DirtFish Rally School

Dan wrote this about our experience at DirtFish...

 

We've been rallying for over 7 years.  Despite that fact, we really haven't had much rally practice.  Ever.  See, we have a somewhat unique arrangement where we share driving and co-driving.  We share the fun, and we share the investment.  The result is, however, we each only get half the drive time on stage roads.  And since we both have young families, we limit our rally weekends to 3-4 per year.  All that being said, with one year under our belt in our new Subaru, it long-past was time to get some concentrated seat time.

We first met the DirtFish guys at Oregon Trail 2010.  Beautiful sunny day in the Square, downtown Portland, surrounded by rally cars.  We said we needed to test, and to practice.  In our own car.  They squinted at us, and said maybe.  So we waited.  Last fall they were headed towards opening their 300 acre playground, and we checked in to see if they'd have us.  Again, maybe.  But persistence often pays off, and two weeks ago we got our chance.  Doug and I were the first to bring our own car to DirtFish.  After tacking a long-dong silencer onto our tailpipe we were almost as quiet as the school cars.

DirtFish offers a lot of seat time.  That's a very good thing.  We also got an experienced local rally guy, Nate Tennis, riding shotgun.  That sweetened the deal.  Nate's a mighty fine guy, and a helpful instructor to boot.  

Day 1 consisted of some brief chalk-talk, followed by basic skills development on the gravel skidpad, 90-box, and slalom.  Our car didn't want to do any of it.  What the heck?  We fussed with differential settings, tried to bed the new rear brakes, and got marginal performance.  We got what we deserved, I guess.  Just before arriving in Snoqualmie we'd upgraded transmission, differentials, rear sub-frame & links, and rear brakes.  And we had an unproven tarmac-based center diff controller to fiddle with.  Needless to say, nothing was dialed in.  Thank goodness they have a well equipped shop on the premises, and lots of open tarmac to do things like repeated 45-to-zeros, and figure-eight differential break-ins.  Our car must have been up on the lift 8 times in three days.  Talk about a good pre-season shakedown!

Despite all that, plus both a coolant leak and exhaust issues, we were able to participate in nearly all the Day 1 activities.  We did some pavement work to quicken reflexes, and practiced finding the limits.  we learned the simple lift-turn-brake rhythm of gravel slalom speediness.  And we got a lot of exercise for our left foot.  Trail braking practice was difficult for everyone.  Driving an AWD car (or FWD for that matter) requires a fine-tuned left foot.  Doug and I, being RWD rally guys, were still getting used to this whole concept.  Pulling the booster line off the brakes helped with consistency, and we soon acclimated to standing on the brakes sans assistance. 

Day 2 started with some Ken Block action.  Get the car sideways on pavement and keep it there around a giant skidpad.  Maintain the slip angle.  Minimal steering input required.  The school cars (Group N Vermont Sports Car prepared beauties) did a fine job of this task.  Our car was all or nothing.  All push, or full lock sideways.  What the heck?  Double-to-triple the rear negative camber might have had something to do with it, along with our massive COBB Tuning, ethanol fueled powwah (bwaahaahaaha).  Another trip to the lift and some twisting of our fancy rear links is all it took for a field alignment.

Day 2 afternoon we started to stretch out the fun with longer runs.  Pavement, then back to gravel.  By mid-afternoon we were playing in the Boneyard, a 2nd and 3rd gear gravel romp.  Our skills were building.

Day 3 was all gravel, all the time.  Longer and longer runs, linking the Boneyard, the Wedge and the Mill Run.  Lots o' seat time, especially since Nate let us drive most of the instruction laps (since it was our car, and since we were rally guys already, he figured the more driving time we got the better).  We got some nice video from our new camera setup, check the links!

So, what did we learn?  Was it worth the green, and the time?  I can't speak for everyone . . . but for me it was a slam dunk.  I learn best with some light instruction, then drilling.  I need to build it in, make the techniques natural.  This afforded me that luxury.  A luxury stage rally does not afford.  What did I take away?  Really, I learned how to turn the car with the brake.  Amazing what that pedal can do.  And on gravel things happen slowly, so braking, plus patience, plus judicious use of the go-pedal is what it takes to corner smoothly in our car.  

The DirtFish environment was a great one for learning.  And a great one for shaking down and getting to know a car.  They have a lot of pavement of all consistencies, and a lot of gravel.  Do I wish for more "real" rally roads?  Sure I do.  But do I fault them for what they do have?  Absolutely not.  We now have, right here in the Northwest, a true rally school property.  It's about time!  And I mean no offense to Paul Eklund's school, but at DirtFish there's just a lot more room to stretch your legs, to hit 4th gear and to drive with some real consequences.

The DirtFish people were all great.  Very friendly, very flexible, very accommodating.  The quality of instruction was solid.  The facility was beautiful.  Personally I love the decrepit buildings, the open expanses, the mill pond and the broken pavement.  Oh, and the water truck girl is hot.  At least I THINK she is. . . 

So yeah, go do DirtFish.  Take your rally car, or use one of theirs.  I'm certain it'll make you a faster, better driver.  We are. . .  :-)

PS for those considering bringing your car to DirtFish.  Make sure your exhaust is super secure.  The silencer hanging off the back of the tailpipe is a true rally test of your hanger quality and design.  Trust us on that one.

Photos and Video from DirtFish

Here are some great video and photos from our 3 days at the DirtFish Rally School.

We were the first team to drive our own car during the school.  The DirtFish cars are all orange.  So, for the school, we were the "blue car".

Our car looks similar, but there are a lot of differences under the skin.


To keep the neighbors happy, our loud car had to wear this extra muffler...

Here's Dan in the "Boneyard"...

Fun on the wet-down tarmac skidpad.

Here's Dan with our instructor, Nate Tennis. Nate is well know in the Northwest for being ridiculously fast in an underpowered Saab.  He had plenty of good advice for us.

 

Here's a video of Dan doing the Mill Run - The Mill Run connects several sections of the DirtFish property.  In this Video, Dan starts in the Boneyard, then through the Slalom, then finishes up in the Wedge.

Here's a video of Doug taking a turn in the Mill Run.  This was toward the end of the school when we were putting everything together....

Getting Ready for 2011

2011 is going to be a fun year.

First, the car is getting some upgrades:
- A 6 speed transmission
- A programmable center differential
- Some real competition differentials for the front and rear
- A nice twin-disc clutch, for faster shifting
- A SUPER NICE VIO Sport HD in-car camera
- A roof vent!

In April, Dan and I are going to the Dirtfish Rally School. Here, we hope to improve our driving a bit, and also shake down the new transmission.

Right now, the 2011 season is:
Olympus Rally, April 30-May 1st, in Aberdeen, WA
Oregon Trail Rally, May 13-15, in Portland, OR
Mt. Hood Rally, October, Near Hood River, OR

Plus, we will do 1-2 more rallies, but we haven't decided which ones yet.  There are 2-3 possible rallies in Canada, and rallies in Idaho, Nevada, and California that are possibles.  Much depends on other schedules.

Here are a few pictures from our recent work night:

Dan drills the first hole for the roof scoop...

Here's what it will look like.  It will be nice to have some fresh air in the car!  Plus, the positive pressure in the car will help keep dust out.

Here's the cool new camera.  We can actually mount it in a variety of places, so look forward to some new and interesting camera angles in 2011!

Here's the new Exedy twin-disc clutch, and the DCCDPro differential controller. The diff controller is something we can really geek out on!  We can adjust the diff based on whether we are accelerating, braking, or turning.  And, we can tell it to open the diff when pulling on the e-brake.  Should be fun!

Here's Michael - helping in the garage by hammering nails into a couple of boards.  He's been working on these for close to a year, and finally got all the nails in.  His reward:  He got to paint the wood Subaru World Rally Blue.  Lucky guy!

Motion Sickness!

This post is about barfing.  Or, really about trying not to barf.

We rallied for 7 years in the RX-7, and as long as I used the TransDerm Scop patch, I didn't get motion-sick.  Without the patch, I get violently motion sick... sometimes even in a street car.  And even once with the patch, I barfed in the car!  Laughlin, 2005 - It was dark and very very dusty and I lost it.

I barfed in my helmet once before- But that was in the baja car, before I realized how motion-sick I could get, and without anything except Dramamine to help.

Of course, I never get sick when driving!

But in 2010, I had a lot of trouble in the new Subaru rally car.  Some possibly causes:

- This car is MUCH faster than the RX-7
- The seating position is different from the RX-7
- The new car rotates about a different axis from the RX-7
- I may be developing a resistance to the scopolamine in the patch
- We've done recce events this year...

At a recce event, we drive the roads in advance of the rally.  That means that I have been putting the patch on a day earlier than usual.  So, I'd put the patch on on Thursday night for a Friday recce, and then leave it on for Saturday racing.  It's supposed to last for three days, but maybe it's wearing off too quickly?

I'm not sure what the cause, but I'm going to try again this year.  I may try using a fresh patch each night. 

Or maybe I'll just build a funnel and hose into my helmet!  :)

2010 Mt. Hood Rally

The Mt. Hood Rally was in October.

Dan got to drive!  He drove two stages, and was doing great!

But the, I got very, very carsick (again!).  I never barfed, but nearly fell asleep waiting for stage 3 to begin (while laying on a gravel road).  We made the decision that I would have to drive the 3rd and 4th stages - which is allowed by the rules.

Then we got to service, and were lucky to find a very good navigator, Kathryn Hansen, ready to sit in the car with Dan.  There were three stages to go.

I was listening on the radio, very eager to hear how things went.  Stage 5 went great!  But on Stage 6, I heard that they'd started, but never finished the stage.  Uh oh!


It turned out that they'd just barely slid off the road.... just enough to get stuck. Here's what it looked like:

Dan said that they were on a twisty downhill section, and the car just over-rotated a bit.  We're going to get the alignment checked out to see if that contributed a bit to the poor handling.


Here's a much cooler photo!

In the end, we did finish the rally, and we posted some competitive stage times.  Looking forward to 2011!

RalliTEK and Miles Around

During the Oregon Trail Rally, we helped put together this piece for Miles Around:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLd1E4eG54s

Oregon Trail Rally Update

The Oregon Trail Rally was May 14-16.  This is our home rally, based in Portland, but we haven't competed in it since 2005.  So, we were very happy to join the entry list for this year.

For us, the event started on Thursday at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland.  There's a big fan appreciation day there, with about 20 cars on display, as well as lots of vendors and giveaways.

After the fan fest, we headed over to the press stage at Portland International Raceway.  Dan and I both drove two times through the stage, which offered a nice warmup for the rally.  We were also interviewed by KATU, and helped with a skit for another local news reporter.  Fun stuff.  The KATU interview was aired on Saturday morning and I think again on Saturday night.  Good coverage for both the rally and our sponsors!

We set up our service area with Mark Mager, the other RalliTEK-sponsored car.  We had a very cool setup and I think the team looked very sharp.  Dan and I signed LOTS of autographs and talked with hundreds of people.  We had a little drama during scrutineering-  They use a long, articulated tool to inspect the turbo restrictor.  When they put the tool into our restrictor, it got stuck!  It wouldn't come out.  We thought we might have to disassemble the car.  But luckily, the chief Rally America scrutineer, Mike Hurst, had experienced this before and knew that we just had to let the car cool off-  The metal would shrink a little bit and it would pop out.  This did happen after about an hour - luckily!

The rally stages began Friday night.  There were four stages at PIR.  I got driving honors- which was cool because I know those stages very well, having chaired the Friday night event for 4 years.  I drove at a moderate pace - enough to put on a good show, but not enough to crash.  The stages are too short to gain a lot of time on anyone, but they're definitely long enough to hit something hard and end the rally early.  Unfortunately, the only tires we had to run were brand new gravel tires.  These were not the ideal for stages that were 70% tarmac, but these were the only tires we had mounted.  The tarmac definitely contributed to premature wear.  There were 3-4 great places on the stages to try the hydraulic handbrake, but I didn't have confidence in this on tarmac and decided to wait until we were on dirt to give it a yank.

Here's a Video shot by Dan Alexander.  Thanks, Dan!



The last two stages were in the dark.  We were very lucky to have just finished installing our new PIAA light pod.  We have two HID's and two hi/lo H4 lamps up front.  With the lights on, it really seemed like daylight!

Another video from Dan...

At the end of the night, we were in 6th place overall, just 2.7 seconds out of 4th.  Our teammate, Mark Mager was in first place!

We finished racing at 10 pm, and by the time we packed up and got on the road, it was past 11pm.  Then it was time for a quick car wash and 90 minute drive to The Dalles where Day 2 would start.  Luckily, we didn't have to report to Parc Expose until 10am.

On Saturday, Dan got to drive.  I was a little anxious about this because I'd gotten carsick at Olympus.  However, I think that may have been a result of using some outdated motion sickness medicine.  I wear a patch called Transderm Scopalomine behind my ear.  It gets put in place the night before, and normally I wake up feeling cruddy- Drymouth, yucky sinus, etc.  At Olympus, I didn't really feel those symptoms, but at Oregon Trail, I felt extra cruddy.  So, the drugs were working just fine.  Sunday would have 7 stages for 66 miles.

The first stage of the day was an 8 miler called Catch 'um.  A bit more anxiety for me-  I broke my street car while driving on this road last year.  It's INCREDIBLY rough.  It was good that Dan was driving, because I would have gone a lot slower than he did.  The stage starts out very smooth and fast, and then it crosses a cattle crossing where is apparently becomes unmaintained.  We were skipping right over softball size rocks and blasting across washouts.  At one point, we encountered triangles and came upon the badly rolled car of Dave Mirra.  Dan did a great job getting us through this stage.

The next stage was Fir Mountain, a stage that we know fairly well from previous rallies.  Dan was driving very well.  At the end of the stage, we passed Matt Weaver in our old RX-7 on the side of the road with a broken axle.  Our friend Bill Kostich (who helped build the new WRX) was co-driving for Matt.

We made it back to service with little drama.  I wasn't feeling great, but I think that was due to heat and a little dehydration.  After some food and water, I felt a lot better.

The next two stages were repeats of the first two.  However, the Catch'um stage was canceled because the very first car- Ken Block, encountered a local driving on the stage.  Nobody knows how this guy got on the stage, but we're all very lucky that he wasn't hit by a rally car moving at 100+ mph.  I wasn't too heartbroken either, since the stage was so rough.

On the next running of Fir Mountain, Ken Block rolled his car.  Dan was driving well again.  I was trying to keep up in the notes- It's a pretty busy stage.  On a fast, downhill "left 4", we went a little wide and started to go into the ditch.  This wouldn't have been so bad, except this ditch was full of trees.  I though for sure that we were going to hit a big tree head-on.  However, Dan surprised me by pinning the throttle.  The car bucked and bounced- We did hit some smaller trees, and nailed a huge rock or stump under the car, which pitched us back onto the stage road.  We were both a little shaken, but Dan kept powering through the stage and we knocked off 28 seconds from our first run through.

We then took on the new-to-us Starveout stage.  This stage was different in character from the first two.  It was more desert- wide open, dirt- dusty.  There was a fun long-downhill into hard right turn in front of spectators on this stage.

Here's a video from that spectator area - Dan Driving:


Back in service, we checked out the damage:  We knocked off the side view mirror, broke the rear taillight, broke the wing, scraped the rear bumper, and smashed the skidplate a bit.  We got away lucky, since we can pretty much just bolt new stuff on.  The car was still driving perfectly.

There were two more stages, with little drama.  We finished another day of rally!!  We finished 7th on stage times. BUT, a very rare penalty put us down to 11th overall.  This penalty was the result of exceeding the organizer's speed limit on a transit.  This was a road that would normally be 45 mph, but the organizers wanted us to do 15mph there in order to keep down dust and noise for a residence there.  I missed the note in the routebook, and we got busted. This was a big bummer, but we learned from our mistake and won't do this again!

At the end of the day, we hit the big party in the campground/service area.  The folks in Dufur sure know how to party!

On Sunday, I got to drive again.  There would be 5 stages for about 42 miles.  The stages were again open, desert style stages.  The organizers had to put some chicanes in place to slow down speeds a bit.  These are not generally ideal rally stages, but some of the chicanes were put in neat places- Dropping from the main road onto a driveway, and then following a hairpin turn to get back to the main road.  I pulled the handbrake for the first time ever at one of these chicanes- And the car rotated!!  This became an immediate addiction-  I'm glad we installed the "fun lever".

We set some good stage times-  6th fastest on the first two, then 3rd fastest, then 5th fastest on the last two.

On Saturday, we had the check-engine light come on once.  The car fell into "limp mode" on transit.  Sean from RalliTEK quickly diagnosed this and cleared the code, but the final fix would require a trip to the shop.  So, on Sunday, we had to stop a couple of times to reset the ECU.  This really isn't difficult, but it can be distracting, and as a result we missed a turn on a transit, arriving late to the start of a stage.  This resulted in a 1:10 penalty! Neither Dan or I have had any kind of penalty in 5 years, so to get two in a weekend was really disappointing.

Here's a vid from a Sunday spectator area-  A tough transition from loose dirt onto asphalt.  The handbrake worked great here!


Still, at the end of the day we finished 6th overall.  We would have been 4th if not for the penalty- and less then 30 seconds behind the 2nd place of Mark Mager.

We're happy with our results- We're steadily gaining speed in the new car.  It won't be long before we are battling it out for podium positions.

We were joined in service for this one by Patrick.  Patrick has been out to a few rallies and helped before, but he's never crew-chiefed.  He did an awesome job and we're hoping he'll come back out with us. We also had plenty of help from the RalliTEK crew.  We're very lucky to have all the help that we do.

In the end, Oregon Trail was one of our most exciting rallies in a while.  We had some minor dramas, we narrowly managed to avoid big damage to the car, and we finished all three days of rally.  I'm definitely looking forward to the next one!


We must thank RalliTEK for all of their support!  We could not do this without them.  We're also lucky to be running AMSOIL lubricants in the car- especially at this race where it was really hot and dusty.  And for Friday night, we got to try out our new PIAA lights, which are awesome. 

Our next rally is currently planned for October- The Mt. Hood Rally.  Hope to see you there!

(Note- all videos can also be found here in my Favorites section - In case they are slow to load from here. http://www.youtube.com/user/doughere2 )