Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

User avatar
drummingpariah
Posts: 498
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:13 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Manchester, NH
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by drummingpariah »

Wow, you've been really busy! It looks like most of this is repair/fine-tuning, which must be nice.
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Posting up more recent info in advance to the dreaded "big wiring project" update.

Tuning at http://www.VEMS.us in Colchester, VT... they also just hired someone (Nick) who tunes Subarus!

Image

Results: 335.9 wHP and 318.8 wTQ.

My goal was to move the power band down in the RPMs to give me more low end TQ. Surprisingly, it gave me a lot more TQ and HP, lower TQ RPM, and less boost!

From Jason (VEMS):
"The peak torque from before is matched 500 RPM sooner, but still climbs. At 4500 RPM (peak torque) it's almost 100 ft-lb ore than last time.
Now at 16 PSI boost instead of 20 PSI and I did take a bit of timing out of the top end because it didn't affect torque, so power timing is better"

What does this say? More power at the low end, more TQ overall, and a great tuner that is paying attention to things to ensure a good and safe tune. And he is local!

(the little spike to 350 wHP is due to the RPM pickup on the dyno)

Image

Image

First event of the year is at the SLMP track in New York; had a great time in the Subaru WRX, but it rained all weekend.

First hillclimb of the year is the New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA) Mt. Ascutney hillclimb sponsored by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire.

Had a great time and the weather was great.

Make sure you select 1080 HD for video quality.



Here is a side by side from Ascutney #1 in 2016 (top) and 2017 (bottom)

(Top) 2016 2:56.10 | 302.4 wHP and 275.1 wTQ
(Bottom) 2017 2:57.79 | 335.9 wHP and 318.8 wTQ

Runs seem pretty much the same. A little slower in 2017, but many factors can play into the time difference, so I would call them pretty much the same. I think Okemo (more of a power hill) will show the difference in TQ in HP much better than the bumpy Ascutney.

Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Trying something new.

I sent the broken axle (broke half way up the Ascutney hillclimb.... kinda in the straight) back to DriveShaft Shop (DSS). The outer CV join on the passenger axle broke.... it always seems to be this axle and this CV.

I am waiting to hear back from DSS.

In the meantime, since I have heard a lot of success stories with Raxle, I contacted them via e-mail.

Immediate response via e-mail that prompted a little back and forth conversation with Marty... the person from the e-mail... asking me to give him a call so that we could discuss options.

First, I have to say I really enjoyed talking with Marty. Down to earth.

After discussing my challenges with axles, the hills, the bumps, the power.... I ordered a set of race Raxles from Marty.

What does Raxles have to offer:
I haven't tested them yet, but based on our conversation, a superior axle
Great customer service based on my experience
Race axles (as opposed to their street axles) guaranteed for life (I pay shipping both ways) even with racing! (big selling point.... Marty said he hopes he never hears from me)

Based on personality and customer service, I highly recommend Raxle.

Now, the major decision point will be how they hold up with racing on the rough roads where lifting a tire, under power, in a corner is very common.

We will see.

And... I spoke with him late this afternoon and already have a UPS tracking number, which means they are on their way. Sweet!
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

And another "Plan B"

I was having issues with the Tirerack.com website (would not process the order, regardless of the browser or computer I was on) both yesterday and today.

Did a search for Toyo R888R tires and Phil's Tire Service in New York came up: www.philstireservice.com/

Prices were pretty close if not better (I was unsure what the shipping price was on TireRack due to issues).

Ordered a set of 235-40-17 Toyo R888R tires. Note, there is an extra "R" at the end as these are different from the normal R888 tires that I run. Better dry traction... unsure what that means for wet traction.

We will see.

Steve
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
sdwarf36
Posts: 822
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2004 6:06 pm

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by sdwarf36 »

If you need something from tire rack-and can wait for a hillclimb delivery, let me know, The warehouse is in Windsor, CT. Right on our way.
Translating road racing to hillclimbing:
Proper tire selection== nothing hooks up on moss or wet leaves.
Staying on the racing line==anything paved is considered good.
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

sdwarf36 wrote:If you need something from tire rack-and can wait for a hillclimb delivery, let me know, The warehouse is in Windsor, CT. Right on our way.
Good to know. I appreciate the offer.

Steve
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

I keep breaking the passenger side axles.... I believe this is because it is longer and there is more leverage applied to the outer joint (the part that keeps breaking).

Why don't I fix the problem to remove the longer axle from the equation. Good idea.

Epiphany!

My plan was to get into the Scirocco right after the Mount Washington Hillclimb in July.

But, it might be time to jump into it now as the Scirocco has an intermediate shaft setup so that the axles on the car are equal length.

I figure this is something that I could copy for the Golf.

Hmmmm......

But, in the meantime, while the DriveShaft Shop (DSS) axle is back with DSS for repair, I looked at other axle options.

Naturally, I ended up on Raxles website (http://www.raxles.com/) and had a conversation with Marty to hammer out what I needed.

The axles arrived yesterday.

I was very impressed with the boxes and overall packaging. Yep, seems immaterial as the quality of the axles is all that truly matters, but it was definitely bonus points.

Image

The axles seem very solid and well constructed.

Image

All new hardware with idiot proof instructions. Bonus!

Image
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
walterclark
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:57 pm
Location: Dover, MA.
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by walterclark »

I have used Raxles for years for the GTI and love them. Very picky people. They stopped stocking axle sets for the A2 sometime ago because all the OEM German splines shafts for the drivers side were either too worn or damaged and they would not use inferior OEM Brazilian or aftermarket far east parts. I started hoarding good spline shafts and buying their CV's as needed...Over the years I broke a total of 2 outers... both driver side and both snapped off at the base of the splined stub where it seats into the hub bearing (a well known weak spot in the design of this generation VW driveshaft).
The older I get the better I was.
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Okemo hillclimb was a lot of fun.

We had some technical issues on Saturday morning (a perfect storm) where everyone came together to find a solution. Great event!

Because Okemo (very fast hill) is the event prior to the Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb on July 7-9, 2017 (aka "Climb to the Clouds"), I decided to put the car in the trailer after two runs on Sunday to make sure I did not do anything stupid.

There is a bit more time in the car... apparent because I noticed many places where I could have driven soooo much better. Wished there was an Undo button on the dash to redo the previous corner. Oh, well, next year.

My top speed in the straight was 113 mph on Sunday. I think my speed was 118 mph in the past (if memory serves), but I am sure it is slower because of the smaller hot side turbo. It was not from lack of trying.

Video from Okemo... New GoPro5. Used the GPS to map the track, get speed (wasn't close after check 7, but dead on in straight per the radar gun), and used the GoPro "Quik" editor. Simple, but clunky, and I am unsure if I can add any photos, etc. for intro screen. Still learning how to use it.

Recorded at 1080 dpi and 120 fps. Doesn't "wow" me on the quality on my computer, but it might be excellent on the TV. I might have to reduce the fps to get some of the detail for the fast sections.

Frustrated with the phone interface so far... was able to connect at home, but after I powered it off using the app, I could not connect again. Menu is a bit clunky for using wifi. Could be simpler.

I'm sure my lack of experience with the new camera played into it also. I will find an expert (my lovely wife Julie) to figure it all out for me.

Video will be available soon... it is taking a while to upload and process. Youtube tells me it will be available here:



A friend of mine in Canada (Ralph) drew the Rabbit Farmer Racing image for me. I added the text to the wheel to personalize it a bit. A Youtube video crash course on how to use Adobe Illustrator was in order. I got through it... looking forward to the other toys in AI. I am very familiar with the basics of Photoshop, so this is a very different world.

I have ordered a bunch of these shirts (long and short) in pink (for the wife), dark green (color of the car) and black (just because).

Image

Coming soon... actually, next week, Climb to the Clouds. The official credentials arrived. Good thing they spelled my name correctly. ;)

Image
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
User avatar
Rabbit Farmer
Posts: 2260
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 11:37 pm
AntiSpam: No
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: Rabbit Farmer's various VW Projects

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

So.... this was Friday at Mt Washington.

Saturday and Sunday went a lot better.

Photos and videos coming soon.

Image
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
Post Reply