JohnCh

Certainly is a pretty car. And according to the 0-60 Magazine article, it's rather rapid too! -John

Might be worth a call to Appalachian Race Tire, the shop I referenced earlier. They seem to know their stuff and carry Toyo, Hoosier, and Hankook. They may be able to offer some insight. After I get my R888s mounted on the new rims I'll compare the width to my current 195/55-14 Toyo T1-Ss. According to the spec sheet, the R888 should only be 0.3" wider. Hope that's right! -John

Skip, How much wider are your Toyos? The Kumhos were on the same wheels, right? I just did a quick search, and according to the manufacturer spec sheets, the 205/50-15 R888 is only 0.1” wider than the Kumho ECSTA MX, ECSTA V70A, and Victoracer V700 on the same 6.5” wide wheel. I’d guess the Toyo spec sheet is off, but their measurement of 8.5” on a 6.5” wide wheel seems consistent with your measurement of 8.75” on a 0.5” wider wheel. Something certainly seems odd. Might be worth calls to manufacturers before you buy replacements. -John

I get the same thing in the Westfield. I think it is because when they see us pushing these tiny cars down a winding road, they think "Hey, it's a fellow Darwin Awards candidate!" -John

Not a live axle, it has IRS. -John

I just bought a set from a local chain here in the Northwest, but I recommend anyone in the Eastern half of the country to check out Appalachian Race Tire in TN. They have good prices and are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I tried to buy there after getting a lot of pre-sales support, but was told shipping to Seattle was steep and I was better off buying from the West Coast. They then continued to discuss my situation and offer solid advice. Good people! -John

My original Westfield had the same spec except for the wheels (14" vs 15" or 16" on the SF car ). Fun car and the crossflow sounds fantastic! The complete Road & Track road test is located here if you want to read Peter Egan’s opinion. -John

I checked back with RMSCI and it turns out I misunderstood a bit. Those measurement provided above were taken off of wheels they had received a while ago, they were not numbers received from the factory. Given that the 6" et corresponds with the et24 JBH found on his wheel, it seems unlikely that RMSCI measured the 8" wheel incorrectly. Rather, it looks like the early 8" wheels may have had a different offset, or that particular wheel was bad -- the cast wheels are machined to achieve the corret backspacing. I'll let you know if they find out anything substantive from the factory. -John

Interesting. Hopefully the Unknown Lister will post pics. I did a lot of research on 13" wheels over the last few weeks. My first choice was the Rials, but the tanking dollar and soaring fuel prices have changed the landscape for me a bit. For example, although the Rials are reasonably priced, the shipping from Germany is outrageous. Below is a little table I put together based on conversations with each manufacturer. Shipping prices for wheels shipped from within the US are set to $80 which is an estimate. Prices for wheels shipped to me from Europe are actual quotes from the manufacturer/dealer. The CXRs are a great value and include custom offset at that price, but I just couldn't warm to the looks. Not an ugly wheel, just too busy for my taste. http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1684550440_wheels table.jpg Edited to add: all weights are for 7" wide wheels except where noted. -John

The prices are certainly getting ridiculous, but I think a big part of that is down to the dollar and transport costs. When I bought my first Westfield back in ‘01, the Pound was worth less than $1.50 (actually $1.44 according to some research I just performed) and premium fuel at my local Chevron was under $1.30. Now the Pound is up to $2 and that same Chevron is charging $3.65 for a gallon of the good stuff. A little niche manufacturer like Caterham, or Westfield can’t afford to suck up the currency hits on their profit margins while waiting for the dollar to recover. If a major overseas manufacturer kept their US prices aligned to the currency fluctuations, then they would probably see a big decrease in unit sales – and hence share – and that could have implications that extend well past the dollar’s return to its former levels. It would also have a big impact on their global unit volumes since the US represents 25-50% of sales for many manufacturers. Somehow I think if US sales for Caterham were cut in half, it wouldn’t have too much of an effect on their bottom line. The good news for Se7en enthusiasts is that we still have lots of choices. In addition to a Locost (I wish I had the skill), there is the Stalker and WCM, both of which aren’t affected by the dollar issue, Westfield now has the Miata donor version which is a lot cheaper than a traditional SEiW build like mine, a lower spec Caterham still isn’t that outrageous, and of course…the Deman Another great way to get into the hobby is a used car. Well, unless it is priced at nearly $50k -John

Al, you big tease! At least give us a hint about the setup. -John

I'll circle back with RMSCI and ask about this. They inquired about offset on my behalf last week and sent the following information: 13"x6" (front) .96875" offset (24.6mm positive offset) 4.375" backspacing 13"x8" (rear) 1.53125" offset (38.9mm positive offset) 5.9375" backspacing If I had known the 8” was et24, then I might have opted for those. The et39 would have caused more headaches with new spacers and longer studs (the et24 6” will fit perfectly using my existing 25mm bolt-on spacers) so I decided to stick with the narrower rim. -John

Caterham told me the 6" wheels are et24, but that the 8" wheels are et39 with a backspace of 5.9375". I wonder if that was wrong, or if the offset stamped on the 8" wheels is incorrect? -John

I appreciate your enthusiasm for your product, but a statement like that by a manufacturer or their agent is not in keeping with the spirit of this forum. I’ll get off my soapbox now. -John

Nice choice! I just ordered a set in silver today, but stayed with 6" all around. According to this post on Blatchat, the 6" weighs 4.78kg and the 8" is 5.44kg. Quite a bargain at the price. -John

If you had come with us on PNW2007, then you would already have known where it is located As I recall, it featured a vile traffic jam (I moved about 0.5 mile in 45 minutes) but fortunately we found a really nice restaurant with a great wine list -John

Interesting to hear you had to increase the tire pressures so much between the S03 and ES100. The lower pressure for the ACB10 for track use makes sense since the tires get pretty hot under those conditions and the tire pressure increases by a larger degree than you would see under general road use. I wonder if part of the difference you are seeing between the S03 and ES100 is that the nature of the sidewalls and tread compounds of each tire is such that the ES100 generates less friction at road speeds, hence needs higher starting (cold) pressures to achieve the same hot pressure? -John

I find it difficult to fathom what it is like to drive a Westfield – or any se7en – at 154mph, let alone travelling at that speed a mere ¼ mile after engaging the clutch. Unbelievable… -John

A couple of notes on feel. Tires can definitely play a role, but don’t discount chassis setup. I am not familiar with the Fisher, but Westfields are notoriously sensitive in this area. Get it wrong and they are pigs. Get it right and they handle very well. My car has been more at the pig end of the spectrum, but I recently discovered some major set up issues that were a combination of some miscommunication with my shop, and my decision to err on the conservative side when it came to camber settings. Having partially addressed the issues (added more negative camber F/R, increased the rear ride height by close to an inch, and softened the front shocks while stiffening the rear), the car is transformed and now handles very, very well. It is a lot more confidence inspiring, has much better turn in, and can take throttle much earlier exiting a corner. Have you synched with the Fisher boards/mailing lists in the UK to see what settings people recommend for the Fury? -John

Martin, I'm surprised your car likes such high tire pressures. Usually 16-20psi is considered optimal. Have you experimented with lower pressures? As for tires, Toyo is supposed to launch the R888 in 205/55-14 soon, and still offers the RA-1 in that size. Nitto also offers the NT01 in 205/55-14. Recommended rim width is 5.5"-7.5, so they will work with your 6" rims" -John

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it is like to drive an F1 car, this three part video is it. Absolutely brilliant! (note: some spontaneous profanity in the second video while Chris is on track) -John

As long as we’re sharing pictures of our recent musical acquisitions, I might as well post mine. As hard as it may be to believe, it sounds even better than it looks! http://www.aues21.dsl.pipex.com/images/metalKazoo.jpg -John

Thanks Bob. Did the later Mondeos move the thermostat to the back? I have a 2.0L Mondeo and it came with the thermostat fitted to the waterpump. BTW for those who don't want to use the electric thermostat, you can substitute the mechanical version Mazda (the car company, not the guy with the HP fetish ) used in their Duratec installation. -John

Bob, I'd love to see what Cosworth recommends. I did some research on WSCC and the following is apparently the way folks are plumbing an expansion tank in a pressurized system that employs the water rail. I took a look at pictures of my old crossflow-powered car, which used the same expansion tank and thermostat housing as the water rail, and it appears it was plumbed the same way. http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/webphotos/duratec_cooling_layout_revised_3.jpg To add a heater, tap into the side of the water rail and T in the return to either the lower radiator hose or the expansion tank return line. -John

This is more of a change for change sake. The water rail has always seemed under engineered and given the price that just bugs the crap out of me. - You need to modify the head with a cut-off wheel so it will actually fit - The thermostat creates a dead end, so you need to drill a hole in the flange to allow some water to always pass through - The location of the thermostat makes bleeding a pain (no bleed screw in the system and a lot of air gets trapped behind the thermostat when you fill it up) - The use of an overflow bottle in lieu of a sealed system seems a step backward to me. The smell of coolant seeping out of the overflow bottle always triggers an “uh oh, something is wrong” reflex in me. Although my temperatures get hot pretty quick at a stop light, the car never overheats. Even in the traffic jam during PNW2007, when I only moved about ½ mile in 45 minutes and the under bonnet air temps reached 65C, the engine never went above 102C. So do I need to make a change? Absolutely not. I just want to see if using a factory setup keeps the temps more stable and reduces maintenance hassles. Your expansion tank sounds interesting. Where did you get it? The SBD piece looks good, but where do you mount the coil pack? Do they offer another mounting location, or do you need to use that with a coil-on-plug setup? Thanks, John