JohnCh

There was a discussion in another thread about doing a Pacific Northwest tour this summer. Given we would likely go during the height of tourist season when odds of clear weather are best, I want to kick off that discussion now in hopes of mitigating hotel issues. It seems we should come to consensus on the following before spending too much time on route planning, hotel searches or asking people to provide some level of commitment: Number of days Depending on where we choose to start/end many of us will burn a couple of days to join the tour and return home. Based on experience, most people don’t like to use more than a week of vacation time for these events, so I propose 4-5 days of tour time to bring the vacation total to 7 days or less; however, if the route is compelling enough and there is interest, we can certainly go longer. Format I’ve heard three options: Meet at a basecamp and do daily drives that begin and end there. This means only one hotel, and if a SO attends, they have the option of staying in town rather than storming the backroads every day. Do a point-to-point tour that is likely a giant loop comprising multiple hotels and points of interest along the way. Averaging ~300 miles per day is the norm on the tours I’ve done; some days are a little shorter, some are a little longer and dictated by distance between hotel options. This is a great way to see a large section of the PNW, but can be tiring for some. Combine the above. Short point-to-point tour to reach the basecamp. Spend a couple of days there doing day trips, then mini tours home. I’ve done several point-to-point tours but have no experience with the basecamp approach, although I can see the draw with the right town and the right roads nearby. Location The answer to this is tightly connected to the format decision. We have less flexibility on location if we do a basecamp since we need a place that has a few different options for day drives, is interesting enough that it’s worth hanging around the same town for a few days and is no more than a day’s drive for most attendees. Ski resorts seem like a good option and are plentiful in the OR/WA/BC area, but I’m sure there are also quite a few towns in the middle of nowhere that fit the bill. Any recommendations? If we do a point-to-point trip, are there preferences for towns, sites or roads along the way that can help frame the route? E.g. Mount Saint Helens, Victoria, North Cascades Highway, Walla Walla… Is there a desire to remain in the US, or is BC an option? Dates Weather is a crap shoot, but our best bet for dry roads is August and early September. If we do this in Eastern WA or Eastern OR, that window broadens up quite a bit, but those of us west of the mountains may still need to contend with rain to reach the tour kick off. Hopefully this spurs a conversation…and eventually a tour -John

Very thoughtful, thanks; however, I already have a custom dash in my car and prefer shift lights to a red line on the tachometer http://www.throttle-steer.com/uploads/1/1/0/8/11083275/6515473_orig.jpg -John

Fixed it for you. Great link, thanks for posting. -John

Sorry, but that will take an act of Mazda to implement. I was only trained in the art of banning people. http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/forum/t1203.gif -John

You mean like this one? http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/nysanta/t77101.gif -John

Have you contacted AEM yet to discuss? They may have some unpublished workarounds you can try. -John

I just did a quick search and found some mentions of the AEM causing issues with ECUs. EMI is suggested as a culprit and there was also a statement that the sensor or timing ground shared with the gauge is a "no-no" No explanation of why though. How close is your ECU to the AEM gauge? If they are close, is it possible to increase that distance temporarily to see if it makes a difference? You mention earlier "From measuring and logging, the RPM data disappears from the logs using my SCT device, and the Fuel pump driver module stops sending 8v to the pump, as normally commanded by the ECU." Perhaps EMI is causing that interruption? -John

Another thing to try -- and someone please correct me if this is a bad idea -- is to jump start the car. Hook up another running vehicle like you would do with a dead battery on the se7en and try to start it. I imagine with the other car running and likely a much larger battery in place, a big voltage hit would be far less likely to occur under these conditions. If it starts easily, you have likely confirmed this is the issue. -John

Can you expand on the above? The current conversation is centered around the WBO2 set up, but this indicates that might be a red herring. What USB setup creates the same issue? Thanks, John

You can't possibly make a life changing decision like this before you've put 5,000 miles on the car. Go put some miles on that beast and rethink this. -John

I'm very good at finding Waldo After zooming in to admire the GT2, my jaw dropped. You face a very nice dilemma on weekend mornings when deciding how to best clear your head after a long work week. -John

Glad it's back together and you're happy with the results. By any chance do you have a dyno plot for the engine you can post? I'm curious about the power curve with the bigger engine. And more importantly, is that a Carrera GT in the background? Thanks, John

And now Jay understands why I asked for at least 2 credit cards. If you want to stick with just 1 credit card, there are cheaper options than the full crocmahal treatment. The garagejournal.com is a great place to get real world feedback on those substitutes. Another option for heat is a good 240v ceiling heater. The shop section of my garage is 1260 sq. ft. with 9-1/2' ceilings. I have this unit, and despite what it says on the tin with regard to coverage, it has no problem heating up my shop to comfortable working conditions in the dead of winter (25F outside, ~60F inside). You may still want to go with natural gas as a long term solution, but this could tide you over. -John

Ooh, great idea! Jay, take pictures of the space, start a new thread, and provide us with your credit card details and shipping address (at least two credit cards - Croc generally has big ideas). Croc and I will take care of the rest. -John

Very interesting comments on that BaT listing... -John

I'm not sure which looks cleaner; the car or the garage? -John

I've ordered directly from Magnecor in the past: http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/main.htm -John

Welcome to the forum! I was the guy in the black 993 following you when you turned into the bldg 9 area. I thought you were going to park in one of the lots, so followed in hopes we could meet, but had to hit the freeway when you headed away from main campus. I'll shoot you an IM. -John

I saw a pale blue 420R this afternoon on the Microsoft campus. The front was partially obscured, but I think it may have an orange band around the nose in the classic Gulf palette. Anyone know that car? -John

Sounds like we do have a few people in the general area who are interested, and I know of 2 more who haven't responded who might be up for something. I have heard of some local se7en owners teaming up for track days in the past, but that's not my thing with the Westfield, so I've never paid close attention; however, Bruce Beachman may know. If people are interested in putting together a tour for next summer, we could widen the net and do something similar to the PNW2007 event Slomove organized; CA>OR>WA>BC>CA. I've done Monterey>Seattle via back roads a couple of times, and this summer did a much shorter loop from Seattle>Mt. St. Helens>North Cascades Highway>Seattle. Or, as benny_toe suggests, we could organize around a basecamp for a few days, taking day trips from there. Someplace like Whistler might be good for such an event. Bottom line, lots of options in this corner of the country. -John

The weather is a big variable for planning something now that's more than a day, but I'd be up for a tour next summer. Lot's of great roads in the PNW. -John

More like an invitation to get in line

I'm a crappy organizer, but a terrific thread starter In other words, throw out ideas for things to do either now or post Winter. -John

This site was created to celebrate and connect owners of cars inspired by the Lotus 7. If someone has a problem with a Locost in the community, they shouldn't be here When I bought my Westfield, I didn't think I would ever want to drive it on the freeway, but after driving over 750 miles of major interstates the first day to get close to home, I decided it wasn't that big of a deal. -John

Rather than further derail this thread, I started a new one here to gauge interest on a Seattle-area event or tour. -John