Kitcat

Steve: Everything I have read (and experienced) says that RA1's get better with time, unlike other tires. My anicdote, previously posted, is: I had the same set for years on my track Miata. Then, like you, I upgraded and left them in my basement. Five years later I had fresh new Kumos installed and one was bad. Since I had a track day coming up, I put the 8-10 y/o RA1s on the front and new Kumos on the back. Result: massive oversteer (the RA1s had more grip). So I swapped them to the back: massive push. I dont think you will lose performance by going new, but I wldnt toss the old RA1s. And if you have enough wheels, try the comparo I just mentioned and report results? Anyhow, as mentioned, the less tread the better the on-track result.

I carry a thick towel!

Steve-your existing tires are just broken in:)! How much naturally shaved tread do they have left? I'd start there and maybe go down to 'slick' level. Tread is the enemy of speed. It's only function is to maintain traction in the rain (How much rain driving do you really do now that you have your trailer?). If your existing tire is slick, keep the unshaved tires for the rain as even shaved, I dont think they will be as grippy as the 'seasoned' RA1's on the car. Dealers don't like to shave used tires as the embeded rock kills their blades, so hopefully these are brand new RA1's (my all-time fav tire, BTW).

Prepare to be shocked at how much better your car becomes. And at how much gravel gets tossed in on you....(definitely worth the trade off).

Well, it's 20 lbs lighter, but that's a lotta $ for 20 lbs. I havent heard of any particular Crossflow head reliabilty issues. Valve guides and other internals wear out. I put 17K on my X-flow before selling it and it had 32K total miles and the head was fine, with never a drop of mystery oil. Also ran on Mobile 1 full synthetic 95% of the time, as did prior owner, in spite of popular wisdom that the low-tech motor needed pure mineral oil.

And more CF!

Not sure what the "lightbulb" is, but you were abt 15 mph faster at the apex of the huge banked bowl leading to the front straight (Turn 10?), than last year. Also your top speed was abt 20 mph faster than mine at the end of the straight. In fact you entered the straight going as fast as I went at the end of the straight. So you really launched from the apex at the bottom of the bowl all the way to end of the straight Those little thngs start to add up:)> Why left foot brake, I thought your shifts were clutchless?

I think I dipped into upper 1:15's on my best laps there in the past, so you have definetly gotten more competitive Karl! Care to share your speed "secrets"? I know you added some power, but you are obviously picking up speed everywhere, not just on the straights.

Karl-what is a ballpark cost for an event? Did you have this coverage when you had your incident at L Rock and, if so, was is covered without a hassle?

It seems odd that with better aero and an extra 100 hp the X-Bow is slower on the straights? Look forward to the R485 posting, 1st I have heard of it. Does 485 reference its weight in kilos?

Nice! The Caterhams seem to have a hp advantage and the X-bow a braking advantage w/cornering abt the same? What spec engine in the X-bow and approx power of your 2.3 Cosworth?

Ivey Engines in Portland, OR is an established, reputable X-flow rebuilder/upgrader.

My State Farm claim experiernces have been exemplary: On my first claim they gave me $1K more for my flood-damaged 1 year old Accord than I paid for it, the 2nd, they gave me $3K more for the value of the Honda van my son totalled. And no increases in premiums. Maybe claims service varies state to state also?

What a beaut! The 50's produced some timeless car shapes, including this OSCA, Mini, XK 120, Elite, Porsche 356, all Ferrari's, 'Vettes, T-Bird, etc. I view the modern but bland, generic, derivative shapes emerging from major manufacures now (Exhibit #1 & 2- the Scion FR-S (Fresh?), and Suburu BRZ (Breeze?)) as abject stying failures. They started with a blank sheet of paper and produced this??? Give us more OSCA's!

Croc is rarely wrong, but maybe this time? State Farm insures all my steet cars including my Birkin and Caterham. Annual premium abt $600.00 for the se7ens as long as mileage was under 5,000. I just renewed my Birkin insurance two months ago. It does exclude track-day damage tho.

ORacer-I suspect a hp bump from currrent 95 (approx) to 115-135 is fairly realistic for your X-Flow. Not so sure abt 175hp: that's more than my Duratec and Zetec w/much older technology and smaller displacement. Depends on how much $ you can commit and if you get waaay up there $-wise, why not just get a BDA?

Sold and delivered, to a good home with a Forum member.

So Skip, do a comparo for us: Which of the two sex bombs drew more interest, Ms. Busty or the Caterham (My money is on the Caterham)? I agree with Ayseven, it would be nice to just once gas-up without fielding all those questions!

Croc: Why? And will you lose top speed? If so how much (not relevant at NJMP?)? What size rear/front wheels did your car come with (15x9 and 15x7?)?

Yes, stick w/Petronix. The bouncing tach has been the subject of posts here in the past and, as I recall, replacement with something more high quality than the standard Caterham tach is the preferred solution. Ditto the laughable oil pressure guage that Caterham supplied on its X-Flow cars..

I had the same Petronix set up on my X-Flow and the tach never worked right, especially under hard acceleration to redline-constant tach needle bouncing.

Also love the rear fenders' "cone catchers" (I will take 2:)).

I put this exact seat in my '09 Birkin but had to remove the interior panels to make it fit.

Most of the cars Croc was racing had advanced stability management systems which really help on slick tracks. Still, as they say, they dont overcome certain laws of physics-just allow the driver to be going that much faster when the inevitable happens.

Sale pending to a forum member and previous Birkin owner.