Ice Road Trek - Alcan Winter Rally 2008
http://iceroadtrek.com
Ice Road Trek - Alcan Winter Rally 2008
Day 1 - Cold Start, Elvis Rocks the Canyon, What Deer?
Day 1 Map (sorry I only marked the start of the 2nd TSD)
View Larger Map
Cold Start
The rally got off to a good start. It was cool in Kirkland, about 32F and the car was all frosted up when we got in. Collin, our dog, was a bit sad to see us go. All the teams were at Rally HQ and ready to go.
Russ Kraushaar (R.Dale's son) getting ready to leave Rally HQ:
Jerry Hines the rallymaster flagged us out at our appointed time. The first TSD ("regularity") started from the Bow Hill rest area on I-5 and quickly moved off to some back roads, finishing up on Mosquito Lake road. R.Dale and I discussed how early we should be getting off the highway, with us going through a couple of stop signs. Luckily we were on time (or think we were) when we passed the first checkpoint which was immediately after the first stop.
Team D have some interesting mascots (Buzz was on the 2004 event!):
Elvis Rocks the Canyon
We were coming up TC-1 (Trans Canada 1) up the Fraser Canyon from Hope to Cache Creek and were looking for a rest stop and pulled into Elvis Rocks the Canyon, a little restaurant, not surprisingly Elvis themed. We had passed it twice last week at Thunderbird so it seemed like a good place to stop. The team (and our buddy car, car #1 Greg, Gary and Russ) had lunch -- some very filling burgers. I don't think I've ever seen so much Elvis memorabilia in one place before; ... lunch with the King was ok by me.
What Deer?
We were surprised how warm it was (45F!) as we drove up Highway 97 (Caribou) to Williams Lake and the Soda Creek TSD, though it was a about 28F by the time we got to Williams Lake. This regularity was used in 2004 and has also been used in Rally BC events. The road started out as pavement and turned to slippy ice on packed snow (I think). We had no trouble staying on the road - the most complicated section was a left turn under a bridge with a speed change down to 20 MPH and then right and up a hill. We haven't seen scores yet but think we did "ok" for the day. What was interesting was one of the other cars mentioned seeing deer and cows, which we didn't see at all. Perhaps we woke them up?!
Day 2 preview: the Quesnel Speedway ice race has been cancelled as the track has not been cleared of snow. This track was very narrow and bumpy in 2004. Last time the snow banks had melted and refrozen and were very hard - I would up with a fog light cover shoved into my bumper, splitting it. The Forester would have been ok on this track. Instead we are doing the "11% Grade" TSD from 2004 which will be a challenge because it was not remeasured with the 2008 survey so getting the odometer factor right will be interesting. Jerry is sending crews down the Blackwater highway to check it is open, another possible change if it isn't.
See you down the road...
Glenn
PS scores are in, looks like we are in 4th overall, by 4 points (pretty low scores for the first 4 cars: 2,4,4,6). Not sure of our team mate's position in classes, as that wasn't on the scoring sheet.
View Larger Map
Cold Start
The rally got off to a good start. It was cool in Kirkland, about 32F and the car was all frosted up when we got in. Collin, our dog, was a bit sad to see us go. All the teams were at Rally HQ and ready to go.
Russ Kraushaar (R.Dale's son) getting ready to leave Rally HQ:
Jerry Hines the rallymaster flagged us out at our appointed time. The first TSD ("regularity") started from the Bow Hill rest area on I-5 and quickly moved off to some back roads, finishing up on Mosquito Lake road. R.Dale and I discussed how early we should be getting off the highway, with us going through a couple of stop signs. Luckily we were on time (or think we were) when we passed the first checkpoint which was immediately after the first stop.
Team D have some interesting mascots (Buzz was on the 2004 event!):
Elvis Rocks the Canyon
We were coming up TC-1 (Trans Canada 1) up the Fraser Canyon from Hope to Cache Creek and were looking for a rest stop and pulled into Elvis Rocks the Canyon, a little restaurant, not surprisingly Elvis themed. We had passed it twice last week at Thunderbird so it seemed like a good place to stop. The team (and our buddy car, car #1 Greg, Gary and Russ) had lunch -- some very filling burgers. I don't think I've ever seen so much Elvis memorabilia in one place before; ... lunch with the King was ok by me.
What Deer?
We were surprised how warm it was (45F!) as we drove up Highway 97 (Caribou) to Williams Lake and the Soda Creek TSD, though it was a about 28F by the time we got to Williams Lake. This regularity was used in 2004 and has also been used in Rally BC events. The road started out as pavement and turned to slippy ice on packed snow (I think). We had no trouble staying on the road - the most complicated section was a left turn under a bridge with a speed change down to 20 MPH and then right and up a hill. We haven't seen scores yet but think we did "ok" for the day. What was interesting was one of the other cars mentioned seeing deer and cows, which we didn't see at all. Perhaps we woke them up?!
Day 2 preview: the Quesnel Speedway ice race has been cancelled as the track has not been cleared of snow. This track was very narrow and bumpy in 2004. Last time the snow banks had melted and refrozen and were very hard - I would up with a fog light cover shoved into my bumper, splitting it. The Forester would have been ok on this track. Instead we are doing the "11% Grade" TSD from 2004 which will be a challenge because it was not remeasured with the 2008 survey so getting the odometer factor right will be interesting. Jerry is sending crews down the Blackwater highway to check it is open, another possible change if it isn't.
See you down the road...
Glenn
PS scores are in, looks like we are in 4th overall, by 4 points (pretty low scores for the first 4 cars: 2,4,4,6). Not sure of our team mate's position in classes, as that wasn't on the scoring sheet.
Day 0 - Tech, registration and punch lists
Well, we are all set to go. We wrestled the checklist to the ground, and everything on the car is good. Of course, I should be packing my clothes, but writing this seemed like more fun!
We are "tech-ed" which means the officials have looked at the car and we have the required equipment and all of our lights are ok.
The Arctic Challengers had a fun "farewell" dinner at Cafe Veloce, which was certainly popular with the rally crowd tonight. It was good to catch up with many old friends, from the 2004 event and before.
Our official "out time" at Rally HQ (Baymont Inn, Kirkland) is 8:01AM Sunday, which means we'll leave the house at around 6:30AM, just to make sure we have enough time at the HQ to see if there have been any last minute changes, get official rally time etc.
See you down the road...
Glenn
We are "tech-ed" which means the officials have looked at the car and we have the required equipment and all of our lights are ok.
The Arctic Challengers had a fun "farewell" dinner at Cafe Veloce, which was certainly popular with the rally crowd tonight. It was good to catch up with many old friends, from the 2004 event and before.
Our official "out time" at Rally HQ (Baymont Inn, Kirkland) is 8:01AM Sunday, which means we'll leave the house at around 6:30AM, just to make sure we have enough time at the HQ to see if there have been any last minute changes, get official rally time etc.
See you down the road...
Glenn
We're going to need a bigger boat...
(The title is of course a nod to the recently deceased actor Roy Scheider.)
The famous last words (before your car, snowmobile, or best friend falls through the ice) are usually:
"well the ice looked thick enough to support us....."
Barnes Lake
This morning we drove from Merritt to Barnes Lake (near Ashcroft BC) to give R.Dale a little seat time in the Forester on the ice. Building some muscle memory around how the car/tire combination responds on ice is pretty important, and the more that is pre-wired in to your brain, the less dial-in time you'll need at the actual event.
We knew the lake had been used for an ice race on Sunday and clearly so because the course was plowed, and very, very dark and shiny from the cars "polishing" it. The real ice race cars use spiked tires and really rip up the surface.
Dark means slippery
(yes the cracks are normal, and quite safe)
So we parked the car and gingerly walked out on the ice by ourselves to check everything out. It looked pretty normal. I joked a little about how I was not crazy about being down there without another car in case something went wrong. We had our sat phone and PLB in the trunk but who needs that when you are driving around the lake?
We decided to do a SLOW lap around the "long" oval (the shorter circuit has a turn halfway down the main straight which shortcuts the course) to check the surface out.
Start of the main straight (rest of it is out of sight to the top left)
Now, bear in mind I have been to this lake at least 4 times and am very familiar with a) driving a car on ice, b) how things are done at this particular lake.
We get about 3/4 of the way down the main straight, and I see I am on line for a long patch of "different" ice, about 150 ft long and about 10 ft wide. Generally speaking the lighter color the surface the more grip you will have (e.g. covered with snow or chewed up ice) and the polished ice (the slippery stuff) looks very dark and wet. The polished line to the right looked very dark and wet and I figured this was a pretty decent line to stay on the lighter stuff.
Then the car starts falling through the ice, the back end first. Luckily our speed is just keeping the front wheels above the ice as the back wheels drag down through the water and ice slush!! Thoughts about life insurance payments block my brain a little. If I move the car to the right, is that even wetter, because it is darker? Finally the light bulb goes off in my head (about 30 secs later than it should have) and I start to nudge the car to the right and we once again are on firm ice.
What happened?
Answer: when the cars race, they chew the ice so badly that ruts form. While they thin the surface "a bit" the ruts are just annoying to drive on, so at the end of the race day, Sunday, Fred Robertson (he plows the track) would have bored a hole through the ice to let the lake water up to fill the rutted areas, which then freeze flat. (almost) Instant road repair!!! (They do this on the ice roads up north too.)
Now, I have had Fred tell me in past years (he looks a bit like Chuck Yeager, who I've met, but that is another story), "just stay off those sections I've repaired until they freeze, ok?"
The only real danger to us was of being embarrassed and having our car stuck in a little lake on TOP of the ice about 4-8" deep. There was plenty of solid ice under that "repair" puddle.
Was it a bad choice to make? Yes.
This incident illustrates a really subtle point, that my brain's interpretation of the surface had been wired to use of the track when it had a light covering of snow (like 2 weeks ago) and when the repaired areas looked darker. With the recently polished dark "hard" surface, the repaired areas looked lighter and safer but were in fact the opposite. In fact the still-wet repaired sections also have a green-ish tinge but I guess I was at the wrong angle to see that, it was really clear to see them as we drove away from the lake looking down from high up.
A lot of choices you make up north (and every day, truth be told) are based on what experiences you have and how your brain is wired to interpret the information.
I have a pair of special prescription sunglasses that are designed for giving me more contrast in snowy/icy conditions, where picking out each little piece of information can help you choose the right place to put your tires. As I write this, I just realized I also was not wearing them on the lake. That counts as my second mistake!
After that little scare we each took a few laps of the short course (away from the major ice repairs) and had some great fun. I felt instantly dialed in, having been up there a sort time ago, and R.Dale quickly got into the swing of it and we both agreed the combination of the Forester and the Cooper tires (plug plug) on the ice was very predictable and responsive.
R.Dale nicely sideways
"I'm not going to push it all that hard..."
(the grooves from the ice racers visible here)
We are now back at Casa del Wallace to finalize our Alcan preparations during the remainder of the week.
For more information about the people that really race fast on this lake and know what they are doing (unlike me), visit http://carsonice.ca/
PS Please don't tell Fred, ok? He'll be cranky that I drove through one of his repair sections...!
PPS Kala and Paul have a myspace page set up for our team, check it out!
The famous last words (before your car, snowmobile, or best friend falls through the ice) are usually:
"well the ice looked thick enough to support us....."
Barnes Lake
This morning we drove from Merritt to Barnes Lake (near Ashcroft BC) to give R.Dale a little seat time in the Forester on the ice. Building some muscle memory around how the car/tire combination responds on ice is pretty important, and the more that is pre-wired in to your brain, the less dial-in time you'll need at the actual event.
We knew the lake had been used for an ice race on Sunday and clearly so because the course was plowed, and very, very dark and shiny from the cars "polishing" it. The real ice race cars use spiked tires and really rip up the surface.
Dark means slippery
(yes the cracks are normal, and quite safe)
So we parked the car and gingerly walked out on the ice by ourselves to check everything out. It looked pretty normal. I joked a little about how I was not crazy about being down there without another car in case something went wrong. We had our sat phone and PLB in the trunk but who needs that when you are driving around the lake?
We decided to do a SLOW lap around the "long" oval (the shorter circuit has a turn halfway down the main straight which shortcuts the course) to check the surface out.
Start of the main straight (rest of it is out of sight to the top left)
Now, bear in mind I have been to this lake at least 4 times and am very familiar with a) driving a car on ice, b) how things are done at this particular lake.
We get about 3/4 of the way down the main straight, and I see I am on line for a long patch of "different" ice, about 150 ft long and about 10 ft wide. Generally speaking the lighter color the surface the more grip you will have (e.g. covered with snow or chewed up ice) and the polished ice (the slippery stuff) looks very dark and wet. The polished line to the right looked very dark and wet and I figured this was a pretty decent line to stay on the lighter stuff.
Then the car starts falling through the ice, the back end first. Luckily our speed is just keeping the front wheels above the ice as the back wheels drag down through the water and ice slush!! Thoughts about life insurance payments block my brain a little. If I move the car to the right, is that even wetter, because it is darker? Finally the light bulb goes off in my head (about 30 secs later than it should have) and I start to nudge the car to the right and we once again are on firm ice.
What happened?
Answer: when the cars race, they chew the ice so badly that ruts form. While they thin the surface "a bit" the ruts are just annoying to drive on, so at the end of the race day, Sunday, Fred Robertson (he plows the track) would have bored a hole through the ice to let the lake water up to fill the rutted areas, which then freeze flat. (almost) Instant road repair!!! (They do this on the ice roads up north too.)
Now, I have had Fred tell me in past years (he looks a bit like Chuck Yeager, who I've met, but that is another story), "just stay off those sections I've repaired until they freeze, ok?"
The only real danger to us was of being embarrassed and having our car stuck in a little lake on TOP of the ice about 4-8" deep. There was plenty of solid ice under that "repair" puddle.
Was it a bad choice to make? Yes.
This incident illustrates a really subtle point, that my brain's interpretation of the surface had been wired to use of the track when it had a light covering of snow (like 2 weeks ago) and when the repaired areas looked darker. With the recently polished dark "hard" surface, the repaired areas looked lighter and safer but were in fact the opposite. In fact the still-wet repaired sections also have a green-ish tinge but I guess I was at the wrong angle to see that, it was really clear to see them as we drove away from the lake looking down from high up.
A lot of choices you make up north (and every day, truth be told) are based on what experiences you have and how your brain is wired to interpret the information.
I have a pair of special prescription sunglasses that are designed for giving me more contrast in snowy/icy conditions, where picking out each little piece of information can help you choose the right place to put your tires. As I write this, I just realized I also was not wearing them on the lake. That counts as my second mistake!
After that little scare we each took a few laps of the short course (away from the major ice repairs) and had some great fun. I felt instantly dialed in, having been up there a sort time ago, and R.Dale quickly got into the swing of it and we both agreed the combination of the Forester and the Cooper tires (plug plug) on the ice was very predictable and responsive.
R.Dale nicely sideways
"I'm not going to push it all that hard..."
(the grooves from the ice racers visible here)
We are now back at Casa del Wallace to finalize our Alcan preparations during the remainder of the week.
For more information about the people that really race fast on this lake and know what they are doing (unlike me), visit http://carsonice.ca/
PS Please don't tell Fred, ok? He'll be cranky that I drove through one of his repair sections...!
PPS Kala and Paul have a myspace page set up for our team, check it out!
So other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?
Well another Thunderbird Rally is over!!! Great roads and good friends there as usual.
R.Dale and I placed 3rd overall (about 37 cars entered).
Paul and Kala took 2nd in Calc class, narrowly missing 1st by 2 points.
R.Dale and I will drive up to Barnes Lake (near Ashcroft BC) for some Ice Racing practice in the morning, and then back home to re-prep the car for Alcan.
We both feel good, all the mental cobwebs blown out and ready to rally through the Alcan. The Forester went very well, and the Cooper tires were stellar (plug plug). Paul and I tested radios so that is all good. The punch list got a little bigger, but should be no problem to sort out before next weekend.
Funniest moment of the weekend was R.Dale saying "and then at 32.08km we will hit the bridge" and I said "what do you mean HIT the bridge!?". So sure enough we come down an icy, snowy hill to try to turn right onto the bridge and while I am nicely on time, it isn't clear we'll make the bridge without hitting the scenery.
No matter which way I turn the wheel or tap the gas and brake we are heading for the guard rail. I almost closed my eyes waiting for the "crunch", but luckily we hit the soft snow bank and sort of ricocheted across the bridge, scoring a nice zero in the process, because we were being timed at the beginning of the bridge, which we "hit" right on time.
Maps! Maps!
Here is my first test using my WinTec WBT201 GPS logger (geek alert!!), to post our travels from Saturday and Sunday, if you click on the "view larger map" link you should be able to take a closer look with Google Maps.
Thunderbird 2008 Day 1 GPS Log:
View Larger Map
Thunderbird 2008 Day 2 GPS Log:
View Larger Map
Some Huge Photos
Some random pictures from the weekend.
Steven gets his Pacific Coast Challenge driver's award at the Thunderbird driver's meeting:
R.Dale and Gary Webb (Team Atlantic, who is in Car #1 on Alcan) share a story:
Cars line up for one of the night stages:
Beautiful British Columbia:
Greg Hightower (Car #1 on Alcan and also my co-driver on Alcan 2004) and his navigator Steve get ready for another stage:
I just liked this shot:
Glenn
R.Dale and I placed 3rd overall (about 37 cars entered).
Paul and Kala took 2nd in Calc class, narrowly missing 1st by 2 points.
R.Dale and I will drive up to Barnes Lake (near Ashcroft BC) for some Ice Racing practice in the morning, and then back home to re-prep the car for Alcan.
We both feel good, all the mental cobwebs blown out and ready to rally through the Alcan. The Forester went very well, and the Cooper tires were stellar (plug plug). Paul and I tested radios so that is all good. The punch list got a little bigger, but should be no problem to sort out before next weekend.
Funniest moment of the weekend was R.Dale saying "and then at 32.08km we will hit the bridge" and I said "what do you mean HIT the bridge!?". So sure enough we come down an icy, snowy hill to try to turn right onto the bridge and while I am nicely on time, it isn't clear we'll make the bridge without hitting the scenery.
No matter which way I turn the wheel or tap the gas and brake we are heading for the guard rail. I almost closed my eyes waiting for the "crunch", but luckily we hit the soft snow bank and sort of ricocheted across the bridge, scoring a nice zero in the process, because we were being timed at the beginning of the bridge, which we "hit" right on time.
Maps! Maps!
Here is my first test using my WinTec WBT201 GPS logger (geek alert!!), to post our travels from Saturday and Sunday, if you click on the "view larger map" link you should be able to take a closer look with Google Maps.
Thunderbird 2008 Day 1 GPS Log:
View Larger Map
Thunderbird 2008 Day 2 GPS Log:
View Larger Map
Some Huge Photos
Some random pictures from the weekend.
Steven gets his Pacific Coast Challenge driver's award at the Thunderbird driver's meeting:
R.Dale and Gary Webb (Team Atlantic, who is in Car #1 on Alcan) share a story:
Cars line up for one of the night stages:
Beautiful British Columbia:
Greg Hightower (Car #1 on Alcan and also my co-driver on Alcan 2004) and his navigator Steve get ready for another stage:
I just liked this shot:
Glenn
Merritt, Kamloops, Merritt, Ashcroft, then home
The team heads north today to Merritt, BC for the 2008 Thunderbird Rally. I've entered this rally every year since 1999 and won it twice, but it is a very challenging event so a good outcome for the weekend is getting warmed up (ha ha) for Alcan and keeping the car out of the snowbanks.
I pick up R.Dale at the airport this morning, and then head directly to BC. The FXT (that's Subaru-fan speak for the Forester XT) is "mostly" packed. I still have a punch list of a few things for Alcan I will take care of next week.
More later...
Greg Hightower and me on the way to winning the 2004 Thunderbird:
Glenn
I pick up R.Dale at the airport this morning, and then head directly to BC. The FXT (that's Subaru-fan speak for the Forester XT) is "mostly" packed. I still have a punch list of a few things for Alcan I will take care of next week.
More later...
Greg Hightower and me on the way to winning the 2004 Thunderbird:
Glenn
So how do you prepare a car for -50F?
WARNING - TECHNICAL CONTENT AHEAD!
Tires
The first question I usually get asked is "so do you have special tires?"
The answer here is no -- our tires must be street legal, and so most competitors use either a studded or studless winter tire.
Modern studless tires offer incredible ice grip (in my opinion better than studs), using advanced rubber compounds and many small sipes (cuts) in the tread, creating many edges that can grip the ice. However, in order to get maximum ice grip, most studless tires have a very closed tread pattern that maximizes the number of sipes, but is a compromise in terms of ability to clear snow from the tread.
For that reason, as we are driving on roads that are typically snow over ice over gravel, we need an aggressive and open tread pattern for snow traction, with studs that provide decent ice grip. If you are buying tires for winter in your city, either check your local tire use regulations or seriously consider studless tires, as they are much kinder to the road surfaces.
The tires we are running are 215/65 16 (on Foresters) and 195/65 15 (on Ashley the Impreza) Cooper Weather-Master S/T 2's, graciously provided by Cooper Tire to the Arctic Challengers team. (thanks!!!)
On the Forester we are running a slightly taller sidewall than the Subaru standard tire size to provide us with a little more protection from the rough roads, and also a little more ground clearance (about 8" on the Forester before we put the tall tires on!).
The Coopers have proven to be a great winter rally tire - I scored 3rd fastest time of the day (missed 1st by 2 secs) at the recent Ice-X at Barnes Lake. R.Dale and I also used them on Totem 2007 where we scored 2nd place overall, with the Coopers providing excellent grip in a variety of conditions (mud, snow, ice...)
Underbody Protection
As we are sometimes driving through logging roads, unpaved roads etc., we need to protect the underside of the engine/gearbox and rear differential with some large pieces of aluminum. Luckily Paul Eklund has been providing these to the rally community for many years, and I was his first customer way back in 1998 or so! Primitive's Underbody Armor range covers most Subarus from the late 90's to the current models.
Lights
It is dark in Canada, very dark. On my Forester we are running Hella Rallye 4000 Compact HIDs. They provide the same light output as the full size 4000 we used on my STi in 2004 (which are over 9" high!) Paul is running PIAA lights. In blizzard conditions and near white outs, a set of yellow fog lamps is also very important to be able to see the road.
Lubrication
When the temperature drops, many fluids turn to goop. Goop doesn't work so well when you want to drive your car. We typically replace all the oil (engine, transmission, rear diff) with synthetic oil which will keep the same viscocity and protection even at very cold temps. I am running Redline 75W90NS in the transmission, 75W90 in the rear diff, and synthetic 5W30 in the engine.
Staying Warm to Stay Cool
Of course, our engine coolant also needs to stay a liquid. I am using Genuine Subaru Engine Coolant, at a 70% concentration to provide protection from the bitter cold. A Subaru block heater (don't you love how you can get all this stuff for Subarus?) provided by Subaru Northwest Region helps keep things warm so the engine can stay cool. Got that? They also kicked in some Subaru battery warmers to make sure the cars start in the morning when it is -30 F outside.
Staying in Touch
For safety, all Alcan entrants are required to have a VHF radio to keep in contact with the organizers and other entrants. I am using an Icom IC-208H, which is a ham (amateur radio) rig. I have been a ham since 1978, and my Australian callsign is VK4KUX. As backup we also have a hand-held unit, an older Icom IC-T7H. Paul is using an Icom IC-F121 mobile unit.
Safety First
We also carry a variety of required safety equipment: warning triangles, fire extinguishers and first aid kits. I also carry an ACR 406MHz Personal Locator Beacon ( PLB ). It can pinpoint your location and transmit it to Search and Rescue organizations around the world.
These are the very basics of preparing a car for a journey like this, but you will notice no change has been necessary to improve the car's performance or design. Subaru routes their fuel and brake plumbing inside the car, so these lines are quite safe from damage off road, and the Forester has the perfect combination of ground clearance, comfort, performance and handling to be a serious contender in the Alcan rally.
Prior Articles
After the 2004 Alcan, I wrote two articles for Subaru:
300-Horsepower Snowmobile - WRX STi at the 2004 Alcan Winter Rally
(which includes a sidebar "Extreme Winter Conditions: Preparing the WRX STi", which is a condensed version of some of the information above)
The Top of the World - a little more prosaic; an article I am very proud of.
I also helped edit and fact check an article about Subaru's DCCD system.
Glenn
Tires
The first question I usually get asked is "so do you have special tires?"
The answer here is no -- our tires must be street legal, and so most competitors use either a studded or studless winter tire.
Modern studless tires offer incredible ice grip (in my opinion better than studs), using advanced rubber compounds and many small sipes (cuts) in the tread, creating many edges that can grip the ice. However, in order to get maximum ice grip, most studless tires have a very closed tread pattern that maximizes the number of sipes, but is a compromise in terms of ability to clear snow from the tread.
For that reason, as we are driving on roads that are typically snow over ice over gravel, we need an aggressive and open tread pattern for snow traction, with studs that provide decent ice grip. If you are buying tires for winter in your city, either check your local tire use regulations or seriously consider studless tires, as they are much kinder to the road surfaces.
The tires we are running are 215/65 16 (on Foresters) and 195/65 15 (on Ashley the Impreza) Cooper Weather-Master S/T 2's, graciously provided by Cooper Tire to the Arctic Challengers team. (thanks!!!)
On the Forester we are running a slightly taller sidewall than the Subaru standard tire size to provide us with a little more protection from the rough roads, and also a little more ground clearance (about 8" on the Forester before we put the tall tires on!).
The Coopers have proven to be a great winter rally tire - I scored 3rd fastest time of the day (missed 1st by 2 secs) at the recent Ice-X at Barnes Lake. R.Dale and I also used them on Totem 2007 where we scored 2nd place overall, with the Coopers providing excellent grip in a variety of conditions (mud, snow, ice...)
Underbody Protection
As we are sometimes driving through logging roads, unpaved roads etc., we need to protect the underside of the engine/gearbox and rear differential with some large pieces of aluminum. Luckily Paul Eklund has been providing these to the rally community for many years, and I was his first customer way back in 1998 or so! Primitive's Underbody Armor range covers most Subarus from the late 90's to the current models.
Lights
It is dark in Canada, very dark. On my Forester we are running Hella Rallye 4000 Compact HIDs. They provide the same light output as the full size 4000 we used on my STi in 2004 (which are over 9" high!) Paul is running PIAA lights. In blizzard conditions and near white outs, a set of yellow fog lamps is also very important to be able to see the road.
Lubrication
When the temperature drops, many fluids turn to goop. Goop doesn't work so well when you want to drive your car. We typically replace all the oil (engine, transmission, rear diff) with synthetic oil which will keep the same viscocity and protection even at very cold temps. I am running Redline 75W90NS in the transmission, 75W90 in the rear diff, and synthetic 5W30 in the engine.
Staying Warm to Stay Cool
Of course, our engine coolant also needs to stay a liquid. I am using Genuine Subaru Engine Coolant, at a 70% concentration to provide protection from the bitter cold. A Subaru block heater (don't you love how you can get all this stuff for Subarus?) provided by Subaru Northwest Region helps keep things warm so the engine can stay cool. Got that? They also kicked in some Subaru battery warmers to make sure the cars start in the morning when it is -30 F outside.
Staying in Touch
For safety, all Alcan entrants are required to have a VHF radio to keep in contact with the organizers and other entrants. I am using an Icom IC-208H, which is a ham (amateur radio) rig. I have been a ham since 1978, and my Australian callsign is VK4KUX. As backup we also have a hand-held unit, an older Icom IC-T7H. Paul is using an Icom IC-F121 mobile unit.
Safety First
We also carry a variety of required safety equipment: warning triangles, fire extinguishers and first aid kits. I also carry an ACR 406MHz Personal Locator Beacon ( PLB ). It can pinpoint your location and transmit it to Search and Rescue organizations around the world.
These are the very basics of preparing a car for a journey like this, but you will notice no change has been necessary to improve the car's performance or design. Subaru routes their fuel and brake plumbing inside the car, so these lines are quite safe from damage off road, and the Forester has the perfect combination of ground clearance, comfort, performance and handling to be a serious contender in the Alcan rally.
Prior Articles
After the 2004 Alcan, I wrote two articles for Subaru:
300-Horsepower Snowmobile - WRX STi at the 2004 Alcan Winter Rally
(which includes a sidebar "Extreme Winter Conditions: Preparing the WRX STi", which is a condensed version of some of the information above)
The Top of the World - a little more prosaic; an article I am very proud of.
I also helped edit and fact check an article about Subaru's DCCD system.
Glenn
Welcome: who, what, when, where and why...
Welcome to our blog about our adventures "up north"! I'm new at the blogging thing, so bear with me.
Who: The Arctic Challengers team
Car 2: Glenn Wallace and R.Dale Kraushaar, Subaru Forester XT (silver)
Car 3: Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds, Subaru Forester XT (gold)
Car 14: Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen, Subaru Impreza RS wagon
What: The Alcan Winter Rally 2008
Every four years since 1988, a group of crazy people have been heading up into the frozen north of Canada and Alaska to compete in the Alcan Winter Rally, as well as share an incredible experience together in a very remote part of the continent.
The event consists of three driving activities:
Transit stage: getting from point A to point B, not scored. There are a lot of these miles on Alcan.
Regularity stage: given precise distance and average speed instructions, we are timed to the second early or late in a variety of challenging road conditions.
Ice racing: we compete in timed sections on a frozen lake or speedway (one car on course per run, no paint swapping).
When: February 17-26, 2008
Where: We depart from Kirkland on February 17 (Day 1), and finish on February 26 (Day 10) in Jasper, Alberta, a total distance of 4850 miles. Then of course we will have to drive back to Seattle.... (another 576 miles).
The full map is here.
Why: because it is there.
In future entries we will document our past adventures, our preparations, our sponsors, provide more info on our team, and some of the updates we plan to provide en route.
Glenn
Who: The Arctic Challengers team
Car 2: Glenn Wallace and R.Dale Kraushaar, Subaru Forester XT (silver)
Car 3: Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds, Subaru Forester XT (gold)
Car 14: Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen, Subaru Impreza RS wagon
What: The Alcan Winter Rally 2008
Every four years since 1988, a group of crazy people have been heading up into the frozen north of Canada and Alaska to compete in the Alcan Winter Rally, as well as share an incredible experience together in a very remote part of the continent.
The event consists of three driving activities:
Transit stage: getting from point A to point B, not scored. There are a lot of these miles on Alcan.
Regularity stage: given precise distance and average speed instructions, we are timed to the second early or late in a variety of challenging road conditions.
Ice racing: we compete in timed sections on a frozen lake or speedway (one car on course per run, no paint swapping).
When: February 17-26, 2008
Where: We depart from Kirkland on February 17 (Day 1), and finish on February 26 (Day 10) in Jasper, Alberta, a total distance of 4850 miles. Then of course we will have to drive back to Seattle.... (another 576 miles).
The full map is here.
Why: because it is there.
In future entries we will document our past adventures, our preparations, our sponsors, provide more info on our team, and some of the updates we plan to provide en route.
Glenn