Thursday, January 28, 2010

THIS IS HOW ROVANIEMI's FROST BITES THE RALLY CARS

One of the concerns on Friday in Arctic Lapland -rally might be the freezing of breather pipes.

The breather is a pipe divisioning the pressure and it freezes easily.

The Arctic-rally will be held in -20 degrees. The breather pipes have to be clean in cold conditions so that dirt won't freeze in them because otherwise you are facing a retirement.

In cold temperatures also the oil in the suspension become stiff and the car is harder to drive than normally.

Freezing problems might not be a problem when driving flat out during stages but they can occur when driving in a slower pace to other places.

- Once the car is warmed up it also stays warm during cold temperatures because everything is in movement and the catalysts and turbos bring heat, the experienced co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen tells MTV3.

- You need some cooling during stages because the engine is too hot. Then when you move from a stage to another you have to cover up the grids so that the engine doesn't freeze, Lehtinen continues.

Rally-drivers don't need any extra heating inside the car because the floor is so hot but they have to get the moist out of the car.

- A big problem in the winter is the windows fogging up. You have to have windshields that you can heat up and all your heating devices have to be in order so that the moist doesn't stay inside the car. Otherwise it won't go well because you can't see anything, Lehtinen knows.

Source: MTV3 – Jani Merimaa, Rovaniemi
Courtesy: Nicole

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