will drive anything and everything. I hesitate briefly knowing I should help with packing up and taking the VS to grid so that we don't miss our test session. But then I'm like, “screw it.” I’ll let my co-drivers can deal with it. We scramble to find anything that I can stuff behind me to push me far enough forward to reach the pedals. The cockpit of the Phantom is about the same size as the VS, so I need to scoot forward about 6 inches. I grab whatever clothing I have in the minivan while Dan grabs his rain gear.

Dan pulls the Phantom out of the trailer and goes over the controls with me. The start sequence is familiar. Same as every other formula car I've driven. Flip the switch and press the start button.

Dan: “And that’s all there is to it. You know how to drive a mod car.”
Me: “Some people seem to think so.”

The engine and exhaust note sound familiar, but the tone is deeper than the Special’s. This moment reminds me of the first time I moved the VS out of its pit spot. I bring the revs up painfully slow while covering the brake, half expecting that at some magical RPM level the car will suddenly leap forward and slam into Dan's trailer. I really should have more faith in the Phantom's drive-ability. It is after all last year's winning car.

Once in grid, we stuff a few more items of clothing around my shoulders. The setup is rather spongy and doesn't compare to a properly formed seat, but it should be okay since I won't be pushing it. The test course is surrounded by a chain link fence and it'd be rather embarrassing to wreck the car. It’s not like Simon has replacement wings ready for next-day drop-ship.

The view from the Phantom cockpit is quite a bit different from what I'm used to. It's an open tube frame chassis as opposed to an enclosed tub so I can see my feet working the pedals. What I don't realize until much later is that my left foot is 3 inches too short to work the brake pedal. The ball of my foot is not contacting the pad at all. The biggest visual difference is the tall black wing. Combined with the black frame and black tires, it makes the front end of the car look bigger than it really is.

The opening segment of the test course is identical to the first course on which I drove the VS. 90 degree left, through the beam, then 90 degree right into a slalom. I feather the car through the 90 degree left and wait until it’s completely straight before laying on the throttle. This is where I first notice how much more power the Phantom has. The Phantom runs a carbureted Arctic Cat triple (VS runs a fuel injected double). I don't know if it's a characteristic of carbureted engines, but there’s a bit of lag and most of the power comes on later in the throttle range. But when the power finally comes in, oh does it ever! My butt-dyno says it easily has 30% more jump than the VS, and the rear end hooks up nicely too so it doesn't walk sideways on me. I’m only briefly on the throttle (I don’t even get near WOT) before I have to haul her down for the 90 degree right. As I lean on the brake I think, "Wow, the car's not stopping very well. Good thing I braked early," not realizing that my foot isn't actually on the pedal and I’m not getting sufficient leverage.


Now onto the 5-cone slalom. I've mentioned before that the VS really shines in slaloms and offsets because of its rapid response to transitions. The slalom is tight, so it's tough to be on the power through the cones. It takes a bit more steering effort to navigate the slalom, possibly due to increased scrub from the wider track. After the slalom is another 90 degree right and some fast offsets. There's enough room here to go WOT briefly which I do, but something is wrong. The engine bogs badly and the car barely moves. Having never driven a carbureted car before, I start to think this is due to user error. Maybe I’m stomping on the throttle too fast? The car continues to bog through the next few corners. Coming out of the showcase turn, the car completely loses power and rolls to a stop. Oh hell, this is embarrassing. I've broken the Phantom.

YOU ALL LOOK THE SAME TO ME

Joe’s told me before that when Mod cars break, it’s usually a dramatic show accompanied by horrific noises. In this case, the Phantom just quietly shut down. Dan's first guess is that I've run out of fuel. Sure enough, the fuel pump switch is in the off position. Once I throw the switch the car starts running again and I pull back into grid. My record is intact: I've DNF'd every first run I've had in a Mod car.

There's no more time left in the test session, so I take the Phantom back to paddock. I head into the massive sea of pickup trucks and trailers. I know that Dan is 1-2 rows away from where the VS is parked, so I pull up beside what I think is Dan's trailer. After a quick debrief, Dan graciously invites me to take the Phantom for another run tomorrow. I start removing all the padding from the cockpit. Dan tells me to put his clothes in the back of the trailer. I grab all his rain gear and throw it in the back of the trailer that I'm parked beside. It's not until later that afternoon when I'm working at the paddock sign-in desk that Dan comes up to me.

Dan: "What did you do with that pile of clothes I gave you?"
Me: "I put it in the trailer."
Dan: "You mean the trailer you parked beside when you came back from grid?"
Me: "Yes."
Dan: "That's not my trailer."
Me: "Oh."

What's worse is that the mystery trailer is now gone and we have no idea who it may have been. Dan's rain gear is now half way across the state.

Anyway, it’s back to the business of clutch tuning on the VS. The boys make a really good guess adjusting the spring on Sunday night, so the clutch shifts great right off the bat. We each take a run and then pack up. We run into the Yeung brothers on grid as they prepare for the next test session and hear about their unfortunate schedule mix-up.

All the sponsoring tire companies have tire mounting services on-site. Those who want a winning edge order a fresh set of slicks before they head out to Lincoln and have them mounted just before competition. You don’t want to put more than a couple of test runs on new slicks.


The “Surrey Special” rimless and up on blocks

SCRUBBING IN

Tuesday is tire scrub in day for the VS. We’ll each get a run on the stickers then we’ll park it until Day 1. Dan's also in the same test session so I have an opportunity to drive the cars back-to-back. Once again we scrounge up enough laundry to form a makeshift seat. I promise Dan that I won't lose his clothes this time. I note the brake pedal position and make sure I lift my foot to get some leverage. The Phantom drives way better with fuel. The power is a bit scary and aside from the tiny straight at the start of the course, I don't have the guts to push the throttle all the way down anywhere else. Now that the car is accelerating properly, the shortcomings of my ghetto racing seat become obvious and I'm soon sliding around inside the cockpit making it tough to maintain control of the car. The Phantom has a tonne of grip and the chassis responds incredibly well. It would probably take me a bit more seat time (and a seat!) to get used to the power.

After my little excursion in the Phantom, it's time to hop back into the VS to get a taste of brand new slicks on concrete. I remember when Joe first described the VS to me he said it was impossible to spin...but then I went and spun it about a dozen times over the season. I think now his claim is finally true. I can pretty much throw the VS into turns and at worst it understeers a bit. At no point does the tail want to break loose. Driving the two cars back-to-back really highlights how sensitive and linear the throttle response is on the VS. All those years that Joe and Gary spent getting the fuel injection to work have culminated in a high degree of drive-ability.

All is not well though. I notice at the start of my run that the engine doesn’t want to start and when it finally does the idle has a funny burble. The guys decide to test a fuel map adjustment in the afternoon to try and tune out the stumble. After the adjustment, it still occasionally hesitates under WOT so they look for mechanical issues that evening, but that doesn’t turn up anything either.

SHOWDOWN ON THE WEST COURSE

A-Mod is running the first heat on Thursday. It’s overcast and the clouds are dark, threatening to rain. The rain holds off, but it’s incredibly humid and muggy. Folks from Calgary and the Northwest Region come by to help and cheer on the VS. The VS is the last car in the grid order, so Joe and Gary have the hammer. Dan's the first car out, laying down a 50 second run, but with a cone. That's one second faster than the fastest B-Mod times from yesterday. The bar's been set. The A-Mods will be in the high 40's before the day's over.


Grid Space #133: a popular place to be on Thursday morning

The other cars in the field take their first runs, but everyone is seconds back from Dan. Finally, the VS takes the stage with Gary at the wheel. He’s looking very quick even on cold tires. However, as he approaches the final sweeper, the tone of the engine shifts down several octaves and the car just crawls along the straight for a few seconds before coming alive again just before the sweeper. Something's not right. The car sounded this way at the last Packwood event when the spark plug broke and the left cylinder fired intermittently. Joe's the final driver in the A-Mod grid. He also flies through the offsets and slaloms, but it's a replay of what happened on Gary's run. The engine cuts out before the finishing sweeper, but still finishes with a 50 second scratch. This is rapidly turning into a Vancouver Special versus Phantom race for the top 3 spots.

The prevailing theory is that it's a fuel trim problem. Unfortunately, the laptop is back at the hotel, so examining the data logs or changing the fuel maps is not an option. The only tool at their disposal is the dial in the cockpit which allows an overall fuel trim level adjustment, but it fails to dial out the bog which seems to be getting worse.

Gary is the first to break into the 49's with his next run putting him a full second ahead of the field. Joe answers back with no-holds-barred run. I can hear he has the throttle pinned to the floor through the entire opening stretch of offsets eventually lifting for the first 180 degree sweeper. I'm taking detailed mental notes on where he's WOT so that I have some reference for my own runs. He's clean so far and on pace for a sub-50 run, but then the engine bogs for an extended period spoiling what would've been Joe's fastest time.

We're into third and final runs. Dan's determined to make this a race, so he pulls a jaw-dropping 48.9 second run.

My heart sinks watching the VS lose the lead. Not that I would ever doubt my co-drivers, but it looks like they were already driving flat out during their previous runs. Is there a level beyond flat out? The kind of driving that allows you to go faster even as the car gets slower? Well, in the spirit of Roger Johnson's West course baseball theme, Gary knocks one out of the park.


Gary's 48.8 second run. The car slows to a crawl around the 0:42 mark

Joe’s got his work cut out for him. He needs to drop at least a second to keep the race close for Day 2. He makes another fuel trim adjustment to try and chase away the bog. Right from the get-go I can hear the car’s not running right. The engine emits a low farty tone rather than the familiar high-pitched buzz, and it happens several times during this run. It’s painful watching the car crawl around the course. Mind you, when I say the car looks slow on this run, it’s still faster than most of the other cars. It’s not until he returns to grid that Joe realizes that he turned the dial the wrong way, enriching the mix rather than leaning it out. At this point no one realizes that the cause of the hesitation is far more serious than an over-rich condition.

ROOKIE GAME PLAN

My strategy is to make a conservative first run each day so I can bank a time and not DNF the entire event. I describe this to Joe during Wednesday evening course walks. He chuckles and tells me, “That’s a rookie mistake. This is Nationals. Every time you go out there you should drive like you’re going to set FTD.” Gary pretty much tells me the same thing the next day. “It’s hard to find the limit if you under drive and try to work your way up in 3 runs. You have to drive hard from the get go, find where the limit is, and dial it back where you need to.”

This goes against one of the first pieces of autocross advice I ever received. My instructor drew an analogy between finding the limit in a car and finding the edge of a cliff in the dark. You’ve got to gradually inch your way up to the edge to avoid plunging off the cliff. I’m now being told by my co-drivers that I should hurl myself over that cliff, drag my broken body out of the gully, and do it again...in a controlled manner. I understand what they’re saying though. Nobody comes this far to bank a couple of safe clean runs. If I can’t do the VS justice by taking out the entire A-Mod field, I might as well be a DNF.

I’m in the fourth heat which consists of CP, STL, and me. Running with CP is great because they do an awesome job of clearing up the debris on a 15 foot wide track. This is especially welcome after the massive oil slick that FM lay down during the previous heat. We lean out the fuel trim for my runs using the dial, but this time making sure it’s turned in the right direction. It’s a shot in the dark, but it’s all we can do at this point.

ON A MISSION

At the line I’m running through the course in my mind again, psyching myself up to drive hard on this first run. Go a little hotter into the corners and hold the throttle down as long as I can. I do precisely that, pinning the throttle down through the initial offsets, but then I get so excited about making it through that I forget about the sweeper. I blow through the end of the 180 and loop back on to the course. I’m pissed about DNF’ing the run so I’m driving angry now. I floor it through the slalom--seriously, I have never nor will I ever drive a slalom that fast ever again. I enter the next sweeper a little too hot and understeer on exit. Heading up the short slalom in the southwest corner of the course is where the engine starts to bog. My foot is flat to the floor, but the engine continues to hesitate for a good 5 seconds until after the 90-degree left.

The engine finally comes alive and the car suddenly surges forward through the offsets on the south edge of the course. However, on the final stretch before the finishing sweeper, I lift off the throttle as I enter the chicane and when I get back on the gas, the engine bogs again. It’s another painful 4 seconds before the engine wakes up in the middle of the sweeper. I’m a bit surprised to clock a 53.8 second run especially after my brain fart at the first sweeper.


My first run on the West course and a big fat DNF

Back on grid, the guys suspect that it’s not a fuel trim problem and decide to check for mechanical issues. The laptop confirms that there’s something more serious going on. The left cylinder EGT is half of what it should be when the engine bogs. They put in new sparkies, swap the wires, and lean out the trim again.

On my second run, I make a note not to go into the sweepers too hot. I make it through the first section cleanly this time, but midway into the slalom I let off when I start to get late. When I get back on the throttle, the engine bogs again and the car coasts through the rest of the slalom and the next sweeper before regaining power. It hesitates again for several seconds after the next sweeper, then again briefly approaching the last sweeper. I manage a clean 53.4 second run, but I’m disappointed nonetheless. I need a low 52 to stay ahead of the rest of the A-Mod field.


My second run on the West course

Dejectedly, I pull back into grid where a compression check confirms the worst. The pressure in the left cylinder is too low indicating mechanical damage. It’s an agonizing decision, but it would be dangerous to continue running the car in this state since the engine could grenade. I’m heartbroken that the VS won’t finish the event, especially after seeing all the progress it’s made in the last while. I feel so bad for Joe and Gary who have put so much hard work into the VS. To come so close, but walking away empty-handed.

POST MORTEM

Back in the paddock, they pull the cylinder head and find the damage. A big chunk of the left cylinder wall is gone. For such a highly-customized engine, spares are not easy to come by, and without a rebuild kit on-hand, the event is over for the VS. Many people come by the paddock to see if there is anything they can help with. News spreads quickly and everywhere I go, people are offering their condolences and co-drives for Day 2. John is quick to offer his Vee, but I’m rather terrified of it. I have to admit that I’m really tempted when Val Korry offers his GT3 since I’ve never driven a Porsche. I know all I need is one run on the East course in any car (almost everything qualifies for A-Mod) to finish the event and take home the AML championship, but I’m in no mood to run Day 2.


Yup, it's dead

 On Day 2, Joe crews for Dan, while I help out Team Super Vee (John and Gary). The next time you have a chance to take a look at John’s Vee, check out how big the tub is. Stuffing anyone less than six feet tall into the car is a challenge especially if you have to do it last minute with duct tape and foam.


Test fitting the finely crafted racing seat

The weather is again very humid and it finally rains during A-Mod’s third runs. It’s too bad it didn’t rain right from the start. John’s Vee looks like it’s the only car that can function in the wet. In the end, Gary manages to fend off the rest of the competitors to grab the second place trophy--an impressive feat considering he has no seat time in the Vee.

BACK TO WORK

On the way down to Lincoln, I’d only envisioned two outcomes: victory or defeat. Sure, there’s some retrospection and coulda-shoulda-woulda’s on the drive home, but there’s no feeling of defeat or dejection. Clearly more things went right than wrong to get this far. We’re only a few minutes into our trip home and already plans are in the works for a lighter and faster VS.

Solo Nationals is both a humbling and inspiring experience, seeing how much work and resources people put into the sport and how big autocross can be as a sport in its own right. And then there’s Joe and Gary, with their ingenuity, passion, and hard work. I don’t want to get too sappy, but these guys are my heroes. The Vancouver Special is the fastest solo machine on the planet, and I am lucky and honoured to have been part of the journey.

 ]]> Slushbox http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?7-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-The-Conclusion Journey to the Nationals in the Vancouver Special: Pre-Trip Edition http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?5-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Pre-Trip-Edition Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:15:04 GMT This is the third installment in a series of write-ups documenting my journey to the US Nationals in Joe Cheng and Gary Milligan's latest A-Modified creation, the Vancouver Special.

CHASING TAIL THE A-MOD WAY

The mid-July NWR-SCCA regional weekend is our first test event after Marina. The test report from CA says the car is oversteering at all speeds and at all phases of cornering. Suspension geometry is the obvious culprit, but there's an outside chance that the spent Hoosiers are to blame--after several multi-driver events they are well past their useful life. On the roster for this weekend: a lower roll centre, more rear toe-in, a rebuilt third rear shock, and fresh Hoosiers. The new clutch helix didn't make it in time, so we'll have to live with sluggish downshifts for now. This weekend will be all about making the rear end stick.

So why all the fuss about back end grip? Fast cars are supposed to oversteer! Well, when the tail walks on you at speed in this car, there's little hope in catching it--the cornering forces are too high and the wheelbase too short. You can't attack the corners hard when you're not confident the back end will stay. Understeer is way easier to control at speed: just ease up on the throttle a little, let the nose grip, and continue on your merry way.

At the Marina event, I was more than 2 seconds slower than Joe and Gary on a 30 second course. To make matters worse, I was also PAXing really low in the standings. Not good when the car is supposed to be a big overdog. I've got to step it up. With a couple of events under my belt, I've got a better feel for the car, so it's time to work on my lack of aggression. My game plan: go into the corners a little hotter and carry more speed through. I didn't, however, plan on the car being even more tail-happy than it was in Marina. I spin three times on my first run, twice on my second, and once more on my third run. The rear is so stiff, it just hops and skips through turns. For our final runs that morning, Joe disconnects the third spring and swaybar which allows enough suspension movement to let the rear tires find some grip. The much needed traction came at a price though. Without the support of the third spring, the bottom of the car gets shredded up. Half the people in grid walked off with carbon fibre souvenirs!


So how many more of these do I need to build a wing for my Jetta?

The car isn't entirely to blame for my troubles that morning. Aggression without control leads to bad driving, and bad driving leads to my first (and hopefully last) stop-driving-like-an-a$$hole disciplinary hearing with Gary. The lecture is well-deserved since there's no excuse for dive-bombing corners when the rear obviously isn't sticking, and spinning more than once per run. Still, I'm so embarrassed by this that I want to crawl under the trailer and die. I dial it way back for Sunday so that I can finish the weekend without another spin.

The weekend isn't a complete wash though. During Saturday night course walks, in a moment of beer-fuelled clarity, the boys have an epiphany. The rear wing is placed relative to the rear suspension based on the previous car's (the Phantom) centre of gravity. The new car's CG is farther back so consequently the rear wing is too far forward. Conclusion: we need a new wing mount!

A SUMMER IN THE HAMPTONS

A little over 6 weeks until we leave for Nationals and we've yet to test a satisfactory setup for either the clutch or suspension. We'll be seeing a lot more of Hampton Mills for sure this summer. There's a lot of work to be done on the car before the next event in August, but with life getting in the way, there's just not enough time. The remaining four shocks are rebuilt (two were blown), a cracked rad replaced, a new driven clutch installed, and lots of tape and rivets to hold together the shredded diffusers. Unfortunately, there was no time left to fabricate the new wing mount. The Oregon PCA event will focus on clutch testing.

The CVT gearing has been out-of-whack the past few events. The tires spin too much off the line making it impossible to be full on the throttle crossing the beam, maximizing power leaving the box. Coming out of corners, either the driven clutch downshifts too slowly causing the car to bog, or else the drive clutch snaps shut abruptly causing the rear to walk sideways. The PCA event isn't until Sunday, but being the super-nice folks that they are, the organizers let us do some acceleration runs after Saturday's Evo school. The new setup is definitely in the right ballpark. The VS stays on a straight line during a controlled, hard launch and the CVT downshifts quickly when getting back on the throttle. Being able to lay down 50 foot long twin strips of rubber comes in handy too!


Drag and Drift A-Mod Style

SHE'S A LITTLE HIGH MAINTENANCE

The remainder of Saturday night is spent dealing with various maintenance issues: a busted throttle spring, loose data connections, water leak, seized caliper, miscalibrated sensors, etc. The guys do more work on the VS in one night than I do on my cars in an entire season. If you plan to run in a Modified class, you have to love working on cars as much if not more than driving them. For Sunday, all three of us are driving in the same heat. I'm pulling back into grid after my first run and notice the dash lights flashing big time. The water temperature hit 200 degrees! The car normally gets toasty when I drive since I don't keep the throttle wide open long enough to keep the engine from running lean, but even so, the water temperature has never been this high. Then we spot the culprit: the breather hose on the water bottle got tangled in the driveshaft, ripping the bottle off, and stopping water circulation. It was starting to look like a one-run weekend. Despite the mess, the water bottle is entact and damage to the driveshaft is purely cosmetic. With some quick field surgery to repair the damage, the water temperatures are back under control.

There's still the question of how well the car accelerates out of corners. The tail still doesn't stick well enough for us to get on the pedal hard exiting corners. The rear suspension is already as soft as it can get and without the new mount, we're stuck with the rear wing position. One thing you've got to appreciate about Joe and Gary is that they're never at a loss for ideas. They come up with the clever solution of moving the front wing to bias more downforce to the rear, thus simulating what the new rear mount will do. After another quick round of field surgery, I find myself back on course with the new front wing configuration. The first few turns I drive the same as before, but the tail is noticeably better behaved. It's not wiggling on corner exit anymore. Not only that, but mid-way through the course in the showcase turn, I run into my old friend, Mr. Understeer! Joe has the final run of the day and his excited post-run review says it all: "It finally handles like the old car!" Normally you wouldn't think a statement like this is positive, but anyone familiar with the Phantom knows this means the VS is another step closer to winning form.


Joe finds the grip he's been looking for

THE OUTER LIMITS

With the findings at the PCA event, the plan is clear. Oregon SCCA is holding a two-day event the following weekend, so we'll have one more test event prior to Lincoln. Hopefully, the new rear wing mount will solve the handling issues, and the new drive clutch will help smooth out any remaining abruptness when transitioning off-on throttle.

As I've mentioned before, the VS undergoes constant adjustments, even between runs, so it's not an exaggeration when I say we haven't yet driven the same car twice. Not an ideal situation when you're trying to tune the drivers for Nationals. So provided the new wing mount does its job, it'll finally be a chance to focus on driving the car in competition trim. Shifting the front wing at the last event improved the balance, but it came at the cost of reduced overall grip. The new rear wing position should achieve the same optimal balance by increasing downforce in the rear rather than reducing it in front. Having had a taste of what the VS feels like with balanced grip, I was looking forward to pouring on the aggression again, but this time with a healthy dose of control.

It's Saturday morning, and Gary is once again our test pilot, running the AM heat on his own while Joe and I co-drive in the PM. His first run is a throw-away due to some fuel trim issues, but he subsequently lays down a couple of smoking fast runs, good enough for top index. It's been a while since the VS has seen the top spot so this is a great sign. Well, that and the fact that Gary declared after his third run that the VS is ready for Nationals!

I read an old magazine article where Joe was quoted as saying that neither he nor Gary could push the Phantom to its performance limit. I thought this was a gross exaggeration. After all, how can a car be limitless? I'm about to find out. The car is once again launching nicely as it did at the last event. I'm hard on it past the beams, let up just a bit for the 90 degree right, and back on it entering the slalom. I notice how planted the car feels on entry to the first sweeper. The grip is phenomenal. I start dipping into the throttle and really start laying on it early on exit. This sets me up for a juicy stretch of WOT where I pick up a fair amount of speed before entering a 90 degree left followed by a chicane and a 90 degree right. Fast transitional corners like these are where the VS really shines and where my limitations as a driver are painfully obvious. The gates come up so fast that I'm sawing at the wheel trying to keep up. I back off the throttle not because I'm losing grip, but because *I* need more time to respond. Forget about lines. Forget about precision. I pretty much point the car wherever and hope I don't hit anything. With the increased grip, the VS builds up and maintains huge cornering forces throughout the run. This is way more strenuous than the occasional peak G that I felt before. Now my body is constantly being squashed. I'm fighting to keep my head upright and my hands and arms in position. I can't fathom how the F1 guys deal with twice the cornering forces for 90 minutes at a time.

All-in-all it's been a productive month and we still have the Lincoln test and tune to make final adjustments. With a few test sessions on airpark concrete and some sticker tires, the VS will be fully dialed-in. As for the drivers, well, I can say I'm going balls-to-the-wall just to stay within 2 seconds of my co-drivers, but at least I'm PAXing better in the standings. I figure once the guys are in competition mode I'll have a hard time maintaining that margin. I *know* they've been sandbagging. For example, Joe will come in from a run and start telling us the temperature differentials between the cylinders at various locations. I quietly think to myself, "Are freaking kidding me? You were out there doing math? I can't even remember what year it is!"


Even with only one healthy cylinder, the VS still flies

LINCOLN AWAITS

We'll be departing for Nebraska this Thursday. I'm excited and nervous about this trip. The AM field is 14 cars strong this year and among them will be the Wasdahl Phantom. I've never seen the Phantom in person since it was sold a few weeks before I joined VCMC. The battle in AM will be fierce and the VS is Sportscar magazine's pick-to-win. Hopefully, all VCMC members will join me in cheering on Joe and Gary as they vie for the top spot, and once again make VCMC proud to be the home club of the fastest autocross team in the world.

Stay tuned for updates from the road...
]]> Slushbox http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?5-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Pre-Trip-Edition Journey to the Nationals in the Vancouver Special: Part 2 http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?3-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Part-2 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:14:42 GMT This is the second installment in a series of write-ups documenting my journey to the US Nationals in Joe Cheng and Gary Milligan's A-Modified creation, the Vancouver Special.

MEET THE TEAM

As cool and exciting as it is to spend a season driving the ultra-fast Vancouver Special, a valuable part of the experience is co-driving and hanging out with the A-Mod boys. John Haftner, Gary, Joe, and I made the trek to Marina, CA to do some hot weather testing at the July 3-4 Larry Park Memorial event organized by the American Auto-X Series. I fly into CA while the boys make the exhausting 20-hour tow, so it's no surprise that I'm immediately appointed the team chauffeur when they roll into town. Joe suggests heading into Monterey (home of the Laguna Seca race track) for dinner.



I've known Joe for several years, but I only briefly met Gary and John once prior to this season. Now here I am, sitting down to dinner with three legendary autocrossers at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Monterey, CA. Can my tiny brain absorb a century of car building and racing knowledge in one sitting? Not likely! Aside from hearing a rich collection of racing stories, I learn a few quirky facts about my new racing buddies. For example, John and Gary know enough about the movie Forrest Gump to do a scene-by-scene reenactment. Who knew A-Mod guys had time to watch movies when they're not building cars? I also learn that Gary is a certified wine snob (you should've seen his look of horror when the Bubba Gump people serve him wine in a whiskey tumbler), and that John is incredibly mellow and sane for someone crazy enough to rocket up the side of Knox Mountain at 200+ kph (for those not in the know, John holds the record for the Knox hillclimb).

MOMMA ALWAYS SAID

Since the last event in Packwood, Joe and Gary made some changes to the car: a revised clutch setup and a shortened rear roll-couple. Little do we know at the start of the weekend that this resulted in a drastic change to the car's handling which will eventually take us a full weekend of adjustments to dial out. Forrest Gump provided not only the theme for dinner, but also the theme for this weekend's experience with the VS: "Life is like an A-Mod car in the final stages of tuning prior to US Nationals...you never know what you're going to get."

It's Day 1 of the event. The guys finish their run-work heats in the morning, so they're available to support me during my runs in the afternoon. Joe cautions me that the increased rear roll stiffness makes the VS a bit tail-happy. I'm thinking, the car handled great and had tonnes of grip at the last event on cold asphalt. Today, we're on warm concrete. How bad could it be?

I'm strapped in, waiting at the line, reminding myself to keep my inputs smooth. The VS wings are still in an odd configuration from this morning's runs. The wings were creating too much drag, limiting top speed, so Joe and Gary removed an element from each wing.



Finally, the starter gives me the go signal. I gently roll onto the throttle and maneuver through the small kink at the start. The back end kicks a bit as I feed in more throttle, but easing up a little keeps the tail in check. The first section of the course is a long stretch with a few minor kinks which can be taken flat out.



I'm mindful to press down hard with the right foot, keeping it planted until I have to slow down for the 90-degree left. I didn't mention last time how incredibly powerful the brakes are on the VS. It takes some time getting used to being able to stop instantly with zero front-end dive, so I wind up braking way too early for the first turn. Next comes the first sweeper: apply the brake, turn in, and there it is...another spin...on dry concrete! Where did all the grip go? I spin it twice again on the same run, but on corner exit rather than entry. The VS is far more twitchy than I remember it.

I pull back into grid and the guys are waiting in my grid spot, holding the missing wing elements. Man, these guys are quicker than a Grand Prix team. Those elements were still back in the trailer when I started my run! "We're going to give you your wings back!" They immediately get to work, reassembling the wings, checking tire pressures, spraying the rads, adjusting the suspension, and checking the data logger. We just need to work in refuelling and a tire change and we've got a full-fledged pit stop!

The extra downforce from the full wing configuration really helps on my next few runs, but I'm still hanging the tail out on corner exit. Gary takes a bit more rear bar out for me. The softer bar combined with greater patience with the throttle helps me keep the rear wheels in line. However, I need to increase the richness of the fuel trim to suit my timidness with the throttle. Partial throttle causes the engine to run lean and temperatures to skyrocket. Joe's belief is "Race car drivers should only be paid for every second that they spend at wide open throttle." If that's the case, I was clearly in no position to quit my day job. I've never driven a car that threatens to melt down if you don't drive it hard enough.

The wind has been gusting all day and by my final run it's worked up to a steady 20 mph. Things get interesting when you're driving an aero car in strong wind (note the direction in which the chequered flag at the finish is blowing).



When I pull back into grid I get a quick lesson from Gary on driving in windy conditions. "When you're entering a turn driving into a 20 mph wind, you've got all the stick in the world. But driving away from the wind, you lose that 20 mph, the amount of downforce drops exponentially, and you're not left with much downforce at all." Ah...so not only do I need to pay attention to the colour of the flags being waved at me, but also the direction in which those flags are flying!

ADRENALINE IS ONE HELL OF A DRUG

A few days before the trip to Marina, I managed to crack a rib on my right side while mountain biking. I had some concerns about whether I'd be able to steer the VS since it was excrutiatingly painful to move the right side of my body. Owen joked at lunch the day of my bike crash: "Joe's going to think something's seriously wrong with the car when he looks at the data logger and sees that you can pull 2Gs turning left but only half a G turning right!"

Fortunately the ribs aren't a factor while driving. When sitting in the tub on grid, they're only mildly sore, and out on course, my brain is so occupied I don't feel a thing. It's the perfect anesthetic. Where it really hurts is when I pull myself out of the tub at the end of the Saturday heat (I stayed in the car between runs) and during the Sunday driver changeovers. It felt like someone had beaten me with a baseball bat. Clearly, the ribs get squished pretty good when you're pulling two lateral Gs.

We're now onto Day 2. It's warmer today and there's virtually no wind. Welcome news for me since the tires should stick better and I won't have to worry about which way the wind is blowing. The VS underwent some significant changes last night. The rear wing is positioned all the way back to bias more downforce to the rear of the car in an attempt to reduce oversteer, and the clutch was changed to reduce bogging when exiting corners.

During the course walks, there's much discussion about the final section of the course. There's a long straight leading up to a 90-degree right-hand turn followed by another long straight before the finish. The turn is wide enough that it's conceivable that it could be done flat out as long as you use every last inch of the track and make a perfectly smooth, early turn into the corner. With an entry speed of 70-80 mph, there's going to be a whole whack of downforce at work too. Joe boldly declares that he's going to try taking the turn flat out.

Joe and I are co-driving in the first heat which inadvertently ends up being a drift contest between us (Joe won). Joe's the first car out this morning. With cold tires and a tonne of debris out on course, Joe goes completely sideways in the first set of offsets. I take my run and manage to make it midway through the course before I also swap ends exiting a tighter-than-90-degree corner. For the next set of runs, Joe loosens the rear sway bar a notch, but the car is still noticeably loose. It's far too easy to hang the back end out in the showcase turn. Joe continues to loosen the rear sway bar and finally disconnects it for our final runs. Given this is the last run of the weekend and the rear of the car is as soft as it's going to get with the available adjustments, he's determined to take the final corner flat out this time. However, the showcase turn again proves to be a problem. Joe loops it entering the showcase and lays down a huge trail of rubber as he pulls a doughnut to turn the car around. It really doesn't take much to spell your name in the pavement when you've got gummy tires and gobs of power!

He's finally approaching the final 90-degree right-hander, and given the looseness of the car, this is definitely going to be interesting. He approaches the turn on the far left edge of the straightaway. As he initiates turn-in, the tail gets wobbly, taking out a whole pile of cones along the edge. He stays on the throttle into the turn, but by this point the tail is too far gone. It steps right out, sending another spray of cones up in the air. I really think he could have made it if the tail weren't so loose.

"What the f**k is wrong with you people? You can't even keep it pointed in the right direction for 30 seconds!" Gary jokingly voices his disgust over our little drift show. Or maybe he's genuinely pissed about picking up all those cones that Joe killed in the last corner. Anyway, after today's runs, the consensus is that the car has far too much oversteer to be driven consistently at the limit. But there's still some debate as to whether the looseness can be entirely attributed to the roll-centre adjustment, or whether the aging Hoosiers (60+ runs) are partly to blame.

Despite the challenges with the car's handling over the weekend, there is still much to be happy about. The car survived a 3-driver, 30-run weekend in warm weather with no breakages. A huge milestone on the VS's development timeline!

EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST PRACTICE

It still wasn't entirely clear to me the point of changing the car's setup after the Packwood event. The car was so neutral and gripped so well even on cold asphalt. Why would you mess with that? It all becomes clear at the VCMC club meeting the following Tuesday. Joe is scheduled to give a suspension talk at the tech session where he shares his tuning philosophy with those in attendance. There's ultimately only two runs that matter over the course of the season. One run on Day 1 and one run on Day 2 at the US Nationals (or National Tour, or KSC, or whatever your big event may be). Everything else is just practice. There's no point running the same setup event after event *thinking* you've got a fast setup. You'll never learn anything that way. You need to know exactly how the car responds to every adjustment before you get to the big event. Case in point, over this past weekend, we drove a different wing and sway bar setup with nearly every run and tested the entire range of rear-end adjustments.

* * *

Many thanks to the great folks with the American Auto-x Series for their hospitality and for such a fun, fast course. California is home to some incredibly well-prepared cars and massive concrete playgrounds. I hope to visit again soon.

Thanks to John, Joe, and Gary for all their advice and support over the weekend. Extra thanks to Joe for all the help during the driver changeovers on Sunday when my ribs started to bother me.

Now it's onto the NWR SCCA regional next weekend in Packwood. If the current heat wave continues, we may finally get some hot weather testing done. ]]> Slushbox http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?3-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Part-2 Journey to the Nationals in the Vancouver Special: Part 1 http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?2-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Part-1 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:14:16 GMT This is the first installment in a series of write-ups documenting my journey to the US Nationals in Joe Cheng and Gary Milligan's latest A-Modified creation, the Vancouver Special.

DAY 1 - BAPTISM AT THE CHURCH OF HAMPTON MILLS

I've seen the VS run a few times at Pitt Meadows during its development phase. Aside from the obvious realization that this thing is wicked fast, it also looks like it would be a handful for anyone to keep pointed in the right direction let alone put together a clean run. "Oh don't worry, it's really intuitive and easy to drive. It does exactly what you tell it to do" Joe tells me. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop--the qualifying words to this statement. Something along the lines of: as long as you have decades of competition driving experience in the world's fastest autocross machines and several national trophies under your belt. But that was it. He tells me the VS is designed to be very user-friendly, to work with the driver and not exhibit any bad habits that could derail a fast run. Despite his reassurances, I'm still very nervous about driving the VS. What if I crash it? What if I blow up the engine? What if I just plain suck?

I'll be driving with Gary today. Joe's not too keen on the cold and wet conditions. It rained overnight but there was nothing coming down at the moment. I'm working the course when Gary takes his first run. The spray from the rear tires hovers in the wake of the VS like a cape, tracing the airflow over the wings. The pavement is very slick making it difficult to put any power down, but Gary's still moving at a good clip through the opening slalom. There's a flock of seagulls roosting at the end of the slalom but Gary charges on through. The gulls take off, but one poor bird doesn't get high enough and bounces off the rear wing. At this point, everyone's wondering if the wing held together. Unaware of the collision, Gary finishes the run and pulls back into the pit building but doesn't reappear for his next run. After a while, Joe heads into the pits to see if everything's okay. Moments later Joe comes running out on course: "Get your helmet!"

Sheldon and Mike can attest to the fact that every time I touch a formula car, it's bound to rain. Aside from the obvious traction issues, there's the added unpleasantness of getting soaked in a nasty slurry of rain, shredded tires, and deer poop. The starter gives me the signal and I gently bring up the revs, feathering the throttle as I tweak the VS through the 90-degree start. Once clear of the timing light, I squeeze the throttle just a bit more to pick up some speed before the next 90-degree right... *SPINORAMA* Oh god! Less than 1 second into my run and I've already spun the car. A new personal worst!

I get myself turned around and line up for the first slalom. I'm barely on the throttle and the VS takes off like a rocket. The rate of acceleration is *obscene* even under partial throttle. I nearly loop it again several more times. In these slick conditions I had a hard time keeping the car straight when I applied any sort of throttle:



Conditions are even worse on my second run. The skies open up and large pools begin to form. The course designers did a good job of avoiding the ponds, but it doesn't help when you go off course:



After the bath, it was time to call a timeout and wait for drier conditions. The rain finally let up and after the first afternoon heat, the water was evacuating nicely. I manage to squeeze in another four runs, swapping ends during three of them, but the important thing was finally being able to open the throttle all the way for just a few brief moments. It's mind boggling the rate at which the cones start to fly at you. I'm forced to look way further ahead than I normally do just to prevent sensory overload.



Gary takes another run at the end of the day to verify some suspicions he has about the tune. He easily beats my best raw time by several seconds. While I didn't crash or blow up the VS, I do have this suck issue to deal with...

DAY TWO - WELCOME TO THE SUCK

We start the day again on cold, wet pavement, but the rain is staying away and the pavement is drying out quickly. I'm co-driving with Joe in the same heat this morning, so it's a chance practice driver changes and between-run adjustments. Gary tells me the VS was significantly down on power yesterday and that today I'll finally see some real power. At first I think he's kidding, but apparently Gary doesn't joke about these things.

Joe's the first to run, and the crowd gathers to watch what the VS can do with some traction. They're not disappointed. Joe's able to floor it all the way through the opening slalom, showing off the amazing acceleration and transitional response of the VS. After each run, Gary and Joe are busy analyzing and tweaking. Despite what looks like phenomenal performance to everyone watching, they're still not entirely happy with the way the car is running.

My goal today (aside from not spinning) is to keep the throttle pinned to the floor for as long as possible. It took a couple of runs before I was able to trust the car and just keep my foot planted all the way through the opening slalom. The VS is on the verge of being able to read my mind. Just by envisioning the line I want to take, my hands subconsciously initiate the input, and the VS starts to turn before my conscious mind thinks about turning. There are no wasted brain cycles or inputs to overcome flaws. It simply does what you tell it to do.

I finally put together a clean run on my 4th and final run of the day--only 8/10ths off Joe's best scratch!



I'm way more comfortable with the VS now and am starting to have a lot of fun with it. I'm addicted to its power and responsiveness. Joe speaks the truth. The VS is incredibly easy and intuitive to drive. Gary and Joe have put together an incredible machine.

* * *

Lest I wind up like the seagull, all the videos were downsampled to hide some details. But, if you start seeing A-Mod cars wearing pink speed tassels and afterburners, you'll know where they got the idea. I'll take some better in-car videos in Marina and show the HD versions at a members' meeting if there's any interest.

Thanks to NWAA for the hospitality. It was so nice to take my first runs in the VS at such a fun and relaxed event.

Thanks to the VCMC crew for the support, co-drives, and golden potties that make these road trips so much fun. And of course, thanks to Joe and Gary for sharing seat time in the coolest toy in the universe.

Now onto Marina, CA! ]]> Slushbox http://www.vcmc.ca/forum/entry.php?2-Journey-to-the-Nationals-in-the-Vancouver-Special-Part-1