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TSD rally is probably the nerdiest motorsport. If you've never heard of it before, imagine a heavily curated road trip. You're given a very precise (if not clear) route book that's divided into stages. Some stages, regularities, are carefully timed. For these, the route book contains exact speeds and distances between waypoints that must be followed. Cars leave the line at 1 minute intervals, and the time at which they reach certain points in space is recorded. That time is compared against the theoretical perfect time, and each car gets points for every second early or late they are. Lowest score wins. To make up for all the hassle, the rallymaster often picks some of the most stunning scenery you could imagine.  Some scenery from the 2023 Thunderbird Rally around Merrit, BC  2023 Nor'Wester Rally in central Oregon.  A really stunning road from Thunderbird. Also challenging conditions  Me, understeering on glare ice because the photographer surprised me.  "Hairpin left. Caution: right exposure". The roads are not closed. You're contending with traffic (and deer, and pedestrians, and other lost rallyists). The indicated speeds are always below the speed limit, but often feel faster than prudent (especially on ice or gravel hairpins). Regularities often last 20-80 miles, and are connected by transit stages. Transits are straightforward, untimed stages to the start of the next regularity. They often contain fuel or lunch stops. When you put a bunch of transits together with a bunch of regularities, you get 8-10 hours of almost constant driving over the course of a day. A team consists of a driver and a navigator. The navigator reads the instructions, deciphers any potentially confusing elements, does math, and watches the odometer and the clock very closely. The driver keeps the car on the road. The instructions look like this most of the time:  Out east, road rallies often include tricks or traps: intentionally confusing directions that can be avoided by careful application of the rules. I'm lucky enough to live in the pacific northwest, where we get enough snow and unpaved roads that we can have so-called "brisk" soft-surface rallies. Sometimes cars get bent. In the Thunderbird rally in BC last February, a Celica and a VW of some sort both had to be pulled out of a snowbank by the sweeper truck. The Celica was relatively undamaged, but the VW bent a control arm and had to limp back to the hotel. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Nov 28, 2023 |
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Nov 28, 2023 09:00
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So you said this is a project thread too? Over a year ago, I submitted an application for the 2024 Alcan 5000 winter rally. As you might imagine, it's a 5000 mile rally, across Alaska and Canada, in the winter. I was #16 on the wait list, but as of the 2023 Nor'Wester rally, I was #6. Then when I checked the other week, I was #2. Then #1. On Saturday I got an email saying that I had made it in, and could I please pay a $300 deposit? I texted my navigator, started talking to my wife about who would watch our two year old, and said yes! I have December, January, and most of February to prep the car. The car The car is a 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo.  I bought it back in March (when my wife appropriated the Outback pictured above) and drove it in the Nor'Wester rally in September. The prep I need to spend more time fleshing out this list, but here's a high level look at what I need: - Wheels: Kastivich included four Sparco Dakar 18x8.5 +32 (I think but need to confirm) wheels with the Cayenne. I plan to mount snow tires on these. I need to buy at least one more for a spare - Tires: I'd love to get studded snow tires, but I know next to nothing about studded snow tires. *Also*, there's some debate over whether good modern snow tires wouldn't be roughly as good. Nokian tires worked really well on the Subaru in BC, but I'd also like to not crash my truck. - Lights: It's dark a lot in Alaska in February. I have two Diode Dynamics driving beams and two fogs that I stole off the Subaru, but I don't have a good way to mount them. Eurowise makes a light bar that mounts to my front recovery points. I don't *love* that solution, but it's also the quickest. - More lights: High mounted rear-facing lights are recommended for visibility. I intend to add a rear fog light (for safety) and an auxiliary reverse light (because I have extra switches). - Spare tire mount - Roof rack: I have a hankering to weld something up. - Radio: Alcan requires a radio capable of transmitting on the MURS spectrum, which is just above the ham 2m band. A recommendation is that I buy a 2m radio and hack it (desolder a resistor) to allow it to transmit on MURS. I also want to get my technician license again. I got it in elementary school, but it expired a decade ago. - SPOT tracker: required - Recovery gear: It is heavily recommended I get a good quality tow strap, and a snatch strap that's better than Harbor Freight quality. I have traction boards and a good shovel, but I should get hardware to mount them to the above roof rack. - Fuel: I need to anticipate a maximum of 350 miles between fuel stops. That's really close to the range of the Cayenne. My fuel economy on canadian highways should be better than it is in Seattle, but also it should be worse in the very cold air. Also, my experience in the Nor'Wester is that not all fuel stops have premium gas. I think it would be prudent to carry 10 gallons in NATO cans or Giant Loop fuel bladders. - Octane booster: See the previous note about not all gas stations carrying premium gas. - Oil: The Cayenne eats a lot of oil. I should plan to carry a lot of oil. On the order of 10 liters. - Cold weather stuff: My gut feeling is the worst case scenario overnight low will be around -40 F, but a quick look at historical weather over the past few years in the cities along the route indicates a likely overnight low in the mid -20s. More research is warranted. Also it's an El Nino year, so this winter should be warmer on average. Do I need a block heater or an oil pan warmer? I kind of want to get one of those 120v car heaters to protect my battery (under the driver's seat, of course) and various bits of technology from getting too too cold. Speaking of which... - New battery: mine is a few years old and the mechanic said I should probably plan to replace it in the next year or so. I don't think that recommendation takes -20 temperatures into account. - Rally computer: a computer to help us track time, speed, and distance. I wrote a program to do all this in the Nor'Wester rally, and it was... not the best. Plenty of room for improvement. Timeline Rumor has it that the 2024 Thunderbird rally is scheduled for late January. I'd love to get most of the car prep and programming done and use that as a shakedown. I can use February to acquire gear, and be ready to go by late Feb. Budget I'm basically lighting piles of money on fire and using them to maybe damage a Porsche that's old enough to vote. Plan All of the above is an 11pm brain dump after dealing with a sick toddler. I'll expand it, refine it, and start in earnest tomorrow. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Nov 28, 2023 |
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Nov 28, 2023 09:02
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c355n4 posted:Any plans for an incar or dash camera to capture some cool footage? I messed with a GoPro a little bit during the last rally but all the footage came out looking like this.  I was trying to make up a 15 second time deficit. We were trying a big GPS speedometer/odometer rather than the rally computer during this stage, and it really didn't work very well. So, maybe. I'd love to but it's one more thing to worry about and super low on my priority list.
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Nov 28, 2023 18:09
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First thing's first: I bought a 3D printer. It's absurdly fast, and the table I have it on is woefully unsuitable. I'll try to find a sturdy little table when I can. https://i.imgur.com/krV4QFJ.mp4 For the time being, it lives in my office. Seat Safety Switch posted:I've only done one TSD, but it was a whole lot of fun. There's a big one here (Trail of the Gnu) that I'd like to get something prepared for, but my codriver moved away a couple years ago. Alcan would be absolutely worth it. How was Trail of the Gnu? It was on my radar this year, but I thought... Calgary? Edmonton? would be too far to justify right now.
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Nov 29, 2023 06:54
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Picture it: you're a German executive at Deutsche Bank in the early 2000s, tired from your long day of converting to the Euro. You climb into your luxury sports SUV, touch the center console, and the overcomplicated ashtray softly slides out. The articulated cigarette lighter bends upward, beckoning. You pull a perfect Roth-Händle cigarette from your pack, light it, and take a long drag as you enter the Autobahn. Exquisite. I don't need a cigarette lighter or an ashtray, but I do like the idea of having an accessory socket and a bunch of USB charging infrastructure. I pulled the overcomplicated German ashtray out and put a basic model together quickly in TinkerCAD. Not perfect, but a first prototype.  When I got to work this morning, I fired up the 3D printer. drat this sucker is fast. I left the slicer open on one of my monitors so I could keep an eye on it, but it just does its thing without any complaints.   Results: reasonably close! Good for a first draft. I'll test fit it this evening if I get a chance.  I've ordered an accessory port and some 12v USB chargers; they should arrive this weekend. When they do, I'll add gussets to the mounting ears and make some holes in the face plate for them. I'll also print it in black (the green filament came with the printer). I'll wind up cutting up the ashtray wiring harness, but if I want to put it back to stock I can get a used ashtray on eBay. builds character posted:Where will you put the gas? In the trunk or on top? If on top are you going to test any gas mileage reduction from the traction boards and gas cans? Good question. I've got some thoughts about this. The rules say the gas can't go in the trunk. I'd like to try to find a way to hang it off the spare tire carrier, but roof rack might be easiest. Doing some testing to measure the fuel economy impact is a good idea, but I won't be able to control for the impact of a snow-covered road and the much colder air temperature. I think it'll be #fine to be more reactive and simply carry an extra 100 miles in reserve in case I need to use it. TODO Today: - Order spare tire carrier while it's still on sale. - Order square steel tubing for the roof rack. - Test fit the blanking plate. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Nov 30, 2023 |
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Nov 30, 2023 21:43
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Awesome! Thanks dude!
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Dec 1, 2023 00:08
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Safety Dance posted:
Done today: -[x] Order spare tire carrier (Wilco Hitchgate Switch) -[ ] Order square steel tubing for the roof rack. -[ ] Test fit the blanking plate. Bonus accomplishment: -[x] Made an appointment to get the inner tie rod taken care of on the Subaru To be perfectly fair, my son threw up on me immediately after I got home and I didn't have time to take measurements / fiddle around with the car. I'll see if I can knock those out tomorrow morning. Taking the kid to the pediatrician after work. Zoleo satellite communicators are on sale, so I need to make time to go to REI and pick one up. They qualify for the satellite communicator/tracker/SOS button requirement.
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Dec 1, 2023 08:39
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Motronic posted:Interesting, looks like the same thing EuroWise is selling. I can't get a straight answer on towing/pulling capacity through its extended receiver so I didn't get one for mine (which runs sweep at NEFR, so I need the hitch). The manufacturer says "Tow Rated hitch for up to 7,500lbs with a 750lb tongue weight". One of the other Alcan Cayennes is using a Hitchgate Max, which makes the same promises. I figure if I need to be pulled out of a snow bank, I can still put a soft shackle through one of the safety chain eyes on my actual trailer hitch. If I need to pull someone else out and needed to use some force, I'd definitely be tempted to remove the spare tire carrier altogether. This morning I  Close but not perfect.  I missed the location of the screw holes because I measured from the wrong surface. My mistake. 
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Dec 1, 2023 19:20
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Last night I sent the updated part to the printer and sat down with the ashtray wiring harness. Then I pulled up Alldata. What the gently caress is brown? What the gently caress is gray? Why does the ashtray need five conductors? Anyway I got it sorted out. Red is hot, brown is ground, gray is probably linked to the ignition and operates the ashtray lights. I cut it long and folded it out of the way. I decided there's no time like the present to learn how to do Deutsch connectors. If I'm going to do this, I might as well overdo it.  [later, at the office]   These crimps are going to be a problem. What's the right way to daisy chain like this? I had trouble fitting the insulation of two wires in one terminal.  Anyway, it looks decent from the front.  And surprisingly not bad installed! I had trouble getting that USB port on the left clocked correctly. If you'd like one, I published the part here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6353988 Cactus Ghost posted:pulling someone stuck, or being pulled from stuck, by anything on a hitch is asking for trouble. you'd think they'd be enough but shock loading from pulling someone out can exceed those specs by an order of magnitude. some dude in the southwest got decapitated fairly recently by a tow hitch that failed during a pullout Yeah, if I need to yank or get yanked, I'm going to pull from as close to the frame as I can get. Absolutely. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Dec 5, 2023 |
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Dec 5, 2023 05:17
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Steel ordered for the roof rack. Stretch goal: get it built in time to pick up a Christmas tree on Friday.
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Dec 5, 2023 06:08
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Noted, thank you. I'll put re-doing those crimps with bigger terminals on my list.
Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Dec 5, 2023 |
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Dec 5, 2023 18:18
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Roof rack time. If you have a Cayenne with a panoramic sunroof, it comes with an aluminum T-track on top instead of roof rails. [file photo]  I don't know the dimensions of this T-track, so it's time to take some measurements. I pulled the truck halfway into my garage because it's been raining and will be raining and it never stops raining and I feel like I'm on Ray Bradbury's Venus. I thought this might be a great excuse to break out the gauge bloc-OH SON OF A BITCH  Anyway. The T-track is profiled like this.  I drew up a plate that can slide inside there and sent it to SendCutSend.   Those holes are tapped 1/4-20. I also picked up a load of steel tubing from Metal Supermarkets.  TODO: - Figure out the angle between the roof rack and the roof at the mounting locations - order hardware - Figure out where to donate the cat food (our current cat doesn't like wet food)
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Dec 6, 2023 08:06
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Motronic posted:Negative, they all come with that arrangement. The rails are simply an option (like all things Porsche). That's roughly what I figured when I was researching this earlier this year. I bought a set of Thule crossbars in the spring that fix themselves to the T-track using fiddly rhomboidal nuts. When I was installing those, I thought "I could do a lot better than this with some laser cut steel", and so here we are. Motronic posted:If you need dimensions let me know and I'll grab the micrometer. Thank you for the offer, but I should be set with the measurements I've taken!
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Dec 6, 2023 18:38
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Safety Dance posted:Steel ordered for the roof rack. Stretch goal: get it built in time to pick up a Christmas tree on Friday. The stretch goal is gonna slip. I have a Christmas party to go to tomorrow night. Today I started cutting stock for the roof rack. I did okay using my very ratty Makita portaband with a shot blade, but I'm so tempted to pick up the Bauer benchtop horizontal bandsaw I was looking at at Harbor Freight yesterday. Also decided to see if I remember how to weld.    I've seen worse. I think I need to turn down the amperage and turn up the wire feed a skoch. If I hit that with a grinder, you almost wouldn't be able to tell I have the cheapest Harbor Freight flux core machine. I hit it with a big hammer a few times and it didn't budge.  Crocs: not the best PPE. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 07:12 on Dec 7, 2023 |
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Dec 7, 2023 07:09
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SendCutSend sent me some candy. Also my parts. Test fit:  Motherfucker. I didn't see / account for the ridge at the far side of the T-track. A 1.000" gauge block fits just fine, but dumbass me had to go and make 1.100" plates. Butts. I need to make a friend with a hobby mill. Oh well, another $36 to sendcutsend. I've updated my drawings accordingly. I'm printing standoffs that will hold the rack up off the roof of the car. Testing using so-called Tough PLA, final version to be printed in ASA.  Oof, that bed adhesion. I might be reprinting one of those. FAQ: 3D prints aren't strong enough to hold a roof rack, dumbass. Not technically a question, but a valid point. The way I've designed it, the 3D printed standoffs are held in compression by steel hardware: the T-track plates, some long 1/4-20 screws, some leveling washers, and the rack itself. I've not done math, but it should be at least as strong as my Thule rack. Actual progress: The spare tire carrier came in.  Also I bought a fresh spool of flux core welding wire. I'll see if it performs any better than the last spool, which sat in my garage for a few months (albeit vacuum-sealed and wrapped in plastic). TODO: - Wait for parts to come in - Order ASA filament - Place mcmaster order I've been sitting on - Get snow tires - Get a fifth wheel - everything else Edit: gently caress, somebody's selling a horror freight mini-mill with a bunch of upgrades and goodies on craigslist for a mere $1300. I don't need it, I don't need it, I don't need it.... Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Dec 12, 2023 |
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Dec 12, 2023 06:47
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While I wait for the third phase of Send Cut Send to complete, I willed these jigs into existence.   It's got counterbores for 1/4-20 socket head cap screws in those two vertical holes, and the Vs at the top are centered on the holes. That way I can put a length of steel tubing on top of the car, get it lined up such that it sits as flat as possible, and mark the location for through holes. That's what I did. I only dropped it and hurt the paint once.  Critically, there's still room for the hatch to open.  Then I drilled the holes.  Tomorrow I might break out the welder and start tacking the rack together. On Monday the new T-slot plates come in, and I can get the final dimension I need to weld the whole thing together. The ASA printer filament should come in tomorrow. That's stronger than PLA and more stable against water. I'll make final tweaks to the design and print the WHEEL WOES: Sparco discontinued the Dakar wheel. Eurowise doesn't have any in stock. Eurowise also doesn't have any OZ Rally Raid wheels, which have the same width and offset. I've reached out to them for alternatives. Another possibility is to get my hands on a fifth Alutec Grip wheel and simply swap my summer tires with Blizzaks (I'm like 95% sure I want to go for them over Hakkapeliittas). I can't find a vendor for Alutec wheels either, but I'll see if my tire shop can recommend somebody. Kastivich, did you buy the Alutec wheels as well? They're 18x8 +52, correct? Where did you get them from? I guess if both of those fail, I could either buy another wheel close to the same dimensions as one of the above wheels and call that my designated spare, or I could get a custom steel wheel made. Who makes reasonably priced steel wheels? LIGHT BAR: I decided to just get the off-the-shelf front light bar from Eurowise. It works, and if I need a front tow point that badly I can just unbolt it. It interferes with the parking sensors, but so does the spare tire carrier. I can just pull the fuse.  See? Fuse. OTHER PROGRESS: -[x] Passage booked on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Haines, AK to Bellingham, WA, departing March 3. That's going to be tight: it's a 14 hour drive from Anchorage to Haines. I would have loved to see the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage on March 2, but I don't think that's prudent. -[x] Exam passed for my technician class amateur radio operator license. I used to have a tech class license, but it expired 15 years ago. The license seemed a lot harder at age 11 than it did at age 36. A friend of mine suggested I study up and knock out everything up through amateur extra in one go. NEXT STEPS: -[ ] Buy wheel and tires - blocked waiting for Eurowise to get back to me -[ ] Place an order from Eurowise - blocked waiting for Eurowise to get back to me re the wheel - Light bar - mount so that one of those Trigger wireless switch units can fit in the sunglasses holder - MOLLE panel that covers one of the cargo area windows so I can mount a fire extinguisher to that. - Maybe a wheel -[ ] Reserve a rental parka and other cold weather gear: I might call them on Monday but I wouldn't be surprised if they're closed until the new year. -[ ] Replace rear hatch gas struts: I've had these kicking around my garage for a year now. Nothing stopping me but laziness.
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Dec 17, 2023 07:52
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TODAY I learned the cayenne has rear fogs. Turn lights on and pull this towards you, two clicks  Right facing fog light indicator illuminates on the dash  Tail lights go from this  to this  It's shameful it took me this long to realize. I swear I read the manual and searched Google for this exact thing.
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Dec 18, 2023 18:32
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Safety Dance posted:On Monday the new T-slot plates come in,  Boom. .1 of an inch made all the difference. I can't tell you how pleased I am with how these fit, for such a silly little part. Thinking about it harder, I might abandon the 3D printed roof rack supports and use sections of square tubing instead. I already have it and I know it's more than good enough. I still might make custom tpu wedges to help the straight rack conform to the curved roof of the car. I can still use the parts I've printed as a jig.
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Dec 19, 2023 06:18
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-[x] Wheel ordered (Alutec Grip. Tire Rack had exactly 2 in stock, only in bright silver. They're on closeout, so I wonder if they're being discontinued. Anyway, I bought one. I'll call it my designated spare and maybe look into getting it painted to match the rest of my wheels after Alcan) -[x] Tires ordered (Blizzak DM-V2 XL, 235/60R-18). Wheel and tires should be delivered Dec 27 or so -[x] Ham Radio license granted
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Dec 19, 2023 08:21
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Documentary evidence that I welded this evening. Motronic posted:Your flux is wet. Throw that spool in the trash. I put down a couple test beads. The left two were with the old spool that Motronic told me to throw out. The one on the right was a new spool -- I _thought_ it was the spool I bought from the welding supply shop last week, but it's actually the one I bought at harbor freight at the same time that I bought the welder. It had just been sitting inside for a while. I'm reasonably pleased with the result, and I hope I can leave this spool in the welder over the weekend if I plan to keep working.  I discovered that my table, very rudely, was too small for my project, so I had to weld this joint out in space. It gave me an excuse to break out Every Clamp.  In retrospect, perhaps I should have just put it on the floor. Anyway. Yesterday, I designed some TPU blocks to fit on top of the roof rack t-track profile.  Printed them overnight.  I think the fuzzyness means my TPU is wet (it's a theme...), but it's not really hurting anything. I can dry it out in the future. It's a 12 hour process, and I didn't feel like waiting 12 hours. Either way, they fit nicely.   With that done, I can get this roof rack assembled this weekend. I stopped by harbor freight on the way home from work tonight thinking I'd get their mini horizontal band saw. Unfortunately, I misunderstood. It's the Bauer portaband + a stand, and together they cost as much as the central machinery horizontal band saw, which I thought about getting but couldn't stand the thought of assembling that thing and dealing with more cardboard boxes and styrofoam. Somebody is selling a central machinery horizontal band saw for $75 on craigslist. Maybe I could rent a trailer tomorrow afternoon... randomidiot posted:Just please for the love of god don't drive around with them on unless it's actually foggy. I see so many BMWs and Mercedes (and even Audis) driving around like that on a clear night. Of course. It's actually nice how Porsche did it -- you can't turn on the rear fogs without turning on the lights, and it yells at you if you leave the lights in the on position when you turn off the car. So if you've turned on the rear fogs, you have to turn them off before you leave the car.
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Dec 23, 2023 06:52
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LloydDobler posted:Just something to consider that I thought of while reading, the whole car is metric. Might want to make your custom stuff metric also, so you know you'll have the tools for it. I had the same thought, but the track itself is so clearly inch that it seemed wrong. Also Motronic's point about what's going to be more available at hardware stores in the middle of nowhere.
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Dec 26, 2023 20:18
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I bought a horizontal band saw on Christmas Eve Eve. The sketchy looking air compressor was thrown in for cheap. It doesn't exactly cut straight or inspire confidence, but it seems to work okay. Does better than I do with a portaband or an angle grinder.  And after a bunch of false starts and loving around, I finally made some progress on the roof rack. It's not perfect, but diagonal-to-diagonal it's within 1/8" and more importantly it bolts into place nicely.  I just placed an order from McMaster for the final hardware (oh gently caress I forgot to include loctite). Tomorrow's project is cutting and welding more cross members. More progress: - Blizzaks should be delivered to my local Discount Tire Thursday. I'll get them mounted on Friday. - Eurowise light bar and other stuff arriving by next week, except for the spare wheel. That's still TBD. - I started a new project for the rally computer software. I also convinced myself I could be lazy and use Rabbit Rally _if_ I could find an android tablet with a keyboard and mouse. TODO -[ ] Buy and install ham radio -[ ] Buy and install fresh battery -[ ] Replace gas struts on the rear hatch (still) -[ ] Get under the car, drop the skid plate, and find a place to install an oil pan warmer -[ ] Arrange rental parka Not TODO any time soon but I spent too much time researching it: -[ ] Install the PCCM Plus head unit for the Cayenne Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Dec 27, 2023 |
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Dec 27, 2023 08:31
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I'm going to try to get my tires mounted tomorrow, so I went ahead and put this thing on tonight. It went okay. Built sturdy. The part the actual wheel mounts to was almost too short for the backspacing. If you get one, plan to have a 12" socket extension and some grease available. Wilco uses this expanding foam packaging. I understand why, but it annoys me that I can't recycle the box. I'll fill it up with trash and take it down to the dump for $30. 
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Dec 28, 2023 07:25
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-[x] Blizzaks mounted -[x] Spare as good as it's going to get for the time being.  Bonus: my backup camera can see *just enough* that I know when I'm about to hit something. I need to re-build the looking behind me muscle memory though. -[ ] Relocate license plate to spare tire carrier -[ ] Sort out license plate light for the spare tire carrier I think mounting fuel cans is going to be easier than anticipated. There's a 2" receiver on the swinging portion of the spare tire carrier, so I can just put together something that slots right into there.
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Dec 28, 2023 21:59
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Yep, it's got a 7-pin wiring harness (but annoyingly no brake controller). I've seen a few different license plate lights that could take advantage of that, but I can't remember off the top of my head who made them. I'll need to spend some time googling around.
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Dec 29, 2023 18:26
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My son brought home a stomach virus, so the family has been alternating between vomiting and making GBS threads our brains out all weekend. Finally, we're feeling better. Progress. Turned a bunch of tack welds into a bunch of complete welds.  Some even look semi competent.  Others... Paint hides a lot of sins.  I got it installed on the car with the final hardware.  And slapped some plastic end caps on for that "I'm sick of thinking about this" look.  The short sections of tubing are bonded in place with epoxy for the time being. I wanted the joint to be a little flexible while I got the hardware in place, and it can cure in situ. I'll tack weld it in place before it goes to paint. On Friday I did a 100 mile fuel economy run up in the mountains. I'm seeing a little over 17 mpg*, which means about 400 miles per tank. I want to do the same thing with the winter tires and the roof rack with some stuff strapped to it in place, to see how that number changes. * depending on how well the automatic shutoff was calibrated on the pump at the end of the trip. Next time: start and end at the same gas station. Ideally the same pump. To-do: -[ ] find a paint place -[ ] install front light bar -[ ] wiring for lights -[ ] another fuel economy run Edit: -[ ] pull the sunroof fuse. I don't think the sunroof is gonna clear that thing Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Jan 2, 2024 |
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Jan 2, 2024 03:19
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Light progress recently because my whole family's been having round after round of diarrhea and vomiting. Dropped the roof rack off at the powder coater's.  It may or may not snow this weekend, so I put on the snow tires.  In doing so, my harbor freight ratcheting breaker bar lost its head.  It's hardly hellaflush, but maybe my speedometer will read correctly now 
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Jan 11, 2024 07:31
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I'm a sucker for weird options like that, but they're very difficult to find. I saw a video on youtube not too long ago where somebody built a spare tire carrier into the rear bumper. It looked really nice. If I was less averse to cutting into the bodywork, I'd consider that.
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Jan 11, 2024 18:03
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It's balls cold so I haven't made a ton of progress. I got the roof rack back from the powder coater's.  The color is Hammertone Green, and I'm extremely pleased with it.  It makes a bunch of noise around 70 mph, so I might buy/make a roof rack spoiler. Stupid idea: I might add vortex generators. I also went to a Rainier Auto Sport Club party and got Alcan stickers.  The stickers will wait until it gets a little warmer. I went to install the Trigger controller for the driving lights last weekend and discovered I couldn't find the mount I'd bought for it. After a couple days of searching I paid the ADD tax and bought another one. It should be a little above freezing in the next few days; I'll try again. The biggest Todos at this point are installing the ham radio and buying NATO fuel cans. Also finishing the rally computer program I'm writing. Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Jan 15, 2024 |
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Jan 15, 2024 03:14
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bolind posted:Ah, that makes sense, and the design is kinda dumb in that it limits the size of tire. The story goes that the first generation Cayenne was designed by VW / Porsche under the assumption that Americans wanted a proper offroader that could leave the dealer lot and conquer some wilderness, so the spare tire carrier makes sense in a world where step 1 of every purchase isn't throwing away the stock tires and replacing them with 30+ inch diameter tires. Dumb question, and I'm emailing the same question to Eurowise, but PDCC was never offered on the 955, correct? I got stumped trying to install the Trigger wireless lighting controller with the Eurowise bracket last night. It's running into these stainless steel (air conditioning?) lines in the center of the photo below.  It looks like the same lines are blanked off in Eurowise's product photo below. (product page)  I'll shoot them an email and see if they have any advice before trying again tonight.
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Jan 17, 2024 20:07
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I drilled a few extra holes in the eurowise bracket, stuck it in my vise, hit it with a hammer a few times to bend it over 90 degrees, mounted the lighting controller to it sideways, and used the suspension bolt to mount it. Not ideal, I agree, but it's right next to the fuse box and the jump starting post and that makes wiring easier. Eurowise never responded to my questions; I'll update if they do but I'm pretty cheesed about the situation.  I considered ditching the wireless controller, but I also don't want to punch holes in the firewall. This is a reversible change. This afternoon my son took a nice long nap, so I went out and mounted a 2m ham antenna on the roof rack. I might might might see if I can borrow or buy a SWR meter to see if this sucks or not.  I rigged up a cigarette lighter plug for the radio and got it set up in my trunk. I call this "minimum viable radio".  Interestingly the cigarette lighters are fused for 20A and the radio only uses 11A when it's transmitting at 65 watts, so connecting it to the cigarette lighter circuit will be my long term solution (just not in the trunk). I'll have to reconsider how I'm running the antenna cable, because going through the back hatch and under the cargo liner only gets it to the back seat. Another interesting finding: when you purchase a MARS mod with a radio from Ham Radio Outlet, they just do it for you. I honestly expected I'd get a photocopied set of instructions.
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Jan 21, 2024 09:07
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Oh yeah I also did another 70ish miles on mountain roads with the roof rack and snow tires, and got 17.9ish mpg again. This indicates 400 miles to a full tank. I'm a little less worried about fuel range, but I still have two NATO cans coming.
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Jan 21, 2024 09:30
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Yeah, same same.
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Jan 21, 2024 17:33
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If I have time I'm going to weld up a mount that hangs off of the swing out spare tire carrier frame. If I don't, I'll ratchet strap them to the roof rack.
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Jan 21, 2024 22:06
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Finally, finally, after nearly a year of ownership I replaced the lift gate gas shocks. Step 1: remove the cargo area light. Step 1b: figure out that the cargo area light is burnt out and that's why it never worked. Step 1c: buy replacement, make it bright and LED  After a lot of cussing, I got the shocks replaced. It's so so nice to have the lift gate just open.  Oh! Also! I glued up the headliner fabric that was starting to peel! No more flapping around when I have all windows down. The offenders  Straight to jail. Also pictured above is the antenna cable for my ham radio. I ran it up under the headliner to the sunroof controls. My goal is to hang the transceiver off of there as best I can. It was late. I was tired. I might have broken some stuff.  Gotta kill some people to make an omelette. I have to see if I can replace that part. Edit: a lot of them on eBay are broken in exactly the same way I broke mine. This one, surprisingly not! Hundo bucks and I get a working dome light out of the deal, hell yeah 
Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Jan 24, 2024 |
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Jan 24, 2024 08:09
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I popped the new LED cargo area light into its holder. Let there be light! [Not pictured] I got the radio mounted where the roof console used to be, and temporarily wired it up so I could test it.   1.83 standing wave ratio is... not great, but okay. Probably won't hurt my radio. I suspect it's at least partially because my ground plane is basically just the roof rack. I'm also curious about the 58 watts forward power: the radio is rated to 65 watts. Fun fact: at 65 watts (actually 58 watts), pressing the push-to-talk button triggers the motion detecting light in my driveway. While I was doing stuff, I changed the cabin air filter. I've been putting that job off for nearly a year. It was easier than anticipated.  Dropping the cabin air filter cover gave me a ton of room to run power cable for the radio (I also found two more accessory ports I thought existed but couldn't find before). It goes from the center console, up inside the cabin air filter cover, past the passenger's side fuse box, up the passenger's side A pillar, on top of the headliner, and over to the radio. Since I was inside the center console, I pulled the ashtray blanking plate and re-did the wiring.  All buttoned up, it doesn't look too bad. I couldn't quite find a good spot to hang the microphone. I might move it elsewhere.  This is what Ferdinand Porsche had in mind, right? I think, when all is said and done, I'll replace this radio with one where I can stick the transceiver in the trunk and just run a little cable for the display, speaker, and mic up to the front like one of the other Alcan Cayennes has. This afternoon I cadded up the rough shape of the roof console. I might print part of that and use it to cover up the hole in the ceiling. I've got half a mind to add some map lights, and maybe even replace the controls for the sun shade.  Speaking of! Have you ever wondered how the sun shade button talks to the rest of the car? I pulled up the diagram and was puzzled by it.  It's only got two wires. It looks like four momentary contact switches that close the same circuit? It took me a second, but I worked out it must have four different resistor values. I measured them and wrote them down but the piece of paper is elsewhere. I think it's something like: Automatic close: 12ish ohms incremental close: 100ish ohms incremental open: 800ish ohms automatic open: 1800ish ohms Safety Dance fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Jan 25, 2024 |
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Jan 25, 2024 08:32
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The fuel cans came in. I'm getting increasingly lazy and don't feel like putting together a goofy platform that hangs off of my spare tire carrier. I started playing with the layout of things on the roof rack. First pass.  I don't *love* how far forward the traction boards sit, but it'd work. Alternative:  I could rotate the fuel cans like that. I like this arrangement a little better: - the handles are on the side and easy to grab. - the traction boards can sit a little further aft. On the other hand, it increases frontal area. Not that that matters a ton. As is tradition, I'm putting together a McMaster order for stuff to hold the fuel cans in place. I might screw around with the fuel can holders I already own and maybe pop rivet them to the roof rack. Right now the cans are sitting open in my garage, because they really smell like the VOCs in the paint. The spouts are the spillproof variety, but they don't have any goofy latches or switches like some fuel cans. I'll practice with them. I own another, non-spillproof spout that I'll carry as well in case they get in the way. I'd also like to stick a shovel on the roof. TBD. Motronic posted:Seems like it to me. I really like your cockpit! I'll be using it for inspiration in the future, definitely.
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Jan 26, 2024 08:36
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Alaska Marine Highway cancelled the sailing from Haines, AK to Bellingham, WA on March 3rd. I'm shipping the Cayenne home instead, and I'll just fly home from Anchorage. Kind of a bummer, but that's boats. On one hand, it puts me back in Seattle sooner for child wrangling. On the other hand, it gives me a day or two to bum around Anchorage. Lights!   Those are Diode Dynamics Stage Series 3 LED pods with DOT beam patterns. I ran the same LEDs on my Subaru in the Thunderbolt, and they really light up the road.  I used two Wago waterproof splice blocks to wire the lights up in parallel, and Deutsch connectors on the lights and where the wiring leaves the truck. If I need a tow, the light rack comes off with two bolts and unplugs in a few seconds.
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Jan 31, 2024 06:16
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New battery came in!  I charged it up overnight, so I figured I'd put it in today! Let me just tilt the driver's seat back and...  What the hell happened here? Some complete chucklefuck stripped out the triple square screw and ground the head into a rough loving pentagon! I am incandescent with rage. TODO: - call my Porsche guy or the dealership in Bellevue and see if they have any replacement bolts - get a loving easy out I guess - jesus loving christ - gently caress
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Feb 2, 2024 07:16
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Kastivich, I don't blame you. This is probably the same idiot that put in the drat backup camera or the ridiculous head unit. Edit: one of those sockets with a bunch of spring-loaded pins might get this out if I treat it as a single use tool.
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Feb 2, 2024 07:19
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