Author Archives: Kris

Our YouTube Channel: youtube.com/rallynotes

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I’ve been getting some feedback that no one is watching the Google Videos, or more specifically the total lack of feedback from them + lack of views is telling me that. As I want to open stage rally to as wide an audience as I can, I’ve created a YouTube Channel. This is also somewhat confusing as Google owns YouTube, so one would think they’d be equal. I feel that the upload is faster and the video becomes available almost instantly. I’ve seen it take between an hour and 2 days with Google. I’ve already got comments rolling in on stuff I posted an hour ago. So, we’re going to the tubes! Look for me to start moving some of the 2007 videos and highlights to the channel. Watch for more stuff to pop up in a couple days.

As always the hi-res WMV video is available at https://rallynotes.com/vids

Here’s SS3 from Idaho!

More at YouTube.com/rallynotes

Success in Idaho – We’re back from a long tow!

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Sideways at Idaho Rally 2008
Sideways in Idaho! Photo by Austin Schmitz

We’re back and I got to sleep for 8 hours for the first time in a week last night. Lots and lots of driving and towing. We broke up the trip home by stopping in Zion National Park, Utah. Monday morning we took a short hike in the park and then around 1:00PM headed towards Vegas and home.

We had a very successful trip. USRC class points, CRS P-Stock class points, 9th overall for the weekend out of a very strong 4WD field of 14 finishers. Results posted here. I have some mixed news about video. 1. The bullet cam wiring seems to have been pinched and the video from day 2 blacks out every 10 random seconds for about 1.5 random seconds. It seems to correspond with the bumps, but since these roads were so smooth, I can’t tell. 2. I was having a problem pulling digital video off my tapes, but fixed the DV port on the camera that sits in the car. Now I can get ALL the video from Idaho (even the blanked out bits) and ALL the video from North Nevada! Besides time to do it, one of the major reasons you haven’t seen more then SS4 from NNR. :p

I got our spectator road points video up on the Tubes. Short little teaser.
Idaho Rally 2008 SS10 – “Cone!”
(You can see the blank video problem I was talking about – total bummer.)

Found a spectator photo album from Austin Schmitz.
PhotoBucket Idaho Rally 1
PhotoBucket Idaho Rally 2

Stories, video and pictures to follow!
– Kris

RALLYNOTES SEGUE VICTORY AT NNR INTO START OF USRC IDAHO!

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rallynotes.com Idaho Rally pressA little over two weeks ago, the Rallynotes.com team captured their first in class victory at the North Nevada Rally. This weekend, the City of Mountain Home will host the Idaho Rally 2008. It’s round 3 of the United States Rally Championship and event 5 of the California Rally Series Championship that the team will be vying for points. The two day performance rally takes place in the Boise National Forest just 30 miles east of Boise. Competitors will race on very technical, narrow and often elevation changing Forest roads with stages ranging from 7 – 14 miles. They will have spectator areas for the fans to come and check out the action!

The Dodge Rally Neon has been looked over and stored in Idaho for the last few weeks. The team will be flying in to make reconnaissance, held early on Thursday morning. This will be their second time writing stage notes from scratch and they’re looking forward to the challenge. “It’s a lot to do.” said driver Kristopher Marciniak. “Unlike organizer supplied stage notes, where you might have to tweak a corner or two, this is 100% on you to get it right the first time.” When asked about the pressure of writing notes Co-Driver Christine Marciniak responded: “The car is already up there, so we’ll be relaxed and ready to go.”

Coming off their win in Nevada, the team is pumped to continue the winning season with the USRC! Amateur radio APRS tracking will be on and the Rallynotes.com team progress can be tracked before, during and after the event. Check out: https://rallynotes.com/rallycar-tracking/

The team is ready to take on its first 2008 USRC event – Rally Idaho!

2008 North Nevada Rally video + pictures

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Rallynotes.com Team at the North Nevada Rally 2008Stage 4 of the rally, about 3 miles in, it begins to rain. This amps us both up as we haven’t done a stage in the rain in a LONG time. I heard a lot of complaints about traction and I have to tell you it didn’t seem to get any better or any worse for us. The wipers were on and I was trying to go faster then anyone who would slow for a rain storm. :)

I moved to an inside view for this rally, and I’m pleased to see that my steering wheel antics are not that bad. Two hands on the wheel except to shift. You can see the tach and how pinned I had it up the hills. Right around 12 minutes in, Christine gets a little nervous as we slide a bit for a caution right 4.

2008 North Nevada Rally – SS4 – 108.6MB WMV
Low-res preview of SS4

And as a little bonus:
2008 North Nevada Rally – outside hairpin video – 12.1MB WMV

Ben Simpson took some fab shots of the rally – check out his gallery here!

Back from Nevada – quick update

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We’re back from the North Nevada Rally with some great news. Crew was great, team did great, car is fine and ready for Idaho. Look for the full story to be posted here soon. I’m waiting for some FTP and email uploads of pictures and video. I have some in-car that I attempted to post to Google Video, but they have been having upload problems (Along with past issues that usually takes my videos a day before they are available.) I created a YouTube account, and we’ll see how that pans out tonight.

RALLYNOTES WEST COAST SEASON STARTS IN NORTHERN NEVADA!

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RALLYNOTES WEST COAST SEASON STARTS IN NORTHERN NEVADA!
Eighty miles Northeast of Reno, past the Black Rock Desert, the 2008 North Nevada Rally will be held on the roads around Purgatory Peak. Smooth twisty stages and stunning scenery are all part of this revived California Rally Series event to be held on Saturday, June 21st. Cars and bikes will be on the route as this race will include a NASA Rally Sport RallyMoto™ event as well.

The Rallynotes.com team makes this their first stop on a trip continuing on to the USRC Rally Idaho in July. Driver Kristopher Marciniak explains. “It didn’t make sense to drive all the way up to Reno and back to Southern California, and then head up to Idaho three weeks later. As we really want to support this CRS regional event, we made plans to do both rallies in one round trip.” To do so, the team will instead tow to Boise, Idaho following the North Nevada Rally on Sunday, then fly home and back later. “Needless to say we booked our flights early and we’re saving a lot of money over the cost of towing and time off work. With the cost of fuel you can’t expect to get there for cheap anymore; it now has to be budgeted like tires and parts, but we’ll be out on the stages!” added Kris.

Co-Driver Christine Marciniak started her season early by co-driving for John Black in his recently purchased Ford Ranger pickup at the Plan B rally in Ridgecrest, California. “I was more than happy to help John, and get some early season seat time. Our goal was to have fun and finish, but we also managed to go fast and place first in class. It was also a great opportunity to navigate for a different driver in a different type of vehicle.”

The Dodge Rally Neon will be in top shape, driving on new Tuff Rims! These strengthened steel wheels use laser cut rings to support the outer and inner edges of the rim. This design will help prevent punctures, leaks and damage to the rally tires. For those of you who missed the silver wheels on the car, the new Tuff Rims have been powder coated to match!

One trip for two rallies means everything will need to be accounted for and triple checked. The team will need to make sure extra spares and parts are packed for the long haul. Amateur radio APRS tracking will be on and the Rallynotes.com team progress can be tracked before, during and after the event. Check out: https://rallynotes.com/rallycar-tracking/

Rallynotes.com is ready to have some fun at the North Nevada Rally!

The Teardown – Phase II (the list)

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I had some time this evening to spend at the shop. I pulled everything out and performed a much needed sweep and mop. While the floor was drying I got the rally car up on a lift and started looking over it like a American Airlines MD-80. The Rally Neon also has cracks in the fuselage. :p

Here’s my preliminary to-do list. A little bit of welding, a bunch of new parts and replaced items, and some cosmetic items. I have a little less then 2 months to get the car buttoned up for the big trip to North Nevada and Idaho.

Underbody:
Front skis need to be re-enforced and tied to the frame.
New front skidplate made out of 6061 3/16″ Aluminum.
Side sill angle iron needs to be replaced and re-drilled.
Front tow hook re-attached.
Rear strut towers cracking on fold – need to weld.
Build gas tank molded skidplate.
Add bars that support the gas tank skidplate.

Suspension:
Replace ball joints.
Replace control arms.
Check wheel bearings.
Flatten front strut towers. (Starting to bubble. If that makes sense.)
Install new Billstein strut inserts.

Drivetrain:
Replace left axle and find a right axle for spare.
Send 3.94 transmission out to be rebuilt.

Safety:
Fire Extinguisher re-certify.
Tighten bracket or replace.
SFI padding check.
New headlights.

The Teardown – Phase I.5

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About a month ago I got the gas tank and the fresh fuel pump installed. I was once again disappointed when I went for a quick drive. It went like this: “So I zip down the street one more time and whip the car around. Wide open throttle in first and then the car falls on its face.” Now it’s definitely time to look at that Check Engine light flashing in my face.

Turns out that the Dodge Neon (and I’m sure most cars) doesn’t like it when the camshaft position sensor stops reporting its position. :eek: After pulling the codes it reported this error and sourcing a replacement from Harry’s garage, it’s fixed! I ditched the Blazer and drove it home.

Tomorrow – We’ll be at Cars & Coffee in Irvine bright and early!

Getting the car together for this car show was a good excuse to make a list of all that needs to be done over the next couple of months. If you haven’t seen it, we updated the Upcoming Events page. Our first event this year will be the all new North Nevada Rally!