Bonneville 2012 or Bust
 

Recent events have presented themselves in such a manner as to facilitate me going to Bonneville Salt Flats next year, Sept 8-11. Not Aerohead's kind and generous offer to help funding the trip, but the timing of events occurring around me and my family are allowing me to take on a huge challenge like this. This last summer had me recovering from reconstructive surgery on my left ankle, and missing any trips I would have gone on. Hopefully next summer, all will be well.

The OBJECTIVE;
Associating road mileage performance with top speed performance, meeting up with fellow Ecomodders on the trip, getting the best mileage possible on the trip( shooting for 70 plus mpg, joining the 130mph club, and most important of all, having an adventure of a lifetime.

The EVENT;
USFRA World of Speed. Sept 8-11, 2012

The VEHICLE;
The newly renamed "Franken-Jetta". Since I've recently purchased a 1.6 litre diesel engine(normally aspirated), I can proceed with the WVOil mod I've had on the back burner for over a decade. As the rules do not allow or disallow the use of WVO on the run( as I read it anyway), I will be getting info about that later.

The CREW;
My son and I. All others are welcome to come along, make meeting points before and/or after the salt. As in keeping with Bennelson's plan for an event next summer, this will be videoed when possible in case of a connection to his event. Aerohead missed running in 2011, so I'm pretty sure he will be redoubling his efforts in 2012. Others have expressed interest, Redyaris, Brucepic,... all are involved whether going or not. Good wishes and encouragement are always appreciated.:thumbup:

Sounds fun! I'm honestly not sure where I'll be after graduation in May but it would be fun to meet you and the car on the way through.

What is the stock top speed? I've gotten my Mk1 up to 86.

I will put this on my calender! The EVENT; USFRA World of Speed. Sept 8-11, 2012 at Bonneville Salt Flats Utah. An update on my proposed FE run, make it 4 laps of a 25 mile road course alternating Clock wise and counter clock wise. 2 hours to finnish and variouse other simple rules that are easy to inforce and fun. The two that I can think of are time and weight... total weight for motorcycles and left or right side 2 wheels of 4 wheeled car.;)

For the Mk 2 diesel Jetta(NA) the top speed is 92mph according to my research, so far. I'm sure this is aerodynamically limited as I've found the top RPM is 5000rpm, and according to Gear Up! if I use 185/70r14 tires, the final drive out of my AUG code transmission and the .75 5th gear from the diesels ACH code trans, 130 mph happens at 4970 rpm. If I keep the gas engine, 6100 rpm, top speed gearing is 155 mph. As I am more concerned with mpg than mph, I'll take what I can on the Salt and be more concerned with driveability and keeping the overall height of the car to the template height that I am building it to(54.5 inches). I do need to use 130mph rated tires for the run, and 65 series tires are easier to come by than 70 series at that rating. Bridgestone Ecopia EP100s at 175/65r14 are the same height as the 185/60r14 original size for my car, and IIRC, are also LRR tires.

My options in order of liklyhoud are
1 Suzuki GS500, aeromodded, top speed est. 190km/h [118 mph]
2 Toyota Yaris, aeromodded, top speed est. 185km/hr [115 mph] governed max
3 Honda VT500, aeromodded, top speed est. 175km/h [109 mph] shaft drive
As I am not that interested in going much faster than 200km/hr on the motorcycles I will not be doing anything to make them faster. the Yaris with its short wheel base is not the car to be going over 210km/h [130 mph] without doing something to improve directional stability.
My question to anyone who has been there, is riding on the salt flats anything like riding on gravel in that a bike tends to weave when riding on gravel roads?

Sounds like a fun trip for sure! Combining MPG with speed sounds like a fun challenge for sure and the chance to get out on the salt would be a chance of a lifetime for me at least.
Matt

USFRA says that there is no camping on the Salt but free camping is allowed at the Bend in the Road Campground. One of the hotels that they list on their home page is already full for that weekend. I am building my car to sleep in the back end, so I'll be shooting for the campground.

I've emailed them for clarification about reservations, using WVO for fuel and timing for the membership application.

This week, I'll be looking to tear into the donor car for the impending engine swap;
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1321928388

I'd love to bring my car down and give it a shot but I don't have H speed rated tires.
Maybe another year.

It's in September. Maybe you'll need a new set of tires before then:D.

It looks like a 2 day trip from here, first day will get me to Dillon MT the second day should get me to Wendover UT. I am looking into where to stay motel or camping, It looks like a very buisy week.