Well … it was a crazy week/weekend for the NOS Energy Drink hill climb team, powered by AMS Performance. The first race of the season always presents unique challenges, and 2010 was to be no exception.
A look at the AMS Performance NOS Energy Drink Hill Climb EVO team from the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. For more information about the car and the team please visit :
Anxious to bounce back from Pikes Peak, after a few days rest, I set out to change the NOS Energy Drink / AMS Performance Hillclimb Evo back to rally trim. The DHP splitter was removed in favor of a heavy 1/4″ aluminum skid plate, Seibon Carbon fenders came off for the OEM metal ones, and the OEM Brembos were removed for the AMS rally brake kit so we could fit 15″ wheels back on the car.
Pleased with the power delivery of our setup at 9,000-14,000 feet, I figured since we were racing at even lower altitudes, lag would be even less of an issue. I looked at some on-board footage of the car, and it was very clear that the Forced Performance HTA35R turbo gave us a much wider powerband than the TR30R. Martin sent me an updated map with revised boost control settings so I wouldn’t overboost, and with the narrower tires, we figured a conservative 28psi would do the trick. The big question in my mind was, how much power is too much?
Friday afternoon we had our car on display with several other Colorado Rally Cup competitors at the Subaru Dealership in Grand Junction. The guys from NOS Energy Drink in Denver hooked us up with a cases & cases of NOS to keep people cool.
The forecast for the weekend was hot hot hot, with temps in the mid 90s both days. As some of you may remember from our PPIHC writeups, we are currently running a CBRD slim radiator, which works well, but wasn’t designed with long distance racing in mind. I spent several hours revamping the ducting for the radiator and IC in hopes that we might stave off overheating issues.
For our first run I decided to try out a set of Hankook rally tires that were designed for abrasive gravel. The road looked to be really fast, but the tires just didn’t hook the way I was hoping they would. Knowing that the conditions usually change drastically as loose crap is flung off the racing line, I figured I’d give the tires one more shot. We ended up running a 5:07.47, which put us in the top qualifier spot with a margin of over ~11 seconds. Still unsure of the tires, I decided to try out the Kumho rain tires we used at Pikes Peak. Running these tires carried a big risk, as we’d be running 17″ wheels with low profile tires on a road strewn with rocks. Unfortunately, delays were the theme of the day, with many people having issues on course, which unfortunately held the rally classes to just two practice runs.
After racing concluded on Saturday, we sat around trying to decide what tires to run on Sunday. We had packed an amazing amount of rubber into our truck for the weekend:
4 Hankook 204
4 Yokohama A036
4 BFGoodrich Rally Tires
6 Kumho W710
The lazy in me decided that since we had two runs on race day, we should just stick with the Kumho rains that we had wanted to try on practice day. This carried a big risk of getting a flat, so I had to adjust my driving style considerably. Gone were the big sideways slides, and I was keeping an eye out for rocks. The grip we found with these tires was better, but I could feel the time ticking away in my head as we rounded many of the hairpin turns, and cornes with nice ditches. By the time we reached the top the temp needle was just under the high limit on the factory gauge, but with water sprayers, temps came down nice and quick.
After returning to the pits, I did a quick inspection of the wheels & tires, and found that the tread was nearly gone on both rear tires, a sidewall had a flap in it, one rim had a 4″ crack in the lip, and a dime sized gouge was in another. No way I’d risk driving on these again. We had run a 5:02.98, upping our lead over 2nd place to ~12 seconds.
So, it was back to tire decision time again, and this time my choices were down to the Hankooks or the Yokohamas. Since I didn’t get a practice run on the Yokos, I went back to the ‘kooks. At the startline we decided it was time to go for it, knowing that our record from last year was still 10 seconds below the time we had just run. I planned to get into the ditches and drive aggressively like we did when we set the record in 2008. Off the startline we got moving quickly, and jumped into the ditch to get the extra hook around the corner, then really started picking up speed on the next sweeper. Unfortunately, with the extra cornering speed came the need for extra braking zone and I simply didn’t get on the binders soon enough.
At my first press of the brakes, the tires just skidded, so I started to look for options. If I attempted the corner and didn’t make it, we’d head into a ditch sideways, likely causing a partial rollover. If I straightened it out, we’d go into the ditch straight on. I chose the safer route, straightened the car out and went for another press of the brakes. By the time we left the road we were probably only going 10-15mph. After the hit, the car was still running so I backed up onto the road and headed up to the next corner. I gave it some gas, but it was clear we had mangled an IC pipe, so I pulled off in a safe spot.
So, to wrap up, it was a good weekend in that we walked away with a class win, but also a bit of a dissappointment as we were unable to break a record. I’ll try to get pics up over the next couple of days, and should have some video to post as well.
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 http://www.drinknos.com
* AMS Performance http://www.amsperformance.com
* Exedy Racing Clutches http://www.exedyusa.com
* AEM Performance Electronics http://www.aempower.com
* TiAL Sport http://www.tialsport.com
* DHP Composites http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhp_composites/
* Spark Tech Ignitions http://www.sparktechignitions.net
* Forced Performance http://www.forcedperformance.com
* Salta Motorsports http://www.saltamotorsports.com
* Check Point Racing http://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. Read more…
Linhbergh from Speedhunters joined us last Sunday at the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb to cover the event and also to shoot our hill climb evo driven by David & Allison Kern.
The content from the event has already made its way to the Speedhunters blog here:
PIKES PEAK HILL CLIMB HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you for the love Linhbergh and we’re anxious to see more!
Rich
