JohnCh

Our cars don't have a lot of squat, dive, or suspension travel, so it probably isn't much of an issue for us.

I remember reading something about this a long time ago with regard to Porsche 911 Cup Cars. Apparently the progressive rate springs were a bit of a handful on track because the F/R spring rate ratio (and resulting balance) would change based on where the car was in the corner. When braking hard prior to turn in, the front springs were more compressed and so were at the stiffer end of their range, while the rears were uncompressed and at the softer end of their range. Accelerating out of a corner resulted in the opposite results. The teams then switched to linear rate springs which kept the handling balance more constant. -John

I have the MOG seats in my Westfield. We covered 4000 miles in 2 weeks on the USA tour with no complaints – even on the day when we drove 625 miles. Although the seats had proven themselves to be very comfortable around town, I was a bit concerned about comfort over long stretches, so for the trip I added seat bottom cushions made from memory foam, and the little kidney back pads from Sparco. The kidney pads are a must for me thanks to a bad back, but the seat cushions were probably unnecessary. They were soaked in a nasty rain storm the night we stayed in Moab, so we drove the next day without them in place and didn’t miss them at all. -John

Standard length. I simply rolled up the excess from each shoulder belt and then affixed that roll to the top of the belt with a tie wrap. I am using bolt-in set up, which works a little better in a Westfield. BTW I have a spare set of the Profi II ASM 4-points (they accept sub belts) with the road legal buckles. When I originally bought them, I didn't realize that the flexibelt technology, which gives the pull-down/pull-up flexibility, was not available with that buckle. To make a long story short, I never had time to return them for a refund ,and then forgot about it. The belts are brand new, in the boxes, but were purchased about 2-1/2 years ago. PM me if you are interested. Thanks, John

I replaced Sabelts with the Profi II and am very happy with them. The webbing is more pliable and consequently more comfortable. They also have a version available that allows you to change the lap belts from pull-down to pull-up configuration. I use the latter on the passenger side since it is easier when I buckle in a passenger for their first ride, while I prefer the pull-down setup for my side of the car. -JohnJohnCh2007-01-10 07:05:26

Working. The irony of taking a vacation is that you need to work twice as hard the weeks before you leave -John

I searched for something like the Wolo for a long time. I wanted a third brake light with a very low profile and a lot of LEDs (I believe the LTB-10 has 50 LEDs). The Wolo was perfect and to top it off, it was cheap! It comes with a mounting tab at each end that is designed to attach to the mouting surface with a screw. I drilled and tapped a small hole in the roll bar for each tab and then attached them with either M3 or M4 dome head allen bolts with a bit of blue locktite. I was a bit paranoid about drilling the roll bar, but after speaking with several race shops, they all agreed that 2 little holes in those locations wouldn't compromise the integrity enough to worry about. -John

Whew! My redline will go from 7000 to 7500. Now I don't feel quite so inadequate http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif -John

And to think I was excited that my new cams are going to bump my engine to 220hp... Thanks for putting things into perspective http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif -John

Here is a pic of the Wolo installed on my roll bar http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/bootlid-600.JPG Edited with a smaller photo. The original is >here -JohnJohnCh2006-12-11 12:45:03

Thanks Gert! I'll pick up a HeliCoil kit and do the retap and epoxy as you suggest. -John

Gert, Thanks for the offer. I guess in my attempt at brevity though, I took a detour at clarity. Therefore, I'll bore everyone with the complete story http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif Several years ago I upgraded the gear lever on my Westfield to a Quaife Quick Shift. Unlike the Westfield factory gear lever which has M10x1.5 threads for the shift knob, the Quaife features a beefier shaft with M12x1.75 threads. When I bought that new lever, I purchased a Team Voodoo shift knob and matching handbrake grip. I then had the shift knob laser engraved with the Westfield logo. I recently purchased a gearbox from BGH along with their gear lever extension for Westfields. It is a sturdier design than the Westfield factory extension and requires the use of the modified gear lever they supply. Like the stock Westfield gear lever, it too requires a shift knob threaded for M10x1.5. Unfortunately Team Voodoo doesn't offer a shift knob with that thread size. So I am trying to find some kind of bushing that will enable me to screw my M12x1.75 threaded shift knob onto my new M10x1.5 gear lever. I thought that a Time-Sert or HeliCoil for an M10x1.5 bolt might work, but before I buy either of those I want to find out what size hole (diameter & thread pitch) they require. I'd hate to buy one only to find out that the M12 hole is still too big. If I can't find an off the shelf solution, then I need to find a machine shop with reasonable rates. (yeah, like that is going to happen http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif ). -John

I have a new gear lever that is threaded to take an M10x1.5 shift knob. Unfortunately my existing shift knob is threaded for my old M12x1.75 lever. Any ideas where I could get an adapter? I was thinking that perhaps a Time-Sert/Big-Cert or HeliCoil might work, but I've been having trouble finding the outer thread size of the M10x1.5 versions. Thanks, John

2.0L Duratec here. I am aware of two MegaBusas in the States. Not sure if there are any more. Based on everthing I've read on WSCC about BEC vs. CEC, I think the latter is better for me. However, I would never go so far as to say it is better for everyone. I can easily see how someone could be seduced by the ridiculously low weight, the 10k+ redline, and the sequential gearbox. -John

If you are bored some evening, do a search on this subject on the WSCC boardroom, and then sit back with a big bag of popcorn and read the threads http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif -John

Jay Ivey built your engine, right? I would chat with him about the spec and see if he thinks you should be having the drivability issues. It could simply be that a tune up is required (timing can change, carbs can go out of synch, and previous owners can touch things they shouldn't http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif ) or you are running the wrong heat range plugs. All easy things to fix and worth exploring before you think about... turning down the power. Edited to add: If you want to bring the car to Sammamish, I am happy to give you a hand. -JohnJohnCh2006-12-04 15:16:59

More like time to mount the skis under the se7en http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif -John

After one of the wettest months in Seattle's history (we're about 1/10" away from breaking the record set in 1933) we finally have a beautiful sunny day on our hands. The only problem is that we received 5" of snow at our house last night and the current temp is in the upper 20's, so the white stuff and ice aren't going anywhere soon. (sigh). -John

The Toyo T1R is a decent non-R compound tire for a se7en. They are very light and have softer sidewalls compared to conventional high performance tires -- two attributes that are good on a very light car. This >link will take you to the available sizes, recommended rim widths, and tire weights. -John

Sorry, I was hoping to talk you out of it, but if the rest of the car is up to the task... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif

Can the chasis take it, or will you need to reinforce things like the diff mounts?

I've ordered from >Tire Rack, >Online Tires, and >Discount Tire Direct in the past and have no complaints about any of them. -John

Lot's of information >here on offset, backspacing, and bolt patterns. 205/50-15 is probably the most popular 15" size for Se7ens. 195's are available from some manufacturers, but the choices in that size are more limited. Each tire manufacturer will provide an optimal range of rim width for a specific tire size, but 7" is what most people run with 205's. -John

I didn't realize Konig was offering the correct PCD for Caterhams. That's good to know. It seems most new wheels available in the States just work with the Honda and Mazda PCD. Another option is >Compomotive. They also have the correct PCD with multiple offset options and the prices aren't too bad. One thing to keep in mind as you contemplate the switch is that you are going to increase the unsprung weight which will affect ride and handling. You will also slow it down a bit with the taller effective gearing. Assuming you are going from a 185/60-13 to a 205/50-15, you will gain about 5/8" of ground clearance and increase your gearing by 6%. The Toyo T1-S and the new T1-R are decent road tires for se7ens. They are very light compared to most of the competition (Avon CR500 is the champ here, but a bit pricey) and have a softer sidewall which is good for a very light car like a se7en. -JohnJohnCh2006-11-12 07:44:25

Gert, Very nice video quality. What camera setup are you using? I'm thinking of getting something for PNW2007 and am just beginning my research phase. Thanks, John