jeffs

Brought my r500 down to Florida for the winter...and hope to sell my house so I don't have to drive it back to NJ I am looking to have some work done on it while I'm down here. Does anyone know of a good 7 mechanic in the Tampa/Orlando/Ocala areas? I'd really prefer to find someone that knows the car if possible. Thanks!

So for anyone on the fence, it was a great time last year, and I highly recommend the event. Unfortunately I wont know for a few months yet whether or not I can make it. My house is currently on the market and once it finally sells I'll be in the process of moving (likely out of the area). If the car and I are still here come July though, I'll be there.

I'd be in for another track day, but Lime Rock is on my ban list... the walls are just too close.

Hagerty gave me a quote too. Then the week my car was due to be finished they decided they didn't want to cover it. Apparently Hagerty didn't think I attended enough car shows or was a part of enough car clubs (seriously, that was their reason). I ended up with Grundy, and thought they were great to deal with.

If you zoom in, you can see me reaching for the horn

It's funny, I was harassed all the time by the local cops in my Elise for not having a front plate, but so far they've been really good about the Caterham. A lot of states have exceptions for classic cars not having a front plate, so maybe they just assume it doesn't need one. I haven't had any problem pulling data from the OBDII port for my data logger (Solo DL). The only issue was getting it programmed properly... no data when I told it I had an MBE ECU, but when I set it for a connection to a Noble is worked perfectly

Depends on what you will be using it for... As a daily driver type of car, its great... More storage space for bags/golf clubs than any other two-seater. It's also very comfortable and easy to drive. As a track car, its extremely capable. It handles great, and is much easier to drive fast than a 911. It lacks a bit in the excitement that you get with a 7 though. I had an '01 boxster S, and while I liked the car, I ultimately wanted something that stood out more and was more exciting.

Another +1 on the CF aeroscreen. Certainly it will make a difference on the track, but unlike the other options you mentioned its something you can take advantage of on the street too.

I have some video of them, but I was passing far too quickly to make them out

Happy to help if I can. I doubt I can add anything to what Croc will tell you though, he was a huge help for me.

Croc, what do you think of the ZZRs so far? I'm likely due for another set of tires by the middle/end of the summer and I've been debating between the ZZRs and the CR500s.

My recommendation is to make it no higher than you absolutely need to. It works fantastically for me (so much easier to turn right when you can see the apex), BUT... A couple of times there has been enough wind resistance/leverage to unsnap the center of my aeroscreen.

I may be traveling both of these days, but if I'm in town, I'm in.

I was regretting the r500 purchase after seeing the r620 come out, but now that I've seen their new pricing I'm not feeling so bad any more

Nice plan! Count me in.

While I'm glad my days of Porsche ownership are behind me, in some ways I can kinda see their point here. Yes we expect more from the Germans, but 10 years for a performance engine is pretty good. If this were any other manufacturer we wouldn't bat an eye. The worst I saw was Lotus' handing of the oil line failures in the Elise. Nice of them to send a letter telling everyone that at any moment the oil lines could fail and dump oil on your rear tires...no recall at that point, just a letter telling you to drive safe.

Just wanted to say thanks (belatedly) for all the help and opinions on data loggers. I ended up going with a combination SoloDL and HD Ghost. I waffled between that and the Smartycam HD (which turned out wasn't quite available when I made my purchase). I'm really happy with the Solo so far. It's nice to be able to get immediate feedback of how a lap/session went and if you mount it on the dash within view of the camera it makes synching the data and video REALLY easy in RaceRender. It was also an easy OBDII connection for pulling data. I'm still learning the software, but Race Studio 2 seems to have a number of neat aspects for doing some post-race coaching.

Another +1 for Gary. I looked at UShip first. On the surface it sounds great...tons of people trying to get your business insures cost competition. However, once you sign an agreement with one all bets are off. The reviews of all the companies bidding on my car were littered with customers where they just didn't bother to pick the car up in a timely manner. I remember one poster who had been waiting 2 months.

After Croc's excellent write-up of solving sound problems with an external mic, it made me realize that I should probably get a camera or something to plug a mic into. I've seen opinions on the forum suggesting that the favorite cameras are the Drift and the Replay, and a few suggesting the Contour. What about data logging though? The Contour has an integrated GPS, but would I be better off with something else and splicing the data onto the video? I have a Stack Dash, has anyone here used their data logging solutions? Any experiences (good or bad) would be appreciated. Thanks!

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Considering that most track days here are under 2 hours its still quite a bit more. Not sure you'll get 4 given the time to let the car cool, refuel, and pick grass out of the tires (couldn't resist)... but still way more than a typical track day.

I'd be game for a European track trip as well. It's too bad no one in the US has rental 7s for a track day... I'd love to drive Laguna Seca and Infineon too, but don't really want to drag my car cross country to do it.

Yay! I should be there.

Some interesting changes. I like the new seats and the new air intake, and I'm curious about the ZZRs (anyone here try them?). Can't say that I'm a fan of the new dash though. Mine might be completely unreadable during the day, but sometimes its better to be stylish than practical. Looks like they've finally caught on to the issue of the rearview on the aeroscreen. Just removing it isn't very elegant though... maybe you should sell them your solution Tom.

Huh, I would have never considered that possibility, but that certainly may have been the case. I just cleaned everything off and inspected it, and there was a small piece of rubber in the grove one of the pulleys (not likely enough to dislodge the belt), and a long mark on one of the pulleys (probably from a stone). That certainly could have done it. The belt looks fine, but I think I'm going to get another one just so I have a spare. I think I got quite lucky that the belt stayed in the engine compartment when it fell off and if does happen again I might not be so lucky. Thanks for the advice.

As someone who has done a couple of drive-to-the-track days in the past couple of months, it can certainly be done. I'm also one that is unlikely to get a tow vehicle and trailer, but that's not to say I didn't wish I had one at times. The biggest issue is the lack of space in the seven. If you want to bring weather gear, it takes space. It also means you need to go with the windshield on which means you need to pack the aero screen. Forget driving there with the weather gear on... It works well in the winter but will give you heat stroke in the summer. I got caught in a heavy downpour on the way home yesterday but it was preferable to roasting under the top. My thinking after the last trip is that I may not bring the weather gear at all next time and drive down with just the aero screen on. I'll also get a car cover in case it rains overnight. That should leave me enough space to bring everything I want. Still might be nice to have a trailer for going to tracks farther away (and for mechanical breakdowns) but I think it will be a bit before I cross that line.