JohnCh

Sprinkled throughout the vitriol, biases, agendas, hypocrisy, and offensive remarks, there was some good information and perspectives shared in this thread. However, at this point, I don’t see anything positive coming from further responses that might inflame the situation, so I’m going to close it and allow everyone to take a deep breath.

Getting this thread back on track, I'll share details of a recent acquisition. I finally reached a point in my life where I needed something practical and more conventional for daily use. I'm pretty hardcore when it comes to cars, which is another way of saying I'm impractical and a bit of a masochist. Case in point, about 9 or 10 years ago, my track-prepped NA Miata slowly began replacing my 993 for daily driving duties. With Sparco Sprint seats, Schroth harnesses, bolt-on hardtop, roll bar, Flyin Miata suspension, brakes, and chassis stiffeners, it's not a particularly civil or practical car, but it does epitomize that saying about driving a slow car fast being more fun than the inverse, and there is a freedom in not caring where it's parked. If it gets a door ding or is used for target practice by a colony of Seagulls, big deal. However, it sucks in the wet, and in the heat (no AC), and on the freeway, and when asked to transport anything bigger than a breadbox. Yes, it was finally time for something I can drive every day of the year regardless of the weather. Something with modern safety and convenience features that my wife will use on those days when I need to swap for her big SUV, and something that can transport a large dog a short distance. Pulling the 993's passenger seat so I could take one of the dogs to the vet 5 miles down the road had grown tiresome. To ensure I would actually use this car regularly, as opposed to my previous attempt at owning a personal utility vehicle, it had to be reasonably small, fun to drive, not so special that I cared about where it was parked or who drives it, and feature a manual transmission. Bonus points if it had good aftermarket support and a solid upgrade path should I opt to do what I always do with the cars I own. I finally settled on a GTI, picking up a 2019 Rabbit edition last month. This version comes without the sunroof (remember the big dog requirement) and has the LSD, the bigger brakes from the Golf R, the adaptive LED headlights, the iconic Clark plaid seats, and is available in an under-the-radar color. Much to my surprise, and following upgrades to the tires and shifter, I actually like it. It's certainly not super focused, or something that encourages you to find an excuse to drive it, but it does successfully meet all my adult requirements. I'll probably do some modest suspension updates over the winter, and may do a remap for more power, but it's been a pleasant surprise thus far. -John

Before anyone gets excited about @Al N.'s parts for sale, keep in mind he posted the ad 16 years ago. -John

I've moved the discussion on the auto repair labor market to a dedicated thread here:

I've moved the lengthy discussion above on auto repair labor market that started in the Other Cars of USA7s Members thread to one dedicated to the subject.

The dyno shop sent me two maps with different fuel enrichment strategies, and asked me to try both, then send logs for the one I prefer. He would then refine the chosen map based on that data. I had time at lunch to give them both a try and was really surprised; both felt great and addressed the issue. Honestly, I could keep either one with no further changes and be satisfied. Curious to see if I can sense any improvement from the next iteration he sends.

When looking into importing a previously registered "normal" car into Canada for about a year, out of curiosity I also asked Canadian officials about importing a kit car legally registered in the US and was told it was not a problem given it was over 15 years old. I didn't pursue that line of conversation further, but I can confirm that the initial process and fees we were given for the normal car proved to be incorrect when we pursued it -- fees went from "about" $5k to double that figure with more steps involved. Bottom line, conflicts between published information and the people who administer the rules has a similar vagueness as we see in the US. It's definitely worth a conversation with the proper authorities, but I'd advise getting things in writing.

Might be worth reading this. A quick skim shows if the car is less than 15 years old it needs to meet "all safety standards for the passenger car class." https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/importing-vehicle/importing-car-kits

When I picked the car up from the dyno over 3 weeks ago, I wasn't able to drive it very much before it went to Beachman Racing for PPF and alignment. It finally came back earlier this week, which afforded me opportunities to abuse…er, I mean to test the car. My initial reaction wasn’t great. Compared to the Westfield it felt big, had slow steering, and the throttle response below 4000rpm was poor, which made the low end feel soft. Not the most auspicious start. The throttle response issue is the same lean surge upon tip in I mentioned in earlier posts. Unfortunately, the dyno operator didn’t have a chance to drive the car on the street when it was there, so this aspect wasn't addressed. He's asked me to send logs taken this weekend so he can make changes to the map which I can then upload to the ECU and we can iterate until it's right. Once I drove the car a number of times and started to adjust to the differences, things began to change. When driving around the tip-in issue, the engine is savage. It loves to rev and becomes really strong as it approaches 5000 rpm. The chassis is nice. Steering is too slow for my taste, but it is accurate with great feel. Traction has not been an issue, and the ride is surprisingly good. I'll credit the CORE dampers and revise spring rates for that, although given I haven't tried the car with the stock Bilsteins and spring, you should take that comment with a very large grain of salt. Interestingly when driving it back-to-back with the Westfield, the throttle pedal travel feels significantly longer, yet measuring the two, they are identical. I suspect this misperception is due to the radically different shapes of the pedals. The Westfield's is a traditional shape, whereas the Caterham's is a loop that the foot rolls across as it's pressed. A couple of issues have cropped up. The capacitance fuel sensor is reading incorrectly and with some randomness. I believe this is down to the new Hydramat, which attaches to the bottom of the fuel pump rather than the bottom of the tank like the original. This allows it to float up, blocking the bottom of the sensor tube which is a no-no according to Centroid. I'll address this later and will rely on the trip odometer in the meantime. The dash has become partially detached. I suspect this is down to overly tight tolerances in places with the scuttle. As the chassis flexes, the scuttle puts repeated pressure on the dash and has broken the bond with the adhesive. This is another fix over the winter, as doing it right means removing the scuttle. I tested the oil temperature reading with long temperature probe that can reach the bottom of the tank near the sensor and confirmed that at running temperatures, the gauge is reading 5C too low. I'll readjust the calibration, but until then I'll mentally add 5C to the dash reading. The oil cooler block off plate appears to be working well. No problem getting oil up to temperature and it hasn't gotten hot when driven aggressively.

I suspect his recommendations will be very different based on the use cases. Given the power output of my engine, I wanted springs and dampers that could cope with high speed overtakes on our narrow, bumpy roads without risk of losing traction. The Westfield with its 2.0L and IRS is fine, but the 2.4L and de dion was more of an unknown, and I had been advised this might be an issue. Simon recommended digressive front dampers with linear 275 lb. springs and normal rear dampers with progressive 150 lb. springs. Looking at my notes, he did say that for track work where consistency is important, linear springs all around are preferred.

I can't comment on stock Caterham to aftermarket, but I did go with the CORE dampers and different spring rates for my recent build and can comment on dealing with Simon. He was very helpful, talked through what I was wished to achieve, and made recommendations from there, and explained his reasoning. I did question his spring rates -- like @Croc, Simon does not believe in stiff springs and feels the factory R offerings are over the top for road use. However, I decided to give his rates a chance since changing springs down the road isn't a big deal. So far, I'm very pleased. If you haven't seen his Buyer's Guide, it's a good overview of the various options. -John

And???? You can't post a comment like that without providing more details on how it drives -John

This topic migrated to the 2023 USA7s HPDE at NJMP Lightning thread and was taking it sideways so migrating the relevant posts (the 11 immediately above) back here so things are in context.

Keep in mind when you bring the car into Canada, if it's there longer than a defined time (I believe it's about 3-4 months) you have to import it which includes a very significant tax based on the value of the car as determined by Canadian customs. Depending on where you live, those taxes can total about 20% of the value. It's worth checking into this first to ensure there are no expensive surprises.

There is a thread for that . @Croc updates this each Sunday with the current known cars for sale online.

Congratulations @TobyinNJ, that's a very nice spec!

I have split this thread and moved the lengthy PCV conversation to a dedicated thread below and in the correct sub forum. Please remember to start a new thread when dramatically changing a topic to ensure it is easier for people to find when performing a search in the future, and to ensure people see your question rather than ignoring it given the significantly different thread title.

Yes, there are several threads I don't split simply because I don't have the time or patience, or I didn't notice the conversation was part of a completely different thread. The Spotted thread is a great example of one that has gotten completely sideways. Splitting out the registration component is too messy because of how that portion has gone, but there is a cleanish split for the PCV conversation. I'll do that now.

I've moved the battery thread here: Just a reminder to everyone to please keep threads on topic. Switching it up to ask completely different questions and start a new sub-topic makes it harder for people to perform searches in the future and also means many people may miss the question because they are not watching the original thread. Thanks, John

27-1570SS with the 613/7SS retaining pin. The latch has a safety catch, so with the pin, it's a belt and suspenders approach.

It might be worthwhile to post a picture of a latch so other S3 owners could chime in regarding originality. I'd also start with MV8's suggestion about tightening things up with a new or thicker gasket. Maybe try some foam rubber shims under each latch point to see what works best? In terms of other options, Caterham uses terry springs on the front and conventional over center latches in the rear. For my Westfield, I went with overcenter catches with a locking pin from https://protex.com/. With those pins in place, there is no possibility for the latch to open.

If it's to supplement the Caterham, is an open top a requirement or even desirable? For me, it wasn't and why I bought a FHC Elan. When I want the open top experience, it's the Westfield or Caterham. If the weather is a little iffy, I grab the Elan. If it's really iffy, then the Miata with bolted on hardtop and no soft top, or the 993 get the nod. They each serve a different purpose and accommodate a different mood. Figure out what purpose and mood you want to accommodate with the new car. If you want raw, I suspect you are looking for a modified car. Factory setups have to appeal to the masses -- even if those masses are a relatively small group -- and as a result, rawness is diluted. But how raw do you wish to go? Do you want a modern car, with all the goodies like ABS, traction control, air bags, great HVAC, etc. or do you want something that has reasonable safety, but forces compromise in exchange for the driving experience? With that information, I am happy to help spend your money

Is this to replace or supplement the Caterham?

If you are willing to travel to NJ:

Caterham 310R: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2020-caterham-310r-s3/