Climbing hills is the best
that's how you get to the coolest places.
Climbing hills is the best
that's how you get to the coolest places.
Btw, here's a ls swapped bmw hillclimb video for you..
Um, goes without saying, don't drive that at your first event... Lol
I like them from the point of being on a 'normal' road going as a fast as you can but they tend be really short, under 2 minutes for most of them. If i'm traveling 500+ miles to an event, I want more seat time. It was fun though, even in a stock, slow car.
Go for it; I encourage everyone to try a hillclimb or two if possible. I am trying to figure out if I will have my challenge car running in time to make it to this event. Solid "maybe" atm...
The danger is real, but that is precisely what makes for the unparalleled adrenaline hit. I have never felt awkward for slowing down on a mountain if I wasn't 100% sure I was in total control. Injury can occur even inside a professionally prepped stage rally car. There is usually plenty of time to get familiar with the course and plenty of experienced drivers to remind you to stay within your capabilities. Remember that you must repeatedly make it back down the course. The sounds of many cars under heavy engine braking mixed with the smell of very hot brakes is lovely, fade or boiling fluid is not.
More so than other motorsports, I find that the group makes all the difference. Some events are isolated in the deep woods, some are a weekend long small town block party. Seat time is fairly minimal, so you will be spending a lot of time with each other. Most i have done run like a cross between and autocross and a special stage with a serious, but not pretentious atmosphere.
It looks like they have really nice facilities for room options and some food, too. That makes it convenient to be well rested if you want to spend extra time there.
Keep a change of clothes handy so your can get out of your fire gear when you are not running. I find suits to be too hot and heavy for relaxing and my gloves & shoes are still in great shape since I switch to comfy sneakers and such when not strapped in.
The start is like a drag launch with a wheel chock to keep you from rolling backward. You won't have to ride the clutch to stay ready, and you don't have to launch hard if you are concerned about breaking. Check out some YouTube vids to familiarize yourself.
Tech is often a bit more extensive but generally nothing you haven't seen many times before. Triple check all the normal stuff and you will be fine, but do reach out to the group with any questions. Keep all fire gear and bottle in the car so it can be checked, don't always lose your gloves like me...
Weather matters a lot. Any moisture can be too much depending on the surface and your tires; pay attention. I find the tree cover and going into and out of shade can cause issues sometimes with my sensitive eyes so I use a polarized visor on my helmet. As always, keep water, sunscreen and a hat handy.
I was always fighting on the edge of overheating with small, turbo engines. It might not be an issue with your car but you don't want the distraction. Running hard up a steep grade and then coming to a stop with no airflow at a higher altitude can test a cooling system.
As mentioned, coming down is fun but can test the brakes. It can be tough to have the perfect compound without knowing the course ahead of time so something with good cold bite that can handle lots and lots of heat would be perfect (right?) But a spare set of pads and extra fluid in the kit isn't a horrible idea.
Keep all your safety gear on and tight while coming down. Sure, you can enjoy the trip and wave to the workers but do not let your guard down, it is the worst time to have something go wrong.
Remember that it isn't a racetrack or flat parking lot. Some lines can be off camber and that is a potential nightmare on a narrow path. Potholes are usually everywhere. Flaggers, radio guys and all workers are a very important part of event safety so show them respect and appreciation.
Pull the straps tight and have fun. I have gone off easy and gone off hard, but am certainly not scared away because of it. The consequences of any mistake are high but don't let that consume your thoughts on the subject.
In reply to Apexcarver :
Dang. That is quite a short run. And his LS appears to be quite a bit more sauced up than my bone stock unit.
In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :
You get several o those two minute runs.
Well, I'm having some 2nd thoughts about the event. That 1 minute youtube video made me realize we're not looking at anything like the length a Pike's Peak hillclimb, but more like the length of an autocross run. I'm not sure the travel time and costs are worth the limited distance of the runs. I realize the participants get to run several times, still not convinced it'll be worth several vacation days and hundreds (thousands?) of dollars to get there. Its still on my list though.
Hill lengths are a thing, shutting down something long enough to give a long run is... difficult. I was friends with the guys getting Polish Mountain going again and there were a lot of hurdles, they had to get law changes and a LOT of local goodwill to get a short road closed.
PHA hills
well, thats 4, rest are here http://pahillclimb.org/pha-past-results/
Not taking part in hillclimb because it last 90 seconds, is like spotting a 10 at the end of the bar and then chatting up her friend who's a 7 as you'd rather enjoy a comfortable fun 20 minute session instead of 90 seconds of ecstasy that's a feast for the senses. That's literally hillclimb versus HPDE.
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
The seat time versus expenses is a real issue. Like some other events, I would have to turn it into a little vacation of sorts and try to enjoy the atmosphere.
Fwiw, even though runs are short there are some differences than a typical autox or rallyx. At one event I remember there being 9 runs per day of a two day with a great group dinner and lots of bench racing around the fire. Another event didn't have a large turnout so it basically turned into fun runs all afternoon; even with breaks to tweak my car i made like 20 trips up and down.
I'm very much on the fence for this one, but just generally advocate for hillclimbs being a good thing.
It might help if you look at the entire thing, the trip there, the runs, meeting others, seeing other vehicles, and the trip back as a vacation. The 3-4 times that I visited the Hollister hills back in the '70s are some of very best memories that I have from nearly 20 years of motorcycling. And that's saying a lot. It was almost never a dull moment once we arrived.
FMB42 said:It might help if you look at the entire thing, the trip there, the runs, meeting others, seeing other vehicles, and the trip back as a vacation. The 3-4 times that I visited the Hollister hills back in the '70s are some of very best memories that I have from nearly 20 years of motorcycling. And that's saying a lot. It was almost never a dull moment once we arrived.
I think you are talking about a different type of hillclimbing....
"I think you are talking about a different type of hillclimbing...."
Short run auto HCs are not much different than short run MC HC events. Similar hills, similar motor sport buffs and fans. Racing is racing. Meanwhile, I'm just suggesting that Lof8 might reconsider passing on this event.
Midlana at the Virginia City (Nevada) Hillclimb.
My first event; I did okay, wasn't real fast, but didn't crash either. You can see some skid marks part way up the hill where an NSX went into the bank. It's a sobering driving event with very high consequences of doing wrong. Treat the hill with great respect and you'll be fine.
New plan. The wife and I will be taking a vacation to Nashville for a few days with a side trip to check out the KY hill climb as spectators, Instead of dragging a car way up there to spend a few days in KY and a side trip to Nashville. I think she'd be pretty bored with that.
now I'll get to see it first hand and be more informed for a future hill climb. She's already got a list of "must do" items for Nashville, including Kid Rock's bar. Lol.
Chasing the dragon hill climb may be worth looking at, I think the runs are 2-2.5 min long. Its on Tail of the Dragon.
Do it. You won't regret it. We only live once.
Well, I'm a little late to this party. With GRM being the title sponsor, I'm sure everyone in this thread has a bit more information than they did back in Feb/Mar. I sure hope you ended up coming to watch - Maybe I even got to meet you?
We had some teething pains with a complete change in the drivetrain, ignition and fueling in the Miata, so spent a lot of time during the event under the car. Thank the stars for a good mechanic, good friends, and the guys from Haltech, we got the car through the weekend, and made all the runs.
I think we managed to make about 10 or 12 up the mountain, and it was a blast! I've been hillclimbing since 1993, and this was the most fun weekend overall that I've had. You can't really compare seat time at a hillclimb minute-to-minute with other forms of competition, as the adrenaline after a hillclimb run lasts just as long, and they just keep coming! BTW - Pikes Peak is "one-and-done" where SCCA events are fairly constant lapping. I've roadraced, endurance raced, autocrossed, motocrossed, and run Score/HDRA including the Baja 1000, and hillclimb still has my heart. A former Formula Atlantic Runoffs winner once told me that he gets more enjoyment out of one hillclimb event than he does an entire season of road racing.
Driving all the cars to the Friday event festival in downtown Pineville was incredible! In spite of Covid, the whole weekend managed to maintain a party atmosphere.
This was one of the safer hills I've run. The speeds were much lower than hills like Chasing the Dragon.
There's a rumor that the 2022 event will have three days of competition. THAT will be worth anyone's tow.
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