JohnCh

I checked my notes regarding tensioning the chain with the Raceco manual chain tensioner. Ammo said to push down hard with the heel of your hand to ensure all the slack is between the cam pulleys, and then adjust to 10mm of movement, which should result in the optimal 3mm of movement when hot. He indicated that verifying the critical hot measurement is a good idea, so it might be worth doing that if you can't find another culprit for the rattle. -John

This seems odd. A single injector shouldn't be inputting that much fuel at idle/very low load. I wonder if the injector is failing and sticking open, thereby dumping far too much fuel into the cylinder? -John

Not yet, but please PM me if it happens again. There has been some weirdness going on with random moderation of new posters even though that option is not set. -John

I did 765 miles solo the day I bought my car, and 635 miles with a passenger on the way back from USA2005. I've also covered several thousand additional miles on subsequent tours, which included both freeways and backroads. As a device for covering a lot of freeway miles in a day, se7ens suck. Period. They are noisy, drafty, and "just" a bit lacking in creature comforts. However, blasting down deserted back roads for miles on end is a different story. If you love cars and the joy of pushing a communicative steed, there is simply no better experience. The positive and negative aspects of se7ening combine to make a memorable experience, which is just the sort of shared adventure that helps people bond. Prepare yourself and your son for the good and the bad and ensure you spend part of the trip on winding back roads and you'll create a memory that you can both talk about for years to come. -John

Aryan, I see four posts from you in this thread , two of which include a number of photos. However, your post count shows you've only made three posts total. Should there be more posts in this thread, or are the ones I'm seeing not visible to others? Thanks, John

I can't answer your specific question, but have you considered a third option; buy a car now, and sell it before returning to the US? This allows you to begin the se7en experience to determine what you like/don't like before making a longer term purchase after returning home. I personally learned a lot my first few years, including use-patterns, which ultimately led me to effectively start from scratch and head in a different direction from my original car. -John

It's the engine wiring harness that connects the ECU to all the sensors, coil, and injectors, not the car harness. I had Emerald start with the Caterham long loom and add wiring for the Map Selector switch and a VVT controller. I'm toying with an engine upgrade that includes variable intake geometry based on a motorcycle unit I bought a while ago. The VVT option native to the Emerald will allow me to control the actuator based on rpm and would theoretically offset some of the low-midrange torque loss from more aggressive cams Me? Slide around on the streets like a hooligan?? Never!!! That comment was purely for entertainment value. Really. -John

As much as I enjoy flaming Croc, I must reluctantly agree with his assessment (sorry Mike, I know you expect better of me :jester: .) It also seems that the sweet spot for cars is in the $20-$25k range. Perhaps there is a psychological barrier for many at $25k given this is a purely discretionary purchase -- start pushing beyond that and SWMBO may point out that money is better used for a kitchen remodel. As a result, my belief is that cars in this range are at the bottom end of their depreciation curve provided they are sold in similar condition as to when purchased. That said, regardless of additional depreciation, they are still a great investment. If you can afford to throw out $25k for a toy, you probably have a job that comes with some degree of stress. Nothing takes away stress better than blasting down a winding road in a se7en. Hard to put a value on that. -John

I hesitate to drag up such an old thread, but given there are two updates, one a year overdue and the other very recent, I thought I'd try to close this out again in case anyone else runs into a similar problem. When I left you last July, the car had been through a full tank of gas with no recurrence of the issue, so things were deemed resolved. Fast forward a few days when I decided at oh-dark-thirty that it was Take Your Westfield to Work Thursday. Much to my chagrin, the engine began acting up before I got down the driveway. After less than a mile, it was clear a U-turn was necessary, and suddenly it was Take Your 993 to Work Thursday. The next several months alternated between long periods of utter despair, and shorter bursts of attempting to figure out what the hell was going on. Based on all the signs, it was an electrical problem that wasn't tied to a specific cylinder. Given several key sensors & parts had been replaced, and that data logging indicated it wasn't the ECU or any remaining sensors, the wiring harness became the prime suspect. The ECU wiring harness was cobbled together from the harness that came with the crate engine mixed in with net new wiring. Looking into it, a few issues were found and fixed including one that matched my best guess of the problematic wire (12V+ to the coil pack). However, the intermittent poor running and idle continued. Finally, I was able to get the problem to repeat/resolve by pressing on the harness as it comes into the engine bay - I had my smoking gun! Unfortunately,efforts to track it down to any particular wire(s) were for naught, so with the post-Brexit Pound in freefall, an order was placed with Emerald for a new wiring harness. It's been in place for a couple of weeks, and so far, everything seems fine. In fact, it's been good enough to make today Take Your Westfield to Work Monday. I arrived without issues, hopefully the same will be true of the commute home. BTW I've forgotten just how easy this car is to rotate and hold with the throttle. Damn addicting -John

That Westfield is a later, fiberglass-bodied pre-lit. The factory switched over to the post-lit body ~1988, so if the 1999 build date claim is correct, it sat around for some time before completion. And with only 4500 miles on odometer, it apparently did a lot of sitting afterwards. -John

Hi Gert, have you tried the K3s adjustable speed and load sites option? This enable you to add a lot more granularity around light throttle and idle which addresses sensitivity issue you highlight. It made a noticeable difference on my engine. I'm running larger injectors than necessary for my power output, which does affect my idle. I'm toying to make the switch to 8 injectors, and may also go with a sequential setup when I do my next engine upgrade. Hate the added complexity, but it should aid drivability. -John

Revisiting this old thread. It appears this issue is finally resolved so thought I'd post an update to enable people to settle their bets (winners, don't forget to forward my 7% commission). Between my schedule and the intermittent nature of the issue, the diagnosis process was frustrating; on days when I had time to work on the car the engine ran fine, on those days when I only had time for a short drive, it generally ran poorly. Damn that Murphy and his blasted Law! I did get lucky one day though while revving the engine with the air filter off. The car was parked in the shadow of the garage and the engine was running normally for a few minutes before it started acting up. As this occurred, combustion flashes began appearing behind all 4 throttle plates. A little more messing around and the engine started running better, but still not right. Now the combustion flashes were only visible behind 2 throttle plates. The next day I removed the air filter, started it up, and it was running fine -- no combustion flashes were visible. I then did some additional data logging and paid closer attention to the advance readings. Although no corrections were being made, and the advance was consistent (i.e. no jumping around) the actual advance numbers weren't matching the values in the ignition table for a given load and rpm during those periods of poor running. Given the only 2 electrical items I hadn't replaced or already ruled out through previous data logging were the ECU and the Crank Position Sensor, I swapped out the latter for a new one about 2 months ago. The issue seemed to go away, but didn't have an opportunity to use the car extensively until last week. After putting 300 miles on it in various conditions without a hiccup, it appears the CPS was the culprit. -John

The Cobra Racer Pro and Racer Pro V are only 450mm (~17.72 in) wide, so might be worth a look. I've had the Sparco Sprint in 2 cars and it's a nice seat for the money, although the fabric on the side bolsters wears easily. I use the optional kidney pads for additional lumber support which makes them tolerable. My Westifled has MOGs which are the most comfortable seat I've ever sat in. Full disclosure, I developed a very bad back 7 years ago, and most car seats generally become pretty painful after 20-30 minutes, with the MOGs though, my back actually feels better after a drive. Interestingly, and despite the outward similarities, the Tillets are not comfortable for me. In my experience, backs are like feet; everyone's are shaped a little differently, so what is comfortable for one person, may not be that great for someone else. If you have sensitivity in that area, it's worth trying before you buy. -John

Even though I only live about 15 miles from Bruce's shop, I still haven't had an opportunity to meet him. However, everyone I know who has dealt with him has very positive things to say. Definitely worth a call. -John

One of the other nice things about Schroth is their optional Flexi belt system. It allows you to individually configure either lap belt to pull-up or pull-down, and also position the belt adjuster closer to the buckle -- the latter is helpful for those who have wrap around seats like Tillets or MOGs. -John

I was thinking they all lost bets, or perhaps it was just pity, but I guess Tom's answer works too. :rofl:

Never said nor implied that. I just pointed out that if you are looking at the weight savings from the swap (which was the original question) that number comes with an asterisk. So Mike, exactly how much did you have to drink last night/this morning? :jester: -John

No drinking last night, and despite no more than 4 hours sleep any night last week, I still don't see the inaccuracy in my statement. The wheel assembly is considered unsprung weight. A cycle wing and its associated bracket attach to the wheel assembly, therefore they increase unsprung weight. The clamshell and bracket attaches to the body which is considered sprung weight. They don't add any unsprung weight. Therefore, all else being equal, a car with clamshells has less unsprung weight than a car with cycle wings -- i.e. comparatively there is a reduction/savings in unsprung weight -John

I'm surprised they're not lighter. The fiberglass cycle wings on my car are barely heavier at 1.9 lb. each. The brackets (also unsprung weight) add another 1.7 lb per side and the remainder of the weight mentioned above is for the headlight brackets, which are separate for the cycle wing setup, but integral with the clamshell brackets -- not sure if the same is true for the Caterham. The nice thing about clamshells is they do save a lot of unsprung weight. -John

When I rebuilt my Westfield I switched from clams to cycle fenders and weighed all the parts necessary for the conversion. The clams setup was double the weight: 16.32 lb. vs. 8.16 lb. The new fiberglass body parts were much lighter than the originals due to production changes over the years, so that may factor into part of the decrease, but doubt it's more than a pound. Although the Caterham weights are likely different, the 7-8 lb weight savings is probably similar. -John

Coventry, that was my car's spec before tearing it down to the frame in '03/'04 and going in a new direction. I might be able to help with some the issues, or at least provide more details on the car. Drop me a PM if you'd like to connect. -John

There is already a thread about this here. Please see post 11 from Mazda for the update. -John

Someone else reported spam from that same user, but he doesn't appear in the active or banned user list, so will need to investigate further. Mazda did install Spam-o-matic recently but it locked out a number of users and had to be removed. The hoster is upgrading us to the latest vBulletin software, which will hopefully allow us to install an anti-spam solution that actually works. -John

He did the same thing to someone else who forwarded me the message. StephenMt has been banned. -John

Will you please paste the message in a PM to me so I have a record and can take appropriate action? Thanks, John