Kitcat

In pix directly above, L to R: Dermot, me (Kitcat), Mike D., Scott, Jack, Tom (Yellow SS), his cousin John (the life of any party), and Mike J (Croc).

At the recent se7ens track day at NJMP I picked up a large vibration in my steering wheel. It was especially bad under hard acceleration. Upon return home and a trip to my mechanic he diagnosed severely deteriorated engine mounts. That allowed the engine to push the alternator onto the steering shaft when it flexed under load. That then transmitted a lot of engine vibration to the steering shaft, fire wall, etc. It made a big racket on top of tingling my hands. I had ordered a set of mounts from Sevens and Elans, a week ago, since I assumed, after 10K miles, these were about due to be replaced. I didn't know how right I was. Mike M.

Great photos, I especially like the one of the 3 Mikes:)! Seeing my head poking up to my roll-over bar tells me the next car upgrade has to be lowered floors. Funny that Tom's $11 internet cameras were the most reliable! Is there going to be an official "NJMP video" thread? I cant wait to see what my camera caught. Was there any car in our run group faster than our cars? I let a new M3 by, and a white Porsche GT3 but that was it in 2 days, except for other se7ens. By the time I finally figured out the track I think I was faster than the M3. Croc, did anyone get by you when you were actually trying? Was the car wreck on NJ Turnpike rain related? Did it rain at the track in the afternoon? Mike M.

Yes, it was a great event! Kudo's to Tom (Yellow SS) to making it happen, ditto Croc who gave a big assist. I agree with Karl, it was great to see new faces and connect them with names on this Forum. We had five se7en owners there who didn't do the track event but spectated/socialized so it was a pretty sizable showing. It was great to see Al Navarro again as he is one of the founding fathers and the whole se7ens at NJMP wld not have happened w/o his getting things started in the 1st place. Was fun to hang w/Ryan (Proj217) and his Mustang driving friend Ken. (Ryan, sorry I missed you when I left. I looked but cldnt seem to locate you). His car is for sale, BTW for around $14K, if anyone is in the market. I was surprised at how well my X-flow acquitted itself. I was able to keep up with most everyone, or at least harass them a bit before letting them go. I believe that an under- powered car is easier for an amateur driver (all of us are actually) to master as it doesn't get you into trouble as fast and when things go wrong it's often at a slower speed. Croc had the most spectacular "off' thanks to the tons of powdered dirt he slid thru. I was just 3-4 cars behind him and suddenly that was a huge orange cloud and his car disappeared, and stayed disappeared, before he finally backed out of it. He was also the fastest car/driver combo of the se7ens and never seemed to have any trouble reeling me in. Karl gets credit for having the best toys, and his car, trailer, tow-vehicle, and even lawn chairs are all to die for. Don't know if it rained at the track in the afternoon after I left , but, like Croc, I was hit by epic rains 10 minutes after leaving. It took me 2 hours to drive the 1st 65 miles, and I never pulled off. I got home at 1:00 A.M. today, up at 6:00 and here at work at 7:30(not working:)). My new diesel powered tow vehicle averaged between 11.5 mpg and 13.5 mpg on the highway. Hardly spectacular! On the stop/go off highway stuff I got 17 mpg. Turns out there are 2 different kinds a diesel fuel. So I was stopping at diesel stations and leaving empty handed. A real pita. Yes, let's do it again next year. In the meantime I am looking forward to seeing video.

I was hoping you'd buy Craig Chima's so I cld quit fantasizing abt it:).

Well, unlike Silverstone, you will have one of the top-dog cars:). See you there. Mike M.

Muchos gracias guys. I got it all hooked up and took 'er for a spin. Touareg still has decent acceleration w/2400 lb trailer and Caterham loaded and Toured full of junk (rain tires, cooler, etc). Tows nice and straight, no problems on the interstate. But stopping takes a while. I hadn't traveled 1 mile when 8 little girls ran in front of me to advertise their car wash. I was afraid I was never going to stop. Front tires were chirping. They thot it was funny. My sump knocked a bit of plywood out on the way in, otherwise lots of room, perfect fit, etc. I crisscrossed the rear straps over the frame member. Wasn't able to do that up front as one of the straps the trailer place sold me was too short. I looped them over the frame also. After my shakedown cruise everything was where I left it, straps were tight, etc. Trailer is 13" off ground at rear, 12" at front. No idea what tongue weight is. The Touareg is rated at 650 lbs tongue weight and the handbook says that what you shd aim for. We'll see how the 1300 mile round trip to NJMP goes, it will be the true test. Mike M.

Loren: My trailer is similar: the tandem axles are somewhat rear-set. So locating the Caterham in the middle of the trailer will probably put more weight on the tongue, wh/seems to be the goal, up to a point. I have lots of frame to attach the straps to. Mike M.

Thx for the advice folks! Tom, wrecking wld certainly take the shine off this whole new adventure! P-Brake, how will I know when my tow vehicle's springs wont allow more forward positioning of my Caterham in the trailer? I assume I don't want the rear springs fully compressed.

Great write up! It has been observed that in no arena other than trackdays(w/possible exception perhaps sexual prowess), do men so routinely brag abt their skills and overestimate their abilities:). And it seems to be proportionate to their $ status. So there can be a huge disconnect between the pre-track bragging and actual track performance. (Kinda makes you wonder want the ladies are thinking). Your situation was aggravated by a world class track and $ and huge differences in talent and car potential. So I am surprised there wasn't more carnage. (I'd still jump at the chance to do it tho).

I have yielded to automotive temptation (yet again), this time buying a new VW Toureg2, V6 diesel, to pull my new 7x16 enclosed trailer, to haul my Caterham around in. I traded in my '08 M3 to make this somewhat affordable. BTW, the vehicle blew the mind of the workers at the trailer place. They refused to believe that it cld tow 7700 lbs: "That little thing?" and had trouble grasping how complete the VW tow package was. Several calls were made to the dealership to confirm what I was saying about it being pre-wired for the electric trailer brakes, etc. Ultimately they loved it. "Wow, 28 mpg?" Anyhow, the first of what are probably many questions: 1] I have 4 ratcheting tie down straps. Since I use prisoner wheels and cant thread the straps thru the wheels, is it ok to loop them around an A-arm and tighten to the D-rings? 2] Do I criss cross the tie downs or hook rt side to rt side D ring, etc.? 3] Where do I park the car relative to the tandem axles? My VW manual says load to maximum tongue weight (650 lbs or so). If I park the car so its centered over the tandem wheels, will that do it? The trailer guys said just do it so the trailer is relatively level (not nose down/up). 4] Tips, suggestions? I head to NJ for the 7ens gathering this weekend so I will quickly baptize the whole set up. Mike M.

The Beast! I am seriously looking at a VW Touareg 2 TDI. It's AWD, weighs abt 4500 lbs and theoretically gets 28 mpg. Tow rated for 7700 lbs.

Excellent way to start my morning! Who needs coffee:)! Turning an 8.07 in those conditions is amazing. There was so much slow traffic and he was held up in various places due to it. All those clueless drivers who seemed to have no idea he was closing on them (sorry Mr. 'Vette, sorry Mr. 911). There were a bunch of places where he looked like he was going to get crushed by an unaware driver. And then there was the tow truck stopped on the track, pulling a car out of the woods. No warning, yellow flag, nuttin. Sure wld like to see John Meyers over there in his winged L3 Stalker. Could he break 7:00?

Thx for helping to put this deal together, Tom. My 6:00 arrival is based on no glitches along the way, mechanical or otherwise. Since I am driving my Caterham there (600+ miles each way), we shall see:). Weather forecast for Sunday-Tuesday at moment looks excellent, but, since its still 5-7 days off, that can change dramatically. Been lookin at track videos. Both T-bolt and Lightening look like challenging, interesting layouts w/just enough elevation to make it exciting. Mike M.

True, tho I suspect this Stalker has a supercharged 6? Sure doesn't sound like a V8. Whatever it is, it definitely managed to dog the uber Stalker the whole time, in spite of giving up some straight line speed. And together they were much faster than the other se7ens (Stalkers?) on the track with them.

When I do an advanced search for: seat seats, I get some posts. Scroll thru. Dont know if they have any substantive info that wld be helpful or not.

Seats, dunno? What about one of the bead seats that molds to fit your shape? Getting a seat that fits the car is as hard as getting one that fits the driver. Maybe do a search. This topic has been here before. Pretty car! Looks like you are getting air under the front inside tire, both directions. Maybe just bouncing off curbing?

Grassroots Motorsports magazine just did an article on the reality of wheel weight and its effect on a car's track performance. Contrary to popular wisdom, theory, common sense, etc., they discovered even large differences (As I recall, 10 lbs per wheel) had a negligible effect on track times.

I have been looking at a 2011 Touareg TDI. It gets 28 mpg, without a trailer. So your 28 w/trailer may be some kind of record. Most big pickup trucks will get 8-10 mpg w/trailer. The se7ens event in NJ is 650 miles from me. So 1300 miles round trip. At 8 mpg that's 162.5 gallons of gas. At $3.50 gallon it costs $568 to tow my 7.With your TDI wagon it wld be $186 (assuming $4. for diesel). So your vehicle saves big $.

I can feel the adrenaline rush from here:). Props for the 3rd place, looks like some v. serious competition.

Limitations as a DD: Driving a 7 is a process, ck weather report, unhook battery tender, pull off car cover, start (hopefully), strap in, add ear protection, possibly goggles, go, wave back to the hordes of people waiving at you, answer questions at every stop lite/sign/gas station, hope it isn't dark, raining, too cold, too hot, forget abt leaving anything in the locked trunk, there is no lock and no room in the trunk:). It's my favorite car of all time and I mite be tempted to try it as a DD if that were my only car choice, but I think trying to do something practical with such an impractical vehicle wld make me start to dislike the car.

As far as I am concerned, John's car is the new yardstick for se7en clone performance. Given the objective parameters by which car performance is typically measured, which he recounts, his car is king. Does it satisfy the "spirit" of the original seven? Let the debate begin. What is nice about the multiple approaches to "seven-ness" is that everyone has their own dream car. And the flexibility of the design allows some people (like me) to live the dream in a lightweight under-powered little car with exquisite handling. Others have cars like Johns, and in between there is everything imaginable. What John leaves out of the equation is driver skill. His car is perfect for him since he is a driver of obvious talent. But his car wld be a death trap for a putz like me as I lack the skill, talent and experience to try to pilot that rocket ship around a curve. Thus one person's perfect 7 is another's disaster. The fun seems to be in finding your match, and then driving the wheels off:)! Mike M

Tom: The difference between my car (which is no slouch) and this car, power-wise, was amazing. It was like being strapped to a rocket. The alleged handling problems of a solid rear axle car never materialized either, even tho northern Ohio is not noted for its smooth roads. I do believe this car wld compete with any most any other Caterham, except for the uber dogs of Croc/Karl and the various turbo cars out there. Mike M

I saw and drove this car Sunday. The pictures do not do it justice. It is extremely pretty in person. The yellow is darker, ditto the red steering wheel. All set off nicely by the black interior and new gauges. It is basically a new car: everything has been replaced, improved, or reconditioned. It is a rocket ship! Wow! Talk abt tall 1st gear. Craig said it wld pull 60 mph in 1st. I shifted at 50- mph. I wld guess low 4's in the 0-60. It is quieter than my X-flow. Tho a 4 speed sounds old school, my 1st is so short and 5th so tall that I have 3 useful gears, this car has 4. Someone shd buy this car now, so I am not further tempted!

Wear ear plugs AND ear muffs. I used foam plugs on the 700 mile blat that screwed up my hearing. Since adding ear muffs, no problemo. I was 60 on that trip and I think my (ahem) advanced age made my ears more vulnerable. My tinnitus (Pn:tin-uh-tis) is mild.