The final rounds of the Ontario Solosprint Time Trial series were held at Shannonville on September 11th and 12th. The track was available on Friday night for practice of the fast Fabi course, and the Civic was there to shake down an alternate intercooling setup. After inconsistent IATs at Mosport, it was found that the ice water circuit was being compromised by excessive slosh in the reservoir. This was allowing too much air into the pump and reducing the flow rate. So out came the icebox, and in went a stock Honda rad and fan mounted where the back seats used to be. We were able to fill and seal the system and consistently feed our intercooler with ambient temperature water. This ensured we’d have no detonation on our timed runs, which were especially hard on the full track, where laps would take nearly 2 minutes! Unfortunately the system wasn’t filled and primed on Friday night, and near the end of practice, the steam from the hot intercooler ruptured a water line. A quick run to the store, and a late repair by flashlight got us back in shape for competition.
Saturday weather was warm and sunny, and Will started the day off with a quick pace on Z214s. Jon was up next and was ready to answer back, but at turn 3 of the first hot lap the car couldn’t stop and slid off the track. Turned out that in our rush to check oil and get the car out for the 2nd driver, the safety wire on the dipstick was not fastened. During the first full throttle acceleration, the dipstick popped out and engine oil sprayed the front left corner. With a tire sprayed with oil, there was no traction to brake the car, and that ended the run. Additionally, feedback from both drivers indicated that the tires were not gripping so well, and they were becoming difficult to modulate. Realizing they were finished from too many heat cycles, the street tires went back on and Jon completed a clean session. The Hankook RS-3s were quick, but not enough to best Will’s time on Z214s.
After lunch, an inspection of the car found that the collector of the exhaust manifold had developed a crack almost all the way around the tube! This problem was going to take a bit more time, and with both drivers on the scoreboard, the civic was retired for the day. Off came the manifold and the search begun. Luckily a skilled TIG welder was found nearby, and the manifold was repaired good as new. The manifold was back on the car even before the BBQ dinner hosted by the HADA club!
Sunday was wet, and stayed that way for most of the day. The Civic struggled to put all 300 hp down, but found the chassis balanced enough to slide gracefully on the slick track. The rain slowed and times started to drop, until a Subaru oiled the track and stopped competition. Marshalls and organizers wielded every broom on the property and swept bags upon bags of speedy dry on the track, until the conditions were declared safe. At about the same time, the rain stopped, and it was a mad scramble for everyone to get a dry time in. Jon had the first chance on a semi-dry surface, which provided lots of grip for the RS-3 tires. But then Will went out after on a dry and arguably warmer track, and claimed FTD for the day, beating all other competitors! Although not our first, it was rewarding to place the civic at the top even on street tires.
And that concludes the Ontario Solosprint time trial championship. Enmo claimed 1st place in IMPROVED class and 3rd overall, behind 2 previous Solosprint champions. But even more impressive, it set 2 FTDs out of 8 events, and consistently was in the top 5 fastest cars of the event. Enmo showed that ‘less’ can be ‘more’, by outperforming cars with double the cylinders, one camshaft, and only 2 drive wheels!
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