Kitcat

This is Michael D's old Cat, right? Nice to see it getting so much (continued) love!

I have the Caterham 6 sp, but must say I found the 5 sp easier to use. My problem with all 6 speed sticks is that 3rd and 4th are sandwiched between 1st and 2nd and 5th and 6th. So I find it very easy to upshift from 2nd to 5th (there goes that lap record:)) and, even worse, to downshift from 6th into 3rd (there goes that engine). I can hear Croc saying the 6 sp is not for unskilled amateurs like me. But I have been driving sticks since 1962, and there has been almost no time since then that I haven't had at least one stick car in the garage. Its not Caterham, I had a 6 sp Honda last year and have a 6 sp Miata now, to go with my Caterham and have had the same problem with all. A 5 sp with (essentially) 4 usable gears at the track, is much more "fool proof". I'd switch my 6sp for 5 sp (which i had on my first 2 Se7ens) in a heart beat. Just one perspective.

I loaded up my rollover bar in both cars with foam padding. The ‘19 is very nice, it seems luxurious in comparison but the driving experience is very similar. Great audio, gets 30-40 mpg on the interstate. And is about as fast to 60 as my Honda Type R was. And the Miata is as fast on the track as the Honda was(and I had it on R71Rs also).

No informed opinion. But I run 15x 45-225 on the back and 13x60-185 on the front and it works well, but that’s how it was set up for track, with needed mods, by Beachman Racing.

I had a ‘94 Miata which I stripped out and made into a track rat. With every conceivable mod, short of turbo/supercharger and on fat Hoosier slicks it was 3seconds a lap slower than my less modified’19 on wide Bridgestone R71R’s. The Bridgestonees were worth 7” a lap over stock tires at Mid Ohio(my times there in my ‘19 are 2-3” a lap slower than my Cat). Ditto at Putnam Park.

Try option 1 first and save some $ if it works. I have run mixed brands front and back with no adverse effects, as long as grip is equal. You will know instantly if it's not. And I suspect the ZZRs will have better grip than the Toyos, so you will have understeer, which is easier to cope with than oversteer. Consider having the seller (Tire-Rack?) heat cycle the Toyos. If you are feeling adventurous, have them shaved as well. Grip is vastly increased, tho they wont work in the rain. I have an old set of well-worn Kumos for the back of my Cat that are still the equal of any new tire I put on the front.

There is quite a bit of info on this subject on the Ford Focus forums, esp, FocusFanatics. The Duratec is the Focus engine, so relevant to you. Ditto the Miata forums under Power Mods. TurboTom, known here as 1 Turbofocus, is a big contributor there. He says the pump e85 is of poor quality and that he's tested it many times. So stick with the e85 in 55 gallon drums as its consistently better. And he questions whether the modest gain is worth the hassles. The Miata forums paint a much rosier picture of the benefits. Miatas run a version of the Duratec (or visa versa, I think) and claim that most pump e85 is good stuff. Power seems to go up in the range of 10-15%. Mileage drops by about 30%, and finding it in the wild is not guaranteed. And you can't run gas on an e85 tune. The engine runs much cooler, built up deposits in the engine are washed away, etc., etc. You need a separate tune, and have to schlep the e85 drums (or 5 gallon jugs) to the track if that's where you are hoping to see the benefit of reliable hp gains.

The turbo'd Zetec on BAT makes 261 hp and 223 torque. So not close to these very impressive numbers (esp on 93 octane!). What transmission are you using and is it stout enough for all of this power? How often does this engine need to be refreshed by the builder?

Be careful Shane: those of us with Caterhams are very sensitive about references to "the dark side" (thx to a certain notorious prince). And, has this move been blessed by Suave? You my have to rethink it. The Exocet build is inspired. And your daughter will be amazing the all-knowing boys her age with her superior mechanical vocabulary and knowledge. I'd like to be a fly on the wall for some of those conversations:).

Hey Shane: what is all the activity with the Miata about? Huge repairs? Measuring it for the LS3 fitting:)?

Someone is very lucky to have that amazing se7en!

Per a Facebook post, Caterham was sold on 3/31/21 to a Japanese firm, VT Holdings, the Caterham importer in Japan. No idea if this in an April 1 moment (like the “Voltswagon” name change for VW), or is real.

My Zetec SVT went very lean in high RPM's and eventually burned a valve or 2. Solution ended up being bigger fuel pumps and a conversion from a returnless fuel system to a return system. Counting the engine rebuild, the new pumps, separate off/on switch for the main fuel pump,adding an AFR gauge to the dash, multiple visits to the dyno, not to mention my trusty mechanic, it was a 5 figure fix.

Who needs a speedo:)?

Just to reiterate: They are not kidding about current belts and helmets and arm restraints. And as Croc noted, removing the seatbelt tags disqualifies you. Of the 5 or 6 of of these wonderful events that I have done, inevitably someone always misses one or more of these finer points and is scrambling to remedy the problem (while others are out on the track). And putting in new belts is a 2 hour process, at least.

TexasDreamer: Beautiful Caterham. I switched to CF Tillet seats and it opened up a lot of room. The fiberglass seats accomplish the same thing for less $. The problem is they spoil the aesthetics of the high end interior of your unique Caterham. I never had any luck dropping the battery out thru the bottom in my '97Super Sprint. Worth a try tho.

My LHD 97 Super Sprint's battery was also under the carbs. But it was small enough that it could be wiggled out(barely), without removing the carbs or surrounding hoses, etc. Maybe look into replacing the current battery with something smaller and doesn't take as much effort to replace? My Cat used a smaller, tractor style battery, maybe 1/3 the size of a normal auto battery. I know this doesn't solve your current dilemma tho.

Pretty dazzling! She is so smart. She never puts her car in a position to get taken out by a dumb move by the car she is passing. She is very patient and chooses her passing spots judiciously. Listen to her engine, you dont hear the typical tell tale on/off of the engine revs as she moderates her speed perfectly thru turns. More go, less slow. The two leaders, who had left the field for dead, must have been shocked when she came flying out of nowhere to track them down. And purists can moan and groan all they want, the advantages of paddle shifters vs, the old, slow, imprecise but much beloved manual transmissions are so clear in this video.

Great story Croc, great story/T-shirt Ron! I had not seen the transit van video. It was pretty terrifying:"Turn transit van, turn!" Cancer is death's wild card, no age is safe. I was at a party pre-covid and of the 20 folks (my age), half were cancer survivors. No deaths so far, fingers crossed.

All very nice! Some years ago there was a best-shots thread here. No idea what happened to it. I see forum member Mo-Fo's artistry in some of the above shots.

Mine just had the 3 point belt. I did track days that way for years....

John: I have found this new format easy to use and intuitive. Certainly more comprehensive and user-friendly than before. And I am the proverbial Neanderthal when it comes to 21st century technology (or even late 20th century). So high fives to you for lugging us all into this more modern world. Mike

Superchargers and turbos add tons of heat. How will you cool things down? Turbo heat was the nemises of my ‘19 Honda Civic Type R. I could do 2-3 track laps before heat pushed it into limp mode. The cost of re-engineering it with bigger oil coolers, bigger radiator, vented hood, widened grill etc was $10-20K, so I sold it after 3 months.

M IV: I didn't know about the rolling chassis option. What does it cost and how does it compare in quality to builds your team does? And, you describe importing your engines. Is there a option to use domestically sourced Duratecs (which are plentiful) as well? Or, are these imported Duratecs and Sigmas Caterham-specific engines mfg in Great Britain?

I am pretty sure my Caterham holds the record for most miles in just over a day: 2,094 miles, during a 25 hour period at Thunderhill Raceway in 2009. It came in 3rd to 2 Porsche Cup cars, beat everyone else, in the annual "25 Hours at Thunderhill" race. Since it's a race car, no odometer, so mileage is unknown. I may have put that many on it during my 5 years of ownership, all but 500 were track days. I drove illegally one weekend on rural Ohio back roads to break in the newly rebuilt engine, adding 500 miles, notable for not getting arrested. Even after being tailed by a cop for 10', the longest 10' ever in my Caterham....(No plates, no title, no registration, no insurance, all very serious offenses in Ohio. Hey, at least I wasn't drunk!).