any word on track condition?

[ice/solo racer]

Since the casc site is down I thought I'd post the question here.I have been expecting the first weekend to be postponed with the weather so far-anyone in the know on this one?.
I so need a no traction wheel to wheel fix!:D ,its snowing like a mother f**cker here and I was already out playing/practising.

[ice/solo racer]

Bummer,just got the word that the first weekend has been cancelled!(I'm really not surprised!)

[Nissan Racer]

I'm not either, but it gives us another weekend to prep the car :D
What class are you running in?

[Bubblecar]

Originally posted by ice/solo racer
. . . just got the word that the first weekend has been cancelled!(I'm really not surprised!)

Yahoo ! (with apologies to all those who have been working on their cars and are ready to go.)

Due to problems at work and various other sundry excuses - my "Brazilian Wonder Car" (VW Fox) is still waiting to be prepped.

Nick - the Procrastinator King - Majors

[RedRabbit Racer]

I've been getting into the CASC forum directly through teutonic.ca then selecting FORUMS even though casc.on.ca is down.

[Bubblecar]

Originally posted by RedRabbit Racer
I've been getting into the CASC forum directly through teutonic.ca then selecting FORUMS even though casc.on.ca is down.

But today I have not even been able to get onto Teutonic - it keeps saying :

"Warning: mysql_connect(): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (2) in /home/teutonic/forums/class_db_zugriff.php on line 23" - etc. etc.

Nick

[ice/solo racer]

Pat looks like I'll be playing in the short wheelbase fwd class(class 2)just like Robbs civic right?you are still running Robbs civic right?.
I'll be co-driving my brothers old dodge colt,makes about 40hp!!.

It was impressive last year-first race ever with no testing about 3 weekends in(so everyone else has their crap sorted)and started last in class on sunday(missed qualifing)and smoked thru the field to finish 5th while more than keeping pace with the usual front runners.
I just uncorked the exhaust and pulled out the air filter so at least I can hear the damn thing running!

Did I mention I hate quiet cars?:D

[Nissan Racer]

Actually, Robb, Perry, Mike and myself are all running in long wheelbase.
No brainer on you and 'quiet' cars...

[ice/solo racer]

Hmmm,that kinda sucks!-I was hoping to rub fenders with 1 or more of you guys:cool:

Oh well the funny thing is with ice racing is that there is always some red neck moron that gets confused and thinks its a wrecking race so I'll get to rub doors with someone!

[Gary]

Any word on when we can take the cars to the track? I was wondering if people bring their cars up the weekend before the season starts. I was hoping to avoid a Friday night tow on the first weekend. (whenever that is, fingers crossed, hoping it's only a one week delay) However, I don't know if there are access or security issues.

Anyone got any inside scoop? We've almost finished with the car prep. (and we are hoping like hell it will still run, now that we are amolst finished "improving" it) :D

[ice/solo racer]

Hi Gary,its not usually a problem to bring the cars up early-in this case you'd be on time its just the season thats late.;)

Tom Prentice just askes that you keep the cars along the back snow bank out of the way of plowing(basically where I was when you looked at the car).

So hows my old alltrac?,I hope all is well with it?,look forward to seeing your improvements as the front strait is apparently a little longer this year-should help with the power advantage over other 4wd cars there.Of course you still gotta whoa up for turn 1-something I was having a little trouble with last year,just loved that thing pulling in 3rd and hated to shut it down you know!:D

[JAYh]

Hey Tom, give me some details on that Colt. Inquiring minds want to know. :D

(Also, if it's the same model as my Mirage (CC platform, 1993-1995), I'm in the market for some good condition stock headlights, etc.)

- J

[Director]

Originally posted by ice/solo racer
Hmmm,that kinda sucks!-I was hoping to rub fenders with 1 or more of you guys:cool:

Oh well the funny thing is with ice racing is that there is always some red neck moron that gets confused and thinks its a wrecking race so I'll get to rub doors with someone!

Take a cruise in second driver class, I'll gladly rub some fenders with ya!

[ice/solo racer]

I'd love to Perry but I believe they decided to split fwd second driver into their respective 2 groups as the field was getting to be too large.
Otherwise your ass is mine!!

If you have more than one car in the same class and no second driver one day I'll gladly fill the seat and go head to head!:D

(so hows my car slut in training going?-very well I think)

[ice/solo racer]

Jay the details aren't to exciting with the colt-its a '88 I think?its one of the old colt hatchs with the carb'ed engine(1500cc)and the square rear wheel wells(fugly!).
Its totally tricked out with stripped out interior,rewired with only power for ign,wipers,heater and a rear light(because the whole frigging harness was shorted!!)the car has had about 150lbs of ballast added in the front bumber and headlight area-the rest of the car is seriously lightened-mostly by missing metal-ie. rust.
I cut the exhaust off and strait piped it with a resonater,pulled the filter and advanced the timing-should be stupid fast this year now!:D

[ice/solo racer]

Oh and the price was right-

FREE !!:D

[Bubblecar]

Originally posted by ice/solo racer
I'd love to Perry but I believe they decided to split fwd second driver into their respective 2 groups as the field was getting to be too large.

Actually they split the cars for scoring purposes so there will be two seperate classes - but for at least this year (due to population numbers in each of the new classes) they will still be on the ice at the same time and in effect racing against each other for position just not for class points.

[Crusher45]

If too many cars show up then the races will be split. So that 12 & 13 will get seperate races. If we have the same number as last year entry wise, I know of at least 12 new cars with 20 drivers. Last year we ran around 100 entries, I would be surprised this year is 120 to 150 and growing. I also have Hugh Burell (CITY TV Sports) from Breakfast Television coming up for a weekend and I know he'll end up not only promoting Ice Racing on the air but getting his own ride.

[Crusher45]

Originally posted by Gary
Any word on when we can take the cars to the track? I was wondering if people bring their cars up the weekend before the season starts. I was hoping to avoid a Friday night tow on the first weekend. (whenever that is, fingers crossed, hoping it's only a one week delay) However, I don't know if there are access or security issues.

Anyone got any inside scoop? We've almost finished with the car prep. (and we are hoping like hell it will still run, now that we are amolst finished "improving" it) :D

You can take your car up starting today but leave it at the front in visitor's parking. This was ok'd by Steve Robson.

[JAYh]

Tom, sounds like the old C10 model with a carby 4G15. Well, if you need cheap parts or whatever, here is the place to try. (http://www.4g61t.com)

Hey, do you want some nice, sporty seats from the turbo model (http://publish.uwo.ca/~jmhoeber/Mirage/Seats/c10side.jpg) for cheap? They're sitting in my basement doing nothing. Yes, they will bolt straight in, and give you a little more support in the corners. I think they're Recaros, not sure though.

I have to try ice racing next year when I have more time - it sounds like too much fun to ignore!

- J

[Gary]

So hows my old alltrac?,I hope all is well with it?,look forward to seeing your improvements as the front strait is apparently a little longer this year-should help with the power advantage over other 4wd cars there.Of course you still gotta whoa up for turn 1-something I was having a little trouble with last year,just loved that thing pulling in 3rd and hated to shut it down you know!

Hi Tom

Been away from the computer, working in the garage. As of today, the car is ready. We had lots of @#$%^%%$##@!!!! fuel delivery problems after we got the car from storage. First was leaky fuel lines up on top of the gas tank, and on removal, the filler neck fell off the tank, and after much patchup, the tank was reinstalled and then the fuel pump quit. So, we've just finished installing an external pump and a fuel cell to go with the new fuel lines you put in. Bet you had fun doing the lines. All we did is complete the rest of the system. Runs great now, and we've no more worries about leaks or old/dirty fuel.

In addition to the solving the fuel problems, we've fixed the front struts, made some suspension tweaks, installed a roll bar, relocated the battery to behind the seats, stripped off a bunch more stuff from the front of the car ( air conditioning? we don't need no stinkin' air conditioning!) and completed a bit of ice race type bodywork at the front of the car. We're just down to checking the details now. With luck, we won't have to lay a wrench on it at the track, other than to change tires.

So, it's all good, and we're really looking forward to our first season. Weather permitting, we'll be bringing the car up to the track next Saturday, cause it's done, and we're ready!

:D :D :D

[ice/solo racer]

That sucks Gary,didn't leak a drop while I had it-likely all that thumping around on track didn't help it much;)
Just a thought about the fuel cell you installed,is it inside the passenger compartment?it has to be seperated from the passengers compartment by a firewall(whose requirements aren't in the rule book)so I hope its under the car.
BTW keep an eye on fuel levels-12 laps mostly at full boost really goes thru the fuel-I mean really really goes thru the fuel.First race weekend I went out in practice with over a little under 1/2 tank-pulled in after maybe 6-8 laps cause I was way under 1/4!:eek:
I was just thinking,I remember it ran a little hot on the gauge in the longer 12 lap races-my toyota mech buddy at the track was riding along and said not to worry about-something about the gauge not being that accurate.It never boiled over or anything but it did get up there-does your ice race mods block any airflow to the rad or is it mostly just for pushing those turbo subes outa the way?.

[Gary]

The tank is under the car. Actually, what we did is cut the bottom out of the spare tire well, fabricated a new metal floor across the top of the well, and suspended the tank in there, along with the fuel pump. There's a trap door in the new floor so we can get to the filler on the top of the tank. The new tank hangs down to the same depth as the stock tank. So, I hope we don't have any problems in tech.

I understand the fuel consumption issue on cars with forced induction. Found that out with the Mustang. At the Corvette club event at the Bronte Go station in the fall, Andrew and I made about 12 runs in total, and used about 1/2 a tank! That's a lot of fuel for 12 sixty second runs! Mind you, the Mustang is thirsty, even on the street. The fuel cell in the Alltrac is supposed to hold 12 US gallons, so that should be more than enough. However, since there's now no fuel guage, I guess we'll have to check the level after every race.

Thanks for the tip on cooling. If you burn that much fuel, there's got to be lots of heat. We did put some panels in the gap between the hood and the front bumper, together with a bit of a bar to keep the turbo Subes out of the intercooler as we pass 'em. :rolleyes: (we wish!) We also relocated it a bit farther back from the bumper in an attempt to keep it in one piece. As you know, there was a ton of stuff in front of the rad. Brackets, horns, wires, fans, air conditioning condenser, power steering cooler, etc. It's all gone now, so the air has a straight shot at the rad. If we get heating problems, we can remove one or both of the panels as they're just zip tied in place. So, we'll keep an eye on the temp guage and go from there.

See you soon!

[Do It Sidewayz]

The new tank hangs down to the same depth as the stock tank

Don't give me targets....no one know's what i might do ;)

And yes. Them there Turbo motors are thirsty. I'll use about a tank a day if we run both First and Second Driver, in our turbo subie. I've seen it use about 1/4 tank when we race after studs (that could be cause i only lift off for 2 corners).


And did you guys move the Intercooler to the front of the car?? Alltracs come with a TMIC (top mount). And they were a Water-to-air intercooler.

As for the cooling problem. Yes...even mine will do it. After a hard 12 laps it'll creep up a little bit. That is usually when i'll crack the rear windows a little (yep still power), and crank the heater up. Also, as with any turbo car. Let the thing idle down, once you get to your pit for about 3 mins, or until the cooling fans turn off. Hot oil on the turbo makes a mess.

and it's good to see that the alltrac will be out there again.

[Gary]

Chris:

Targets? Well, we could always paint one on one of the other cars.........might give us something to shoot at... As for us, I think we'll just try to stay out of the way for the first few races...

We may have to rethink fuel strategy, though. We were hoping to bring up enough Sunoco 94 to last the weekend. A tank per day with two drivers must work out to something like 80 to 100 liters per weekend. :eek: That's way too much fuel to bring up in the back of our van, and I didn't see a Sunoco anywhere near Minden.

Did you get your fuel in Minden last year? Use an octane booster or race gas? Everyone with a turbo or a high compression engine must have the same issue?????

The radiator portion of the intercooler on the 1988 Alltrac is actually in between the regular rad and the front bumper rather than on top of the engine. That's why we moved it back as far as we could, and put a bar on top of the bumper. It was, and still is, fairly vulnerable to damage from front end contact. Later model Celica's had the whole intercooler system on top of the engine. I'm hoping we can keep ours in one piece, although you've now got me thinking we maybe should have moved it to the top of the engine and cut a hole in the hood. I guess we'll see what happens.

Finally, based on what you and Tom are both saying about the engine temperatures at the end of the races, I think we'll remove the nice panels we made to fill the gap between the bumper and the hood and start with maximum cooling. No sense risking overheating on day one.

[Gary]

Delivered the car to Minden today. Took a walk on the track. Looks great! Straight is certainly longer than last year!

Hoping for next weekend.........

[miataboi]

...a little mole told me the snow banks are closer to 4 ft. tall, than 6 ft.

[max attack]

Luckily the rules don't require 6' banks!

I'll be taking the mighty colt on friday night or saturday morning,because of some issues(and freaking cold temps) I haven't even started it in over month and a half so hopefully the things good to go come the weekend.Oh yeah still gotta make # board's,mount belts and get the damn brake light to work again-can do that at the track no problem!:D
I wonder why ice races never seem to have the car ready on time?,maybe its becuase most of us are using cars other people have long ago given up on as junk.

[Do It Sidewayz]

as far as fuel is concerned....A Pioneer has just opened in town. They sell 93 Octane.


now if you do a litlte bit of research, you will find that Pioneer is supplied by Suncor, which is Sunoco. Then go and compare fuel specs. You will find that Magnum 93 = Ultra 94. Just Pioneer has an agreement to not call it 94, as Sunoco wants the "highest" octane on the market.

Your car aint' gonna notice a 1 octane difference.

oh...and octane booster.. you are throwing away money...if you want to buy it. go ahead, but you could just deposit the money into my pocket if you feel like pissing it away.

If you want REAL octane booster, go to the paint store, and buy some Toluene...search the net and you will find enough how-to's on mixing your own "race gas" good results can be had also.

[Gary]

Yup, saw the Pioneer. Checked the pumps. Saw the 93. Think that will work just fine. But, just so you know, even if Sunoco supplies Pioneer 93, I wouldn't assume it's Sunoco 94. That's because additives and final mixing are done when the fuel is pumped from the tank at the refinery. Point being that Sunoco 94 and Pioneer 93 can come from the same refiner/same storage tank and be different fuels. The additive package does make a difference. Not saying they aren't the same, but on balance of probabilities, I'd bet they aren't. Additives cost money. In any event for this purpose it doesn't matter, so long as there's no detonation, and Pioneer 93 should do the trick.

As for fuel mixing, Toluene, Benzene, and a bunch of other unmentionable and truly nasty stuff, I'll give that a pass. I know enough about that to want to run gas I can buy from a pump.

Track sure looks good doesn't it? I'm real impressed with what I saw on Sunday.

[Do It Sidewayz]

Track looks. good..


and soo does my car (it was sitting about 2 over from your trailer)

You scratch my car.....i scratch you face ;)

[Gary]

I understand. Scratches are not good. There's all these blue marks on the bumper of the Toyota. Scratches. Even gouges. From some guy last year.

I saw your car. Looks good with the new paint......Wait a minute.....didn't it used to be blue???:D

[Do It Sidewayz]

no no....those marks on your bumper would be "scuffs" or "chips" those are ok....it's scratches that are the worst ;)

and if that thing wasn't so big and heavy i wouldn't have to use more "effort" to move it outta the way ;););) normally it's hardly noticable

[max attack]

The truth Chris is that your young and impatient and simply didn't pick your spot to carefully before your pushed your way thru my car!.You knew your car had a significant traction advantage over my fresh and underdevoloped car and simply waiting untill the turn in for the next corner would have resulted in no contact.Some thing caused you to bend the center of car in after drifting into me half backwards the other time.Don't forget it is heavy but its also toyota tough-your subes don't want to start bashing it too much more as I'm sure you'll come out on the losing end.
No big deal really-just letting you know that if I every run your class again and the situation is reversed don't be surpised to get just as big a rub!:D
You should be safe for awhile since I'm getting more involved with summer time stuff(much nicer weather!) and don't have to much effort/cash left for the ice racing.If I ever do build another ice car it'll likely be a stud car with my corolla.

[Gary]

OOOOhhhh. Scuffs and chips are OK. Whew! I'm so glad you told me. I was starting to worry that they were scratches, and that we'd lose points in the concours judging........ There is a concours judging, of course...right? I mean, there just has to be one.....:cool: there just has to be.....after all that work with a toothbrush and all, we'd be just so, well, disappointed if there weren't. :rolleyes:

As for being slow, and big, and heavy, and in the way, and all that, well, you know, the suspension was wounded last year. That's fixed, and there's been a bit more work done. The result may be that it will be even slower. On the other hand, it might be faster.....

We'll find out soon.

[max attack]

Don't forget that front strait is longer this year!-if that sucker can find the exit grip those subes are in trouble,of course what gets going also has to get stopped so.....
Sorry Chris but if that little worn honda wagon with all of about 75hp of mine could outrun your turbo subes so easily the celica when fully sorted should prove very quick-don't forget you guys have YEARS in the same cars so you can't say the car will always be in your way;)
Oh and gary I forgot to tell you that the center diff is adjustable on the celica-need to start playing with that(or simply get it to lock as much as possible for starters).Jimmie Feney has a fuel cut defenser for the car and is willing to bump the boost back up if you haven't already.The car was stupid fast last year when I was running 14lbs-too bad the boost controller malfunctioned,hmm-wonder what say 16,17lbs would be like right after a stud race?.:cool:

[Crusher45]

Don't forget those purple flags will be at the end of the straightaway.

[Do It Sidewayz]

oooook....i was havin some fun, and get flamed for it. :rolleyes:

wasn't a shot at the car, or the driver for that matter.

Frankly. i was more than impressed with how you got that car to work. I honestly thought it would be about 10 times worse than it was. But i was impressed!

And yeah...sometimes i'm a little impatient.

That Civic was good man....why you think i drive a 1700 lbs, and 70 hp Justy on the street?? Light and 4wd works.

BTW...this season could be fun....i done think we have a 323 GTX driven by some guy who's name starts with Mc, and ends with rath.

Should be fun....i hope.

Anyways..i guess i shoulda zipped up my nomex in the first place :rolleyes:

[Director]

Originally posted by Crusher45
Don't forget those purple flags will be at the end of the straightaway.

The hell with the purple flags, what about the snowbanks as you go flying over the end and miss the turn all together!
HeeeYah!

[Gary]

oooook....i was havin some fun, and get flamed for it.

Hope you didn't take my post the wrong way. I laughed at your reply. I was hoping you'd laugh at my response, 'cause I was grinning from ear to ear as I wrote it.

Also, I can't imagine Tom meant anything other than good fun either. IMHO, he's just being his usual extroverted self

Keep smiling:D

[Do It Sidewayz]

nah man...you were good. I thought you'd get a kick outta it, and i got a kick outta yours.

[max attack]

No worries Chris,like I said no problem's.When I make a mistake resulting in contact I usually beat that person back to their pit to tell them what an idiot I was,gravel for forgiveness or help straighten panels etc.(did you read russ bonds ice race recap in IT?he made mention of my tagging his MR2 really hard-said my apologies seemed sincere enough!!he seemed really pissy at the time however!!)
Same holds true when I have an issue with someone else beating on my car intentionally-you'll remember that I wasn't down to see you after you brushed me aside!:D
I didn't realize Tony had a gtx,I heard he was running an RX7 in studs-does that mean the gtx is for rubber?.Gary has been hard at work lightening the car and fixing the bad upper strut mounts that I didn't discover untill just before the season started(causing big time camber/toe changes)so I would expect the car to be much easier to drive which should also = faster.
If he's running 4wd rubber I wouldn't worry to much if I was you with that sube-I doubt there's to many people that will catch you consistantly given the set-up time and your ability to make it do its thing.(as long as the head gaskets stay intact!! :o )
Oh and Perry the celica does have some issues with the whoa thing(mostly because the go thing is so good)-I even replaced the twin piston front calipers with single piston ones off a fwd version hoping to limit wheel lock up-didn't help that much!.I rember being glad the banks were nice an big more than once last year!.