JohnCh

Welcome to the madness Avery! Is it possible for you to drive any of the cars listed to either rule them out, or move them up the list? I think the Westfield is a couple of hundred miles away from you, so that might be worth the trip. The Caterham in Atlanta is a bit far for a drive, but perhaps you can get a cheap flight? Not sure where the other cars are located. Might also be worth seeing if anyone on the forum is in your area so you can pay a visit and try their car on for size. -John

(Revising an old thread) I finally had the new wheels and tires mounted, so thought I would offer up my early opinions on the R888s. For background, before the rebuild I ran 185/60-14 A032Rs on my Westfield. After that I changed to 195/55-14 Toyo T1-S. I made the switch from R compounds in part to prepare for potential rain on USA2005 (we had it!), but mainly because the AO32Rs really lost their grip below ~60F. The car is often driven in 40F weather, so this was pretty annoying. I noticed a couple of things when I made that change. Warm weather grip was down (duh!) but there was a significantly smaller drop in grip between warm and cold weather, and the T1-S gave a significantly more comfortable ride. I’ve heard good things about the R888 when cold, so I recently decided to make the switch to 13” wheels and install 205/60-13 R-888s all the way around. I’ve now driven on them a few times with outside temperatures in the upper 40F range, and I am blown away by the grip. I was hoping to just be in the same ballpark as the T1-S under such conditions, but they stick much, much better on cold roads even before there is any heat put into them. And the ride has surprisingly improved! I’m sure part of this is down to the taller sidewall, but it seems to me that the sidewall is also much softer than the old AO32R, which is certainly a good thing for such a light car. Here is a pic with the new wheels installed (and yes, I did mow the lawn after taking that picture ) http://qa7fkg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pAXUZYTMSZ_FBlCT_IZleqQA7_pC-DXPAAldv7ja3PbE_fpmoAQ1JikN-fmLjUlYLMpgbwbPwABnMPkv7TGg6oQ/New%20Wheels%20800.jpg -John

Al and Mike make two great points: price sensitivity when you break the $30k barrier, and people finding comfort in a larger installed base. Let’s face it, unless you are extremely hardcore, a se7en is bought as a recreational device. Given that the average price of a new car is mid to upper $20k’s, spending more than that on a toy is a bit tough psychologically for a lot of folks – even if they have sufficient disposable income. As for the installed base, although some people enjoy being an early adopter, most find comfort in knowing they aren’t a guinea pig. They like having a large knowledge base out there to tap when something goes wrong or they have a question. Somewhat ironically, one of the reasons I bought a Westfield was because I didn’t want to be an early adopter. Westfield has been around for over 25 years, builds 400-500 cars per year, employs 5o people, and the club forum has 6500 registered users – i.e. they have a long track record and a solid customer support base. The irony is that here in the US, they really haven’t made many inroads, so they are often viewed as a very minor player without these assets in place. I think that misperception is one of the reasons why the orange car hasn’t moved yet. The Deman looks good and by all accounts is a very well built, great driving vehicle, but couple a price well over $30k without a track record and the addressable market becomes quite small. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the money, but finding the right buyer may take a while. -John

That's probably a good thing. If it had pulled any harder over 5000rpm, then I probably would have ruined my new pants -John

From the website, I see you have an option of renting either a 140hp K with 6-speed, or a 150hp Sigma with 5-speed. Whichever car you choose, just make sure you take it easy. You aren’t used to handling a car with that much power ;-) -John

Brad, no one has ever accused me of being fair. Good luck with the local sale Rick -John

BGH recommends a 75W90 GL-4 for the Type-9. The Redline equivalent is MT-90. Although MTL is the correct grade, it is a slightly thinner 75W80. Interestingly BGH doesn't recommend Redline, claiming they've seen excessive gear wear with that brand. I've always had good luck with their engine and gear oils, and was unable to find the BGH recommended brands here in the States, so I went with MT-90. Certainly works well for me...so far. -John

There is a se7en less than 10 miles from my house and I don't find out about it until it is listed in the classifieds :banghead: Good luck with the sale! Hopefully it stays in the area. -John

According to one of the bullet points in the listing "Battery is cleverly mounted under the air cleaner on the frame." I have a PC680 mounted in a similar position on my Westfield -- although I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it cleverly mounted -John

Good eye Stan! That was taken at the hotel in Tehachapi. If anyone is interested, I have about 75 photos from that trip located here. -John

Yep, that's mine (well, actually my wife's) from USA2005. Here are two more from the tour that I like. http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1305838974_usa200522.jpg http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1947346428_usa20055.jpg -John

My understanding is that a lean condition can also cause a backfire. The mixture is too lean to fire, hence raw fuel is pushed out on the exhaust stroke and ignited by the hot exhaust. Another thing to consider is you timing, which can result in incomplete combustion. A good online Weber tuning guide is located here. -John

I would love to have an XI to complement the se7en. Keep it simple with power around the 100hp mark and skinny tires with moderate grip. It’s a recipe for fun at reasonable speeds. Hmm… I wonder if Tom would be up for a group buy? -John

I'm afraid that might have been me Sorry about that! This is the first I have heard about a change to later crossflow installations. Did they move to a different bellhousing? -John

I think that car may win the award for widest rear tires on a se7en. -John

My Westfield tipped the corner balance scales at 1239 with ~ 4 gallons of fuel. -John

Looks nice! Not to hijack your thread, but if anyone wants a nice, round aluminum shift knob, then check out the knobmeister (despite the name, it is a safe site to view at work ). For $20 he will laser engrave anything you want on the surface. I had him do the Westfield logo, but he could easily do the “7” logo, “USA7s” or whatever else you want. http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/images/shiftknob.jpg -John

Check with Coker Tire. No personal experience with them, but I have seen their ads in some of the classic car magazines. -John

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