Kitcat

I saw this recently in Facebook marketplace.

Some driver related thoughts. Watch your mirrors. You have a fast track car but you will be on the track with folks who are very experienced and know the track and their car’s capabilities. So there will be faster cars, as your learning curve begins. No one will care if you are slow IF you watch your mirrors and give timely point byes. Rookies understandably tend to get 100% focused on the track ahead and forget about the track behind. If there is a parade of cars backed up waiting for a point bye, you will not be making friends. If you see a car waiting for a point bye but you are not comfortable doing it right then, tap your center rear view mirror (assuming you have one) to acknowledge them and that you are going to point them bye as soon as practicable. Buy brightly colored driving gloves. They will make your point byes easier to see. If you are using arm restraints (recommended), your point byes will be harder to see as you can’t extend your arm all of the way. So the bright gloves will help. Car improvements? I had a softly sprung 100 hp X-flow Caterham and its weaknesses were its strengths. I could hammer the curbs and never pay a price thanks to the compliant suspension. I had tons of lean but it became a huge safety feature. I never spun out due to the early application of power, in fact I could be pretty flat out every where. The lack of power became another safety feature. In spite of it’s obvious limitations, my Caterham was as fast as most well driven Lotus Elises out there, for instance, with lots more power and their modern suspension. The track is the Caterham’s natural habitat, even a softer street version. But you will be in a very different kind of Caterham and your challenge will be to manage its enormous potential without incident. Which is a long winded way of agreeing with the others who have said, basically, the car is already track prepared, no need to change anything right away. You can get track insurance through Haggerty. I have for decades. My optimal tire pressure was high teens. And I bleed off pressure after every session. Take a folding chair to sit on, a big hat, and lots of water. And have fun, it can be addicting. You will have an adrenaline high. The focus required to stay competitively on track will drive all extraneous thoughts out of your brain, and leave you mentally refreshed. It’s kind of a exciting version of meditation:).

Posts like this should be illegal:).

And its lap time there is? Not exactly a Caterham friendly track with all of the high speed sections.

My se7ens would always get hung up as they bottomed out at the angle where the ramp connected to the trailer. I used a set of lightweight Race Ramps to add length to the trailer ramp and reduce the angle into the trailer. A winch to pull the car into the trailer is a nice option (especially when the car is not drivable).

Yes, that pretty little Caterham seems familiar:). I recall parking it, top down, next to a large flower garden on a sunny day. I discovered when I returned that the garden had a sprinkler system that not only kept the flowers well hydrated, they also soaked my interior. Just another adventure in se7en ownership.

I did it years ago in my Birkin. It was pretty bumpy:).

Science fiction is becoming reality.

I replaced the relatively large stock Birkin seat with a thin Caterham carbon fiber seat which really helped. I am all of 5’8” and 150 lbs and thought it was snug(size 8.5 shoe and had to use racing shoes to fit my feet into the foot well). The “long cockpit” Caterham S3 I owned had noticeably more legroom.

Chris and Seven’s and Elans is still very busy, see attached Facebook photo. He relocated his business to Florida some years ago and he is no longer a Caterham dealer. But he has a wealth of knowledge and parts related to Lotus and Caterham 7’s, as well as Elans, etc.

I recall an ancient comment (urban legend?) to the effect that inside wheel spin can help the car rotate better in turns? At least on mildly powered cars. My Xflow had 96 hp and occasional inside wheel spin at track days, with wide, sticky track tires. It seemed to suit the car’s softer street set up and did not hurt lap times. And it added lightness….

Most trailers come with cheap bias plied tires that are prone to flats. So always carry a spare(or 2). My first trailer upgrade was replacing its standard bias plied trailer tires with high quality radial ones. Also, many trailer tires have a maximum speed rating of 65 mph. It’s worth checking that rating before choosing a replacement or, when renting a U-Haul.

I used a VW Touareg to tow my Caterham. It has a rating of 7700 lbs and the footprint of an Accord. It was the only tow vehicle my wife would drive. The Touareg has been replaced by the Atlas in the VW lineup with the same tow stats. The tow package option is a must.

Bruce: that is one clean engine bay!

As a member who transitioned from 15 years of 7 ownership to a Miata, I have to say: I agree with James and could not have said it better (tho I could have said it worse, and probably would have…), My ‘19 Miata(MX-5) is infinitely easier on my 78 year old body, especially at the track (where it is 5” a lap slower than my Caterham). And that’s after upgrading its brakes, suspension and adding super wide track tires. And Mr M, that’s a great topic, but it needs its own thread, it’s going to get lost here(IMHO).