I have a tough question:

At an autocross today we had a left-hand 360 degree turnaround (skidpad) that transitioned into an offset right hander and my 2002 S2000 cut power twice in second gear (once at 36mph and another at 40mph).
As soon as I completed the fourth corner of the turnaround and shifted the weight back to the left side the car just died for 3 or 4 seconds.

I was running on asphalt with Hoosiers, Koni shocks and a Comptech bar on full stiff. Fuel was at eight or nine bars (just below 1/2 tank). Oil was checked twice and was perfectly full.

Any ideas what caused the car to act this way??????

 

I've run on a skidpad with low fuel and never had a pickup problem, but that's what it sounds like.

 

Could it be that oil pickup faltered with those high centrifugal forces, causing lack of oil flow to vtec mechanisms &/or solenoid, causing ecu to cut out?

 

My bet is with fuel. Chances are your gauge was reading higher than what you had in the tank, which is a problem i've run into at the track before. After running laps the gauge will show nearly 1/2 tank but by the time the next session starts there are only 2 bars showing. At that point with the fuel pick up on the left side of the tank any long left hander will cause fuel starvation.

 

At buttonwillow on monday I finished a session with 4-5 bars on the fuel gauge and when I turned my car on to go to the store, I had 0 bars and the fuel light. I drove 5 miles to the store and put 11.6 gals in.

 

Long left-handers will make the car fuel starve. Our car has done it with more than 1/2 tank! We ususally run a couple bars over 1/2 if we see that there are long left hand turnarounds on a course. Some cars seem more prone to it than others, and it's very random as to what types of turns cause it.

I'm going to go dry off now... just got back from our first regional - 40 and rainy. yay.

 

I also found out that if the engine isn't up to operating temperature it cuts fuel off at 6,000 rpm. My wife and I have both experienced this and wondered why. If you were at Candle stick today and it was that very first right hander I wonder if that could be an added possibility... just a thought.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by magi
[B]I also found out that if the engine isn't up to operating temperature it cuts fuel off at 6,000 rpm.

 

Yea, I knew if I had the balls to be honest about this I would take flack for it. I found out after just washing it and wanting to air dry it to blow water out of the cracks. I took it around a couple of blocks and got on it. Just not thinking. But if that was his first run of the day at Candlestick it is the first turn of the course and I saw it as a possibility. Brainstorming has room for saying or doing something stupid while leaving room for discovering something that no one has thought of; I'lm willing to cop to the doing something stupid part!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by magi
[B]Yea, I knew if I had the balls to be honest about this I would take flack for it. I found out after just washing it and wanting to air dry it to blow water out of the cracks. I took it around a couple of blocks and got on it. Just not thinking. But if that was his first run of the day at Candlestick it is the first turn of the