Kitcat

I am adding poor shifting to the long list of mysterious X-flow maladies caused by bad engine mounts. Don't recall cost but maybe $10-15 each? My recommendation is replace them every 5K miles, they seem to get beat up fast.

Nice to see some empirical data. In all honesty, I am surprised it wasn't faster, not that I wouldn't kill for those times out of my Cat.

XCarguy: I think the crowning touch would be for you to bungee Suave on top of that Lotus badge. You drive a Storker so, Own it:)! (BTW, my spell check says "Storker" is not a word. What do they know?)

Didn't MigetRacer hit 187 mph at the backstraight of VIR in his V8 Stalker? He started this whole V8 in a Stalker trend. That was with lotttsa wing as I recall (and a pretty wimpy roll cage, at least to my fading eyesight). I know 120 in my Caterham feels like 200 mph!

The "Tail"is just one of many twisty limited access, drivers roads in that area, all are wonderful. We did many of them as a club back in '07. I have done the Cherohala since and it was wonderful, scenic, curvy, etc. It's fun to do the Tail, tho there are lottsa crazies on motorcycles blasting along. Assume they will be headed toward you, in your lane, as you round every blind curve.

I get a new word a day via e-mail from Dictionary.com. "Sweven" is today's word. It means a vision or a dream. Mite make a nice license plate for someone's se7en? Almost as good as mine (K8trum7:)).

Given the Stalker's almost unlimited power, but real world cornering limits, it seems to me (expert that I am:)), that adding grip at the expense of speed isn't much of a concern for that particular car. For our little 4 cyl Caterhams, etc., it is easier to achieve a balance between our above average grip and modest power. And adding grip isn't worth the hit our modest power wld suffer. For them Stokers tho....

BD: I dont think anyone here is offering sympathy to ISIS supporters. We all loathe beheadings, stonings, and death sentences to those who disagree with a particular religious point of view. We understand that complete intolerance for any one's point of view but one's own is unacceptable. ISIS is a ebola-like virus that seems to be spreading at an alarming rate. But, your post seemed to raise the legitimate question of: How is support for extremists/terrorists possible? And people here are responding to that-not to show support for ISIS, but to participate in a discussion of a topic that you brought up. Speaking of which, I dont see how boycotting products from a country where 93% of the population shares our mutual loathing of these despicable killers punishes the 7% who are simpatico. And for what its worth, I sort of agree that a car-enthusiasts' website mite not be the best place to discuss incendiary political issues. So maybe the lesson here is it's best to stick to car stuff on this forum?

Interesting how many of the signature design points of the S2 are carried over in the current Caterham/Birkin. Ron: lets see some Pix! Tom: If you hadn't corrected your post, I wouldn't have noticed, I had to go back and reread it(:.

Cranky: As mentioned, I think you have the identical symptoms as I did. Mine wld slip right on, it just would not lock in place. It doesn't look like the bulkhead is interfering. I dont think you are doing anything wrong in your technique (when everything's working right, a 3 year old could do it). I think something is wrong with your hub.

I love the way amazing looking se7ens keep popping up here! The S3 Birkin was a tight fit for me (5'9"), dont know how you got in (or back out). Apart from fit, how do the cars compare? When it was running, my Birkin was a lovely, light dancer and a wonderful track car.

As I recall from my endless search for this part last year, Caterham modifies (shortens?) the front CV axles from a Sierra. No idea what the dimensions are. I know I bought a Sierra front axle (passenger side) and it wasn't close. If you want it, I am happy to send it for cost of shipping. Anyhow, once the modified part again became available from Redline, I replaced the broken one with it.

Congratulations: someone got a beautiful car!

Dont know how they measured it, but the guys who built my car said the addition of the cage dropped the top speed considerably.

Pretty car AND wheels. I forget, it's a Westfield? Seems to have many "trick" features. What abt some more pix?

Bitterness aside:), Dave WAS very competitive in his S1. As I recall, it was pretty much even between him and his car and me and my track dedicated Zetec-engined Caterham Superlight.

He was at the usa7s meet-up in July at NJMP, I suspect Tom or Croc can supply his contact info.

Busa: So far, all of our steering wheel failures have been at rest or while poking around the paddock or driveway. I think once the wheel goes on and clicks into place you are good to go. Since failures seem to happen on initial placement of the wheel, the car is typically idling. Certainly my start-up drill now includes a good tug to be sure the wheel is locked on.

Great photos, the photographer has a good eye. Good luck sorting out the niggles, it will all be right soon.

I put abt 15K on my RA1s on my X-flow Cat, including lots of track use combined with aggressive street use. I also had them on a dual track/street Miata and got maybe 5K from them. They were going strong when I sold my X-flow Cat, tho visible tread was gone, they were slicks.

I have run both on my Caterhams. Haven't noticed much difference. I think the R888 was meant to replace the RA1''s, but the RA1's had such a strong community of support, Toyo continued to make them. Basically, you cant go wrong with either. I think a full tread RA1 is a bit better in the rain than a R888. And RA1's never heat cycle out, they just keep getting better. Haven't put enough miles on my R888's to know abt their longevity.

If Coffee Break is right, what is happening to yours happened to his (and to mine, in part): the steering wheel is hitting the bulkhead before it can fully engage the locking mechanism. It is blocked from sliding forward enough to fully engage. I also have Alaskossie's issue: the front wheels better be pointed straight, otherwise finding the wide groove in the splined receiver to push the wheel onto can be a real PITA.

Mine malfunctioned because a little C-clip that held stuff in place in the q-release internals went missing. And the steering column was improperly mounted, so the wheel couldn't slide down far enough onto the splines to click on the the 2ndary lock (apparently there was a double lock and the wheel was just held in place by the 1st lock). Long story long: My '03 mechanism was no longer made. And the new one didn't fit the old splines. And the new splines were not sold separately from the steering column. So 1 missing c-clip = one new q-release mechanism with new column and new splines.

Wonder if prices include engine and car assembly? Likely not, right?

Amazing work on an amazing car.