JohnCh

I wouldn't blame the dry sump for over cooling. Yes, the large thermal mass of oil that is separate from the block does affect temps, but the car has a large oil cooler with no thermostat. Some block this off for street use, some fit a thermostat, and some bypass it with a water-based oil cooler like a Mocal. I've run both the stock cams as fitted to the 360, and the Kent Dtec10 which are a near match for the cams used in the 420. In my experience, there was no downside to the cam upgrade as these still have a mild profile. Power was marginally lower below 2000rpm (although still plentiful) but stronger over 3000rpm with a lot more eagerness at high rpm. I was on the fence with respect to the brake upgrade. I hate the additional unsprung weight and question the need vs. dedicated pads for track work, but ultimately went with them given the power increase I'll have from stock. A part of me still regrets that decision. 13" wheels. Yes. Every time. I could feel the difference when switching from 14" wheels. -John

That's great news! Not sure if your experience will be different, but looking at my car's recent timetable, factory pickup supposedly happened on 8/25 and the ship left port on 9/8. Add 2 weeks to reach Charlotte plus the unloading process and you may have your car the second week of November. -John

@RGTorque It's because you are at 260% of your inbox capacity and need to either delete messages to get below the 50 message limit or upgrade to paid club membership which has a 500 message limit. It looks like you haven't sent a message for 3 years when we were still on the old platform so you haven't run into this before. See this Help Guide for more information on messaging and where you can see your inbox capacity. You can reach me via the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page if you need help with this. -John

If someone hired me to choose your car based on everything you've written thus far plus my own experience over the past 20 years of se7en ownership with power levels ranging from 120hp-225hp and having driven cars with 265hp and 275hp, I'd order you a 420R with the swappable windscreen/aeroscreen option. You'd have the Miata 5-speed, plenty of power (0-60mph is claimed under 4 seconds), it's easy to drive around town and is still a weapon on track. More power is also available down the road. RB or ITBs reportedly add about 10hp, and if you open up the engine, changing rods, pistons, cams, plus head work or a head swap can increase that by an additional 20-40hp. We need to find you a passenger ride in a 420 so you can experience that power level yourself to determine how it compares to your expectations. You might be underwhelmed...or you might be a little frightened -John

There is a significant performance gap between the 420 and 620 models. Whereas the 420 has a noticeable 17% power increase over the 360, the 620 has 48% more power than the 420. That's not exactly a step change, and as @KnifeySpoony noted, the 420 is already something that needs to be treated with respect in a corner, while the 620 is...well, on another level. As a 620 owner recently said to me "it's always trying to kill you." Only you know your experience levels with very high horsepower RWD cars and how much you like a car that has the power to bite quickly. This may be exactly what you want. Or it may not. Other things to consider about the 620: the supercharger adds weight, complexity, under bonnet heat, has a well-documented overcooling issue that requires an aftermarket solution to fix, there is no self-build option, it's a lot more expensive, and is RHD. Again, these may all be non-issues for you given the power increase and your preferences. Or they may not. S vs. R. To me this isn't a do you/don't you want to track it decision, but more about what you want in the driving experience. I don't track mine, but I like a very, very visceral experience when I take the car out to play and am happy to make compromises most people think are nuts. So for me, things like the more stripped out interior, composite seats that lock you in place, updated brake MC with improved feel, lighter flywheel, and LSD all take the experience in my preferred direction. How far down that visceral and less compromising path do you wish to travel? Bottom line all the cars are great, but absent the ability to drive all the variations back-to-back you need to rely on your ability to ask yourself the right questions and provide honest answers. This thread and your desire to have conversations with owners is a great approach to uncovering those answers. -John

@Vovchandr see this help topic for the upside down photo issue. We do have the EXIF extension enabled in PHP which normally takes care of it, but there are random images that don't respond. I've read that sometimes this is due to someone changing the orientation of their phone then immediately taking the photo and not allowing the phone to reorient itself (I need to update the help topic with that nugget). This could be the case here. It could also be a recent software change on Apple's end creating an incompatibility, or an issue with the PHP on the server. I need to update that over the next couple of weeks, and a forum software update was also just released. Once those are both done, and if the issue continues for your photos, I can open a support ticket. Now back to the latest instalment of "Vlad's car is cursed!" -John

The best way from a usability perspective is to upload it to YouTube or Vimeo then paste the link in the post and it will embed the video. Second question in this FAQ has a little more information about embedding. You can also upload the video as an attachment, but that requires someone to download it first and you may need to resize it first to get under the size threshold. -John

Just posted as part of this auction listing on Bring a Trailer, but worth memorializing here. When someone looks at our funny little cars with no doors, suspect tops, and nothing that any reasonable person could confuse for a creature comfort and asks "Why?" this video provides a great response. -John

Good to know that's feasible. I already have a set of the JAL LEDs with lenses ready to go on the car (just need the mounting blocks). It will be interesting to compare the two with that wiring change in place. The priority for me is brightness, including from off axis.

It left the initial port on the 8th, hung around the UK for a few more days, then landed about 3:30am this morning local time.

That's great news! Coincidentally, the ship carrying my car just made port in your state this morning (Charleston). It's only a 2 week port-to-port crossing so you might have your car soon. -John

My understanding is that starting sometime this Spring, all new cars are built with the LED lights as standard so this may not be a decision you need to make. It might be worth asking your dealer to confirm if this is accurate. I've been behind a Caterham with these new lights installed. Although I don't care for them in the photos, they were a lot less objectionable to me in person, but YMMV. However, I was unimpressed with the brake light output. Strangely, very few of the LEDs are dedicated to the brakes vs. running lights and they really didn't jump out in traffic on a sunny day. To be fair, this was on a red car which doesn't help, but if my car shows up with them, I plan to switch to the JAL LEDs. John

She may be taking the whole add lightness thing a little too far...

Hi @Christopher smith, I removed your phone number and email address from your post above. Spammers screen scrape forums like this so publishing that information here is a recipe to increase robocalls and spam emails. @Henry VII if you want to take up Christopher's offer to talk, please send him a PM and he can provide the email and phone number I deleted. Thanks, John Trying to keep the community safe since 2010

Good to meet you too @DemoDan. @mdork we looked for you, but could only find your 7. Great turn out today with some really nice cars.

I think you're referring to this post:

Thanks @MV8 but I already have a good quality creeper with adjustable headrest and an adjustable stool, but neither is an option for the midrise. Lowering the lift to work from the creeper means the legs are sufficiently flared out front and rear that the creeper can no longer get under the car. A scissors lift is a different proposition. As for the stool, even lowered all the way to the point that it's no longer that comfortable, it doesn't provide enough room to work. My face is pretty much touching the under body. Depending on the car, the 4-post will give me 14"-19" more clearance at current ceiling height which will make the stool feasible for most jobs. Besides, the money is already spent Thanks, John

The trip to NJMP is well worth the time and cost, particularly if you are buying new. After trying on various cars and seats before placing my order, I opted for a non-standard configuration: SV with lowered floors, and S3 Carbon Fiber seats. I like to tour and sometimes do it two up. Although I can fit in an S3 just fine (5'11" @ 180), I find the shoulder room too cramped for my comfort with a passenger onboard. Despite the standard floors in the SV giving sufficient space, the steering wheel was positioned too high for my liking, so I went with the lowered floors to bring it more in line with my Westfield's arrangement. For seats, the SV carbon fiber seats are 4cm wider than the S3 version, resulting in too much movement for me, hence the change to the S3's version (note: the standard composite seats in the 360/420R are the same in both S3 and SV chassis). We are all built differently and have different preferences for fit. The only way to be sure before writing a big check is to try as many as you can -- NJMP is a perfect opportunity. -John

I recently ordered an Advantage 4-post to supplement my Bendpak midrise lift. The midrise is great for working on either the car's corners or on the top of the engine; it has sufficient lift height for either job, and it's fully contained under the car so out of my way while doing that work. However, at ~43" of lift, I'm either sitting on the floor, kneeling, or squatting when underneath the car. Even with my lowish ceilings, the 4-post should allow me to sit on a rolling stool when wrenching from below and has the added benefit of increasing my garage's car storage capacity. And no, I didn't tell my wife about that last benefit. She thinks it's all about the added safety. -John

I'm hoping to attend for a bit and shooting for arrival around 8:30-9 but won't be showing either car since I can't stay too long.

@Croc I PM'd the PDF to John earlier this morning so he has it. Not sure why it didn't work for you, but I would never be the one to suggest user error when you're involved Ping me offline and I'll see if I can get that sorted for you.

This thread took a major drift. I've moved the conversation about long-term storage and suspension bushings to its own thread in the tech section:

Good to know it won't be an issue, although I have to admit, I was looking forward to photos of you fabricating a new rear collector that would align

I have an early Raceco back from the days when they offered a smaller, 6.25" diameter for people not as concerned with noise reduction. It's a great silencer. I'm curious if you anticipate fitment issues with the center inlet? I thought Raceco recommended the offset inlet when replacing a Caterham silencer due to width limitations with the stock exhaust? Or is your exhaust manifold positioned a little farther away from the side skin than a factory setup?

Thanks Steve, I'll add this data point to my list.