AMS/NOS Energy Drink Pikes Peak International Hillclimb Car - 2009 Edition
Jun 29, 2009, 11:47 PM
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So after a gut wrenching DNF while leading an event, there has to be good news, right?
Two weeks later we had the car out at one of the local RallyCross events as part of the Colorado Rally Cup series. While we run based on the rallycross rules, our scores for the Colorado Rally Cup only pit us against other full blown stage rally cars.
Despite knocking down way too many cones, I was able to come away with the win. Several of the rallycross folks turned faster times after penalties were assessed, but if those pesky cones didn't count, I pulled FTD.
Dave
Two weeks later we had the car out at one of the local RallyCross events as part of the Colorado Rally Cup series. While we run based on the rallycross rules, our scores for the Colorado Rally Cup only pit us against other full blown stage rally cars.
Despite knocking down way too many cones, I was able to come away with the win. Several of the rallycross folks turned faster times after penalties were assessed, but if those pesky cones didn't count, I pulled FTD.
Dave
Jun 30, 2009, 12:18 AM
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With a 2 week break before our next hillclimb, I decided to start in on some of the little projects I'd been meaning to do but never found time for.
First up was getting the ACD pump moved from its vulnerable position behind the front bumper to a safe location. After speaking with ACP and the head of Rally America's rules board, I decided to move it into the passenger compartment behind the passenger seat.
My friends at Salta Motorsports in Denver helped out with getting hydraulic lines made, and I took care of the wiring. With only half a dozen wires or so, you'd think I'd have gotten everything right. I went thru and de-pinned the ACD harness and re-pinned the wires that needed to be changed one at a time. Unfortunately, when working on the last wire, I dropped the plug from my hand, and thought I put the new wire in the right spot, but managed to plug it in wrong. After some troubleshooting help, we got everything hooked up and working well. I even switched back to the stock ACD ECU to confirm that no codes/faults were present.
The second thing I noticed when pulling the skid plate off was that there was some dried coolant on the top of the skid plate. Careful inspection showed that the IC piping and the radiator were making contact, and the IC piping won the battle, rubbing a hole in the radiator tank. While removing the radiator, we managed to knick the core, and so I decided it'd be best to just replace it. Now running short on time, I had to see what was available locally. Carz Performance in Lakewood stocks a few radiators, and I chose to go with the CBRD slim radiator, as having the outlet away from the turbo manifold is something I really like. It also gave me enough clearance to go back to my puller fan.
Thursday night rolled around and saw me put the finishing touches on the car, including a late night tire swap in the garage. On Friday afternoon I backed the car out of the garage and it stalled out. A quick check of the fuse box showed the 20 amp engine fuse had blown, but replacing proved difficult. Knowing I was heading to a race with a few mechanics, I figured we'd lick the problem in the pits that evening. With the help of some fellow competitors, we got the car started up.
Saturday morning rolled around and we hopped in the car and drove down to the start line. All the rally class guys were required to grow moustaches in honor of Juha Kankkunen. I have no idea where the idea came from, but I didn't want to face the $100 fine for not trying. I'm sure terrible pics will be floating around soon. Excited for a crack at the Open Comp cars (since this is a flatter event), we set out on run one, but it was not to be. As the flag and my throttle foot dropped, the engine cut out and wouldn't restart. Still in view of the start line officials, we coasted the car back downhill in reverse.
During the split in run groups, we managed to get the car towed back to the pits for another go at fixing the issue. Once again, we got the car fired up, but on run two, we only made it 50 yards from our pit space before the fuse blew again.
Over the course of the afternoon and early Sunday morning, we were able to locate the problem to a switched power wire for engine sensors (red w/yellow stripe) that was permanently grounded. Unable to easily pull the entire engine harness in a field, we packed it up for the weekend and once again became spectators.
Wiring issues are always tricky, and I think I may be able to trace this one back to the car build. I started with a salvage VIII and IX. The engine fuse box harness from the IX was broken in several spots and coated in battery acid, so I sourced another one. The second one was better, but still had a cracked fuse box. With rally cars seeing so much vibration, it may have just been a matter of time before a couple wires chafed through. I did blow that 20 amp engine fuse 2 or 3 times since I've owned the car, so that may have been a sign of impending trouble. From the pic, you can see we isolated the problem to the harness with the 3 relays in it that bolts to the fuse box.
I'd love to put a proper motorsports harness in the car, but with 12 days before I want to test the car in PPIHC configuration, and 7 days before hitting the dyno with our new turbo, I think replacing the stock harness is the only realistic option.
I would like to thank the folks who I hit up for phone diagnosis (Eric J. & Martin @ AMS), and Ron & other CHCA'ers for spending time in the hot sun helping to ping lots of wires. I've located a replacement IX harness and hope to have it in my hands later this week.
That'll do it for updates tonight...more tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Dave
First up was getting the ACD pump moved from its vulnerable position behind the front bumper to a safe location. After speaking with ACP and the head of Rally America's rules board, I decided to move it into the passenger compartment behind the passenger seat.
My friends at Salta Motorsports in Denver helped out with getting hydraulic lines made, and I took care of the wiring. With only half a dozen wires or so, you'd think I'd have gotten everything right. I went thru and de-pinned the ACD harness and re-pinned the wires that needed to be changed one at a time. Unfortunately, when working on the last wire, I dropped the plug from my hand, and thought I put the new wire in the right spot, but managed to plug it in wrong. After some troubleshooting help, we got everything hooked up and working well. I even switched back to the stock ACD ECU to confirm that no codes/faults were present.
The second thing I noticed when pulling the skid plate off was that there was some dried coolant on the top of the skid plate. Careful inspection showed that the IC piping and the radiator were making contact, and the IC piping won the battle, rubbing a hole in the radiator tank. While removing the radiator, we managed to knick the core, and so I decided it'd be best to just replace it. Now running short on time, I had to see what was available locally. Carz Performance in Lakewood stocks a few radiators, and I chose to go with the CBRD slim radiator, as having the outlet away from the turbo manifold is something I really like. It also gave me enough clearance to go back to my puller fan.
Thursday night rolled around and saw me put the finishing touches on the car, including a late night tire swap in the garage. On Friday afternoon I backed the car out of the garage and it stalled out. A quick check of the fuse box showed the 20 amp engine fuse had blown, but replacing proved difficult. Knowing I was heading to a race with a few mechanics, I figured we'd lick the problem in the pits that evening. With the help of some fellow competitors, we got the car started up.
Saturday morning rolled around and we hopped in the car and drove down to the start line. All the rally class guys were required to grow moustaches in honor of Juha Kankkunen. I have no idea where the idea came from, but I didn't want to face the $100 fine for not trying. I'm sure terrible pics will be floating around soon.
Excited for a crack at the Open Comp cars (since this is a flatter event), we set out on run one, but it was not to be. As the flag and my throttle foot dropped, the engine cut out and wouldn't restart. Still in view of the start line officials, we coasted the car back downhill in reverse.During the split in run groups, we managed to get the car towed back to the pits for another go at fixing the issue. Once again, we got the car fired up, but on run two, we only made it 50 yards from our pit space before the fuse blew again.
Over the course of the afternoon and early Sunday morning, we were able to locate the problem to a switched power wire for engine sensors (red w/yellow stripe) that was permanently grounded. Unable to easily pull the entire engine harness in a field, we packed it up for the weekend and once again became spectators.
Wiring issues are always tricky, and I think I may be able to trace this one back to the car build. I started with a salvage VIII and IX. The engine fuse box harness from the IX was broken in several spots and coated in battery acid, so I sourced another one. The second one was better, but still had a cracked fuse box. With rally cars seeing so much vibration, it may have just been a matter of time before a couple wires chafed through. I did blow that 20 amp engine fuse 2 or 3 times since I've owned the car, so that may have been a sign of impending trouble. From the pic, you can see we isolated the problem to the harness with the 3 relays in it that bolts to the fuse box.
I'd love to put a proper motorsports harness in the car, but with 12 days before I want to test the car in PPIHC configuration, and 7 days before hitting the dyno with our new turbo, I think replacing the stock harness is the only realistic option.
I would like to thank the folks who I hit up for phone diagnosis (Eric J. & Martin @ AMS), and Ron & other CHCA'ers for spending time in the hot sun helping to ping lots of wires. I've located a replacement IX harness and hope to have it in my hands later this week.
That'll do it for updates tonight...more tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Dave
Jun 30, 2009, 09:32 AM
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Dave
Last edited by DaveK; Jul 3, 2009 at 10:54 PM.
Jul 3, 2009, 12:06 AM
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So Tuesday night I finally went out to unload the truck. Such a shame to be unloading fresh rally tires. 
Just now finishing up an epic day/night in the garage. Spent most of the day getting the new Fiber Images hood and trunk on the car and lined up for hood pins and terry springs. I also pulled off the stock fenders, side skirts and front bumper in preparation for the PPIHC specific parts.
Most importantly, it appears we've licked the wiring issues we encountered. Huge thanks goes out to Mike for giving up his evening to help me chase miles of wire around the car. Final diagnosis was that the wires for the Evap system were grounding out on the chassis, causing the engine fuse to trip. I had wrapped them all up and wire tied them together, but didn't think any were still live, so I didn't do a great job of insulating them. So...if you're removing emissions equipment (or anything else), remember to de-pin things. 
I'll try to rip around in the car a bit tomorrow before we get ready for the next parts install. Quite a few new parts already here or about to be, but I'll wait till I can post pics to spill the details.
Dave
Just now finishing up an epic day/night in the garage. Spent most of the day getting the new Fiber Images hood and trunk on the car and lined up for hood pins and terry springs. I also pulled off the stock fenders, side skirts and front bumper in preparation for the PPIHC specific parts.
Most importantly, it appears we've licked the wiring issues we encountered. Huge thanks goes out to Mike for giving up his evening to help me chase miles of wire around the car. Final diagnosis was that the wires for the Evap system were grounding out on the chassis, causing the engine fuse to trip. I had wrapped them all up and wire tied them together, but didn't think any were still live, so I didn't do a great job of insulating them.
So...if you're removing emissions equipment (or anything else), remember to de-pin things. I'll try to rip around in the car a bit tomorrow before we get ready for the next parts install. Quite a few new parts already here or about to be, but I'll wait till I can post pics to spill the details.
Dave
Last edited by DaveK; Jul 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM.
Jul 3, 2009, 09:08 PM
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I took a vacation day on Thursday and had today off, so I was able to make some good progress. A bunch of parts landed at Salta Motorsports today, but I didn't get to see those as I was working on my car at home in the garage. Those guys are busy prepping a car for "Cowboy Kenny" to take to the FIA event in Mexico. Here's a quick shot of the car up in the air. You can see the rally-style pin stands, which get the car nice & high, and give you plenty of room to crawl underneath.
I finally got around to installing the new superlightweigt Fiber Images Hood & Trunk on the car. Fitment looks pretty good, but my car's been banged up a bit. Best part, old hood = 22 lbs, new hood 6 lbs. Old trunk 22 lbs, new trunk 5 lbs.
Both parts have full under bracing so they are still reasonably stiff.
Next up was the Seibon widebody carbon fenders. Not sure what's up with fitment on these, but I had to push out the fenders mid-way down the wheel arch so the doors would open and not rub. These were used, but in pretty good shape, so not sure if I had issues because the car's been jumped.
Next up was the mods to the "new" front bumper. I scored it from a friend, and it had already been hit pretty hard on the bottom edge. The guy who wrapped my first one complained it was pretty hard to wrap because of all the angles in it. I figured why not try to seal up a bunch of the bumper to make the car a bit smoother thru the air. If it works for the drag race guys, why wouldn't it work for PPIHC...afterall, PPIHC is just 156 corners with drag races in between.
Keep in mind I've moved the ACD pump to the passenger compartment, and I've sourced a Mocal oil/water cooler, so my air/oil cooler is soon to be history.
Dave
I finally got around to installing the new superlightweigt Fiber Images Hood & Trunk on the car. Fitment looks pretty good, but my car's been banged up a bit. Best part, old hood = 22 lbs, new hood 6 lbs. Old trunk 22 lbs, new trunk 5 lbs.
Both parts have full under bracing so they are still reasonably stiff.Next up was the Seibon widebody carbon fenders. Not sure what's up with fitment on these, but I had to push out the fenders mid-way down the wheel arch so the doors would open and not rub. These were used, but in pretty good shape, so not sure if I had issues because the car's been jumped.
Next up was the mods to the "new" front bumper. I scored it from a friend, and it had already been hit pretty hard on the bottom edge. The guy who wrapped my first one complained it was pretty hard to wrap because of all the angles in it. I figured why not try to seal up a bunch of the bumper to make the car a bit smoother thru the air. If it works for the drag race guys, why wouldn't it work for PPIHC...afterall, PPIHC is just 156 corners with drag races in between.
Keep in mind I've moved the ACD pump to the passenger compartment, and I've sourced a Mocal oil/water cooler, so my air/oil cooler is soon to be history.
Dave
Jul 7, 2009, 11:09 PM
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I'd like to put a big THANKS out to the two newest sponsors on the team, Forced Performance and TiAL Sport. 
Big appreciation on my end goes out to Robert @ FP and Jake @ TiAL for getting parts to me on a tight deadline. I was up in the air about staying with our current setup (TR30R Garrett), but teething issues with rally style antilag made me think the 6000rpm choke point on the turbo made it less than ideal with spool being hurt by the altitude. The turbo made great torque numbers, but its a bit weird driving a turbo car that's peaking so early, and I found myself often hold gears too long. The new powerband should feel a bit mroe 'normal.'
The NOS/AMS Evo is now fitted a brand spanking new Forced Performance HTA 3582 on the car, and in conjunction with the AMS V-banded turbo kit, we're now running with a TiAL 0.63 stainless steel housing, completing the TiAL trifecta (BOV, 44mm wastegate, & exhaust housing). New parts only look shiny for a little while on a car that races in dirt.
With the help of my friends at Salta Motorsports we were able to wing the new turbo on the car, in just about two hours from driving in to driving out. Thanks to Brian & Steve for giving up their Sunday afternoon! First thing Monday morning, I towed the car over to Carz Performance in Lakewood for some time on their SuperFlow dyno. I wasn't able to find time to get a 2nd fuel pump put on the car, so our dyno session was a bit uneventful, as we simply ran out of fuel in the 25-26psi range. I'm still trying to decide if/when I can fit another walbro under the car and try for more boost. With a week and exactly 5 hours before the first PPIHC practice run of 2009, time isn't on my side anymore.
Still plenty to do before my first tarmac track day in the car on Friday, and I'll try to find time to snap more pictures. We'll see how big of a dent I can put into my personal best at PMI, 1:45.1...in a blown miata back in 2004 or 2005.
Dave
Big appreciation on my end goes out to Robert @ FP and Jake @ TiAL for getting parts to me on a tight deadline. I was up in the air about staying with our current setup (TR30R Garrett), but teething issues with rally style antilag made me think the 6000rpm choke point on the turbo made it less than ideal with spool being hurt by the altitude. The turbo made great torque numbers, but its a bit weird driving a turbo car that's peaking so early, and I found myself often hold gears too long. The new powerband should feel a bit mroe 'normal.'The NOS/AMS Evo is now fitted a brand spanking new Forced Performance HTA 3582 on the car, and in conjunction with the AMS V-banded turbo kit, we're now running with a TiAL 0.63 stainless steel housing, completing the TiAL trifecta (BOV, 44mm wastegate, & exhaust housing).
New parts only look shiny for a little while on a car that races in dirt.With the help of my friends at Salta Motorsports we were able to wing the new turbo on the car, in just about two hours from driving in to driving out. Thanks to Brian & Steve for giving up their Sunday afternoon! First thing Monday morning, I towed the car over to Carz Performance in Lakewood for some time on their SuperFlow dyno. I wasn't able to find time to get a 2nd fuel pump put on the car, so our dyno session was a bit uneventful, as we simply ran out of fuel in the 25-26psi range. I'm still trying to decide if/when I can fit another walbro under the car and try for more boost. With a week and exactly 5 hours before the first PPIHC practice run of 2009, time isn't on my side anymore.
Still plenty to do before my first tarmac track day in the car on Friday, and I'll try to find time to snap more pictures. We'll see how big of a dent I can put into my personal best at PMI, 1:45.1...in a blown miata back in 2004 or 2005.
Dave
Jul 9, 2009, 08:10 AM
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I'm continuing to make steady progress on the car. Last night I took the car out for a quick spin around the block, just to see what the new power felt like, and all I can say is WOW! Spool isn't quite as quick as I'd like, but I guess that's always the case. The nice thing about the power band is its very smooth, so I'm hopeful it'll feel very controllable when out on course. Allison had a 'holy crap' moment when I got onto the throttle for the first time, so I guess that's a good sign.
Here's what I knocked out so far:
-Picked up new front bumper from Summit Graphics with fresh wrap so now it matches the car.
-Swapped back to Brembos & PF-01 pads.
-Started installation of AMS brake ducting kit.
-Test fitting done on the new DHP Composites rear wing but still need to drill holes & trim trunk.
-Test fitting of the new 275-40-17 tires & 17x9.5 ET38 rims. Front fitment is no problem once I put in the spacer in. Seibon wide fenders mean there's plenty of room to space the wheel out...not sure about implications with fender liner, as it was removed. Rears are a bit more complicated. With no spacer they hit the spring coil. With a 5mm spacer, they clear the spring coil by ~4mm, but there is still a slight rub on the front suspension link. If I could add some more negative camber back there, I think I'd be ok, but not sure if that's possible. I think I'm at about -1.5 degrees.
Dave
The nice thing about the power band is its very smooth, so I'm hopeful it'll feel very controllable when out on course. Allison had a 'holy crap' moment when I got onto the throttle for the first time, so I guess that's a good sign.Here's what I knocked out so far:
-Picked up new front bumper from Summit Graphics with fresh wrap so now it matches the car.
-Swapped back to Brembos & PF-01 pads.
-Started installation of AMS brake ducting kit.
-Test fitting done on the new DHP Composites rear wing but still need to drill holes & trim trunk.
-Test fitting of the new 275-40-17 tires & 17x9.5 ET38 rims. Front fitment is no problem once I put in the spacer in. Seibon wide fenders mean there's plenty of room to space the wheel out...not sure about implications with fender liner, as it was removed. Rears are a bit more complicated. With no spacer they hit the spring coil. With a 5mm spacer, they clear the spring coil by ~4mm, but there is still a slight rub on the front suspension link. If I could add some more negative camber back there, I think I'd be ok, but not sure if that's possible. I think I'm at about -1.5 degrees.
Dave
Jul 9, 2009, 12:12 PM
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Dave - you are just like me with the changes right up til race time.
What are you currently running for a fuel system? You're on E85 correct? If you do the 2nd pump I'd use a Hobbs switch to make things easy. I fought with trying to get both pumps running full time and getting idle fuel pressure low enough. You don't have time for that!
It's almost go time!!!
What are you currently running for a fuel system? You're on E85 correct? If you do the 2nd pump I'd use a Hobbs switch to make things easy. I fought with trying to get both pumps running full time and getting idle fuel pressure low enough. You don't have time for that!
It's almost go time!!!
Jul 9, 2009, 12:56 PM
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They don't call it an Evolution for nothing!
I'm running E85. I have a somewhat local station that blends their own, and its the same blend year round.
Fuel System:
high output Walbro 255 in tank
AMS Surge Tank
in-line high output Walbro 255 (mounted to surge tank)
-6 feed fuel line to the rail (routed inside the car)
Aeromotive fuel rail
Aeromotive FPR
-4 return fuel line (routed inside the car)
I'm actually looking at using the two pumps in series (one feeding the other), but "safe" space under the car is hard to come by. I have to keep in mind that the car will eventually see stage rallies, so I need to make sure that an errant rock to a fuel pump won't take me out of a race.
I beleive the 'normal' way people add the 2nd pump is in parallel, which will yield a larger volume of fuel. Since I only need a touch more fuel pressure at the higer revs, Martin thinks plumbing them in series makes more sense for me...and it should be a simpler install too.
Dave
Fuel System:
high output Walbro 255 in tank
AMS Surge Tank
in-line high output Walbro 255 (mounted to surge tank)
-6 feed fuel line to the rail (routed inside the car)
Aeromotive fuel rail
Aeromotive FPR
-4 return fuel line (routed inside the car)
I'm actually looking at using the two pumps in series (one feeding the other), but "safe" space under the car is hard to come by. I have to keep in mind that the car will eventually see stage rallies, so I need to make sure that an errant rock to a fuel pump won't take me out of a race.
I beleive the 'normal' way people add the 2nd pump is in parallel, which will yield a larger volume of fuel. Since I only need a touch more fuel pressure at the higer revs, Martin thinks plumbing them in series makes more sense for me...and it should be a simpler install too.
Dave
Jul 9, 2009, 01:29 PM
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What do you have your current base fuel pressure at? Is the return line routed to the main tank or surge tank?
Come now, right now you only need a little more fuel. In three weeks you'll want more power and need even more fuel.
I'd run them in parallel.
Seems like you could add a second pump in parallel on the exterior of the surge tank. You'd just need to make sure the single feed pump could keep the surge tank full. But I believe AMS does this already. BUT, if you wanted to add the second pump in series you could add it inside the car after the surge tank.
I have an extra high-flow "Y" fitting if you want to do the parallel setup. They are hard to find...
Come now, right now you only need a little more fuel. In three weeks you'll want more power and need even more fuel.
I'd run them in parallel.
Seems like you could add a second pump in parallel on the exterior of the surge tank. You'd just need to make sure the single feed pump could keep the surge tank full. But I believe AMS does this already. BUT, if you wanted to add the second pump in series you could add it inside the car after the surge tank.
I have an extra high-flow "Y" fitting if you want to do the parallel setup. They are hard to find...