Kitcat

480-thx to you and others for the positive thots! I agree that folks on this Forum seem to find it easier to follow the common rules of civility than at some other forums. Perhaps it's the subject car? Perhaps our more (cough, cough) advanced overall age?

Gawd, another "Uber" se7en at the NJ track day! I am bringing a rope and tying my Crossflow to one of your cars:).

$34K ($34,000.00), post 5.

What was the oil leak abt?

Guys: Is this primarily an issue w/high hp cars? Or is this one more safety issue for me to worry abt, even tho my engine wont break 100 hp after being warmed up on a cold morning w/5 weight oil? Are there wear items that I can check, or preventative maintenance measures that can be taken to prevent problems? Thx, Mike M

Ahhh the $16K tune up. Amazingly complex modern car meets perfectionist mechanic and $-no-object owner. And after just 13K miles! Wonder what the full service will cost:)!

Just listed on Lotustalk.com. $38K, Duratec w/205 hp at the wheels. Under "Cars for sale (Not Lotus)". Beautiful paint, etc. California car.

Two? I am all for adding lightness but I'd go w/4, one at each corner. I recall a video here of a "bonnet" blowing off at speed and nearly decapitating the driver!

Tom: The great thing about our underpowered cars is that we have an excuse for being slow. And, since you have 50% more more hp than me, I have the best excuse of all! Mike M.

That heat looks unbearable! TG I'm in Ohio! And when did CA pass a 20 mph speed limit? I can ski on the roads here faster than those guys drive!!

Here (hopefully) is my own "little" car, looking much like my life sized car. Purchased from a vendor at LOG 30.

Thx guys. When I went from 185/60-14 to 205/50-13 on my Miata, I lost a gear (4th became 3rd, etc.). Since it was purely for track use I didn't care, car accelerated harder, cornered much better. On Hoosiers I was just 2 seconds a lap slower at Putnam than in my Caterham. The Miata had 15 more hp but weighed 1000 lbs more. Tires help:)! I am toying with a dedicated track wheel/tire set up so 13" mite be the way to go.Love the Pansport look.

"The good do always eventually win." Clearly the innocent words of an engineer/manager, not a veteran trial attorney.

As I have posted before (many times, sorry to be so persistent guys), the single best change I made to my Caterham to date was new RA1's. And I have made a LOT of changes.The car's handling was transformed. I have put 10-12K miles on them, including many track days and they are still going strong, tho visible tread is nearly gone, so they are dry tires only. Steve(BBall): Any problem matching your lovely Pansport-type wheels to your Caterham's bolt pattern? Who manufactured the wheels? Do you have the 3.90 diff? If so, does the engine spin like crazy w/the smaller diameter wheels (My car has 15" wheels and 205/55 tires, so 13" tires wld basically subtract a gear, and make highway cruising difficult/noisy). Mike M.

I ran 205/55-14's on my Miata for auto-X. Some guys ran 225's on their 6" stock Miata rims.

Lots of caster is good for auto-x: It helps get the wheels back to the neutral position to start steering for the next turn. John K-the local race shock guru is Kumar. He also did many chassis set ups for OEM vehicles, including the track Viper. Haven't heard form him in a while tho, I know his garage closed. IF you cld find him, he cld take your car for a spin and give you tons of info. He cld revalve your shocks that wld max out car's potential also. Cant wait to see the finished product.

I will be interested in seeing how the advertised hp specs for your engines compare to any chassis dyno results. As I recall folks w/"210 hp" engines were seeing 145 hp on the chassis dyno. On the other hand, at a track day 2 years ago, I watched a CSR 260 stay on a new 'Vette's bumper down a long straight, something unheard of in my car. Also, the CSR package is abt $15K less than the standard (and cruder) Superlight 500. Any idea why? Both are minus engine & transmission so that's not it.

If there is an option you missed, I can't think of it:)! It will be quite the se7en. I am looking forward to more build pix! Mike M

John K: I don't think a person can be too obsessed when it comes to cars, esp se7ens:). Do you have a semi-solid projected date when your thoroughly re-engineered se7en will be done (I see the six year anniv date is approaching)? BTW, as neat and tidy as the Crossflow is, I'd love to have your 240 hp! Mike M.

Ditto Croc:I kept waiting for the blat to turn into a splat!

Tom, I replied, let me know if you get it, I seem to be having a PM glitch. FWIW, Craig said the bolt in bars wld duplicate the welded, just attach w/bolts. From photos above, I cant tell if bar eats up foot/leg space. It is inside the car, but high, so I doubt it.

I have talked with Craig. He is going to make some bolt-in side intrusion bars that connect up w/my Caterham FIA car, and the car's under dash hoop, for track day use. Since mine is a everyday car, I want to be able to use the top so can't weld in the bars. Predicted cost: $100-200.00. Also bought a rebuilt Crossflow from him while I was at it.

Mine ran fine. Quite a place, rain/sun/lakes/mountains/curves/straights/hat/no hat.

The stock Caterham may be under 2 turns lock to lock but it has the turning radius of a Ford 150, at least mine does. So it turns quick, but not sharp.

Bessie: She's all attitude, I like that in a se7en:).