subtlez28

I had to go look at mine, I couldn't remember. I have a 160 mph speedo. The GPS one. However, I have my fuel gauge in the speedo, so that took up some real estate. I offset mine to the passenger side, to add to the thrill for them. I was watching Scott's when I got my ride the day I picked up my kit. I'm sure my car is capable of over 160... But in any event where that really matters, like standing mile or salt flats... Timing equipment will give me the magic number when I outrun my speedo. The two main tracks I run are around 2 miles long (road courses), so I won't see over 160 too often...

Thanks! I'll get you one. It is pretty tight in there. In fact, I drove in the video without a right shoe. I need to get some tight race shoes. You should be better off with your XL Thanks Mike!

So, I had the car running... I somehow resisted the urge to street drive it... But Friday I trailered it to an empty lot and drove it a bit. What a thrill! I was very happy with everything, really. I loaded the car on the trailer under it's own power. The LS engine, T-56, LS7 clutch, and Speartech harness all did their jobs flawlessly. I do not have the rad fan wired yet, and only had the catch can zip tied in. The only issue I had was the catch can leaking a bit. Have to solve that by Saturday and get the hood on it. It is time to go racing!! The lot was freshly sealed, and I didn't want to get in to much trouble, so I took it easy. I still managed to get asked to leave. Damn Hot Rodders! It felt about like driving in the rain, traction wise. I cannot wait to hit the road course!

I'm glad u brought this up Jevs. My older style M-spec has the miata rear brakes. The calipers have integral park brake. Problem is where they are positioned, there is not way to actuate them or run the cables... I need to look into an alternative. I would like to have one for street duty, and have a feeling the DOT inspection will require them.

IT LIVES!!!!! Just need to tie ups some electrical stuff, fit some body work, and get it aligned! Lets go racing!

Oh, I guess I just looked at the perty pictures, and did not page down. That is the same idea, but not exactly what I was talking about. The ones I am thinking of come in small sections. Idea being you could use as is, or wrap them and use them as structure. I'll dig around a bit for them later.

Yeah, I did chuckle at that part. But then got annoyed they didn't pick a higher HP variant. I agree that was intentionally done. I would like to see some real world test numbers between the ATOM, BAC and some sorted, home built 7 style cars!

I had planned on tapping in a brass fitting, but, ended up installing the rear before I did. Now it isn't so easy to get to and a real pain to remove. So, I am hoping the OEM one will press in easily enough, then run a tube off it (like the CTS-V guys do). However, for the guys with their CTS diffs still off the car, I think your route may be ideal, X.

I'm a little bummed they picked a lower performing Caterham... Not exactly a fair comparison budget wise... Not to mention no Storker representation... It is just a teaser video, but a good one: Discuss: :cheers:

Hmmm... Now I wish I had these aircraft bolt sources when I built my chassis. I did actually purchase new lengths of bolts in many areas, but it was due to my OCD on too much exposed threads. I did not consider the threads cutting into the mounting brackets over time... And I primarily settled for what Mcmaster had (at least it was better than the local hardware store selection). I think you guys have changed my stance on this issue. Perhaps a winter project will be switching out to ideal length bolts. Toedrag, you are kind of early in your build to worry about this yet, but how do you intend to vent your CTS diff? I cannot find a source online for the vent itself, but while searching I found a lot of threads on the matter, it seems the simple press in unit (that does not come w the new diff for some reason) tends to leak. I assume it will be much worse at high speed. The dealer fix seems to be adding a length of hose to the factory diff vent, which is what I was thinking. I hate having to go to the stealership for an overpriced vent, but I cannot find another source. Anyway, that is my noodle issue of the day.

I 2nd the great choice on the color! Nice looking 7!

I remember a thread similar to this... I thought it was on here. One thing I did not see mentioned is the product mentioned on the other thread. A plastic device that clips on the rear of the roll bar to create the taper.

Lol, that's exactly what another car buddy (not one of the two primary helpers) said. I am so fired up! I cannot wait to go kart it! I still have not fully fit the hood or rear body work. But, hey, the scuttle fits!

I know how boring updates are without pics, but... I just had to share with anyone who cared: We made leaps and bounds in wiring today! I was able to spin the engine, and be sure I had oil pressure! All I need to do now is add fuel, check for leaks and (fingers crossed) it will be running! I promised two friends of mine that helped a ton, that they would be present for the initial fire! So, hopefully we can all get together in the next couple days. Waiting is killing me, but they really deserve to be here when it comes to life!

I see your point X. Cheap insurance, perhaps. Do you really think you could create the load via rubber (tire) contact patch? I figure the extreme force would come via impact. In which case, the suspension tearing off would be welcome energy dissipation. I am not engineer! I just play one on TV (and the interwebs).

Toedrag, I envy your progress! Those new uprights are so much sexier than the Miata uprights that came with my early model... I have a similar over-thinking issue. Personally, I think you will be fine. I just do not think you will see enough shear load to worry about it. This is a light car, and those fasteners are already larger than typical OEM equivalents.

I'm looking forward to the EV motorsports taking off. But, would agree the battery tech is a hold up. I ran some electric go karts in an indoor track. It was actually pretty cool to lose the small engine noise (not quite the V-8's song). It was cool to hear what the mechanicals and tires were doing. I'll road race an EV when it becomes practical! I would also like to see EV off road vehicles. Again, not sweet sounding rigs generally speaking (6 cylinder Jeeps and small engine UTVs). Plus nature is there to enjoy, so silent running would help the experience there. Again, though, I don't think we will be there for a bit. But, I would be up for experimenting when costs come down.

Jevs, I had the same issue and searching around got me no-where. I didn't want to pay stealership prices, especially if the parts were wrong. I intend to bend up some aluminum like Bonjo2 said. I have plenty of left overs from my panels.

Mike, I have seen your drag strip video. I will bet you won't get the miles out of them that the Caterhams get!

X Cool to look at the perf calculator! It looks to me like the differences in the mile come from increased top speed ceiling. Either way the numbers are impressive. Have you been able to muster a 1.3 60' time?! With my last quick car, my Z28, I could not get under a 2.0 60", which killed my et (only a 13.1) despite mph of 110. This should have been a low 12 sec car (stock LS1 in a 3,400 pound car), but I'm told every tenth you can cut in the 60' is worth .2 at the end. My road race set up didn't make for a good 60'. My concern is the Stalker will have a similar issue in the 60'. My point is, I have no idea what to expect in the real world because of traction, or lack there of. I may have it even worse with a independent rear car.

I'll be running 23" tires on the track (road race slicks) and 25.5" tires on the street. I may play with size a bit. Thats why I ponied up for the GPS speedo. Well, that and all the cool toys on it like 0-60, 1/4 mile timer etc.

Thanks X, I hope you are right. Honestly though guys, I think this is over-thinking it a bit. The reality is with the light weight of these cars, with a powerful LS engine, small gear ratio changes won't mean much. I think the best way to look at gear choice is top speed in a particular gear. Basically if you can save yourself a shift on your favorite track, you are getting the most out of it. Since traction is already a limiting factor, eliminating the split second when power is not applied (shifting - clutch disengaged) will return the most.

I'm late to the party. FWIW I went 3.23. When I road raced my old 02 Z-28, it had the LS1/T-56, 275/40/17s, and a 3.42. Launch was an issue and 1st gear was already a tire burner. So, I actually wanted the 3.23 gear set the auto's had. There were a few corners I would just run out of 3rd gear, and only need 4th for a second. I figured w all the V-8 torque, I could pull a higher (numerically lower) gear and do less shifting. I have yet to fire mine (hopefully soon!), but I'm guessing all the Z-28s issues will be quite exaggerated having more power and 1/2 the weight. So, the less shifting, the better. I am also curious to see what the top end will be. I realize the aero is not ideal, but I still want to do a standing mile event just to see how it fairs. Mike, that video was cool. Have you considered running a drag radial? I may run one on the street, but Brunton doesn't like that idea much.

Cool video. The spin was quite exciting! It was odd seeing the Storker get passed so much. On the plus side, less (or almost no grip) grip means no oil starvation!

Sweet! Another XL w classic body! Good choice! Subscribed