A day at the Rally ends in FAIL!!!
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:00 pm
So, headed out to the Colorado Rally Cross event yesterday to run the car through the dirt for our 4th event of the season. As I have the entire interior out of the car save for the dash and headliner I was running in M2, a different class than where I usually run. M2 is essentially the unlimited class for 2 wheel drives. It was good to get a taste of running in that class as I am building an '87 Cavi Z24 for competition in that class so I can stop pounding on the Beretta.
I was in second place in class at the middle of the day when one of my tires decided to get a bad bead and just failed to hold air. Weak. So I jumped in my buddy's 2.5RS to finish the day. I was bummed as I was looking forward to seeing where I placed with the big boys. Afterwards we hit the sprint course for some laps and yes, some time in the mud puddles! I got the car sufficiently dirty to say the least! So dirty that the starter failed to work. Got that fixed easily. See below for dirty Beretta pics!
Now for the fail. Driving home I can only assume that there was build up between the hub and the wheel because regardless of the fact that I tightened the lugs down on all four wheels I started to get a wobble driving down the frontage road on the way home. With only two blocks to go to the gas station I was simply going to limp her there and then check it out, as well as clean my windshield. Well, BOOM! In an instant I'm riding on tilt like a friggin lowrider and as I look over to the left I see my tire gaining speed rolling down the field to the left. NOT COOL. My wheel had come off doing about 40 down the frontage road. It took me about 200 feet to come to a stop as I ground down the control arm, rotor, subframe, tranny pan, ball joint and more. When the wheel came off it scuffed the door and the clear bra on it. When the car hit the ground the fender caved in on itself.
Walking about a 1/4 mile down the road we found the wheel. Thankfully, even though it came to rest on the railroad tracks and had traveled this far, it landed shiny side up and there was no damage to the wheel save for a scratch on the inside. Whew. After a quick check at the damage we jacked up the car and put the wheel back on pulling one lug nut from each of the other wheels. After a slow roll to the gas station things seemed okay. We got on the highway and started the looong drive home. After a mere couple hundred feet the tire started wobbling again. Got out, re-torqued it all, as well as the other three wheels, and headed out. I made it all the way home with no issue. Now, today I will be pulling the fender in order to start the repair. It seems that I will only need a new ball joint as of now but who knows how much stuff if any is bent to hell. I'll have detailed pics of damage later but until then, enjoy these shots:
Mud puddle, round 1: (note how the mud came up and out of the hood vent!)
Mud puddle, round 2:
Absolute Fail:
All of this came out of the engine bay, and it is nowhere near being done...
I was in second place in class at the middle of the day when one of my tires decided to get a bad bead and just failed to hold air. Weak. So I jumped in my buddy's 2.5RS to finish the day. I was bummed as I was looking forward to seeing where I placed with the big boys. Afterwards we hit the sprint course for some laps and yes, some time in the mud puddles! I got the car sufficiently dirty to say the least! So dirty that the starter failed to work. Got that fixed easily. See below for dirty Beretta pics!
Now for the fail. Driving home I can only assume that there was build up between the hub and the wheel because regardless of the fact that I tightened the lugs down on all four wheels I started to get a wobble driving down the frontage road on the way home. With only two blocks to go to the gas station I was simply going to limp her there and then check it out, as well as clean my windshield. Well, BOOM! In an instant I'm riding on tilt like a friggin lowrider and as I look over to the left I see my tire gaining speed rolling down the field to the left. NOT COOL. My wheel had come off doing about 40 down the frontage road. It took me about 200 feet to come to a stop as I ground down the control arm, rotor, subframe, tranny pan, ball joint and more. When the wheel came off it scuffed the door and the clear bra on it. When the car hit the ground the fender caved in on itself.
Walking about a 1/4 mile down the road we found the wheel. Thankfully, even though it came to rest on the railroad tracks and had traveled this far, it landed shiny side up and there was no damage to the wheel save for a scratch on the inside. Whew. After a quick check at the damage we jacked up the car and put the wheel back on pulling one lug nut from each of the other wheels. After a slow roll to the gas station things seemed okay. We got on the highway and started the looong drive home. After a mere couple hundred feet the tire started wobbling again. Got out, re-torqued it all, as well as the other three wheels, and headed out. I made it all the way home with no issue. Now, today I will be pulling the fender in order to start the repair. It seems that I will only need a new ball joint as of now but who knows how much stuff if any is bent to hell. I'll have detailed pics of damage later but until then, enjoy these shots:
Mud puddle, round 1: (note how the mud came up and out of the hood vent!)
Mud puddle, round 2:
Absolute Fail:
All of this came out of the engine bay, and it is nowhere near being done...
Plus, I just love the comments from people that see these pics, then see the immaculately clean car in person.