Bonneville UT Speed GTG Spring 2011 – Let’s do the Flying Mile – Who's in?
- Thread starter tothemax
- Start date
ChippedNotBroken
Veteran Member
This is what I was afraid of, we can't actually run the flying mile. At that altitude and on salt, a mile @ 130 is going to be all but next to impossible. I will look forward to seeing your results, but since this will only be a mile drag I think I will wait for the Maxton Mile schedule out here on the East coast and see if I can't get a group together for us Easterners. I suspect that at nearly sea level on an air strip I'll have a better chance to break 130 
FlyTDI Guy
Top Post Dawg
Great info, Pierre and that really clears up some issues (on my part anyways). Compared to the Texas Mile, I wonder if Bonneville's race format is better or maybe not in relation to the goals of the TDI'ers who want to participate? It would be pretty cool having a time slip from THE Bonneville Salt Flats. I think the venue would be great. It's an exotic place to race, no where else like it.
That said, I have some fixable issues that would prevent me from entering if it were tomorrow. Running my car flat out in 5th for extended periods of time is pretty much uncharted territory for me. I'd need to go through my front end for sure before I even thought about it. Don't count me out, though. There's plenty of time to get things fixed. As far as EGT management and other issues that may come up at high stress and speed conditions, where the heck can one do that without mortally risking their driving privileges I'm thinking we need an Autobahn...
That said, I have some fixable issues that would prevent me from entering if it were tomorrow. Running my car flat out in 5th for extended periods of time is pretty much uncharted territory for me. I'd need to go through my front end for sure before I even thought about it. Don't count me out, though. There's plenty of time to get things fixed. As far as EGT management and other issues that may come up at high stress and speed conditions, where the heck can one do that without mortally risking their driving privileges
I'm thinking we need an Autobahn...
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Just heard back from www.saltflats.com. I had contacted them about making a class for TDI's. His response is cut and pasted below. This guy sounds pretty cool ... a VW enthusiast and historian:
"Hi Pierre
My name is Burly Burlile and although I am not a USFRA official, I work closely with them in two areas, both VW related. I think that is why they copied me your inquiry about racing VW TDi's at Bonneville.
Through them, I promote the 36hp Challenge for VW's running the old 36hp VW air cooled engines. We utilize the 130 MPH Club category as this fits our speed potential best and helps keep the costs low for the VW racers that participate.
Secondly, I am the unofficial historian for all things VW and land speed racing and as such, maintain a continuing chronology of every Volkswagen powered vehicle that has ever raced in a land speed racing venue any where in the world. In this light alone, I am interested in what you are proposing and would like to offer any guidance I can. I am aware of your group and regretted not being able to attend the initial TDi gathering in Park City, Utah, in the early days( I live in northern Utah ). Another area I take care of is authoring occasional articles about VW's and Bonneville for Hot VW's magazine.
As racing land speed would be new to most of your crew, the 130 MPH Club and 150 MPH Clubs are ideal for getting your feet wet. The street car aspect of both classes allows for high speed without building out and out race cars and their related high costs. In particular, the 130 MPH Club lets you race with factory seat belt and harness systems and no roll bars or cage unless you choose. H-Rated tires with metal valve stems and caps and a five pound fire bottle securely mounted in the passenger area are the primary additions you must make to race in the 130 MPH Club event(go to www.saltflats.com and review the 130 MPH Club link for specific requirements !). The 130 MPH Club does not race 'classes', just individual efforts for maximum speeds to 139.999 mph. However, as the VW LSR historian, I would be recording 'each' VW TDi's top speed in the VW LSR history to maintain the chronolgy.
The actual racing classes you outlined in your letter below would require each TDi to build to the very strict safety regulations for a specific racing category, and this becomes very expensive. That is what makes the 130 (and 150) events so attractive to folks not interested in building dedicated racers.
A Mini Cooper club has been coming to race 130 the past few years with great results in addition to having a great time.
Obviously I would encourage you to pursue this interest in Bonneville and ask that you feel free to contact me should you have any questions that I can try to answer. I have taken the liberty of adding you to our 36hp Challenge email newsletter list so I can make you aware of what us slower VW's are doing and to keep you abreast of any VW related land speed racing info that comes my way.
Until next visit, may the Speed be with you..................
Burly Burlile"
"Hi Pierre
My name is Burly Burlile and although I am not a USFRA official, I work closely with them in two areas, both VW related. I think that is why they copied me your inquiry about racing VW TDi's at Bonneville.
Through them, I promote the 36hp Challenge for VW's running the old 36hp VW air cooled engines. We utilize the 130 MPH Club category as this fits our speed potential best and helps keep the costs low for the VW racers that participate.
Secondly, I am the unofficial historian for all things VW and land speed racing and as such, maintain a continuing chronology of every Volkswagen powered vehicle that has ever raced in a land speed racing venue any where in the world. In this light alone, I am interested in what you are proposing and would like to offer any guidance I can. I am aware of your group and regretted not being able to attend the initial TDi gathering in Park City, Utah, in the early days( I live in northern Utah ). Another area I take care of is authoring occasional articles about VW's and Bonneville for Hot VW's magazine.
As racing land speed would be new to most of your crew, the 130 MPH Club and 150 MPH Clubs are ideal for getting your feet wet. The street car aspect of both classes allows for high speed without building out and out race cars and their related high costs. In particular, the 130 MPH Club lets you race with factory seat belt and harness systems and no roll bars or cage unless you choose. H-Rated tires with metal valve stems and caps and a five pound fire bottle securely mounted in the passenger area are the primary additions you must make to race in the 130 MPH Club event(go to www.saltflats.com and review the 130 MPH Club link for specific requirements !). The 130 MPH Club does not race 'classes', just individual efforts for maximum speeds to 139.999 mph. However, as the VW LSR historian, I would be recording 'each' VW TDi's top speed in the VW LSR history to maintain the chronolgy.
The actual racing classes you outlined in your letter below would require each TDi to build to the very strict safety regulations for a specific racing category, and this becomes very expensive. That is what makes the 130 (and 150) events so attractive to folks not interested in building dedicated racers.
A Mini Cooper club has been coming to race 130 the past few years with great results in addition to having a great time.
Obviously I would encourage you to pursue this interest in Bonneville and ask that you feel free to contact me should you have any questions that I can try to answer. I have taken the liberty of adding you to our 36hp Challenge email newsletter list so I can make you aware of what us slower VW's are doing and to keep you abreast of any VW related land speed racing info that comes my way.
Until next visit, may the Speed be with you..................
Burly Burlile"
Farfromovin
Torque Addict
Pff, OFFICALLY faster than ol' Greggles sounds like a real good title. Justin already has one (1/4 mile), I want one too!
KansasJettatdi
Member
oldpoopie
Vendor
- Joined
- May 14, 2001
- Location
- Portland Oregon
- TDI
- 2001 golf gl, 2006 jetta, 1981 ALH swapped rabbit pickup, 1998 beetle
We should have FEST in bonneville next year!
That would be super cool... I am sure they also have a 1/4 Mi drag strip so we could have fun doing both... the 1/4 Mi and also the flying mile....
Farfromovin
Torque Addict
Just to Clarify... we are talking about the West Fest here... not the full blown TDIfest.. All we really need to have a fun West Fest is:Well, you guys know how to put a proposal together. Git 'er done
1- a bunch of beer...
2- some TDI rednecks (the usual West Coast suspects) and maybe a few more from East of the great divide too
3- a track.....
So Joneses .... ARE YOU IN?
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TDIMeister
Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Here's some encouragement and motivation for those interested in doing the flying mile:
Volvo reveals fastest hybrid truck
Three years ago, Ovebrink had beaten his own standing kilometre record for trucks with a maximum displacement of 16-liters – a record that had stood since 2001. He achieved this by reaching an average speed of 158.829km/h with his red Volvo NH16, which was nicknamed the Wild Viking. After setting a new level, he met Staffan Jufors, CEO of Volvo Trucks, who asked him, “Do you plan to sit down and twiddle your thumbs now, enjoying the fame that comes with being world champion or do you have any new ideas?” Ovebrink replied: “I’d like to build the world’s fastest hybrid truck.”
And the rest, it would seem, is history. “The idea met with approval, but at the time I had no idea about the fantastic technology Volvo had in the pipeline,” he recalls.
Planning for the hybrid got under way, but suddenly, however, a Czech truck racing team claimed they had beaten Ovebrink’s record. Order had to be restored, so that spring, Volvo engineer Olof Johansson got down to some serious work. He started building a truck that could retake the record, but that could also be reconfigured for the planned racing hybrid driveline. Even at that early stage, the truck was to be called Mean Green, but the team decided not to install the hybrid driveline straight away.
“I started building the truck from two half frames that had been earmarked for the scrap yard and the American VN cab came from a crash-tested chassis whose cab was totally intact,” he explains.
Weight reduction was absolutely crucial to setting new records. For example, the front axle was milled by experts from Volvo’s engine factory in Skövde, Sweden and reduced from 100kgs to 57kgs. Then the gear set for first gear was removed from the gearbox, shaving another seven kgs off.
“I slit open the wiring harnesses and removed unnecessary wiring. That slashed almost six kilos,” says Johansson.
Ovebrink was also ordered to lose weight, as he recalls, “They made me promise to lose 20kilos and, so far I’m half-way to my target.”
Designer Jonas Sandström at Volvo put in many hours with his CAD program to come up with the optimal aerodynamic shape.
“It’s important that the wind breaks away from the bodywork in the right way. Our truck differs from a Formula 1 car, for instance, in that the aerodynamic properties allow the truck to slice through the air rather than be pressed down onto the road surface,” he explains.
Just a few days before the assault on the record, it was announced that the FIA had disallowed the Czech team’s result. Still, there was no need to cancel the planned attempt on the record. Ovebrink and the Volvo team were aiming to further improve on the 2007 record, and on June 9 2010 they did just that. The new world record for the standing kilometre was set at a two-way average speed of 166.7km/h. Top speed was in the region of 260 km/h.
Once this was achieved, focus reverted to what the entire project had been about from the very outset. “Olof immediately went on the offensive. The very same day the new record was set; he pulled out his toolbox and started modifying the truck to build what we see today – a thoroughbred hybrid.”
The truck already had a standard Volvo 16-liter 700bhp engine with equipment including twin turbos from Volvo Penta. It was a powerplant delivering a massive 1,900bhp. The truck retained that unit. However, the lightened Powertronic auto-shifter was replaced with a modified version of Volvo’s automated I-Shift gearbox so that the transmission could interact with the component that makes Mean Green a hybrid – its electric motor.
“This gives an additional 200bhp and 1,100 Nm of torque. The result is a lightning-speed boost from start-off without any of the customary diesel-engine ‘lag’. It’s like a champagne cork, but without the sound effects. For the first couple of seconds, the truck just makes a slight whistle until the diesel engine, which runs on renewable liquid rosin diesel, starts delivering with explosive force – by which time the truck is already doing 60km/h and I can engage ninth gear,” explains Ovebrink.
So, when is Mean Gree’ going to make its bid for the standing kilometre record? “This November we’ll test race it at Volvo’s Hällered proving ground to see what it’s capable of. Then, as soon as the winter snows disappear early next spring, we’ll set our record.” says Ovebrink, confidently.
Volvo reveals fastest hybrid truck
Three years ago, Ovebrink had beaten his own standing kilometre record for trucks with a maximum displacement of 16-liters – a record that had stood since 2001. He achieved this by reaching an average speed of 158.829km/h with his red Volvo NH16, which was nicknamed the Wild Viking. After setting a new level, he met Staffan Jufors, CEO of Volvo Trucks, who asked him, “Do you plan to sit down and twiddle your thumbs now, enjoying the fame that comes with being world champion or do you have any new ideas?” Ovebrink replied: “I’d like to build the world’s fastest hybrid truck.”
And the rest, it would seem, is history. “The idea met with approval, but at the time I had no idea about the fantastic technology Volvo had in the pipeline,” he recalls.
Planning for the hybrid got under way, but suddenly, however, a Czech truck racing team claimed they had beaten Ovebrink’s record. Order had to be restored, so that spring, Volvo engineer Olof Johansson got down to some serious work. He started building a truck that could retake the record, but that could also be reconfigured for the planned racing hybrid driveline. Even at that early stage, the truck was to be called Mean Green, but the team decided not to install the hybrid driveline straight away.
“I started building the truck from two half frames that had been earmarked for the scrap yard and the American VN cab came from a crash-tested chassis whose cab was totally intact,” he explains.
Weight reduction was absolutely crucial to setting new records. For example, the front axle was milled by experts from Volvo’s engine factory in Skövde, Sweden and reduced from 100kgs to 57kgs. Then the gear set for first gear was removed from the gearbox, shaving another seven kgs off.
“I slit open the wiring harnesses and removed unnecessary wiring. That slashed almost six kilos,” says Johansson.
Ovebrink was also ordered to lose weight, as he recalls, “They made me promise to lose 20kilos and, so far I’m half-way to my target.”
Designer Jonas Sandström at Volvo put in many hours with his CAD program to come up with the optimal aerodynamic shape.
“It’s important that the wind breaks away from the bodywork in the right way. Our truck differs from a Formula 1 car, for instance, in that the aerodynamic properties allow the truck to slice through the air rather than be pressed down onto the road surface,” he explains.
Just a few days before the assault on the record, it was announced that the FIA had disallowed the Czech team’s result. Still, there was no need to cancel the planned attempt on the record. Ovebrink and the Volvo team were aiming to further improve on the 2007 record, and on June 9 2010 they did just that. The new world record for the standing kilometre was set at a two-way average speed of 166.7km/h. Top speed was in the region of 260 km/h.
Once this was achieved, focus reverted to what the entire project had been about from the very outset. “Olof immediately went on the offensive. The very same day the new record was set; he pulled out his toolbox and started modifying the truck to build what we see today – a thoroughbred hybrid.”
The truck already had a standard Volvo 16-liter 700bhp engine with equipment including twin turbos from Volvo Penta. It was a powerplant delivering a massive 1,900bhp. The truck retained that unit. However, the lightened Powertronic auto-shifter was replaced with a modified version of Volvo’s automated I-Shift gearbox so that the transmission could interact with the component that makes Mean Green a hybrid – its electric motor.
“This gives an additional 200bhp and 1,100 Nm of torque. The result is a lightning-speed boost from start-off without any of the customary diesel-engine ‘lag’. It’s like a champagne cork, but without the sound effects. For the first couple of seconds, the truck just makes a slight whistle until the diesel engine, which runs on renewable liquid rosin diesel, starts delivering with explosive force – by which time the truck is already doing 60km/h and I can engage ninth gear,” explains Ovebrink.
So, when is Mean Gree’ going to make its bid for the standing kilometre record? “This November we’ll test race it at Volvo’s Hällered proving ground to see what it’s capable of. Then, as soon as the winter snows disappear early next spring, we’ll set our record.” says Ovebrink, confidently.