Kitcat

Wear a wider shoe? Most of us have too little room in the pedal box and wish we had your problem:).

Ferdl: What spec(size/mfg) oil cooler? In front or behind the radiator? As you note, we have same engine and Accusump. But I am getting much lower oil pressures than you, once warmed up. My oil temps are typically 230-240, but pressure is 40-53 w/15W50. Yesterday I switched to 10W30 and my oil breather stopped spewing oil. Temps were the same, pressure dropped to 42-48 range at high RPM's. That was with aggressive street driving, not flat-out track driving. Only run your pressure level when engine is warming up.

Hey Croc: It's not my fault they made the track too narrow:)!

Those who attended the NJMP event last weekend know that I was able to measure my Zetec's oil level by looking at the amount of oil deposited on my pant legs and pedal box(:. Fortunately, it got better as the event went on, but never fuly resolved. I finally concluded that it was getting blown out of the breather vent above the pedal box and leaking down. Anyhow, I am exploring various possible causes (aside from my overly pressurized Accusump, which I finally turned off), including that the 20w50 Redline oil may be too thick to flow freely at 6000-7000 rpms. And so it is getting forced out though the breather? BTW, my pressure was low 40's to mid 50's, after running 60's and 70's the first few laps. So what weight oil are people with Zetecs running for sustained track use? Norm said he runs a 10W30. Redline seems to recommend a 10W40, 1TurboFocus (A Zetec guru) runs Mobile One 20W50.My SVT Zetec was just rebuilt by 1TurboFocus and I changed out the break-in oil after 500 easy miles, just before the NJMP event, using the afore-mentioned 20W50. Anyhow, my plan is to switch to 10W40, depending on what the experience of others is/was. I think the new Duratecs are built to closer tolerances than the Zetec so may run much lighter weight oil?

Wow, so much posturing by the Duratec owners: it's like we Zetec owners present no threat:)! I will be lurking in the weeds next year (hopefully not literally....), as I know my fellow Zetec owners (Norm, Blake, Vlad, Scott, Jeff and others) will be. Just like at this years karting, where the top 3 guys took each other out near the end and I was able to cruise to a podium finish, you guys will self immolate trying to eek out a victory and we will be waiting! Also I will have some plans to add top add speed, including crouching lower in the car (est to add 5 mph), cleaning bugs off the areoscreen (another +5 mph), adding lightness by switching from long sleeved shirts to short sleeved (yet another +5 mph), and preventing oil from leaking onto my pedal assembly (you cant go fast if your foot keeps slipping off the accelerator!). Your Duratecs can run but can not hide from the mighty Zetecs (what we lack in power we make up for in cunning).

John B: I have that set up so be prepared to have your helmet try to suck your head off your neck with the aeroscreen! If you can find a helmet with down force, buy it. At a measly 116 mph (per Norm who measured our Zetecs' straightway speeds), the pull of my helmet was noticeable. You go faster in your car, and likely stick up farther, so the effect may be greater. Surprisingly, I have never had anything impact my helmet or face mask at speed with the cutdown aeroscreen.

Norm has a Caterham S3. He has been autocrossing 50+ years but the first 11 were in a Plymouth Barracuda. He put the first Zetec engine in a Caterham in the USA (replacing his X-flow). This required some re-enginering of the engine bay's configuration. He also got the car's weight down to mid 900's, only to have the SCCA mandate a 1150+ lb., weight minimum and instantly make his car uncompetitive and toss out his years of weight savings. Stuff I learned at lunch:).

Back to herding cats: the woman holding the kitty in the photo in post 125 (Vovchandar's GF) got a number of se7ens owners and NJMP staff to literally herd a cat. Everyone was scrambling like around like crazy trying to corner/catch it.

BTW: the orange car in post#111 is a Westfield with, obviously, Westfield seats. It has a Miata power train. I first saw it at the se7ens event at Tail of the Dragon in 2007. Even with its modest 1.6 liter Miata power plant, it is surprisingly fast.

I join the others with my annual kudos to Tom (YellowSS) and Croc (Mike), for all the background work they do to make this annual event happen, and for being the consummate hosts. This was the event's 9th year (and my 9th year as a participant, so obviously I am a fan). Sevens owners, and their wives and significant others, happen to be a varied and interesting group of people so it's almost as much fun to sit in the paddock and talk as it is to drive the tracks. Congratulations to BBall, WentMD and Dan F (can't recall his USA7s nome de plume) for all getting so much faster. It was getting racy out there! Ditto Seb, Simon and JohnB for showing us the fast way around the track (at least for the few moments we were able to keep them in sight...). I also learned that at a se7ens event it takes under 5' to find a good home for a stray kitty. It didn't hurt that Wentmd is a vet and was able to pronounce the cat healthy. I suggested "Caterham the cat" as a name but it didn't seem well received by the new owner:). See you next year, with any luck!

Leaving now for the event. Hope to travel East Coast/I-95 late tonight and avoid some of the predictable Baltimore/Wilmington travel/parking lot. Will sleep-in Fri a.m., and arrive at the track noonish to early p/m on Friday to unload/set up. Departure seemed to bring the worse out in me, the Caterham and the trailer-how much can go wrong in such a short time? Take my adventure yesterday backing my Caterham out of the trailer: the trailer was parked on an incline and the Caterham's engine was on. As I stepped onto the roll cage to get in, it broke loose from its wheel block, rolling driverless out onto the street (unless me jumping on the top of roll cage and riding spreadeagled on top and out of the back of the trailer counts as "driving")? I then slid down into the very tight driver's seat as the car rolled on to the middle of the street backwards, removable steering wheel MIA. I finally found the brake and brought things under control. Fortunately, no video. Who says all the excitement happens on the track?! Then there were the last minute Caterham and trailer failures to trouble-shoot/fix.

Trade it in for one of their newly arrived Evora GT's!

Tom: The Accusump doesn't solve a hot oil issue, it solves a low pressure oil issue. With our race cars, on super grippy tires, on high speed, banked, 90+ degree turns (like on the Lightening track at NJMP for this weekend's se7en event), oil starvation is a real threat. Even highly baffled wet sumps can not always keep up. I blew up a Duratec with a Raceline high-spec sump, because of oil issues. An Accusump is cheap insurance.

In post #49 of this thread it notes that all non-driving guests must be registered to visit and watch this event. The cost is $50 per guest, per day, and that includes breakfast and lunch. What if a friend/relative just plans to pop in for an hour or two, no interest in breakfast etc.? Still $50, or can they just sign the waiver at the entrance gate and spectate?

I did the oil change and, unfortunately, my Accusump's solenoid is only working sporadically. So I added a total of 5 quarts of new oil BUT, I dont know how much stayed stuck in the Accusump. I tapped it with a hammer and it clicked on and pumped some out, but not sure how much. My mechanic thinks your numbers are accurate: 5.28 +2.0, not mine: 3.28+2. I have the larger Raceline wet sump which I think you also have, and he thinks it's capacity is 5.28 and that I am mis-remembering my old X-Flows capacity. But when I reve'd it to 3K and shut it off my dipstick level was perfect. And when I turned it on (without starting), and tapped the solenoid, then checked the oil the dipstick read 1 1/2" higher than full. But, of course, that could be the old oil that was stuck in the Accusump so.....? Hopefully I can get a new solenoid in before I leave for NJMP on Thurs. In the meantime, your approach should work adding oil in 1/2 quart increments, or less, after the 1st 5 quarts, until the dip stick shows full after 3K rev shutoff?

I have the total as 5.28 counting the 2 in the Accusump (3.28+2). But I am old and my brain isn't trustworthy. I am doing an oil change in a few hours, so will keep track of exact amounts and will report back. My oil filter is large and holds abt 12 oz., I think, and I have an oil cooler that holds a bit. I typically add, check, add check and dont pay much attention to the total. My existing stock Zetec SVT oil dip stick hash marks are accurate(once the 2 quarts are in the Accusump). I agree with your last paragraph-that's how it works for me. As noted, I keep adding til the stick reads full-with the Accusump filled. The trick seems to be to throw the off switch at 2K (First hold it steady at 2K for 5-10 seconds) to trap the oil in the Accusump. Try 3K if 2K doesn't work.

The 5.28 quarts sounds right. I have your set up. Once I have the car level and warmed up, I rev to 2K, and shut it off. At that higher RPM, the Accusump is supposed to be full. So you get a true reading on the dip stick of what is in the pan. Be sure the Accusump is empty when you do an oil change(after you drain the oil, turn the Accusump on-not the engine- and it will pump out the 2 quarts). If you have an oil cooler it may not completely empty. If you add 5.28 quarts and there is still 2 quarts in the Accusump you will have a mess. I agree getting it right is tricky and I lean toward over filling, tho have had a wet engine bay, complete with oil dripping on my shoes....) when I have really over done it.

I have never had any under steer in either of my Caterhams. And never had to do anything to trick the front into gripping. Maybe, in addition to Crocs comments, add more negative camber to the front wheels-I run -2 degrees. And add an adjustable rear anti-roll bar since it adds front grip the stiffer the rear bar gets. And I run fatter 15" 225x45 tires on the back, skinnier 13" 185x60 on the front. My first Cat was a "square" set up with 15" 205x45 Toyo RA1's all around (had clams so putting fat front tires on was not an issue). Edit: BTW, I am not a fan of Toyo R888's, grip-less wonders IMHO. And/or maybe they are heat cycled or aged out? It helps if they are shaved, but then they are useless in the rain. But significantly grooved tread is the enemy of traction. I just bought a set of R888R's for the rain. They are reputed to be grippier than the R888's. We will see if they are better. Anyhow, if all else fails, maybe try a set of Hoosier R7s on the front? That should fix the grip issue:).

We ordered a Clutch Masters clutch also. First one they sent didn't meet spec so they redid it (delay, delay, delay). We had the flywheel resurfaced. Works like a charm now, though is much stiffer than before.

Aardappel: FWIW: my 95 hp X-Flow Caterham tended to lap about as fast as stock Elises. We did it very differently(I was always much slower on the straights, faster everywhere else). My 160 hp Zetec Caterham typcially runs almost as fast as the high hp Eliges, and way faster than the Elises. The 420R is a nice bump up the Caterham food chain from my car so should be faster still. I run 2 seconds slower than the R400's at NJMP and the 420R is more powerful than they are. What none of these comparisons can convey is how different the se7en experience is than in a "real" car, even the Elise. It is so visceral, noise, wind, you are almost sitting on the ground, the steering is super reactive, brakes stop you now(!), cornering is amazing. You are so much more insulated/isolated in even a car like the Elise. Your vid and Croc's hairy vid of driving on the knife's edge down the Armco tunnel that is Spa, capture some of the difference. Take your time to get used to it, you really have to recalibrate what a car can do and where the limits are.

As Josh (Colorado7er) says in post #9, and as Croc notes, the CSR is available per special order. Josh is also a new Caterham dealer(Rocky Mountain Caterham), though he and his family are long time, hard-core Lotus and Caterham fans. So if you are intrigued, give him a shout. I think he even has a CSR kit in stock, so no waiting. The CSR is quite a car, as Croc, who owns one can attest. It has the SV's larger dimensions but also has a very modern race car suspension (when compared to the standard Caterham). Also, as noted by Josh, there is a sequential 6 sp still available for Caterhams (at around $7.5K I think). Faster shifts, and no missed shifts, seems like a huge plus to me (if $ were no object). Confused? Come to NJMP in 10 days for our annual se7ens event and see and ride in all iterations of se7en, Caterham included. Tbox will be there in his super cool Birkin and, as the US Birkin dealer, he can answer questions and build you your dream se7en.

One of the annual highlights of the drivers' meeting before this event is the head saftey guy imitating us trying to do point-byes with the arm restraints. It always gets a laugh and I guarantee he will kid us this year also. Basically, you have enough play in the restraint to allow your arm/hand/finger to extend out just a bit, but it's not a full out point bye. The bigger problem is drivers who never/rarely look in their mirrors and cause a huge train of cars held up behind them: but that's a different issue:).

Great looking se7en! And over-the-top power! Your ownership reminds me of one of my favorite sayings (mentioned in previous posts): "Youth is fleeting, but immaturity can last a lifetime:)"! Since I am older than you, I know of whence I speak.

More hp= faster on the straights. That's not a minor thing, tho easy to minimize. The problem with a low hp Caterham (and I have had both relatively high and low), is you are usually (way) faster everywhere but the straight. So my low hp experience was I'd have to endlessly harass more powerful cars to let me by on the short straights in the middle of squiggly parts, (With the resulting nick name:"The blue enema":)). Then all that effort would be lost on the straight where they would again pass me, and then hold me up all around the track again. Very frustrating! With the added hp I cld stay ahead of them on the straight, or stay close enough to easily out brake them going into the next turn, and not have to give up my hard earned advantage.

What a beautiful 7, and what a price! I almost didn't look, the price was so low I thot it wld be a fixer-upper. Instead, it's terrific.