JohnCh

We’ll have a spread. Expect low-mid 90’s on the hottest days, and mid 60’s when you hit the coast. I suggest wearing layers I heard on the radio earlier this week that the average August in Seattle has 3 days of rain. This August, it appears we are on track for 9 days of the wet stuff. :banghead: -John

Looks like a great car, but is priced accordingly. From the ad: "I will be only too pleased to answer any qiestions [sic] once the bidding has exceeded $50,000.00 " -John

I have Pilotis and Speedcats. From a width perspective the Pilotis split the difference between the Speedcats and normal athletic shoes. -John

Give Ben at RMSC a call. The stick on emblems for the 13" Motorsport wheels are 1-9/16" in diameter. -John

No kidding. It’s not like it was a new car I think I’ve let five people drive my car since the rebuild. Three are track instructors (no worry there) one is in the process of building a Westfield Miata and was in the area visiting family (he took it really easy) and the fifth was my wife. We were in our neighborhood and she was turning around in a cul-de-sac and forgot that it has a much better power to weight ratio than her Forester turbo, and lacks that car’s all wheel drive. She essentially rotated the Westfield in place. I’ve been afraid to let her drive it ever since… -John

Spa mirrors come in two sizes. The Formula Car model is 4.4” x 2.0” and the GT/Sedan is over 70% bigger at 5-3/4” x 2-5/8”. I have the latter, and think the size is fine. I agree with Tom about the wheel size. Conventional wisdom in the UK is that 185/60-13 work best up front, and you don’t need to move up to 205/60-13s in the back until you are approaching 200hp. Rule of thumb says that a 6” wide wheel is optimal for a 185 and 7” for a 205, so a 6” should be fine for your car. Remember, a wider wheel weighs more, so if you don’t need the extras width, then don’t get stuck with the extra weight. -John

My shocks are pretty standard by se7en standards. The ones in the picture are 12-3/8" long and fitted with 1.9"ID x 8" springs. -John

A friend stopped by today to borrow my in-car camera setup. After seeing the Westfield's new coilovers sitting on the bench, he jokingly said the springs look more like valve springs than suspension pieces. That comment prompted me to pull out the rear coilover units ready to go on my daily driver for a little side-by-side comparison. According to my scale: 4.25lb vs. 12.47lbs. The front setup on my DD is a ride-height adjustable strut so it is even bigger and heavier than the rear units seen in the photo. I think I need a smaller DD http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/2078819699_shocks-800.jpg -John

Oops! Brain fade on my part. Mazda, feel free to move this thread to OT where it belongs. -John

Apologies to BusaLoco for posting in his forum, but I felt I had to do this for Mazda. :jester: Video of the new ZR1 doing burnouts. Yikes!! YouTube Video -John

My personal goal is to have one good idea per year. Glad to hear I can now coast until January -John

I was thinking about this the other day. Perhaps we should rename the Video forum in his honor? -John

Easy enough to do using the signature option in My Profile -John

Just came across this photo taken of a Ferrari 166 MM competing in the 1953 Rallye des Alpes. I guess the fact that race cars in those days didn't have seatbelts is kind of irrelevant http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/1953_Ferrari_166_MM_Vignale_Coupe_Pre_Oblin_Rebody_Rallye_des_Alpes_Mountain_1.jpg -John

Yesterday I sent out an important e-mail to all NorCal 2008 participants. Please PM me if you didn’t receive it. Thanks, John

The color is in the gel coat on a Westfield and it is pretty thick, so no need to worry about stone chips. Yes, they do show, but they are not a contrasting color. I personally prefer a bright color for safety, which is why I went with red. However, after following my car on a bright day recently, I discovered that red brake lights don't show up that well against a red background. Something to think about... -John

I forgot to check last night, but I am certain that I don't have the wires you describe in that area. When I rebuilt my car, I modified the loom to eliminate unused wires and rerouted everything to work with the Duratec installation (car was originally fit with a crossflow). The only wires now in that area either go to the brake fluid sensor or the battery which is mounted in a non-standard position at the bottom of the chassis directly below the brake & clutch master cylinders. Have you checked those wires with a multimeter to see if they are grounded at the other end, have continuity between them, or carry voltage when everything is switched on? -John

My loom has been modified quite a bit, but I'll see how many black wires come from the main loom to the grounding stud. As I recall the factory loom is conventional and all black wires are grounds, so grounding those 6 wires to see if that fixes things should be pretty safe. -John

I'll try to look at my car, but going from memory, the loom attaches to the chassis in two places: • The tail lights portion of the loom along with the fuel pump ground to the rear of the chassis near the fuel tank, • The loom, battery, ECU, and engine ground to a stud welded to the top chassis tube where the transmission tunnel opens into the engine bay. I had a really funky issue with my flasher circuit after the rebuild that turned out to be a bad rear ground wire. Turn on the hazards and the fuel pump would cycle on/off and the rear running lights would flash rather than the rear turn signals. Unplug a rear turn signal bulb, and the pump & tail lights would stop flashing and the remaining rear turn signal would work normally. Turn on the headlights or hit the brakes and a bunch of other weird stuff would happen. :banghead: After much head scratching and trouble shooting, I finally ran a direct ground from the battery to the rear lights and the problem vanished. The permanent fix was as simple as replacing the ground wire from the tail light assembly. I hate electrical problems! -John

I believe they are Catz with a C. -John

I bought mine from Ben at Rocky Mountain Sportscars. He is a good guy and can get you sorted. -John

We currently have eight cars confirmed with two more on the fence. Looks like we may also have a BBQ planned for the end of day 1 More to follow. -John

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the brands you mentioned. Just go with the one that moves you the most and that doesn’t completely demolish your budget. You always need to leave a little available for upgrades – even if you go with a new build If you plan to use the car a lot on the street, then do your best to try a bike-engined car before you buy. In addition to the points Mazda raised, the clutch engagement is supposed to be a lot touchier than a car-engined setup. Some people are fine with this around town and others hate it. Definitely down to personal preference, so it’s good to know yours before you commit your money. -John

If you want big power, you might want to consider the Westfield Miata Doug is selling here. The Flyin Miata boys are running one of their turbo kits on their Westfield Miata and it is reportedly stupid fast. -John

Congratulations Chad! I remember the first drive after completing my build. Well, mostly I remember pushing it the last block home :banghead: Glad to see you fared a little better -John