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NEW LIVERY REVEALED AT PRESCOTT RALLY!Since shaking down the car at North Nevada, the rallynotes.com graphics package and body work have been applied. The cute Dodge Neon is transforming into an SRT-4 beast! Driver Kristopher Marciniak talks about the new livery: “One thing that’s always … Continue reading
What makes it a rally car? The suspension.I’m going to break into a topic that is critical for your success in rally, costs a lot of money, was once a bit controversial on rallynotes, and a subject I’m still learning about after 7 years in the sport: … Continue reading

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A little too ambitious: Switch Panel Redo

This project started out simple enough: Change out the unlabeled panel switches and finish all the little wiring for the 2GN. I ordered new toggles and dual color (red and green) LED’s. After mapping it out I had 3 more switches on there, less room for labels, and less room for fuses. A day of carefully planning out the layout – oh it’s midnight, guess I should go to bed. Two more days go by and I haven’t even touched the dashboard.

I remember the clutch disable, the fan override, and the radio connections. I remember that I left the rear speakers in the car for the ham radio. I print out harness diagram for the high beam enable. I manually pin out the harness for the windshield washer motor. I drill the new panel and figure out how to label everything and put it to rest for another day.

2GN_redo_switches

Today, just as I’m about to close up the dash I discover that the green LED’s need switched power. As constant power will eventually drain the battery. I can grab switched power from the radio harness, that leads me to the another hour of wiring needed for the speakers I forgot about. I’m about to close up again and I discover that the circuit that controls the washer motor also runs the wipers and I lay waste to an LED as way too much power feeds back into the circuit. A relay and some emergency in-car soldering gets it working again. I triple check everything and button it up at 9PM. Rally car switch panel redo - completely underestimated. ;)

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Peltor FMT120 to Kenwood Ham Radio

The information for this adapter was floating around the internet, but it was vague and didn’t have any radio specifics. Plus I was unsure about PTT operation. The pin configuration was listed two different ways, so I created and confirmed the pin-out diagram below with my TM-V71A. If you have a different radio or want to connect other audio or cellular devices to your Peltor intercom (FMT120 or FMT200), it should be easy to re-configure. I covered connecting a GoPro Hero3 up to the Peltor in a previous post. Added note: PTT operation on 90% of radios involves grounding the PTT pin.
peltor_wiring_kenwood_sm
peltor_cableCheap as can be: Order the $7 TA5FL female 5-pin connector. Lop off the end of a CAT5 or 6 patch cable. Cut up a 3.5mm stereo cable. Solder! Heat-shrink! Enjoy.

Going super fancy? You can add a separate illuminated PTT switch closer to the radio like I did, but don’t worry, the expensive PTT switch for the Peltor will still work as well (or in conjunction). Or just source an MP-101 and a normally open momentary switch for $5.

Buy it instead of building it: Something on this page from ruggedradios.com might work for you. I’m moderately sure that the wiring for the TA5FL is the same. No ham radio license yet? You could always just connect to your cell phone.

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GoPro Hero3 + Mic-In = Easy Co-Driver Audio!

gopro_faceFinally GoPro! No tiny pin iPod connector, no 5v pre-amp, no crippled downgraded firmware, just the mic-in cable and an easy off the shelf adapter from the Peltor. The adapter was super easy to make, but I have these kind of parts laying around. :) Look for a 3.5mm Stereo Plug to Mono RCA Jack along with an everyday RCA cable, and you’ll be up and running in minutes.
RAC-35S-1RCAF-2T

We’ll add the GoPro Frame mount for easy connection to the Hero3. The mic-in utilizes the USB connector and after an in-car test sounds great! Now our original Hero can go in his waterproof box + suction cup + tether for outside action shots!

EDIT: After posting this I tested 720P with both the Hero and Hero3 @ 60 frames per second. Checkout the handy chart I made for GoPro 720P. Notice the Hero3 grabs at twice the bandwidth, thus twice the recording space for the same time.

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The 2013 California Rally Series – Rally School

California Rally SeriesIf you are at all interested in rally driving. If you want to know what it takes to be the next National Champion. If you want to learn the details – everything from time cards to stage notes. You need to sign up for the CRS Rally School and Rally Cross – Saturday & Sunday, February 16 & 17, 20013 in Ridgecrest, CA. Hands down – the best money spent Rally School in the country! Drivers will get a detailed classroom course on car handling and then will practice with instructors. Co-Drivers cover notes & navigation in the classroom and then head out to practice with current and past co-driving champions. Rally-X drivers will get all the details on classes, car prep, and improving their technique.

We’ll be out there with the NEW rallynotes.com Dodge Neon! – Kris

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October 21st – Glen Helen Rallycross video

Here’s three runs – three different angles – from the Glen Helen Rallycross on October 21st 2012. I think this video best demonstrates that it’s more important to get into an area with traction, then take the true “racing line”. Hopping from dry patch to dry patch may not be a straight line, but it’s faster then losing time in the mud. – Kris

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NEW CAR COMPETITIVE RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX

Finally sporting the rallynotes.com silver and red paint scheme. The team unveiled the new livery at the Prescott Rally last weekend. This is the second car that Kristopher Marciniak has built from scratch and it marks a huge milestone in its development. “We tested the car for one day at North Nevada. New suspension, new everything. It was successful and the time was right to finish the car with a great paint job from Danny’s Auto in Long Beach,” said Kris. Vinyl and stripes from Streetwise Motorsports pull it all together and the lightweight hood from Seibon Carbon not only adds to the performance, but completes the “angry rally car” look. Kris adds; “I love it! This is the rally car that I imagined more then a year ago. It took a lot of work, but it came together great!”

On Friday evening; driver Kristopher Marciniak and Co-Driver (navigator) Christine Marciniak had just settled into a rhythm, when the dust settled in on stage 3. Christine recalls: “It’s never been this bad… I was very worried we were going to go off the road in a big way.” Visibility on the first night stage dropped to zero several times and driving lights became useless in the thick dust. Kris describes it: “We were flying along over a cattle guard and I was setting the car up for a left four (a fairly tight turn at speed) and a wall of dust just moved in. I had to come to a stop and find the edge of the road out my side window before continuing.” Dust was an issue for everyone and after the night was over it was a bit of a surprise to see the team in 1st CRS-2 and 1st in Open 2WD. “It felt like scoring spun a big wheel on Friday stage 3 and handed out random times. We got lucky and I think the fast section of Witty Tom was clear for us, but not for others,” adds Kris. See the video highlights at http://rallynotes.com/2012/10/2012-prescott-rally-highlights/

When they returned to the hotel on Friday night a tire change was performed and the service crew of Brian Driggs and Dan Green discovered a leaking strut. Doug Nagy of Streetwise Motorsports was consulted and late night strut repairs began. A call to Odi from FEAL Suspension gave the team clear repair directions. The leaking O-Ring was replaced and fluid was injected back into the assembly with some makeshift tools including a baby ear and nose cleaner. There is no more resourceful group of people then at a stage rally service park on a Friday night in Prescott.

Saturday morning sitting in 1st with a somewhat repaired rear strut, driver Kristopher Marciniak made the decision to go for it. The team of Eddie Fiorelli and Tom Smith (in 2nd) had been faster on every stage but special stage three. Michel Hoche-Mong trying to avoid a huge rock had crashed on SS2 Friday night. Michel, the clear favorite, was now unable to start day two and the podium was up for grabs. Fiorelli turned up the pace at the same time and beat the Marciniaks on SS5 & 6 in the morning. Now the lead was down to a handful of seconds and rallynotes pushed and won Stages 7, 8, and 9. Going into the final stage 10 with only a 5 second lead, both teams charged down the 20.1 mile Firstville stage. Kris describes: “A lot can happen on a 20 mile stage. We were going 90MPH in places I’ve never gone over 70. We got loose in the middle of the stage and clipped a rock, and I though – that’s it… but it was okay and we pushed all the way to the end.” The final time for Marciniak was 20:35, and Fiorelli had set an amazing 20:20 in his 2.0L VW Golf. Thus taking the lead and winning by a scant 10 seconds. “The competition of the California Rally Series is like no other series. We had a fantastic time pushing the new car hard, and doing great at our first big rally since 2008!” said Kris. The rallynotes team captured 2nd in 2WD at the 2012 Prescott Rally!

What’s next for the rallynotes.com team? Engine upgrades and a full 2013 season! The Marciniaks will be taking the next few months to continue the Dodge Rally Neon 2GN SRT-4 development. Be sure to watch the progress and updates on http://rallynotes.com and more frequent updates at http://rallynotes.com/tumblelog . We’d like to send thanks out to 2GN.org, Neons.org, and gearboxmagazine.com for their support!
See you on the stages!

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2012 Prescott Rally Highlights



Into the sunset, and then into the night – the team is slowed by dust and poor visibility. The next morning brings speed on Witty Tom and First View. Watch in-car from rally driver Kristopher Marciniak and co-driver Christine Marciniak

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2012 Prescott Rally – SS10 “Firstville”



This was the final 20 mile stage at Prescott 2012. The rallynotes.com team is flying in the hopes of beating Fiorelli / Smith. Even breaking their personal record by 30 seconds, it was still not enough. Twisty at the start – this stage is fast downhill into high speed sections.

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We take second in 2WD @ Prescott Rally!

Great rally! Great competition! We take second in 2WD! We’re packed up and heading home.
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Live Scoring link for Prescott

Live text http://rallydata.com/ColdFusion/LiveText_Display.cfm
Live scores http://rallydata.com/Results/Prescott_2012_NatScoreBoard.htm
We are car number 9!
First car off a 3:00pm

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