So close. Since the last time we visited AEM's head of performance electronics engineering, John Romero, and his record-setting 2001 Civic LX, car and driver established a new high point in the H/BFALT Class: 196.079 mph. That crushed the old mark of 119.644. The Civic even clocked in at more than 199 mph on the long course, and AEM's engine management system datalogged several points over the double century mark.
 |  For the best aero performance,...  For the best aero performance, Romero sealed off all grille areas to prevent air from traveling through the engine compartment and creating drag. He also came up with a lower air dam extending from the former bumper molding down to the ground.
The only openings in the front are for the turbo inlet and a cutout for the side-exiting dump tube. There's no airflow into and through the front of the car anymore. It's all going around or over it. As such, heat radiating from the header, turbo and downpipe during the 130-second full-throttle runs must be addressed. |  In the last installment we...  In the last installment we saw the charge piping protected with reflective wrap. To trap and minimize heat, the header and downpipe are swathed in header wrap. Romero doesn't advise wrapping headers on street cars, though. The heat retention efficiency of the wrap can invite cracking over time. |
Jiffy Pop, anyone? What appears...
Jiffy Pop, anyone? What appears to be a reflective shower cap goes over the turbine side of the turbo. The covering is secured, like the rest of the header wrap, with stainless-steel straps similar to CV boot bands.
Unfortunately, none of those records are valid-except the 196-unless Romero can repeat them, which Romero couldn't provide because of the shortened SpeedWeek session.
Romero's final opportunity to go two large in '05 will be at World Finals in October, when he hopes to have ironed out the car's handling stability. "Screw it," he says. "We came so close and the car is still running fine, so we thought 'what the heck?'"
In the meantime, Romero gives us a primer on controlling underhood temperatures on an all-out race motor and how he tuned the car for Bonneville. Gear Speed Transmissions explains how it set up the long-geared Integra LS transaxle. And Vic Hernandez at Modern Image Signworks gives us a lesson in vinyl graphics.
With airflow removed from...
With airflow removed from the engine compartment, a radiator is useless. Most radiators aren't up to the job of dissipating heat from 400-plus hp on sustained output. That's why Romero opts for a 25-gallon tank in the back seat area, feeding the engine coolant water via a Golden Eagle pump mounted underneath. The coolant runs reverse flow from the normal Honda method to give the cylinder head priority. The cooling system can also be pressurized externally before engine start up, minimizing localized hot spots in the head's cooling passages when the engine begins to make heat.
Stickers suck, you say? Not when they help fund your efforts. If you're fortunate enough to have sponsors, show them some respect. Who better to learn from than one of the best names in graphics?
2005 Bonneville Speedweek Recap
Car #529, H/BFALT 2001 AEM Honda Civic
At first light on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, we were going over our checklist for running the car. As this was its first run in the new high-horsepower configuration, we were being very conservative. We were forced to initially run on the three-mile short course since the record we were attempting was set below 175 mph (119.644).
Additionally, the driver's race license we had was only good for 175 to 199 mph. While we knew it would limit our overall top speed, in practice it really meant we would have to set the record twice: once over 175 mph to get to the long course and a license upgrade to the 200-plus mph variety, then again on the long course to see what the car was really capable of.
We rolled off the line at 8:30 a.m. and tripped the lights with a flying mile average of 195.557 mph, more than 75 mph above the existing record. In addition, the onboard data logger showed that we exited the flying mile at over 205 mph and were still accelerating strongly. We posted the fastest recorded time for the 150-plus runs on the short course on Sunday as well, regardless of vehicle class.
 Romero is using a staged methanol...  Romero is using a staged methanol fueling system on a turbo motor and trying to milk as much power as he can from the 1.5-liter engine, so fuel demands are quite high. To meet them, a DSR mechanical fuel pump feeds the four primary RC Engineering 440cc injectors, a secondary set of four 660cc injectors, and the two 1,600cc injectors mounted at the turbo exit for cooling (shown last installment). The positive displacement fuel pump is made to bolt onto the end of the dry sump oil pump and has flow rates based on engine speed. |  A second regulator mounted...  A second regulator mounted before the right front wheel well hump in the engine compartment is set to 75 psi to act as a high-speed bypass, giving fuel an alternate -6 path back to the tank. A bypass is normally required with mechanical fuel pumps, not something you'd need to duplicate using a standard electric pump.
Worth noting is the small box mounted next to the regulator, one of AEM's new four-channel K-type thermocouple amplifiers. The unit boosts signals from the engine's EGT probes as they head to the Engine Management System ECU (which is not required for datalogging with the amp). |  An AEM 3.5-bar MAP sensor...  An AEM 3.5-bar MAP sensor measures exhaust backpressure, which is what the -4 fitting sticking out of the manifold is for. Romero will attach an 18-inch-long piece of steel hard line to the bung that will transition into a section of braided line of similar length and terminate with the sensor. This way the extreme temperature of the exhaust can be isolated from the probe, making its measurements more reliable. A 3.5-bar AEM boost sensor is also used (not pictured), and all the data is logged on the EMS. The information was especially critical when Garrett was sizing the turbo. |
 The downside to using a mechanical...  The downside to using a mechanical pump is dealing with high-speed bypass. Because flow rates are directly proportional to engine speed, pressure can build in the system when the throttle is cut. At high rpm when demand drops completely, the pump is still trying to push fuel through. An everyday electric pump would sense the increase in pressure and slow fuel delivery, but a mechanical pump simply shuts off, creating a spike in pressure. To address this, companies sell bypass valves that typically blow open at 80 or 90 psi and dump fuel into a return line.
Romero uses two regulators in his fuel setup, similar to the AEM drag Civic. A main regulator off the rail is used for setting base fuel pressure at 60 psi. |  All EGT measurements are made...  All EGT measurements are made using AEM's new fast-response, mini EGT thermocouples, each essentially a K-type probe (K-type meaning it can measure from 32- to 896-degrees F) at the end of a length of braided stainless. Romero explains that EGTs are good for determining where an engine makes maximum torque at wide-open throttle.
During development, temperature measurements were taken at all four cylinders, the turbine inlet and exit, the compressor inlet and exit, as well as the normal inlet air temp reading taken in the plenum. With the car off the dyno, a similar air/fuel ratio can be established later by dialing in the mixture to achieve a target EGT. |  What does a tub of ceramic...  What does a tub of ceramic cleaning media have to do with going 200 mph? A lot if you need your parts undeniably clean, as Gear Speed Hi-Performance Transmissions (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) learned when it cut its conventional media formula with smaller balls in its vibratory parts tumbler. GS was in charge of the transmission rebuild for the project. |
 Speaking of guts, GS replaced...  Speaking of guts, GS replaced reverse and second gears, and selectors for first/second and third/fourth, to get the gearbox back up to spec. |  |  |