I certainly hope that the following isn't bad news:

I was running an errand this afternoon when maybe 2 blocks from where I started, the cars' turbos completley shut down - or so i think. At a stoplight, the idle suddenly went from the normal 750rpm to a gasp. The car was really struggling to stay alive so I kept the revs up to 2000 rpm until the light turned green. The car felt like it was shaking itself to death whenever the car tried to transition from vacuum to positive pressure. The boost gauge indicated 0 even though I was at 4000 rpm in 2nd. I immediately pulled over and could see intermediate blue puffs of smoke coming from the exhaust. I popped the hood and could smell fuel in the engine bayl. In any case, I let the car cool down for a couple hours, started it back up and it ran fine - as if nothing happened. My boost pattern was normal (at least for my car) and the fuel smell was gone afterwards. I read a few posts regarding a fuel smell in the engine bay and am naturally concerned. If anyone has a hint at what to troubleshoot first, I'd surely appreciate it.

About the car:

93 R1
31000 miles (my daily driver, bought it 6 months ago)
HKS Intake
HKS Downpipe
HKS Exhaust
HKS F-CON
HKS EVC
Random Technologies High Flow Cat


Depending on my mood and if I remebered to add the octane boost, I run anywhere from a max boost of 12 to 14 PSI.

Also, with the boost controller turned off, my "normal" boost pattern seems to be a 7-6-6; as opposed to the 12-10-14 with the controller on. I only spend half the time with the boost controller on for mileage purposes but when that controller turns red, hang on.....

 

if you're getting 7-6-6 boost pattern with those mods I'd think there would be a problem in the hoses somewhere. Fuel smell could either be the FPD (Fuel Pulsation Dampner) or the injectors.

It's really dangerous to drive with a fuel smell in your engine bay as it can lead to engine fires.

I'm not certain where Los Altos is, but Rotary Power in Gardena, CA is the Pinnacle in Rotary racing. Jeff is the ultimate Guru in my opinion.

 

Where's the FPD located? And yeah, I did find it odd that I had to have the boost controller on just to keep the "normal" boost pattern in effect.

I've read about people replacing their hoses with silicone versions and am curious how long it takes. I'd like to compare silicon versus viton for hose material though. Has anyone made the comparisions?

Los Altos is near the SF Bay area.

 

Check out the West Coast section here in the Forum.
There should be some posting about local shops:

1. Ivan in Sunnyvale
2. Ricks in Pleasanton
3. C2 in Oakland

Again check the forum, they have the phone numbers too.

Reza

 

Will do - thanks.