Slow Car Fast
LIFE OF A GT
July 4, 2011 - Preventative maintenance.
The fitting on the right is a push-on fitting that allows me to connect a braided fuel line to the factory fuel rail. The plastic connector is the same sort of thing used by the millions on factory cars.
But Russell, the manufacturer of this part, seems to have got something wrong in their implementation. I had one of these fittings pop off on the Targa Miata. Three times. I've heard from another FM customer who had a similar problem, and it turns out it's actually pretty well known. Since the result of a pop off is a big fat line full of high pressure fuel being pumped directly on top of a hot engine, it's a poor scenario. Especially when you're on the track, like I was with the race car.
The solution is the fitting on the left. It's a brand new design from Russell and it locks into place with a threaded aluminum insert instead of a couple of plastic teeth. I found out about it through the LS1Tech forums and managed to get some from the first production batch. The part on the MG has never given me trouble, but now it can't. I'll give the old one to the cats to play with.
entry 622 - tags: fuel, safety
July 5, 2011 - More useless equipment.
Well, hopefully useless. If all goes according to plan, these will never do us any good. But given the performance of the car, it's better safe than sorry.
For those who don't recognize them, they're HANS devices for Janel and I. If the worst happens, they'll help keep our heads attached to our necks. Not cheap insurance, but better than the alternative.
entry 623 - tags: safety