With a Darton MID-sleeved block, Cunningham connecting rods, custom CP pistons and a Gary Castillo plasma gas nitrided crank in place, tuning began on gas only. The final numbers of 242 wheel-hp and 165lb-ft were roughly what any top tuner would reach on this engine with a reasonable margin of safety. Let's not forget that we're talking about as much as five miles at wide-open throttle, times two passes per record, times four records. This is no quarter-mile grenade.
Tuning with the nitrous was a different deal. The added variables of nozzle size, bottle pressure, solenoid efficiency and even nozzle placement in the manifold made for many a late-night dyno runs. Tuning each of the three nitrous stages separately and then adding them sequentially would reveal any hiccups or inconsistencies. During one exciting tuning session (ironically, on Friday the 13th), all three nitrous stages were finally running together.
Macmillan crept up on it carefully and slowly. After a few hundred rpm at a time, it finally showed a number well in excess of the 500bhp mark. And then the engine died. The cylinder pressure had breached the level the head gasket could hold. When the gasket gave way, the burning combustion charge cut into the deck of the cylinder head like a torch. The resulting gash allowed the charge to escape into the water jacket, pressurizing the cooling system and causing the radiator to explode in spectacular fashion. Oops.
Macmillan's reaction was measured: "That's what testing is for." The spare engine had already been under construction, but suddenly it was no longer the spare.
Cut to Bonneville and the new engine is tuned and in the car. The original engine has been rebuilt with a new head and is ready for action in the event of any problems. Much discussion has gone into the strategy and sequence in which the record attempts will be made. The two Gas records will be the easiest on the engine, so they are first. The existing Altered record was set by a healthy B18-powered Civic.
Macmillan's first hard run qualifies for the record. He throttles it to a respectable speed of 165.3mph through the length of the third-mile, about 5mph over the existing record. Protocol (and the rules) dictate that the car must then be towed immediately to the impound area. Once at the impound, the team has only four hours to tend to the vehicle and perform any necessary maintenance or repair before the next run. In Macmillan's case, routine fluid, tire pressure and spark plug checks are the only things needed. The car must sit overnight, ready to run. The 'record run' will occur the following morning, just after sunrise.
Safety requirements for land speed cars are among the strictest in the world: halo (head r
And that's exactly the way it happens. In the low, morning temperature and under a spectacular sky, the 2.0-liter gas-burner pulls the RSX through the air for the record and an average speed of 167.3mph, 7mph over the existing record. Officials certify the record back in the impound and inspection area. Before the ink in the logbook is dry, the Hondata team is back in the pit area installing the belly-pan to run for the next Gas record in the Competition Coupe class. The reduced drag with the belly pan and CC nose is good for 15.8mph over the old record and establishes a new G/GCC record of 168mph dead.
Day four of Speed Week and it's nitrous time. The safe records are done, the belly pan works and there are no exhaust heat issues. It's time to put the bottles in-all four of them. One bottle should be plenty in terms of volume, as long as no one is picky about bottle pressure and consistency over the length of a Bonneville blast. A run this long needs serious volume-the more nitrous, the better. Macmillan's tuning has also revealed some problems with the standard nitrous solenoids, so he's removed them.