Vince's Stuff: Back at the track... and something else broke on the car

After 3 weeks waiting for the car to be fixed, I was itching to get back on track. On Monday, I went to help Pat secure the exhaust after it came unbolted, and he even took the time to install the resonator I bought last year to make the car a bit quieter. As I drove home, my initial impression was that the car was not really quieter. After a while, I realized that it was in fact significantly quieter (though by no means quiet) at pretty much every RPM except at idle. It was so much quieter that when I briefly floored it on the highway, the car felt slower. This was almost surely not true.

Anyway, I was ready to head to Tuesday night lapping. I wasn't out to break any lap records, I just wanted to have a trouble-free evening and do a bunch of laps. I also wanted to see of the electronic/VTEC issue was resolved after having changed my wiring harness adapter. On my way to the track, the check engine light came on, which made me wonder if the problem was fixed. I pulled over and tried to check the code, but was not certain if I saw a single flash for code 1, or if it was a normal flash when you turn the key.

Anyway, I continued toward the track with the check engine light off, and hoped for the best. I was there early and was able to empty the car (more stuff to empty since I have decided to bring more tools and a proper jack with me) and get it ready. It was hot (25 degrees), so I decided to run with the windows down.

The Civic between sessions

My first session went off without a hitch. There was no check engine light. I was not hitting the cut-off of 4th gear after the esses, but I attributed this slight loss of speed to the warm air and the increased drag running with the windows down. I was enjoying following a former student of mine in a track-built Fox-body Mustang. On my last lap, I managed my best lap, a 1:47.3. This was only a half second off my personal best. I was feeling good about the prospect of pushing a bit more in my second session. I had noticed a small grind when shifting into 3rd gear, which made me wonder if I damaged it driving home with no cluth 3 weeks earlier. Time to start using heel and toe more diligently for downshifts.

After a 20-minute break, I headed out again. I was following a Camaro for a couple of laps when the check engine light came on and the car seemed to have a rev-limiter at 2500 rpm. I limped back to the pits and shut the car off. When I restarted it, it seemed fine and the light was off, so I headed back out. After a single lap, I smelled gas and decided to pull in. I stopped and popped the hood, and immediately noticed that the fuel rail had come off again, as it had in November. I could not undestand why, as Pat had changed the studs to make the fasteners just like the original equipment. I was a bit pissed off, but at least I knew it was a small problem. I saw that all the seals seemed to still be there, so I decided to see if I could wedge something between the fuel rail and the intake plenum to keep the rail in place. I used an oil filter removal tool and an exhaust hanger rubber thing and then tried to start the car. Everything seemed OK, so I decided to drive to Pat's place like this.

When I was about 2/3 of the way there, I noticed a gas smell again, so I pulled over to adjust the items holding in the fuel rail. I made it to Pat's without incident. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, as no one we knew ever had this weird failure. Even a Google search came up with nothing like this.

Anyway, the evening was not a total bust. I got in some laps, bumped into people I knew, got to drive with others on the track, and the car should be fixed before next week. To be continued...

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this, Pat contacted me to tell me he figured out why the fuel rail was coming detached: as the engine torqued, the fuel regulator, which is attached to the fuel rail, was being pushed against the strut bar, which was forcing the fuel rail away from the head. He replaced the bolts with thicker ones and is slightly relocating the strut bar. Yes!