Kitcat

Looks like you have the same basic car as I do, along with the mighty Kent Crossflow engine. How can you overpay for a dream? I agree about tires-it all depends on how old/hard they are. The biggest bang for the the "up-graditis" bucks I have spent in 2+ years of ownership was for a fresh set of rubber, replacing the 10 year old Michelin's the car came with. I went with track oriented Toyo RA1's. They are very sticky and have worn great, in spite of soft rubber.Our lightweight cars are very easy on tires/brakes. But sticky tires throw up a lot of stones, so they will cause a certain amount of road rash to your rear fenders and deposit a larger amount in your lap. Well worth it to me.

Kudos for the license plate. Car's pretty sharp too!

Hmmm. Both the high and low beams in my car's right headlight burned out last week too-jeez, its like some kind of swine flu thing for Se7ens!

Speedo isn't too bad, just reads 5 mph fast. More important is the tach. At track days the needle starts bouncing and doesn't stop. So it is useless as a means of doing much more than helping estimate RPM. On the track, I mostly shift at the first sign of valve float/power loss. On the street, it's fine, nice easy shifts don't bother it. But out on the track where I am beating on the car, it's mostly MIA.

Nice. It's now on my list of to-do's. What abt a replacement for the crap stock Caterham tach/speedo???

Great purchase! There aren't many cars you can buy, enjoy, and then sell for approximately what you paid, years later. You have one of my favorite Se7en color combo's. I like your friend's Roadsport but prefer your colors. Mike

I took my car into my favorite mechanic with a long list of to-do's, including replacing the windshield, which has several small, but growing, cracks. The windshield is now off but he's having problems finding replacement glass. Seems everything in the states is 1/4 inch thick and the Caterham uses 5 mm glass, so the Caterham glass is a bit thinner. And, the 1/4 stuff doesn't fit easily into the grove cut into rubber gasket into which the glass is mounted. Any ideas, other than ordering a stock windshield from my friendly (but expensive) Caterham dealer? Mike

Athens7: After many track days, I have yet to experience push with my standard-sized front track set up. I run the same size tire all around too (205x15 Toyo RA1s). In fact, I have thought of going to wider rear tires as the car is a little tail-happy. But, in general, I am sure wider is better, same with lower and lighter. I am just not sure the average person would notice the advantage.

Ck w Chris at Sevens and Elans, or with Ben at Rocky Mountain/Caterham USA. I am sure either can sell you the needed parts. I know it takes a wider steering rack. Must take different suspension parts as well (A-arms, etc.). How much wider is the "wide" suspension, why the change, and do you expect that much difference in performance?

One of my favorite tracks. On a "Fun Day" track day you have 3 run groups, so tons of track time. Neat kinks,some off/on camber sections, some places where you can make up a ton of time if you do them right. Favors a handling car, like a Se7en. Pavement is bumpy, never had a problem, or saw a problem, with someone after they went off. Toilets are flush, better than average BP station. It has the potential to be a wonderful place, but as noted, no real money ever invested in the facility. I spectated there at SCCA races in the mid-60's when I was a student at nearby Hiram college, so fond memories. Mike

The track's official web page has a map of the track, and it features a video of several hot laps, shot from the cockpit of what looks suspiciously like a bike-engined Seven. I lack the rudimentary skills necessary to put a link here but if you google nelsonledges.com and click on track info, and then track map, there it is. If its not a Seven, and it may not be, any ideas as to what it actually is? Mike

Well, my Seven could have gone under that semi-trailer without putting the trailer up on blocks. Otherwise, I am very impressed:).

You are living in a bad sit-com. And to think I felt lousy because I had to work all weekend. I feel much better already!

I have a Valentine. Some times it helps, some times it doesn't. Instant on is deadly. If you stop scanning visually and trusting your detector completely, you will eventually get nailed. Also the false sense of confidence can cause you to speed up some, making the ticket more painful when it comes. Slowing up has helped. I typically go 75 mph in 65 mph zones on Interstates and so far, so good. Hard to go much faster in a Seven anyhow due to noise, etc. And, I always had trouble explaining to my 3 boys when they were young, why I was using a radar detector. What a hypocrite. I was trying to get them to follow the rules at home and at school and there I was doing all I could to get away with violating the law. I recall getting stopped once by instant on and my youngest saying:"This is so humiliating." He was maybe 7. So I slowed way up after that (most of the time:)).

Enjoy. Hopefully you won't torture us with pictures showing how much fun you are having and how beautiful the mountains are, etc., like that last tour you were on.

Grssroot Motorsports recently reported that some of the advantage of a wide tire are offset if mounted on a narrow wheel. Apparently squeezing a wide tire on a relatively narrow wheel adversely affects the contact patch. This is only an issue where race rules mandate use of stock wheels. You can go as wide as you want since this is all for fun, so I think the lesson is don't go overly narrow on wheels. Race tires can look great but have significantly limited grip if heat cycled out. Again, you are just doing this for fun so shaving that last second off your lap time isn't important. Most races obsess over wheel weight and wheel/tire weight. The weight savings there are squared since those parts rotate. So a 4 lb savings per wheel translates to 16 lbs, times 4 wheels. It's also all unsprung weight which adversity affects handling as it goes up. All of that should be a consideration for you as well but again, since this is for fun, it is hardly worth mega buck wheels to gain a 1/2 second per lap advantage.

Steve-My plan is to be there. I will probably be in my new BMW M3 but knowing another Seven will be there may force me to change my plans:), we'll see. Maybe I will be able to find someone to haul it there for me and then drive both. Yes-the 2 person start: my system was to ask 2 bystanders to push the car while I jump started it. One time the car hit a bump doing that and it eliminated the short momentarily and it started on its own. An embarrassed explanation ensued. Weather looks good today, it keeps bouncing from 10-60% chance. If its a downpour, I will bring my Accord wh/is wonderful in the wet. They have only sold 21 spots so we will get a ton of track time. Anyone else interested can call the organizer, Kumar, at his cell 513-252-3808 and sign up- to and including this Saturday. Just bring cash, no checks. Mike

Steve: When I was chasing the electrical gremlin that made starting my car such an adventure, I had my solenoid rebuilt then replaced it. The new one, ordered from Rocky Montain Sportscars cost $102 and the overnite shipping cost from England was a mere $132 (I was desperate with a trackday right around the corner). Turned out not to be the problem. Nor was the ignition switch which I also replaced, nor the starter itself, which I also had rebuilt after the Dave Bean starter I ordered didnt fit. Ahh, the memories.... Mike

Back to topic: lightest, lowest, loudest?

It is soooo sad. It is a beautiful car and a fair price (Mite be $10-15K more if it wore the Caterham nameplate).

I have the stock Caterham "Prisoner" 15 inch wheels. If you bump up wheel size, be aware that you may also be increasing tire diameter which will increase your speed at various rpms, and reduce acceleration. It will also increase ride height, perhaps good on the street, less good on the track. My car was set up around these wheels/tires so all is in harmony. Also, using super sticky R compound tires for the street, like I have, really increases the amount of grit and small stones that hit your rear fenders and end up in your lap. I agree Ben is a great resource for us Caterham owners. So is Chris at Sevens and Elans in Massachusetts. Mike

Once warm, my 1700 cc Crossflow hits single digits at idle, maxes out at abt 35 psi at 3K rpm and above. No problems with the engine thus far at about 24K miles. That includes many hard miles of track day use. Is the oil pressure gauge accurate? Good question.

I run a smidgen of toe out at both ends on my DeDion Caterham, 1.8 negative camber all around, 4.7 degrees of caster up front. Car handles beautifully. Uneven tirewear (205/50/15 Toyo RA1's) is minimal. The alignment was done with me sitting in the car to duplicate actual weight distribution while driving. I noticed that just sliding the seat forward and back changed the alignment #'s. Mike

In my high school biology lab a friend and I decided to do the following experiment: put a small nail in each of the parallel slots of the electrical outlet on our lab desk. Then place a quarter on top to complete the circuit. It blasted the quarter instantly sideways where it bounced around the room at a extremely rapid rate of speed. Somehow, no one was hurt tho it did knock out the electricity in the lab. While it didn't shrink the quarter, it did have that effect on our grades that semester. Why would we do anything so obviously stupid? I still ask myself that question.

Seller claims 1'15" lap at Nelson's Ledges. As a point of reference, I lap there around in 1'19". (Could be more a refection of my car's driver than my car's potential tho:)).