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Rainier Auto Sports Club

The Wishbone Alley Gazette

January, 2004

 

Rally News

Alcan 5000 in the winter: When the temperature stays at �30, weird things happen. The humidity goes to zero- all the moisture in the air freezes to the nearest cold surface- like the roof of the car (above the headliner), where it will thaw and drip somewhere in lower B.C. Fingernails get brittle, and snap like a potato chip. The engine control system gets confused and mileage plummets.

Gerald Hawley set his can of Coke on the roof of his truck while gassing up. By time he hung the nozzle back on the pump, the soda was frozen solid. Heck, pop left in a �cooler� overnight is frozen the next morning!

The sky is so clear! �Starlight� takes on a new meaning when the Orion constellation is viewed. Plus the whole Milky Way.

Add in the rare chance to meet other crazy people, who usually prove to be resourceful, and incredibly generous. Most participants come back with a new appreciation for civilization. The camaraderie is a highlight of the trip.

The Alcan starts February 18.� The latest news is at www.alcan5000.com.

*Ben Bradley has joined the SCCA Performance Rally Board (PRB).

* PRB dropped Wild West, sponsors drop out of the series.

Might not be a connection, but one might wonder.

Mitsubishi dropped their entire program; the Air Force Reserve won�t sponsor a team (but will honor a previous commitment to provide support $$ to the rally organizers). Subaru decided not to field a factory-sponsored team, but will support private entrants in various ways.

* At the moment, SPEED channel won�t be carrying the SCCA PRO-Rally�s.

* From Tom Palidar: �A Championship just for those folks who run Unlimited or Equipped classes. So here's how it works: Anyone can enter each of the four events (see below) & earn points towards the coveted trophy...a very nice jacket. But you need to be a member of the following NWRC Club (CSCC, FOOTZ, ORCA, PSRC, RASC, SCCA, or TS,) sometime before April 10th, 2004. Each Championship competitor picks three of their best scores for determination of final results & the trophies will be handed out at the July or August Friday Nighter NWRC rally. And...the final qualification is that you must also work one of these events & be confirmed by that sponsoring club.....no exceptions

Oh yes...these Championship Jackets are only for Unlimited, Equipped classes & for those "Masters class" rallyists who sign up in the SOP class for these events.  The NWRC SOP & Novice Championships have their own criteria since they are only part of the NWRC Friday Nighter series & therefore points earned are the same as last year...but just within that series....not these events.
Here's the schedule:
January 25- Armageddon XXII Duex, Chuckanut
February 29th Kechtum If You Can, PSRC
April 18- Raindrop, RASC
May 15- Sno-git, ORCA

And just so you know.... since each event will have trophies for UNL, CALC, SOP, & Novice...it is important to take advantage of EARLY REGISTRATION. Each club bases their trophy purchases upon how many folk are entered in each class & if you don't sign up early.... they have no way of having the proper amount of trophies for each class...so get to it.

The first event "Armageddon XXIII Duex" has EARLY REGISTRATION closing on January 18th.... you can reach them via http://www.chuckanutscc.org/ & select 'schedule'.... down to 2004 section & link in to the Armageddon XXII link.

Club News

There was no December club meeting.� There was only a vote to select the board for 2004.� Winners were: Willey, Horst, Hines, Crippen, Millman, Jones.

Later there was a Board meeting.� The Board decided the following position assignments:

Trivia

Modern cars have an electrical output from the Engine Control Unit (ECU).� The ECU is already inside the car. How sweet- just tap into that and �condition� the output to plug into the rally odometer.

In the case of my WRX, this is a tiny transistor and a resistor- it could fit in a 1/4� phono plug, as Glenn Wallace does. The Lingbloom�s new Subaru Forester would be easy.

All was fine until Ken turned off his driving lamps while measuring Armageddon. His Timewise 547 reset itself, just like a power interruption. Ken tried just about everything, then did the rest. Still an instant reset when the lamps were switched off.

At the RASC Christmas Party, Kirk Simons brought his Timewise. It did the same thing. We plugged my Timewise 797 into Ken�s wiring, but without the problem! Couldn�t duplicate the problem in my Subaru.

We fit another conditioner. Cut the ground. No hope. Ken is going to have to fit a probe.

Sharing with other RASC members, brought out other horror stories. The best was that John Kisela gave up and runs his Timewise from a separate battery in the back seat.- MN

This consists of a pair of rollers with the RI�s taped into a long ribbon and �rolled� from one roller to the other, with a hard surface in between to show the RI�s. A (big) rubber band connects the rollers to keep it neat. This is easier than a big clipboard on the dash, but it takes time to tape the RI�s together.

Eric Horst and Steve Willey looked at the Stevens Reader (the �standard�) and came up with a design of their own. Besides a shield to keep the RI�s from reflecting off the windshield, they made provisions for having more than one set of rollers, so all the RI�s don�t have to be loaded at once.

We await the next generation design, when the reader board can be backlit for night rallies.

Nolte has built 5 readers so far. The first design weighed too much, the second was too narrow- the pages needed to lined up very carefully. The 3rd attempt was too light, and cracked when it was bungied to the dash.

If you have some ideas about this, let Nolte know.

FOR SALE / Wanted:

RASC Calendar

Jan. 31- SCCA-NWR Rally Awards & Worker�s Party. Little Creek Casino.
DIRECTIONS:  From north or southbound I-5, take Exit 104, onto Hwy 101 toward Aberdeen.  Take the Highway 101 exit north toward Shelton/Port Angeles.   Take the Highway 109 exit.  The casino is visible on the left.  The casino hotel is open.  Room rates are: $89 standard, $149 Spa and $189 Deluxe.  Call:  800-667-7711
www.little-creek.com   For additional information call John Forespring at 360-943-2191.

 

2004 Northwest Stage Rally Schedule

Rallying in B.C.

Local TSD

� Call the NWRC Hotline (206) 256-9627 for latest info on Puget Sound TSD events. NWRC Friday Niters start at the Eastgate (Bellevue) Park and Ride. Reg opens at 6:45, FCO 7:31

SCCA National Pro-Rally

 

Calendar at�� http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/

and holidays at� http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/ and www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/facshts/stats.htm

 

Organizers please check for your dates.

 

SCCA ClubRally schedule not yet released

SCCA RoadRally National and Divisional schedules not yet released

CARS National Performance Rally schedule not yet final

WCRA schedule not yet released ���

IRC schedule not yet released

Pacific Coast Challenge schedule not yet released