06/17/2021
Tl;dr: new update, same sad story - another failed opportunity to compete. Read on for whole story of my first failure to score in all (5) disciplines @ an Ultimate Street Car Association competition - and the one that did me in will SHOCK you 😜
So, I won’t rehash the backstory of several break/fix iterations leading into this weekend @ WSIR. I did start knowingly with an unresolved P0507 code though (high idle), in spite of my best efforts to locate the (likely) vacuum leak - which, in hindsight, I’d have been ecstatic about if it was the only problem I’d have! Needless to say, it quickly became the least of my concerns.
Due to the difference in scheduling for this event, we started off on Friday with the Time Trial and Acceleration/Braking Challenge (formerly known as the Speed Stop). As soon as I headed out for orientation laps, a new problem quickly emerged. For those not familiar with the terminal failure sound in the S550 - which I’d only ever heard once before, when the stock OPG failed, causing instant loss of oil pressure and the death of my first Coyote engine in 2016 - it is UNNERVING. My stomach immediately dropped, and I feared the worst. What I saw next on the dash surprised me though: Charging System Service Now. After clicking through the display, my eyes quickly went to Voltage, which was sitting at 11.7V (usually in the 13.8-14.6 range, due to the “intelligent” BMS that never lets the battery see a full charge). Soon after, it dropped to 11.3, then 10.9, 10.3, 9.7….. uggh. Managed to limp the car around before pulling off and back into the paddock to diagnose. Since I already had a fully charged OEM battery I’d scavenged for the winch on the trailer, I swapped it in - only to immediately pop the 250A fuse isolating the battery in the trunk from the rest of the car. Gave my good friend Britain Smith a call to get his thoughts, and sparked a spirited root cause and remedy discussion on my personal FaceSpace page - thanks to everyone that contributed during the chaos, it was much appreciated! In the end, after disconnecting the alternator, it became pretty obvious that a dead short was present (no fuse pop this time). Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have a spare, and NOBODY else in SoCal did either (including all major parts stores, Ford dealerships/warehouses and Pick ’n Pulls within a few hours’ drive). So I picked up another new battery from town, and put it, along with the Optima Red Top and my spare OEM on 6/10/12A chargers I borrowed from a few people (thanks Bob, Clayton and the USCA crew!), and waited for them to charge up enough to give myself a shot at turning a lap on the road course and getting in some speed stop runs.
ProTip: don’t try be a hero and turn fast laps without an alternator in a late model car. I haven’t put an amp meter on the battery cable before, but suffice it to say that the load of (3) 465lph fuel pumps, ID1300s, a 26A water pump, (2) electric oil cooling pumps and fans combined with other OEM power hogs (EPAS, ABS, etc) was more than any of the batteries could handle. Unfortunately, I don’t have the video/date to prove it (I disconnected every non-essential electrical component), but I once again had a moment heading into T8 - except this year, it wasn’t a punctured oil line trying to throw me into the dirt, it was a complete lack of EPAS/ABS that had the car handling so loose I could barely pull it out of the 140mph powerslide I was put into without warning or provocation. I somehow managed to collect things and escape another Code Brown moment and, despite being about (6) seconds off the pace I was hoping to be on, considered myself very lucky to be limping once again back to the pits with the car still under its own power.
After a *very* long indoor, air-conditioned lunch, collecting my thoughts and questioning the (bad?) decisions I’d made in the morning, swapped another fully charged battery in to go turn laps at the Speed Stop. Lucky for me, as it was nearing the end of the day, I was able to do all (5) afternoon runs in a row - tire pressures and temps be damned! Due to the very small surface it was being run on, speeds were lower and turns were tighter than normal, which made things a lot more interesting for me than they should have been (no power steering). Oh, and the bumps near the stop box *really* made braking (sans ABS) a treat! No idea how I managed to get a decent lap in, but drove away with my head held high, knowing that I’d given myself a chance to come back and fight tomorrow…
…except I still needed to do the 40ish mile round-trip Road Rally. Swapped another fully charged battery in, and took a few (mostly) charged spares with me, then had good bud Jim Boller trail behind with his C6GS in case things went south - and that they did, only 3 miles into the drive, when *everything* turned off and I was forced to coast to the shoulder. Quick math told me that I definitely didn’t have another (12) batteries in the car to get me there and back, so I waved Jim by and limped back to paddock, just as the battery died and shut things down again.
At this point, completely defeated and ready to load up and start the (15) hour drive back home, I found out that as poorly as my day had gone, a friend’s had been even worse - Mike Maier Inc. seized his Coyote out on course (suspected oil starvation), had heard about my troubles, and was already pulling his alternator for me. For all my Canadian brethren, this was the “TSN Turning Point” for the weekend. Mike, I can’t thank you enough for your selflessness while mired in your own misery - not only did you salvage my weekend, but you’ve kept me running the past few weekends as well while I wait for these damn alternators to come off of national backorder. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Thanks also to everyone who lent a hand, tool, or just offered moral support - this willingness to help a fellow competitor in need is the unspoken yet natural bond that makes the racing community so unique. A special callout to Matt Ales, who stuck with me until the bitter end, helping me to get wheels down just after dusk - and while the additional power may be tempting, at least you’ll be walking down that dark path with eyes wide open now 😉
With everything buttoned up and (seemingly) working, it was time to go have some fun on the AutoX course for Day 2! Unlike the LVMS “TrackX” in the season opener, this iteration was definitely of the traditional parking lot-variety. I even dropped two wheels at one point, with the car at full lock, unable to negotiate a low-speed turn on a narrow part of the course. C’est la vie, still had a blast, even if "Super" Dave Schotz put the smack down on all of us in GT. All things considered, was very pleased to be within a second of him, and especially happy to be within shouting distance of Matt and Matt Ramirez in their well driven and (relatively) lightweight/narrow E92/SN95 buggies 🙃
Of course, in my haste to troubleshoot/fix issues on Day 1, I suffered through some self-induced drama, when my key disappeared somewhere in the car, but within a close enough distance to still let it start intermittently - after the AutoX, kept the car running in the D&E line until I crested the hill, only to discover that I’d melted the 3D-printed brake duct inlets. Oops. That one’s definitely on me 😔
All told, an exciting weekend for all the wrong reasons! I’ve since found and fixed the vacuum leak (TB-to-SC elbow gasket was kinked), broke/fixed a leaking axle seal at a local event last weekend, about to get some new (higher temp) brake duct inlets reprinted, got (2) new keys programmed, and a new alternator is (finally) on the way. Needless to say, I’m *really* hoping to be past these big issues now, and looking forward to concentrating on driving/competing again. I’ll be AutoX focused in the coming weeks, with a few local/national SCCA Inc. events in the mix, before hauling out to Utah Motorsports Campus for the next USCA competition in mid-July. Fingers crossed that 2021 will mirror 2020 and the 3rd event of the season will be the feather in my cap! See everyone soon!!
Steeda
Falken Tire
Department Of Boost
Anderson Composites
QA1
