John Lane's Fire Breathing Monster info & pics

[Volvo78GT]

spinning tops come to mind...

I'm coming to seattle for a wedding in the summer... I would LOVE a ride!

I promise, I wont eat anything for 24 hours before

LOL

[JohnLane]

Originally Posted by wadejg

Also, I noticed the IPD PIR picture references the name Topi Hynynen. Isn't he the same guy Dave Barton talks about in http://www.linkline.com/personal/dbarton/topi/
And if it is what kind of "spin" were you taking him for? :evil:

Regards,
Justin

I would put a lot more effort into watching out for the guy that put together that website about Topi then watching out for Topi.
Anytime one is buying racejunk, one must be able to deal with the fact that things require fiddling.
JL.

[gtlover]

What was Topi's reaction to your hi-speed pirouettes?

I'm not a big fan of Topi, but I think he was just having a bad service day and he and Dave B just have a personality clash.

[JohnLane]

Originally Posted by gtlover

What was Topi's reaction to your hi-speed pirouettes?

I'm not a big fan of Topi, but I think he was just having a bad service day and he and Dave B just have a personality clash.

He just giggled, as any proper rallydriver would. JL.

[Volvo78GT]

WOOT!





who says its not manly to giggle?

I have a question about rallying and HP. I know we are all in the quest for more HP and John can arguably have the highest HP volvo in the country (very cool !). ... but ... is more HP better in rallying ?? I mean there must be a point when there is too much HP to the grip of the tires as well as the controlability of the car (the second is probably more so driver). Lets say you have a 300 HP rally 240 vs a 400 HP rally 240 on the same stage. If they are identicle to each other in every other way. Lets say the 400 HP one is spinning its wheels ... throwing dirt all over the place 40% of the time where as the 300 HP cars does this only 15% of the time. Wouldnt the 300Hp car be "faster" in that the traction is more suited towards the track ?

I have been to several rally events ... and have seen certain "low" HP cars do much better than other "high" HP cars and I know more of tthis has to do with the driver. I have seen 350 HP blazers that cant get out of there own way and I have seen 200 HP volvo win stages.

Dont get me wrong .. I am not pooping on the "hail John & Dave" party .... that is an awesome ride... anywhere, any how.... but on the tar I can see HP to the moon (almost) .. but in the dirt ???

... so tell me I am wrong.

-Oskar

[JohnLane]

I will make no effort at all at trying to say that in the situation you describe that less power does not go faster. When I am traction limited I turn down the boost. This is most of the time. I only turn the boost up all the way for one or two gravel events a year. Tarmac is different altogether.
As it goes, I lift when traction is limited. I really enjoy hanging the tail out, and have more fun with 'Style Points' then I care about absolute speed. This goes for tarmac events too. Give 'em a show. The Tarmac tires are here for Thunderhill. Who is up for a friendly wager for fast lap time?? 8) JL.

[Tuff240]

Originally Posted by JohnLane

The Tarmac tires are here for Thunderhill. Who is up for a friendly wager for fast lap time?? 8) JL.

I will just for the hell of it. What you got in mind, wager wise? Not that I think I could actually beet you, but it'll be fun trying. Maybe Peter will let me test out his 740? That would give me at least a sno-balls chance in hell.

I'm game.

Patrick D.

[JohnLane]

Originally Posted by tuff240

[quote:63f232dbeb="JohnLane"]The Tarmac tires are here for Thunderhill. Who is up for a friendly wager for fast lap time?? 8) JL.

I will just for the hell of it. What you got in mind, wager wise? Not that I think I could actually beet you, but it'll be fun trying. Maybe Peter will let me test out his 740? That would give me at least a sno-balls chance in hell.

I'm game.

Patrick D.[/quote:63f232dbeb]

How about the entry fee? JL.

[Hank Scorpio]

I don't know, pat may have a chance depending on how much sideways time John spends! heheheehe :evil:

[JohnLane]

Originally Posted by doug242ti

I don't know, pat may have a chance depending on how much sideways time John spends! heheheehe :evil:

With enough power one does not slow down when getting sideways on tarmac. One just paints a lot of stripe. This is when it gets humorous. :shock: JL.

[Tuff240]

Fastest lap in a Volvo wins entry fee ($150) is fine with me. That's the least I can do for you coming all the way down here. Course, if by some chance, I crack off a faster lap that's just an added expense for you. Do you have someone competant enough to time laps for us?

Anyone else interested in this fastest Volvo lap? Peter? If a couple people are interested, we could just split the payout between who ever participates (ie: 3 people participate, 2 people pay $75 each to the winner).

Put up or shut up.

Patrick D.

[applejuice]

if only i lived on the left coast.... :evil:

[Hank Scorpio]

Patrick, I'd be up for the bet, but I know I wouldn't even have a chance at the fastest lap.

IF, we could set it up where they'd let a few cars on the track (not at the same time) for one or two balls out laps, then I'm in!

Doug

[oppositelock]

Originally Posted by NoSloVo

I have a question about rallying and HP. I know we are all in the quest for more HP and John can arguably have the highest HP volvo in the country (very cool !). ... but ... is more HP better in rallying ?? I mean there must be a point when there is too much HP to the grip of the tires as well as the controlability of the car (the second is probably more so driver). Lets say you have a 300 HP rally 240 vs a 400 HP rally 240 on the same stage. If they are identicle to each other in every other way. Lets say the 400 HP one is spinning its wheels ... throwing dirt all over the place 40% of the time where as the 300 HP cars does this only 15% of the time. Wouldnt the 300Hp car be "faster" in that the traction is more suited towards the track ?

I have been to several rally events ... and have seen certain "low" HP cars do much better than other "high" HP cars and I know more of tthis has to do with the driver. I have seen 350 HP blazers that cant get out of there own way and I have seen 200 HP volvo win stages.

Dont get me wrong .. I am not pooping on the "hail John & Dave" party .... that is an awesome ride... anywhere, any how.... but on the tar I can see HP to the moon (almost) .. but in the dirt ???

... so tell me I am wrong.

-Oskar

To sort of add to John's reply to this, no, you are not wrong. There is only so much power you can put down on a given surface. 90% of the time The Fire Breathing Monster has way more power than it can effectively use on a rally stage. Sometimes there is enough grip to use it, for example on a long straight on a dry stage, and John can just murder everybody there, even the top 4wd cars. There is a long mainline straight on the Wild West rally and they often have a radar gun recording the top speeds for bragging rights. A few years ago John had the fastest speed by something like 10mph over the factory Hyundai of Paul Choiniere, if I'm not mistaken.

Conventional wisdom is that 300-350hp or so is about the limit of what you can effectively put to the ground with a 2wd rallycar (obviously tarmac rallies are another matter.) Anything more than that just results in a really big tire budget. Case in point: on a long 20-something mile stage last summer in the Simpson forest (Simpson roads are notorious tire eaters when its dry) John took a set of barely used medium compound rally tires down to the cords before the end of the stage!:eek: And these are the largest size rally tire available. Still set the 2nd or 3rd fastest stage time, I think. (Correct me if I'm wrong, John.) John's got a bunch of hard compound Pirellis now that hold up well in the hot weather.

Remember, we didn't go out trying to get 600hp or whatever it has out of the thing, it just happened. (Yes, I know, I can see everybody doing this right now, but it's true.) The V-6 responded very well to being turbocharged. We were hoping for and expecting something more like 250-300hp and would have been happy if that's what we got. But we got closer to twice that, so hey, we'll take it! Every one of you would have done the same thing, I'm sure! I can guarantee you this conversation never took place: "Gee that's too much horsepower. We'll never be able to put that all to the ground!" "Hmm, well gosh, I guess we better put on a smaller turbocharger!"
If you think that then you obviously don't know us very well! :wink:
I think more likely what was said was something like: "Hey, what happens if we give it even MORE boost?! "

So to answer your question more simply, no you can't always put that much power down, but it's so much fun when you can!
John's a very good and fast driver, but Carl Jardevall is just amazing, a very talented and experienced Swede. The 740 "school bus" that he used to run had 300hp at best and he would clean everybodies clocks with it, usually in the top 5 of any ProRally in amongst the Open class 4wd cars, so that goes to show how much power is really necessary to get the job done. The rest is sheer spectacle and that's what John Lane does the best and gets the most enjoyment out of.

-Dave Clark

[Tuff240]

$150 per person buy in would be best, but trying to find someone actually willing to bet that much is easier said than done. John and I are probably 2 of a handful that are sporting enough to do so.

I'm open to suggestions.

Patrick D.

[Tuff240]

Hey John,
If I flip it or roll it trying am I off the hook?


Patrick D.

[towerymt]

And the stakes continue to climb...

Just remember, you have to finish to win. :P

[dbarton]

I wasn't going to even respond... but the bell cannot be unrung.

Watch out for me? Why?

Topi may be a good guy to some of you.... but to me he's a guy who sold me parts that were not correct and then absolutely refused to return emails and hung up on me when I called for help. I have never done that to any of you and never will.

What I ordered and wanted from Topi (and what was promised) was a crank, piston, rod combo that would give me a compression ratio of 8:1 +/-.

What I received, according to my calculations (and those of my machinist/assembler), was a combo that produced a compression ratio of well under 7:1, unless I milled 2 mm off the block deck, something that Mike Aaro told me would have likely ruined the block. If someone wants to correct me, I am all ears.
Dave Barton

+++++++++++++++++++++++
I've dealt with Topi twice, both times got exactly what I ordered.

So did Dave... just because it wasn't what he *wanted* is not entirely Topi's fault.

I can vouch for Dave and my dealings with Topi were unusual. All I wanted was double valve springs and I got hung up on when I asked about details of the shipping :? . I talk to people constantly in a service oriented place, and even if the customer is a little short on info or not sure how to ask a simple question, you do not just hang up on them. Common sense. But he does have that right and my experience was short. As a customer, I was not impressed, and hopefully, in the future, things like that will not happen again with anybody else. I look forward to seeing the beast on the track. Hopefully I can get my motor's gremlins sorted out.

Cheers

Paul Jones
Pomona CA
84 242Ti-so many mods, nowhere near enough hp that I want :cry:
83 245T

[oppositelock]

Fellas, I'm sorry you had bad business dealings with Topi, I really am. But that's not what this thread is about so let's not hijack it please, ok? If you want to flame on Topi then feel free to start another thread and you can discuss it there all you want to. I just get a little nervous about someone who has that much energy to construct a whole webpage chronicling their bad business dealings with someone who doesn't have the opportunity to respond to it. I'm not saying Topi doesn't have some responsibility there, I'm just saying chill out out a bit. Take it up with him, don't involve the rest of the world. That's all, that's all my comment was referring to. I don't know you and I don't know what went on so don't take it too personally. And if if you feel compelled to respond to my statements please start a new thread so we don't veer this one off course. Thanks. Let's all play nice, okay?

Back to the subject at hand. We're getting ready to install the big ass Powerstroke intercooler. Should be in real soon. It's going to take some hacking of the frame rails to get it to fit in right. John's already got the aluminum radiator in. I'll take some pictures. I also found a couple of th old twisted and snapped Dana 30 axles to take pictures of. So stay tuned for further updates of the web album.

-Dave Clark

[JohnLane]

Originally Posted by tuff240

Fastest lap in a Volvo wins entry fee ($150) is fine with me. That's the least I can do for you coming all the way down here. Course, if by some chance, I crack off a faster lap that's just an added expense for you. Do you have someone competant enough to time laps for us?

Anyone else interested in this fastest Volvo lap? Peter? If a couple people are interested, we could just split the payout between who ever participates (ie: 3 people participate, 2 people pay $75 each to the winner).

Put up or shut up.

Patrick D.

I have a pretty good idea that someone will be able to time laps. Hows about we all put up $150.00 each. It all goes into an envelope and winner gets 75%, 2nd gets 25%? Thoughts? Call it 'prizemoney' if you will. Something that I have NEVER seeen in my rallyin' efforts. JL.

[Bready]

Being the sporting and selfless person I am - I volunteer to hold the envelope.

:D

- this is shaping up to be a very fun weekend.

JB
KTP

[bitjockey]

Damn you guys, why am I on the east coast.

Anyway, I just wanna vouch for Dave and say he's a very honest and business-like guy... his gauge face and side markers were exactly what were promised and I got them instantly.

John, where do your rallies take place? Are there any on the east coast?

If I was on the other coast, I'd love to see what an extra 500HP caould do to a car! :eek:

Wish we could get something going over here at Lime Rock, or VIR.