2006-04-20 - Round 2, Slab Common : Blog
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At the driver briefing the CoC described it as 'horrible' and a '3 1/2 mile
trials course' ! I'd been warned the course could be tough, but I was keen
to get out there. The first run was to be a potter to learn the course. I'd
spectated a few times at Slab over the years so knew roughly what to expect;
the deep sand, twisty sections through the pine trees and big holes cut by
the tanks over the years. They weren’t wrong about the 'trails course' I
recognised some sections we were driving through from an AWDC trial I'd
watched a few years ago. Rather than trying the 'wait until last' tactic
from Sidbury I thought I'd just get on with it and let people pass as
required.
So after bit of fun at the lights (why do they always go wrong for me?) we
were off. From the start the course entered a complex of corners through a
pine wood. I was surprised how tight some of the corners were, there were
already signs of a fresh collision on the bark of one of the trees. Some of
the bumps and cross ruts on the course were deceptively large and caught us
out resulting in cries of pain which you can probably hear on the in car
video. (see the downloads section).
I was overtaken just before mile 2 by a yellow Land Rover special but then
passed them several corners later. It seemed they'd broken down and were out
of the vehicle. I think they got going again which is good, it must be
terrible to go out of an event on the first lap, hopefully a feeling I will
never know!
Our first incident of the day came at the end of run 2. I over-cooked it a
little and clipped the final tree just entering the finish area. Luckily the
only damage was to the grille and another dent in the already dented drivers
side wing.
The mods to the cooling system seen to have done the trick as we were
running at the right temperature and not overheating despite the slow speed,
high engine revs and heavy load from the deep sandy surface. However at the
end of run 3 I realised the fan had stopped running and a quick diagnostic
traced it to the Pacet variable thermostat unit. I'm not sure if the sensor
tube has failed or if the wet sand had just shorted the unit. We decided the
easiest option was to hard wire the fan to on for the rest of the event and
look into it back at the workshop.
After about 4 runs I was under the bonnet again to check things over and was
surprised to find the power steering reservoir was red hot and overflowing.
I had checked it before the event and it was under half full. Matt said that
it was common on rally cars for the power steering fluid to boil. Later on
in the day we found quite a lot of sand was packing around the steel pipes
that run from the pump to the 'box. Although I doubt these pipes were ever
really designed to actively cool the power steering fluid I doubt burying
them under a couple of inches of packed sand really helps the temperature of
the fluid inside!
On run 5 or 6 I noticed (over all the other noise) a new tapping sound. At
the end of the run we pitted and had a good look over the vehicle.
Eventually we found the passenger side rear fox shock had worked loose. We
tightened it up and checked all the other shock bolts for tightness.
By about Run 7 the surface of the course was getting very cut up and the
front shocks were really struggling. Over many bumps we were bottoming and
then topping out on the suspension as there just wasn't enough damping to
keep things in check. When we 'pitted' at the end of the run we cleaned the
sand from around the front shocks and cooled the reservoirs with water. We
had a good look at the front of the car and decided that if we removed the
front bumper and grill it should improve airflow into the wheel arches.
Within a few minutes of beginning the next run the difference was noticeable
as the additional airflow cooled the shocks enough to return some damping to
the front suspension!
This episode has made me consider the standard bump-stops. As anyone who
heard me crashing around the course will agree the standard Suzuki items
aren't really up to much and need changing for something a bit more
progressive. Check straps at the front may also be a good idea and worth
looking in to.
Run 7 also saw me getting stuck for the first time. About 2 and three
quarters of a mile in the course passed through a deep hole before climbing
up over a knife edge crest. As the day progressed it was getting harder and
harder to negotiate and at this point I finally got stuck. After a bit of
running around moving vehicles I finally convinced the Marshals to just give
the Vitara a push – which was all it needed – to tip it over the top. From
now on this section was going to need full throttle and 100% commitment to
get over! As I drove away the spectators commented I had Rhino Ray to thank
for digging it up on his previous run!
Run 11 saw a broken rear window catch which had me worried for a moment
where the loud banging noise was coming from, so we had to take it easy to
get back to the pits without breaking the glass as it flapped around in the
trees!
Due to my (perhaps too) relaxed attitude in the morning by the end of the
day I found myself with 4 laps left to complete and only about 50 minutes
before I had to start my final run. This meant I had to drive the last 4
runs back-to-back, with only a quick splash and dash at the end of run 13 to
make sure I have enough fuel to get me to the end. I started the final run
with minutes to spare, and pottered around the final lap enjoying the
scenery for the first time and hoping the car wouldn’t go wrong!
Retrospective
Firstly I think I should say that I'm pleased I’ve managed to record a
'finish' on only my second event. Not only a finish, but 1st in class and
5th overall. Of approximately 25 starters there were only 8 finishers. (my
times can be found in the Results section of the Blog page).
The speed at which the course surface deteriorated surprised me. It got
harder through the day to maintain a good page over a lot of the course. I
think the moral of the story is get out early and get as many runs in as you
can whilst the course is good!
Apart from the broken window catch and the fan stat failing the only other
problem was a badly blowing exhaust due mainly to the beaching incident and
from hitting what appeared to be a rear drop-side from an abandoned Army
vehicle, discarded in the sand.
Despite the addition of fox remote reservoir shocks at the front the Vitara
is still experiencing bad shock fade - this is something I need to address.
I think airflow over the shocks themselves and the remote reservoirs needs
to be improved so its time to take a hole saw to the bonnet!
I expect this year to be a fairly steep learning curve for both vehicle and
driver, as I have neither raced nor prepared a car before. The course at
Slab was much harder than I had expected and I think it really took its toll
on the transmission of the Land Rover based vehicles. It seems the lower
weight and much lower power of the Vitara worked in its favour at Slab.
Following what we were told at the Drivers briefing it looks as if round 3
at Huntsham may not happen which would give a bit of extra time to sort out
some of the teething problems, and clean the car up before the next event at
Minehead in June. Either way, see you there!
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