Back at ICAR, there is still an oiling issue

Pat wanted me to see if there was still an oiling problem in left-hand corners on track, so he recommended I head back to ICAR. I headed north early Tuesday afternoon and worked from the track a bit. I was happily surprised when Carl showed up with his Evo 10, as I knew he was on vacation, but did not know he was still in town.

We were told we could hit the track earlier than usual, at 5:00, so I strapped in and headed out behind Carl. Even though he was on old tires, it wasn't long before he disappeared ahead of me. There were a few drops of rain, but the track was dry. I had positioned my camera so it would hopefully have a view of the oil pressure gauge. As I built up speed, it became obvious that the problem was not solved. The pressure was dropping sharply in left-hand corners. I decided to pit in and head home early. I was actually home for dinner. 

The solution will be hopefully be to install an oil accumulator which will bring back the oil pressure when it drops. Pat found a cheap used unit, but sadly will not be able to install it for a few days, since he is preparing his own car for the Fall Classic at Tremblant. He will also install a different oil pan gasket to hopefully resolve the leak issue. 

The BMW is getting a major rear end service. I first took it to the garage to solve three issues, an oil leak, a clunk from the rear end, and a vibration sound. The first garage found a 4th problem: a tie rod end needed replacing. He did not have time to fix the other problems. I went to a second garage, T.C. Automotive, and George (who I know from racing) told me that the exhaust needed new flanges and that the frame was tearing near the diff, a common problem for these cars. He fixed the oil leak and told me to contact Seb Rochon, builder of roll cages, for the chassis repair. I brought the car to Seb and he began work right away. He informed me today that I brought the car just in time to avoid major damage. He is also replacing the exhaust flanges. I hope to have an M3 in excellent condition by next week.

Luckily, I have the Saab in town as well, which we've been using for all our other transportation needs. It's still working fine and I hope is continues to be reliable throughout the winter. 

Clean and lovely 964

Cool plate too

Not my favourite MG, but cool to see it being used

The Civic waits for more repairs and track time

Full-on 80's: 930 slant nose

Rare colour Alfa Spider

I still love these Ur-S4/S6's

A great-looking car

A rare colour for this 2006 or 2007 WRX

STi and our M3

A fantastic-looking early 911 in flat grey

The Cayman GT4 I often see

A lovely Jaguar XJR

Defender 90

One of the coolest family cars you can buy

Loud modifications on this 488

I had never heard of the 2-series Grand Coupe... it's a really agly car.

Many, many BMW's at T.C. Automotive

Pat sets the timing on the Civic

These S-class coupes are aging well

German-taxi colour for this S-class

The current S-class coupe is also nice

The E36 design has aged very well

Saabaru on a sunny day... looks good from a distance

A surprising spot on the street: fully-liveried Celica GT-Four

A rare Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio

Nice Civic Type R near the office

Cool wheels, but I still don't like these cars