LATEST NEWS 11/9/11
Enterprise WINTER SCHOOL
cancelled....
PRIMITIVE rocks the SEMA show in Las Vegas
Rear 2-pot Brake ADAPTER BRACKETS for 2008-2011 WRX & STi FORD FIESTA front skidplates
in PRE-PRODUCTION! Email for Pix and PRICES!
STRUT TOP SPACERS now
in STOCK for MOST MODELS!!!!
BOLT-ON LIGHTBARS are
HERE -email for PIX
STRUT
TOP Spacers now in stock 1/2" saggy butt and 3/4" lift
KING SPRINGS are HERE! Primitive is
now a proud DISTRIBUTOR of this exceptional product, featuring
RAISED HEIGHT springs and stiffer-than-stock STANDARD HEIGHT springs
with good
progression to balance performance and ride comfort CLICK
HERE
2010-11
Outback Skidplates are in stock!!!!
Primitive has
completed a 3/16" front skidplate, a CVT tranny skidplate, and a
.187" rear differential skidplate for the new, 2010+ Legacy
Outback 2.5i and 3.6R.
These plates are rugged and stylish and easy to install like all
PRIMITIVE skidplates. The new TRIPLE ARMOR for 2010-2011
Legacy Outback 2.5i is terrific! Call or email
for full info! 503-624-2139
The new
LOW ROUNDED BACK
and
LIGHTER
HANS "Sport
II"
model Head and Neck Restraint System now in stock.
$695 The "quick click" models are also in STOCK as well as
spare HANS
POSTS.
Sport I Model 20 with traditional post design and SLIDING TETHERS! -
only $595 medium and large Sport
I Model 20
NOW with LW2 light permanent TETHER! - only $545
(special order 4-7 days typical)
Sport I Model 20 with traditional post design andQuick Disconnect
Tethers - $595 medium and large
Sport I Model 20 w/Sliding Tether that Quick
Disconnects! - $595 That's right, they now SLIDE and have a Quick Disconnect Tether
available! This is the
RALLY FRIENDLY HANS at a great price!
HANS Standard Anchor Posts
$55/pair (great for sharing a HANS, like ChumpCar or
LeMons!)
Our new SUZUKI SX4 website is up and running!!
So stop on by and check it
out. It's still a work in progress with new items added everyday! Visit
Our Suzuki Page Here!
We now have CURVE-SLOTTED Suzuki BRAKE ROTORS
and Front and Rear skidplates too!!!
Primitive Racing Thunder Lizard Logo T-Shirt.
Stand out in a crowd with our "Screaming Yellow" racing team t-shirts!
100% preshrunk cotton for that extra soft feeling.
Available in: S,M,L,XL, XXL and have one XXXL
Your Price: $15
Last
full COLOR copies Available!!
Primitive is proud to
offer the Subaru Performance and Modification
Handbook! 144 pages chocked
full of all the info you need! Covers all Subaru models and upgrade
paths! Click
HERE to order or
HERE
for more info. DOWN TO THE LAST FEW COLOR
COPIES! Will only be printed in BLACK and WHITE from now on.
$24.95 signed by the author!
$20.95 with any other purchase from Primitive!
Rally School News and
Pictures
Rally
School Gift Certificates Now Available! Makes a Great
Gift!
$356buys
your loved one an entry into Primitive's existing 2.5 day Rally
School Program with a nice personalized gift certificate.
The school includes an information-packed classroom session, with
discussion of driving lines, braking points, and the secrets of
speed
on dirt, then two action-packed days of instructional and
rallycross driving.
The next scheduled school is coming up
soon.Order your
personalized gift instruction today!!
Upcoming Rally School News:
Next Schools-
October 21 NORCAL, Santa Rosa, CA
Nov 18-20, 2011 Anchorage,ALASKA
Jan 2012 , Oregon?
Mid
May 2012, Santa Rosa, CA
Late
May or Early
June 2012 Portland, OR
Returning students are granted a substantial discount.
November
1-4th PRIMITIVE worked in the KING SPRINGS booth at SEMA
to get more familiar with this terrific PRODUCT for outfitting most
any vehicle. We also introduced our new LIGHTBAR for WRX
October
20-22 Primitive heads down to Santa Rosa rally school with 30
students all from a Silicon Valley software company.
October 7-9th,
Primitive Rally School and RallyCross was a big success with 18
driving and 2 co-driving students and 57 entrants into the fast, fun
RallyCross where everyone got 5 timed runs and we finished the
regular runs at 2:20pm and then did almost an hour of fun runs
before finishing and packing up by 3:30pm
July 2011,
Paul finally flips his lid. At the North Nevada Rally, Paul
and guest navigator Karen Jankowski clip the inside edge of a corner
on stage 6 of this night rally, and after bicycling on 2 wheels for
about 100 feet or so, the car rolled and then rolled off the edge of
a very steep hillside, rolling a total of 5 times, for a fairly
significant crash leaving the car 100 feet below the road on the
desolate hillside. No one was injured as the safety gear did
its job, but the car is in sad shape.
May 1,
2011 The PRIMITIVE RALLY TEAM of Paul Eklund and Jeff
Price fought off the rust of not having hit the RA stages since May
of 2010 and quickly got up to speed at the OLYMPUS RALLY on April
30th-May 1st in Aberdeen, WA. Despite a rusty start (25
seconds slow on Stage 1) the team worked up speed with the refreshed
2008 Subaru STi (the screaming yellow, Subaru Performance
Tuning/Primitive Racing Super Production car). One of the few
teams to break the 7 minute barrier both UP and DOWN the famed
Brooklyn Tavern Stage, the team worked its way up to 4th place in
the competitive SUPER PRODUCTION class and 12th overall, before the
rally was cut short due to a tragic accident involving a team
running off the Smith Creek Stage and into some trees.
The next
scheduled event for PRIMITIVE is the 3-day long Oregon Trail Rally
on May 13-15th, 2011 in Portland and the Dalles, Oregon.
Primitive will also be at the Columbia Gorge Classic (Historic
Rallye) on June 26th, 2011 driving the new, bright red PRIMITIVE
FIAT 124 Spider, with RD Kraushaar navigating.
January
2011 Winter Rally Driving school in Enterprise, Oregon has
less snow than we hoped, but tons of frozen grounds, fast slippery
conditions and great training for the 18 students who attended.
Most say they will be BACK for the mid-December 2011 WINTER SCHOOL,
some to prepare for the up-coming 2012 Alcan Winter Rally, others
just to enjoy the HUGE 40acre course, smooth ground and great views.
December
20 Primitive acquires 1972 Fiat 124 Spider (red of course) for
Historic TSD rallies in 2011 and 2012
December 1
Our 2008 STi is getting new bearings and a turbo after a turbo
failure at the Oregon Trail Rally. It is also getting a new CUSCO
1.5 way front differential! Our venerable Ol' Yeller
2004 STi just got new headers and tune for its VF-37 TWIN SCROLL
turbo setup. Our H6 Impreza is also getting a new DIFFERENTIAL.
October 2, Paul
teamed up with longtime rally partner R.Dale Kraushaar to take on
the NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN Rally in the Primitive Alcan Forester
rally car. The team lead from the start, but faltered with a
small misread instruction near the end and fell to 2nd place overall
behind the team of Marinus and Renee Damm.
Primitive
unveiled its new H6 powered Impreza RallyCross car at the Chehalis
RallyCross weekend (August 7-8th). The car proved quick and should
become a championship contender. The awesome H6 sound and
INSTANT torque left everyone with a big smile. HEAR IT by
clicking on this nice video:
Mountains to the
Sea Rally for 2010 went well for Primitive after a lengthy absence
from TSD rallies. For the late July event, the team got lots of
ZEROS and had a score of 22 for the entire rally (from Portland to
Rockaway Beach). The rally ended with a big BBQ and bonfire on
the beach. Lots o fun. Brandon and Marcus won with a score of
10...
We missed the
Idaho Rally in July, bummer. Just too busy with the SHOP and
life.
For June, Pablo
was on a tour of Eastern Europe visiting Subaru dealerships in Czech
Republic, Poland and Hungary. Missed out on the rallies
though, but had a great time.
May was the
Oregon Trail Rally and after a great start on the Friday Night
stages (in the top 10) a pissant penalty and then a clogged exhaust
followed by a blown turbo ended the teams hopes for a good finish.
Primitive
tackles the Olympus Rally. With the FRESH YELLOW
STi in SP CLASS, Eklund and Price took the car for a shakedown and
finished without a scratch, but down in the standings. Why?
The biggest reason is that "Pablo" left his 32mm PGT turbo
restrictor in (leftover from the Wild West Rally where we rolled
(see below), aaargh. Busy getting the bodywork together, he
forgot to switch out the restrictors for the bigger 34mm one,
robbing him of the power needed to run with the National
entries. This will be fixed for Oregon Trail in mid-May.
Despite the
handicap, the team finished, and the new 2-pot rear brake
conversion brackets worked FLAWLESSLY. These will now be
available for purchase for anyone with a 2008+ STi wishing to
downsize to the 2-pot SUBARU rear brakes to run GRAVEL wheel and
tire setup.
The OLYMPUS
RALLY ran the Tahola stages north of Aberdeen, WA on Day 1 including
Wreck Creek and sloppy wet Crane Creek stages. Ken Block went
out early and Travis Pastrana stamped out a solid win. In the
popular SP class, Ramana Lagemann and Chrissy Beavis kicked
everyone's ass by a mile. Day 2 were the great
"southern" roads including awesome Palix, lightning fast
Smith Creek and the classic Brooklyn Tavern stage were thousands of
spectators lined the route. Conditions were great, but the
Primitive Team suffered a high speed spin and went off the road
losing precious time clawing back up to the road and then facing the
WRONG WAY on stage and having to spin around to continue. They
finished 7th in Class.
Paul
"Pablo" Eklund returns to CO-DRIVING for the
delightful DOO WOPSRally!!! March found Paul
back in the silly seat (he won a National Co-Driver Championship in
1999 with Lee Shadbolt driving). Doug Heredos found himself in
need a a navigator for his sweet new Open Class Subaru WRX and
called on PABLO to jump in at the last minute for Dan Brown. The
team meshed well and Doug drove the car to a 4th OVERALL finish!!!
The
Primitive
Rally
season has ended
with the completion of the Mt Hood Rally on October 24. Once again
we were blessed with perfect northwest autumn weather and great
views of our public lands! Of course, being a bit preoccupied with
staying on the road, the views take a backseat for us…at least
until the celebrations are over!
The
Primitive
team had a varied and sometimes trying season so far:
.
DooWops, and its mixed bag of weather, saw a third place finish in
the venerable screaming yellow STi
– with only 3 cylinders firing for the 2-day test… Olympus
Rally saw us back in the sexy black 2008
Subaru STi
– unfortunately, we baked the turbo…. The
month of May brought the local Oregon Trails Rally – where I baked
the call on a right hander…. Then Idaho Rally came to us with
a 3rd overall placing [in the yellow ’04 – WITH all 4
cylinders working]…
The
2009 version of Wild West tested the relationship of car and
railroad tie/fence post…..hint: fence post wins:
Bringing
us back to the 2009
MT HOOD RALLY where
we fell short of the
three-peat of the top podium position – but did have a good time
trying to win the event 3 times in a row... (back in the
yellow car again)
After
running the Friday recce for this event, we started the one-day
rally second on the road – positions are achieved by seeding which
is derived from past race finishes and compared against other
entered competitors. Second starting position turned into first on
the road after stage 2 where Carl Decker/Adam Craig flipped their
car on the Seventeen road. That left us first on the road and
sweeping the gravel for everyone else - a position that at the same
time rewards and penalizes a team. There are a few approaches here
– go all out and maintain the best times and position possible
[and of course, risk yourselves as well] or bide your time and
see who might run into trouble later. We had two goals for this
event – finish it whole and enjoy the day and get that rental car
home in one piece!
We
knew that a reseed would take place somewhere in the day – most
likely the long second service after ss 4. If we bided our time and
did not lose too many seconds, we would start the legs second loop
of stages behind those we were slower than – it’s a test to be
able to lose time yet not lose significant time. We had taken second
fastest time on the first stage but unfortunately, we dropped
significant time on stage 2 while slowing for the just overturned
Decker ride. Stage 3 we ran further back finishing only with a time
good enough for 5th. At stage 4 – a rerun of ss1 – Gilhouley, we
set top time and grabbed some seconds back before the first major
service of the day. We were reseeded to 3rd a mere 3
seconds from second position but a whopping 29 seconds out of first
– not really a favorable gap.
What
we really did not think through was the fact that the second loop
was all of previous stages and position in the field would not be an
issue as all the tracks had been swept. That 29 seconds was looming
and our repeat win was definitely in jeopardy.
The
downward trend continued on stage 5 – Seventeen road – somehow
we ran slower than the previous time through and were now 15 seconds
down from P2; 45 down from Mark Mager/Jake Blattner in the top spot.
Only two stages remained.
Up
next was the Fir Mountain stage – a 13.25 mile test that runs
north across the Surveyors’ Ridge spine and back down towards
Odell. The stage is a good run with some nice character changes that
keep a crew on their toes. A few nice hairpin turns, some fine
spectator locations and a downhill section that will churn even a
veterans stomach characterize this one.
Paul
attacked the stage hard figuring this is where we had to make back
all the time we had previously given up. With the sun getting low on
the horizon, we raced to another top stage time [14 mins 54 secs
over the 13.25 miles] and found we had taken the Svedin Impreza
by 23 seconds. Mager was still there, as we only put back 6 seconds
on the blue 2007
STi. We
had gained back the second podium place in the longest test of the
day!
The
last stage – another rerun of Gilhouley – would afford only 5.14
miles of gravel to gain the nearly 39 seconds needed for P1 – did
not mean we would not try though! One of the better stage roads
remaining in the PNW, Gilhouley is a tight and twisty County road
that many a northwest rallyist loves. Running it in the southerly
direction the last 3rd is a rather steep decent through
continuous right and left hand turns across the hillside above hwy
35. We drove it hard – trying to find that fine line between too
much but not enough.
Ultimately,
the length was not there and though we set another top stage time [3rd
of the event] and broke the record for the Gilhouley South stage it
was not enough to cover Mager – we gained only a mere 3 seconds.
So 36 seconds out of first overall and now 10 seconds in front of
the 3rd place finisher secured our second position on the
podium. Though not top for the day, we were pleased to have met our
initial goals and had a good day battling back for a nice finish!
Congrats to mark Mager/Jake Blattner – Mark’s first overall win.
As
for our crew chief Nate Foley and the Primitive
Rally Experience
rental? He finished 12th out of the 26 finishing cars in
his first event. And better yet? In mostly one piece [a minor
excursion left a wrinkled driver’s side fender]! So much THANKS
and C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S to Nate and Billy for a
fine event finishing 3rd in their class!
So
ends another Primitive
season – many fine stories, many new friends, many old friends,
and many fine times. We hope some of you can join us in the future!!
Looking forward to it….
THANK
YOU!!
to everyone for following along this season. Especially to the
people who have helped us throughout the year by working on the car
or servicing or whatever other tasks were down along the line:
Nate
Foley [we missed him at Hood but are glad he finally got into a
rally
James Lehman (and his wife) [new guy in charge?]
Kevin Laase [backing Nate and James up at the service parcs...and
providing us a great new parts car ;- )
David Haworth (and his wife)
Steve/Kelly at Wild Irish Motorsport
David Boyack and his cool dog Jackson (as well as David’s
girlfriend) [guy showed up, asked if he could help – first timer
after ‘tatoring for years]
Greg Huld
Ian Mitchell
Also,
one last thanks and farewell to our friend Mark Mattson (Mark Mark)
who died late last year after bravely battling cancer, always with a
smile.
And
lastly THANKS to all the organizers/volunteers/sweep/e-crew that
spend their time, money, and effort on rally, as well the
competitors we race against! Great season all!!
WILD
WEST Rally (Sept 2009)
Team
Primitive
loaded the freshly repaired 2008
Subaru STi on
the trailer this past weekend and headed to grand Pomeroy,
Washington for what would unfortunately turn into a short
weekend. The event lived up to its billing and was quite wild
for the Primitive
crew. But before we get to the particulars…..
After
our foray into the woods and subsequent DNF at Oregon Trail
Rally earlier this year, we spent considerable time and effort
with the strut suppliers to get the parts replaced and pieces we
needed to be road worthy; that excessive delay saw us bringing
out the screaming yellow Thunderlizard to Idaho where we placed
on the podium. Nipping the suspension repairs on the ‘08 in at
the last minute led us to decide our entry to the Wild
West Rally
would be in PGT trim – but this meant we had to
reinstall the HUGE factory STi
Brembo front brakes. We felt good about that though knowing we
were heading to some of the smoothest and fastest roads in NW
rally. The drawback was the fact we needed to run 17” wheels
and thus cut street tires to be rules legal.
Leg
1 had us running 9 specials and included 4 service stops – we
were to run a single stage [Geiger Up] of 4.01 miles, then
service, rerun of Geiger with an additional two stages for a
three stage loop of 23 miles and then repeat after another
service. The day was to end with a pair of passes on Malone Hill
– a test of 7.79 miles. Primitive
did not quite make it through the first three stage loop.
We
started the day third car on the road behind the ever
untouchable Carl Jardeval in his open class Mitsubishi Evolution
VIII and Washingtonian Mark Mager in a 2007 Subaru
STi open class car. We felt good hoping that the two front
runners would clear some of the looser gravel from the road
surface affording us a better grip with our cut street tires.
What we were not ready for was the number and size of large
rocks that the leaders pulled from the roadsides and deposited
in the track.
At
the end of ss2 we were in fourth position – a few of the lower
seeded cars had been able to take advantage of the swept roads
and better grip to post faster times. Entering the third stage,
we were 4 seconds in front of P5 and 7 seconds in arrears of
third position. The third stage threw us for a loop as it was
way more rock-strewn and rough than we had anticipated – Paul
was tip-toeing through the stage afraid of loosing a tire in the
softball sized rock fields. To our amazement we came out with
the third best time for the stage and clawed three seconds back
on P3 – not bad considering we ‘felt’ we had lost at least
20 seconds dodging the minefields.
The
fourth test of the day started well and Paul was pushing hard to
keep our time competitive. We seemed to be doing well with only
one bobble – of course at a spectator area – where we slid
through acute left hander and kissed the bank. A quick reverse
out and off we launched picking up even greater pace on the
closed Garfield County road – afterall we had just lost a bit
of time in that spectator corner. At mile 4.78 we entered a long
right hander – ever fearful of rocks at the road edge, our
line was not as aggressive as the first two cars through the
stage - the car began to slide outside. The further out we went,
the worse it got. Paul pinned the throttle hoping to rotate the
car and get the AWD
to dig us off the road edge but the ditch just got closer and
closer. For a brief moment it seemed as if the Subaru
would pull out of it – then we caught on the dirt berm as the
exit of the corner revealed itself – and the fence end
posts…the car gave a slight skip on the berm and it appeared
as if Paul would take a post into his side of the car. At the
last second the car caught and flipped up onto the driver side
and there is the briefest moment that you see a fence corner
post coming at you. It exploded the through the windshield and
threw glass bits everywhere in the cockpit. The railroad-tie
installed as post caught on the a-pillar at Paul’s corner and
rotated through the laminated glass to the just inside the cage
on the right side. The car then rocked down toward the ditch, a
second smaller steel post piercing the rear triangular window
behind the passenger door. The car continued to slide until the
post caught the roll cage and held us cantilevered over the
exposed edge.
So
now here you are on your side, wheels freely spinning in
response to the still pressed throttle pedal, car solidly hung,
dust swirling around and glass everywhere – I still held the
book only tossing it away to shift the car to neutral and reach
for the ignition while yelling ‘engine’ to Paul [he was
already reaching for the key]. We both asked about the others
condition – we were okay - and Paul directed me to exit
through my side as his was blocked. With the dust windows the
organizers had implemented, we had two full minutes to get out
of the car and warn the oncoming competitors. Even after bracing
myself, I fell across the car when I popped the safety harness,
clawed up to wrestle the door open and grab the OKAY sign before
climbing down the underside of the car to reach the road. A few
spectators, perched on the hillside above, screamed down asking
about our condition; they got my thumbs up before scrambling
downhill towards us. Paul followed my exit and brought triangles
to further warn following cars of our demise. As the remaining
cars made it through the stage one by one slowing for our
triangles, we debated the merits of rolling the car back down
and proceeding – it was close enough to the road that had we
been able to move it, it would have ended up blocking the track
and so we stood in the dust and waited for our friends with
sweep.
The
sweep and e-crew support followed the last drivers through the
stage knowing we were off but healthy. A few tow straps some
strategic maneuvering with many discussions and the car came
away from its perch. We’d been swept…We replaced the two
debeaded tires, the car refired and belched some oil smoke, Paul
donned some safety goggles and drove off the stage back to the
trailer – the worst glass cut he got was from waving to
spectators through the broken out windscreen and cutting his
hand on the small amount of glass remaining at the perimeter of
the opening.
Thanks
to Rachel, William, Ed and Paul Coleman – the intrepid
volunteer saviors and medics of the day for working with us to
extricate the Primitive
car, check on our health and see us safely off the stage. The
car came away with only two broken windows, two mushed up doors,
a bumper, rocker cover and fender that need replacement and a
dented a-pillar and rocker. And if anyone thinks the post was
bad – it probably kept us from multiple rolls so even though
we will not know for certain. We felt it was mostly a benefit in
this instance. We came away with less than papercuts and no
soreness thanks to the proper harnesses and snug fitting race
seats, helmets and HANSdevices.
More thanks to crew chief Nate and now seasoned crewman James
for making the trek over and giving us a hand – it was quite
an effort for a short reward – our apologies guys!
And
technically – we never crossed the fence so I don’t think we
violated the sign….[and
yes; the imprint dates are not correct..].
As
for the rest of the event – Carl Jardeval took top honors
after leading both days for the cars; Carl Decker in his Subaru
kept things close and finished second in a great drive; another Subaru
finished out the podium. Mark Mager grabbed 4th
position while a VW GTI piloted by the speedy Burress Brothers
rounded out the top five. Two more competitors went off at
“our” corner on the next run through [uninjured but rolled].
RallyMoto was lightly subscribed but Pete Nielsen came away the
winner on a Honda XR650R and Dennis
Boone filling in the second podium position on a KTM
950. Noah Horak popped the motor of his Aprilia on Leg 1 and was
unable to continue.
Next
up – Mt.
Hood Rally
on October 24 out of Parkdale, Oregon [south of Hood River]. And
unless someone wants to donate a few parts, some paint and lots
of labor we will most likely be back in the 2004 WRX/STi…..as
usual anyone who wishes to volunteer
will be welcomed by the Oregon rally community – see
the website for details or Team
Primitive
could use some help as well as we will have two cars in the
event [congrats to Nate who will be driving his first event in
the Primitive
rental 2.5RS….do it CONSERVATIVELY NATE!!!!! The garage [and
neighbors] can only handle so many broken cars…].
Thanks
as usual to everyone else! And please note the Primitive
Skidplateson
the bottom of our rally car above – a view you rarely have of
the oil sump and diff protection for your Subaru or Suzuki…
RALLY
IDAHO JULY 2009
Team
Primitive
ended up on the overall podium for the second season in a row at
the 2009 version of the Idaho
Rally
in July. The
2009 Idaho event had a total of 39 entrants thanks to a large
contingent of two-wheel drive MaxAttack!entrants...
CLICK HERE or BELOW to READ MORE....
Imagine, if
you will, sitting in the seat of
Subaru’s
fastest production model sports car – the WRX
STi.
Your hands are on the steering wheel and your feet are dancing
across the pedals as you snick the shifter through the six speed
gearbox. Now, push the go pedal a bit deeper. Feel the sweat on
the palms of your hands as you push for a bit more speed.
Include gravel roads. Add some heat. Don’t forget the trees.
Throw in a companion to occupy the right seat and have him bark
instructions at you through the series of fast 5 and 6 graded
corners. You are feeling the speed; the car is complying with
your every wish; the intercom continues in your ear – “…and
L5+(nc) 30….R5/Cr 100….st/(sm)Cr 50….(sm)Cr 70…..”
Feels great,
no? That is, it felt great. Right up to that point where you
realize there is a tight R3- mere meters beyond that
last small crest. But by the time you hear the dreadfully
late call from that right seat companion you are already at the
top of the crest and have lost all hope for braking as you see
the road disappear 90 degrees to the right. You stare at the
wall of trees….
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Stand out in a crowd with our "Screaming Yellow" racing team t-shirts!
100% preshrunk cotton for that extra soft feeling.
