Kitcat

Anyone going to the trackday at LOG 30 on 185's ? I will be there on 205's and we can test the tire width theory there at the track. Mike

All season tires???? As I have posted (frequently) elsewhere here, the biggest single improvement of the (many) improvements I have made to my Cat was the addition of set of race rubber to replace the hard as rock, no-grip 10 year old street tires it came with. I try to avoid rain and certainly snow and salt. Unless you are going to be driving in the snow, why not get a set of super high performance street tires without the snow capacity? That way, you will have more grip in both the dry and the wet. Just a thot. Mike

Your 1600 cc Kent engine will do fine on 185-205 tread width. Your car is so lite it will be hard to warm them up if they are much bigger. I have Toyo R1s 205 15's all around. Plenty of grip. I run abt 18 lbs pressure in rear, 16 up front, on street and at the track. Adding lightness to the wheel/tire combo pays handling dividends. The big horsepower cars do better on wider wheels than our Kent power 7's but I think even the new 260 hp Caterhams use 195 fronts.

I do not see how you can have an authentic se7en experience without excessive foot well heat. I didn't realize the Stalker was deficient in this critical area. I would suggest running the heater full blast while you develop some long term solution to this problem.

Hijack: Looking at your photos, does your gas accelerator cable pull or push the accelerator lever on the carbs? On LHD cars, like mine, it pushes on it, wh/always seemed backwards-maybe it is? BTW, your dry sumping system is pretty cool. Mike

Good luck! Either would be great tho I am partial to Birkins. Fyin Miata does a nice version of a turbo'd Westfield, have you seen their site? Whatever you build, I guess it is a given that it will feature a "flux-capacitor", in view of your avatar. Mike

Asylum67: What species of se7en are you building (Stalker, Westfield, etc.?). Mike

My plate says: K8trum7.

I use 6.5K as my redline. I have seen as high as 7K at the track a few times when I have gotten carried away. My engine is totally stock as delivered by Caterham. Apparently valve float intervenes before things get too ugly.

My kinda kid:). Yes, hammer down is the rule. Nothing has broken yet (tho a few non-essential parts have rattled or blown off:)). The power is modest in our Kent engined cars but the sound is intoxicating. And the faster the engine spins, the better the sound, so go for it!

Weight distribution of the mid-engined Lotus Elise is 37-63.

MM-I definitely concur-looks like a very popular place to "plow the field".

Thx, for posting, makes me want to get a GoPro. Interesting spin:Cold tires? Off line? In too hot? Braking mid turn? Effect of the passenger's additional weight? All of the above? You were hanging out the rear pretty good a turn or 2 before but this one seemed to catch you by surprise, no counter-steer, the car just whipped around on you. Nice track on which to spin tho, nothing to hit but mud. I also subscribe to the: "How do you know where the limit is unless you exceed it" theory of racing. I get no thrill out of wrecking my car tho. Mike

One last thot on possible things to check/fix quickly: Engine mounts. They wear out fast even on our modestly powered Kent engined cars. And this can have a adverse effect on everything from handling to power. Mine needed to be replaced when I got my car and it was 1/2 as old as yours and had 1/2 the miles. Unfortunately, it took me 3 years to trouble-shoot the source of the loud metallic noise on sharp right-handers and loss of power on left-handers (engine shifting caused the whole thing to roll onto the intake system causing an air leak into Webers, causing power loss). Check for tightness also, my replacements have come loose. Mike

Skip: What a day! I am worn out/bummed out and it wasn't even me. I guess the upside is there were no injuries to driver or passenger. Back when I tracked a Miata, I occasionally make the same shifting error, but always backed out of it as soon as I realized something was wrong and managed to avoid the big over-rev. Good luck w/repairs! Mike

I notice bidding has ended on the Canada 7. Is it yours Twobone?

Your 911 is a very nice CAR. A Se7en is not a car-instead, imagine riding to work on a roller coaster ever day. Or on a magic carpet that responds instantly to every input. It is unlike anything. And it cant be appreciated w/one drive-where all you notice is noise and how low you are. After the 2nd or 3rd drive, where you start to calm down, it starts to sink in how different it is. You will be a one car rolling parade, kids smile and wave, women stop and stare, men's heads swivel. And everyone wants to talk about it with you: How much, how fast, what's the gas mileage, is it a kit-car??? You can not drive it and be anonymous. I have a new 414 hp BMW M3. Great car. Like, your 911. Fast, much faster than my Cat. But, just a car. For a purely transformational experience, nothing approaches a se7en. Mike

Things I replaced on my 10 y/o, 13K Cat, within 1 year after purchase 3 years ago: Tires, hydraulic clutch slave cylinder, water hoses (upper and lower), did radiator flush, tune up, new spark wires, new spark plugs, changed diff oil. All this prior to extensive upgrade-itis. Is it the long cockpit version of the S3? I can not imagine what smog test my cat-less Kent engine wld pass. Not even the "sniff" test, or even the "laugh" test:). Good luck-it seems to be a beautiful car, assuming its the one noted elsewhere here in the For-sale section. Mike

Unless, Caterham prices have spiked up, $23K US seems a bit high, esp IF is solid rear, 4 speed. OTOH, it looks like new (repaint?) and well cared for. Interesting roll-over bar. Looks stouter than the stock bar tho less so than the Caterham FIA bar. RHD is a plus too, much cooler temperature wise, and puts you on the inside of the car wh/is nice at most US clockwise tracks. These cars are so narrow, I don't think its a disadvantage for the driver to be on the "wrong" side of the car as a driver. The $1K seats are steep but not as steep as my $1.7K Tillet and definitely more comfortable:).

So sad. As they say, he died living.

Thx, Jayson. I am a big fan of the clams too. They just look right to me on these old style cars. Never had the much-discussed and much-dreaded front end lift either, tho top speed on my horsepower limited car is abt 105-108 mph. Your Zetec will push you along much faster tho, esp if you go to Brookland screens. I recently posted elsewhere on the the availability of Brooklands on a site in England called "woolies trim", just google it. Called an "aeroscreen" on their site. Much (much) cheaper than the Caterham version (mite even be the same AFAIK). I am happy to send measurements re location, when needed. There was just a discussion on the usa@se7ens.net mailing list about excellent results people were having just gluing them on with some new product. I had a 7 hp Vespa that I bought new in '62. It had a stopping distance that rivaled your BSA. Was also the most unstable vehicle I ever rode, but loads of fun Mike

Nice car, nice garage, nice tool chest, (very) nice bike (Triumph, 1950's?). You are making progress. Mike

Andrew7 and I met up there a few years back in our 7's. We just went to the track day at Beaverun, where the track competition was. Lots of great vintage cars, close racing. Made me want to hop in my car and roar out onto the track and mix it up:). Nothing overwhelming, at least at Beaverun. Lots of parking, vantage points, food, drink for sale, etc.

For a great nearby track day, check out 3BallsRacing.com. (They have more balls than we do:)). They have a date at Calabogie, not far from you 8/28-29. They emphasize fun and aren't as uptight as most track day groups. For instance, most groups wld not ok your roll-over bar. I doubt that 3Balls will care.I have done many events w/them, tho never Calabogie (too far).

Do you have an upgraded oil pump for the Kent engine? If so, how much $? My stock oil pump manages abt 25 lbs pressure once all is warmed up. According to the most recent edition of the Lotus magazine, ReMarque, the stock pump is a weak leak in the Kent engine, low oil pressures are standard, and upgrades are recommended. Thx, Mike