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KOH 2018
- Thread starter Eddyj
- Start date
blacksheep10
XBJRA champ/ 555 and team Nasty codriver
- Joined
- May 22, 2007
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Sent my Honda 70 to a buddy a couple hours away. Our pit is in the fence, but like a mile from hammertown. Won't fit in the overhead bin, so I had to find a ride for it, damn if I'm walking that far for a shitter. Leave in one week!
P
If its free, its P
blacksheep10 said:
Solid plan, pit bike is damn near required as big as Hammer town seems to have gotten :****: flyin f **** up and fly home... damn Kelly you really have made it to celeb status. .... well Miles has ya whooped still
blacksheep10
XBJRA champ/ 555 and team Nasty codriver
- Joined
- May 22, 2007
- Messages
- 10,442
- Reaction score
- 3
I still have to buy my damn flights, they pay his way out and give him money to talk on camera. I think they also by his beerP said:
Eddyj
Well-Known Member
Will you and miles be riding Butt to nut on the pit bike? 
Rockwells607
Well-Known Member
I'm headed out wed. Night sometime from NY been burning thelatw night oil getting this new car done... Tech Sunday and tune with fox Monday then hopefully just some tweaks and maintance throughout the week of prerunning and testing 
Rockwells607
Well-Known Member
Post koh. Second year I've been and this was better then the last. The shootout was much better as people didn't hafta trample each other to see it , plenty of room and not on the side of a mountain breaking your ankles . Dave Cole said it was 800% larger this year over last and I believe it . The amount of campers was staggering how far out the lakebed they went. Good events every night to see/ do. I keep saying that the races almost have falling to second over all the other things to see and do at koh. It's truly a week long wheeling festival that should be on every hardcore wheelers bucket list at least once .
blacksheep10
XBJRA champ/ 555 and team Nasty codriver
- Joined
- May 22, 2007
- Messages
- 10,442
- Reaction score
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If you're going to wheel, please don't wheel on a weekday laughing1 We were on race course heading down our second lap and 3 toyotas were just bee bopping along backwards on race course oblivious to all the lath and orange arrows they were traveling opposite of. We actually got looks of, "wtf" until they saw all the helmets and coms and numbers. Otherwise it was a great event and always a good time.
Rockwells607
Well-Known Member
I witnessed the same thing at backdoor during the utv race . For the life of me I couldn't figure out what two buggies were driving onto the live coarse for, they went around the steel bike gates to get into the coarse . 
BustedKnucklefilms
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- Aug 24, 2009
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Thursday night at Backdoor was a good time, These folks know how to Party. 
Thursday Night BACKDOOR SHOOTOUT Party KOH 2018
Thursday Night BACKDOOR SHOOTOUT Party KOH 2018
ridered3
Not Rigless
Since the races have been over for a few weeks, how about stories/race reports from those that raced, rode, helped in pits, or just sat around Hammertown
ridered3
Not Rigless
squeak12 said:
Either sounds good to me. Always think the race recaps are neat since you get additional details instead of just Did not Finish or Finished in X Place.
Eddyj
Well-Known Member
I got to be honest with you...
I'm a handsome Jay fan
I'm a handsome Jay fan
blacksheep10
XBJRA champ/ 555 and team Nasty codriver
- Joined
- May 22, 2007
- Messages
- 10,442
- Reaction score
- 3
His old Tj build thread in general 4 x 4 is nothing short of epicEddyj said:
Eddyj
Well-Known Member
If he drove as good as he types... wooooooo buddy!
squeak12
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2016
- Messages
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- Reaction score
- 14
I am dating these things, but I am just now putting them down in words so the timeline is estimated as best I remember.
Tuesday 01/30/2018 18:00 - The Start
Finally moving. I am headed to Atlanta to pick up a friend's race car. Then I have to make my way to Birmingham to meet up with another friend to convoy out to CA with his team. I am hoping to be on the road, full of fuel, and headed in an easterly direction by 17:00 Wednesday in direct route to Boone Rd.
Wednesday 01/31/2018 21:00 - Headed West
The camper shell is loaded with everything that I am taking outside of my race car in the trailer. As much of my shop that I could reasonably fit but still easily access everything. Tools packed in boxes, parts to put on the car before it moves, spare parts new and used, empty gas cans, spare tires, roadside emergency tools, cooler packed for a few days, etc. There are three machines in the trailer. I had a 36' wedge in mind for the trip, but the deal fell through and I was scrambling the week before leaving. A friend of a friend let us borrow this 34' trailer. This was yuge! We ended up not leaving Birmingham until just now, four hours behind schedule, but whatever it isn't that much time in the grand scheme of things. One of my friend's mechanics hopped in with me, so I'll actually get to catch a couple of naps on the trip out.
Friday 02/02/2018 04:00 - Finally in the Desert
Finally made it to Boone Rd. Pulling into Hammertown in the middle of the night is always a good idea in my book. Catch a few hours of sleep then hit the ground running. Plus there isn't any traffic to get into the gate. I don't remember the exact timing details with time change, but it was roughly a 32 hour trip only stopping for fuel. I'd say the trailer was in the 15k lb range, and the truck pulled it pretty well even though it was a tad tongue heavy. Plenty of power to get up to 80+ and stopping power was good as well. Coming into Albuquerque was interesting. I woke up from a nap in the passenger seat and we are going downhill 85+ with afternoon traffic coming up. I told my new friend about using the exhaust brake and trans to help keep the brakes cool-ish. He went a little overboard and by the time we got to the fuel station the brakes were good, but the engine and transmission temperature were both over 230 degF. Turns out all of that heat still has to go somewhere. I drove the rest of the way and got the truck to cool off as the sun was going down. As soon as we got into CA, the truck started overheating and we were running low on fuel in the middle of no where. Found an "Oasis" truck stop that got me good at $5.25 a gallon. Limped into Yucca Valley and filled up the coolant reservoir. We must have leaked some out, boiled some out, or something or another because it wasn't in there. Made the two big pulls between town and JV without any issues. Time for some sleep because I still have to work on the race car before I can drive it.
Saturday 02/03/2018 21:00 - Post Qualifying
Qualifying is finished, and I ended up qualifying 62nd. I could have done better under different conditions, but it still isn't back of the pack. I'll be starting in front of likely 40 or more cars. I do have some repair work to do before I can even run the race car again. I'm feeling kind of disappointed at this point in the week. Nothing has gone as planned, and I am still needing work on the race car instead of getting in time running the course and enjoying the event. That's racing, though, and the week has just started.
Tuesday 02/06/2018 21:00 - Night Before the Race
It is the night before the race. I only got to run the first 10 miles of the course on Sunday night. I just got my clutching issues to a manageable level where I feel alright about my chances of not blowing a belt during the race. I ended up screwing up a wheel and have a couple loose fitting studs due to loose lug nuts. I hammered the new wheel on with an impact and made sure that them coming off accidentally would be a non-issue. The race car isn't perfect, but it is about that time to run what you brung and hope for the best. Bolt check is done, tools and spares are packed, and last minute adjustments have been made. I usually hate trying to fall asleep the night before a race, but as much as I haven't slept the past few days, that is the least of my concerns.
Wednesday 02/07/2018 16:00 - Race Recap
I was being too soft off of the start and ended up in the dust of the car I started beside. The first portion of the course was rough. Not like Sledgehammer rough, but hauling ass through some of these sections could end your day quickly if you make a mistake. I was starting to pass a few cars, and the only cars that were passing me were obviously faster than me AKA they were blowing my doors off. I see some friends in the 4 seater RZR around 10 miles in. I get around them feeling really good about how my day is going then BANG, something let loose. It sounds like a belt, which I was half expecting. Pull over, get out, pull the belt cover. Everything looks fine in there, keep looking for the problem. We find the roll pin has fallen out of the driveshaft where it connects to the front differential. I tell my co-driver to start looking for something on the car to stuff into this slot. I have spare bolts, but nothing that small. I end up pulling the clip out that holds the passenger oh crap bar. It fits perfect. A little persuasion and some zip ties and we are ready to go.
Unfortunately, we got passed by probably every car that was still in the race at that point, roughly 35 positions. I'm not 100% about the fix, so we take it easy for the next 15 minutes or so. Since we are out of contention for the clean race needed to finish well, anytime I saw someone I knew, we stopped to check on them. Ended up getting a bolt for the oh crap bar, and we started pushing a little bit since the front end was still holding together. Finally get into Cougar Buttes, which remember I didn't run before the race. I sit there for a minute wondering what in the hell I am going to do, when another car comes up behind me. Looks like I am following him. Turns out that either rocks really aren't his thing, or he didn't pre-run it either. We find a way around him, and it is back into the desert, really good desert by the way. Suspension is working well. The only stuff slowing me down from the pace I want to run is high displacement stuff at speeds greater than 40 or so. Lots of broken cars, but we are still rolling with no more issues. I come back into Pit 1 and can't find the guys that I am looking for. Finally, I see a friend/racer and his crew. They are out of the race with a transmission issue. I ask if I can get a splash of fuel to be sure I make it back to Main Pit. They put about 3 gallons in and tell me it is pouring out. I'll figure it out later, but thanks guys. I don't have time to talk about it.Right before the lakebedAt the course re-entry, I get passed by a car that bypassed the pits. My GPS had a top speed of 68. If it wasn't for the insane dust that completely covered my GoPro, I probably could have gotten another 5-10 mph out the car as long as the belt held together on the section that goes into the military base.
We get into Resolution/Backdoor, and I am stuck behind the same car. His co-driver gets out. He is barely moving in some spots, and I am getting super frustrated. Well his co-driver has to get back in eventually, so at the bottom of Resolution I get around him. Neither myself or my co-driver have been down Backdoor, but I have looked at it and have an idea of the lines available. Tire in the crack, ease it down, gas it at the bottom. Easy peasy, I don't get all the hype, especially if you have a clean run at the line you want. We get to the big two step rock wall before the short course and there are about 5 cars in various places. Some at the bottom, some in the middle, I think there was even one on its side. There is one line available, so I give it shot. Not quite enough skinny pedal, but it is definitely a decent line. Back down and hit it again, straight to the top and my adrenaline is going again. I blow past main pit. Allegedly I have plenty of fuel, so I plan to stop at Pit 2A and catch 5 gallons.
I make it into Pit 2A, and again, I can't find our group pit. Some random team gives us some water that I devour in about 2 seconds. Finally see some guys I know, not the ones I am looking for but good guys that I know will bolt check my car before the rocks. I tell them about my fuel issue and ask them to check the tank. My light is blinking, but they say they can see fuel in the tank still. Bolt check is done and I am off to the rocks where I am more experienced. At this point we are 4+ hours into the race and I am starting to get fatigued. I made a stupid driving mistake and rolled the car over on it's side in a left hand turn. Whatever, we get the car back over quickly and on our way. Maybe lost 1 position, I don't remember. Get back down the trail and Boulderdash is on the GPS. I think we need to be on the lower line so I head down a loose side hill to get there. I ended up rolling the car again but on the other side. It stops a quarter roll short of back on the tires. We spend probably 30 minutes there trying to get this thing flipped back over with no good winch points around. While we are there, I see just how many cars we must of passed in Main Pit. Some of the cars that came around me finished top 30. And I know I started 20+ positions behind all of them. Probably ended up losing 15 spots or so. Then I get up past Boulderdash and its a traffic jam.
We figure we have little chance of not timing out, but things finally start moving. Then my fuel issues start showing up again. Almost every time I get on an uphill slope and have to stop, the machine cuts off. I am definitely running out of fuel, and I am starting to be the bottleneck anytime I don't one shot the obstacle ahead. Eventually I am 3/4 of the way up a hill and can't get get flat enough to get the engine started. I try to winch over as much as possible to let people by and not be too much of a nuisance. There go another 6-8 positions. We eventually get to the top of the rock trails, and there isn't really any option other than to keep going and see how far the fuel will last. Coasting downhill, trying to make it up the next hill, and wearing the starter out in the middle. This went on for a couple of miles or longer. By the end of this ordeal, we are completely out of fuel and my co-driver is totally over it. We see another car broken down at the bottom of a hill and coast down to them. We try to help them as much as possible, but they can't get back running without parts. I offer them a trade. In exchange for fuel, I will give them a tow a couple of miles to Sledgehammer where they have parts at the bottom. We pull the fuel line from the injector rail and start filling up water bottles 16 oz at a time. We get about a gallon in and hope that will do it.
Make it to Sledgehammer. My co-driver just wants to get back to Hammertown , but I am determined to get down the trail to the next checkpoint before calling it. Unfortunately there is a car stuck in the middle of the trail where it cuts hard right about halfway in. High centered front and rear, winched nose all the way up to a rock, and having transmission issues. I ask them what I can do to get their car out of the trail because I am going around or over it. Eventually we get it moved enough between my winch and their winch to give it a shot. We get through there and make it to the checkpoint right around 4:00. Timed out and ready to get back to the trailer. I find another gallon of fuel from a couple of generous spectators, and we head off through the lake bed towards Hammertown. It wasn't the race that I was hoping for, but the race car was in decent shape and still moving under its own power. I made it twice as far as the year before, and expect to do better next year. Now it is time to rest and relax for a couple of days before making the trek back to Georgia.
Tuesday 01/30/2018 18:00 - The Start
Finally moving. I am headed to Atlanta to pick up a friend's race car. Then I have to make my way to Birmingham to meet up with another friend to convoy out to CA with his team. I am hoping to be on the road, full of fuel, and headed in an easterly direction by 17:00 Wednesday in direct route to Boone Rd.
Wednesday 01/31/2018 21:00 - Headed West
The camper shell is loaded with everything that I am taking outside of my race car in the trailer. As much of my shop that I could reasonably fit but still easily access everything. Tools packed in boxes, parts to put on the car before it moves, spare parts new and used, empty gas cans, spare tires, roadside emergency tools, cooler packed for a few days, etc. There are three machines in the trailer. I had a 36' wedge in mind for the trip, but the deal fell through and I was scrambling the week before leaving. A friend of a friend let us borrow this 34' trailer. This was yuge! We ended up not leaving Birmingham until just now, four hours behind schedule, but whatever it isn't that much time in the grand scheme of things. One of my friend's mechanics hopped in with me, so I'll actually get to catch a couple of naps on the trip out.
Friday 02/02/2018 04:00 - Finally in the Desert
Finally made it to Boone Rd. Pulling into Hammertown in the middle of the night is always a good idea in my book. Catch a few hours of sleep then hit the ground running. Plus there isn't any traffic to get into the gate. I don't remember the exact timing details with time change, but it was roughly a 32 hour trip only stopping for fuel. I'd say the trailer was in the 15k lb range, and the truck pulled it pretty well even though it was a tad tongue heavy. Plenty of power to get up to 80+ and stopping power was good as well. Coming into Albuquerque was interesting. I woke up from a nap in the passenger seat and we are going downhill 85+ with afternoon traffic coming up. I told my new friend about using the exhaust brake and trans to help keep the brakes cool-ish. He went a little overboard and by the time we got to the fuel station the brakes were good, but the engine and transmission temperature were both over 230 degF. Turns out all of that heat still has to go somewhere. I drove the rest of the way and got the truck to cool off as the sun was going down. As soon as we got into CA, the truck started overheating and we were running low on fuel in the middle of no where. Found an "Oasis" truck stop that got me good at $5.25 a gallon. Limped into Yucca Valley and filled up the coolant reservoir. We must have leaked some out, boiled some out, or something or another because it wasn't in there. Made the two big pulls between town and JV without any issues. Time for some sleep because I still have to work on the race car before I can drive it.
Saturday 02/03/2018 21:00 - Post Qualifying
Qualifying is finished, and I ended up qualifying 62nd. I could have done better under different conditions, but it still isn't back of the pack. I'll be starting in front of likely 40 or more cars. I do have some repair work to do before I can even run the race car again. I'm feeling kind of disappointed at this point in the week. Nothing has gone as planned, and I am still needing work on the race car instead of getting in time running the course and enjoying the event. That's racing, though, and the week has just started.
Tuesday 02/06/2018 21:00 - Night Before the Race
It is the night before the race. I only got to run the first 10 miles of the course on Sunday night. I just got my clutching issues to a manageable level where I feel alright about my chances of not blowing a belt during the race. I ended up screwing up a wheel and have a couple loose fitting studs due to loose lug nuts. I hammered the new wheel on with an impact and made sure that them coming off accidentally would be a non-issue. The race car isn't perfect, but it is about that time to run what you brung and hope for the best. Bolt check is done, tools and spares are packed, and last minute adjustments have been made. I usually hate trying to fall asleep the night before a race, but as much as I haven't slept the past few days, that is the least of my concerns.
Wednesday 02/07/2018 16:00 - Race Recap
I was being too soft off of the start and ended up in the dust of the car I started beside. The first portion of the course was rough. Not like Sledgehammer rough, but hauling ass through some of these sections could end your day quickly if you make a mistake. I was starting to pass a few cars, and the only cars that were passing me were obviously faster than me AKA they were blowing my doors off. I see some friends in the 4 seater RZR around 10 miles in. I get around them feeling really good about how my day is going then BANG, something let loose. It sounds like a belt, which I was half expecting. Pull over, get out, pull the belt cover. Everything looks fine in there, keep looking for the problem. We find the roll pin has fallen out of the driveshaft where it connects to the front differential. I tell my co-driver to start looking for something on the car to stuff into this slot. I have spare bolts, but nothing that small. I end up pulling the clip out that holds the passenger oh crap bar. It fits perfect. A little persuasion and some zip ties and we are ready to go.
Unfortunately, we got passed by probably every car that was still in the race at that point, roughly 35 positions. I'm not 100% about the fix, so we take it easy for the next 15 minutes or so. Since we are out of contention for the clean race needed to finish well, anytime I saw someone I knew, we stopped to check on them. Ended up getting a bolt for the oh crap bar, and we started pushing a little bit since the front end was still holding together. Finally get into Cougar Buttes, which remember I didn't run before the race. I sit there for a minute wondering what in the hell I am going to do, when another car comes up behind me. Looks like I am following him. Turns out that either rocks really aren't his thing, or he didn't pre-run it either. We find a way around him, and it is back into the desert, really good desert by the way. Suspension is working well. The only stuff slowing me down from the pace I want to run is high displacement stuff at speeds greater than 40 or so. Lots of broken cars, but we are still rolling with no more issues. I come back into Pit 1 and can't find the guys that I am looking for. Finally, I see a friend/racer and his crew. They are out of the race with a transmission issue. I ask if I can get a splash of fuel to be sure I make it back to Main Pit. They put about 3 gallons in and tell me it is pouring out. I'll figure it out later, but thanks guys. I don't have time to talk about it.
We get into Resolution/Backdoor, and I am stuck behind the same car. His co-driver gets out. He is barely moving in some spots, and I am getting super frustrated. Well his co-driver has to get back in eventually, so at the bottom of Resolution I get around him. Neither myself or my co-driver have been down Backdoor, but I have looked at it and have an idea of the lines available. Tire in the crack, ease it down, gas it at the bottom. Easy peasy, I don't get all the hype, especially if you have a clean run at the line you want. We get to the big two step rock wall before the short course and there are about 5 cars in various places. Some at the bottom, some in the middle, I think there was even one on its side. There is one line available, so I give it shot. Not quite enough skinny pedal, but it is definitely a decent line. Back down and hit it again, straight to the top and my adrenaline is going again. I blow past main pit. Allegedly I have plenty of fuel, so I plan to stop at Pit 2A and catch 5 gallons.
I make it into Pit 2A, and again, I can't find our group pit. Some random team gives us some water that I devour in about 2 seconds. Finally see some guys I know, not the ones I am looking for but good guys that I know will bolt check my car before the rocks. I tell them about my fuel issue and ask them to check the tank. My light is blinking, but they say they can see fuel in the tank still. Bolt check is done and I am off to the rocks where I am more experienced. At this point we are 4+ hours into the race and I am starting to get fatigued. I made a stupid driving mistake and rolled the car over on it's side in a left hand turn. Whatever, we get the car back over quickly and on our way. Maybe lost 1 position, I don't remember. Get back down the trail and Boulderdash is on the GPS. I think we need to be on the lower line so I head down a loose side hill to get there. I ended up rolling the car again but on the other side. It stops a quarter roll short of back on the tires. We spend probably 30 minutes there trying to get this thing flipped back over with no good winch points around. While we are there, I see just how many cars we must of passed in Main Pit. Some of the cars that came around me finished top 30. And I know I started 20+ positions behind all of them. Probably ended up losing 15 spots or so. Then I get up past Boulderdash and its a traffic jam.
We figure we have little chance of not timing out, but things finally start moving. Then my fuel issues start showing up again. Almost every time I get on an uphill slope and have to stop, the machine cuts off. I am definitely running out of fuel, and I am starting to be the bottleneck anytime I don't one shot the obstacle ahead. Eventually I am 3/4 of the way up a hill and can't get get flat enough to get the engine started. I try to winch over as much as possible to let people by and not be too much of a nuisance. There go another 6-8 positions. We eventually get to the top of the rock trails, and there isn't really any option other than to keep going and see how far the fuel will last. Coasting downhill, trying to make it up the next hill, and wearing the starter out in the middle. This went on for a couple of miles or longer. By the end of this ordeal, we are completely out of fuel and my co-driver is totally over it. We see another car broken down at the bottom of a hill and coast down to them. We try to help them as much as possible, but they can't get back running without parts. I offer them a trade. In exchange for fuel, I will give them a tow a couple of miles to Sledgehammer where they have parts at the bottom. We pull the fuel line from the injector rail and start filling up water bottles 16 oz at a time. We get about a gallon in and hope that will do it.
Make it to Sledgehammer. My co-driver just wants to get back to Hammertown , but I am determined to get down the trail to the next checkpoint before calling it. Unfortunately there is a car stuck in the middle of the trail where it cuts hard right about halfway in. High centered front and rear, winched nose all the way up to a rock, and having transmission issues. I ask them what I can do to get their car out of the trail because I am going around or over it. Eventually we get it moved enough between my winch and their winch to give it a shot. We get through there and make it to the checkpoint right around 4:00. Timed out and ready to get back to the trailer. I find another gallon of fuel from a couple of generous spectators, and we head off through the lake bed towards Hammertown. It wasn't the race that I was hoping for, but the race car was in decent shape and still moving under its own power. I made it twice as far as the year before, and expect to do better next year. Now it is time to rest and relax for a couple of days before making the trek back to Georgia.
