Kitcat

Since I am such a regular guy, NJMP has sent me a notice of their pricing special for the trackside suites for the time our group will be there: $80.00 a night. Of course, this excludes people (like me) who have planned ahead and already reserved a room (A mere $150 a nite). Anyhow, for you procrastinators, this is an excellent price. The rooms are pretty bare boned but the location cant be beat.

WTS2K: Rik was referring (humorously) to the last cmt by Dean G that we all look good in our se7ens. Don't think Rik actually owns a se7en, tho I mite be wrong.

Great site mrm-never knew it existed.

Everytime you stop, even at a traffic light, be prepared to answer the following questions: What is it, how much does it cost, how fast does it go, who makes it, what engine's it got, it's a kit car isn't it? Over and over and over and over.....It just blows peoples' minds. I cant imagine a flying saucer would generate any more curiosity:).

Lovely car, but it sure reminds me of a Lotus Evora. I look forward to reading the road tests tho, like JohnK, from a financial standpoint, my interest is purely theoretical.

The car is a beauty, let the fun begin!

Great turn out! I will likely be there Fri eve: 8:00-10:00? Will advise Tom G if plan changes drastically. And, tho not part of the official weekend gathering, I am also staying for the Monday trackday as well. As is Croc. Anyone else up for the Thunderbolt experience?

Fond memories, nice to see it so shiny!!

I always used foam ear plugs and ear muffs when I drove my '97 X-flow Cat. If I still had it I wld substitute headphones and my I-Pod (keep the foam plugs and crank it up). Also had the side benefit of eliminating my perception of all those worrysome rattles and squeaks coming from everywhere:).

Phew! Any theories on why, with no gasket, it started leaking 30K miles into its life? And, onward and upward: what's that new hp bump like? Is it a rocket ship? Any dyno comparo's before and afte, better power curve, etc.?

The Focus forum called focusfanatics.com has several dedicated forum sections on the various iterations of the Zetec engine and how to get the most hp. They are active and inforamtive tho talking smack seems to be part of the posting ethos there, unlike here. Klassics car was helped along by one of the top posters there, aka TurboTom, who also posts here occasionally under 1Turbofocus. As his handle suggests, he belives adding a turbo is the fastest way to reliable Zetec power. But his tuning skills helped Klassics naturally aspirated Zetec, per previous posts.

Looks like fun. Interesting track. What was your top speed? Doesnt look like it has any really long straight stretch? So, perfect for our cars.

Not a kit-car problem. More of a I-forgot-to-tighten-the-lug-nuts problem. A problem I have, sadly, expereinced but thankfully, due to the noise of whe wobbling wheel, I stopped, checked, and tightened.

All signed up, anyone else joining Croc and me?

It hurts to see that cd in writing:). Drive train loss is optimistic. Hard to get a handle on since hp estimates are always so optimistic. I think 15-20%+ are more typical in these cars. 3000 rpms at 70 doesnt seem too bad. With all the wind noise, vibration, flapping, you likely wont notice. And for most motors that is near their sweet spot, so not overstressing the engine. My X-flow powered Cat turned around 3500 rpms in 5th @70 mph and I pilled up a lot of miles at that speed with no adverse effect on engine/driver.

Lurkers, this is a deal!

FWIW-I have owened a 5 sp Cat and 6 sp, and driven a member's Ultralight w/Honda gear shift. I liked the Honda best (short, precise shifts), the 5 sp Cat next, similar just not quite as slick, and 6 sp least (very hard to tell what gear you are in or to find the next, exp after all that "muscle memory" associated w/5 sp tells you you are in the wrong gear). As I am learning it, tho, it is growing on me. It is nice to have 2 more usable gears than the 5 sp , in wh/both 1st and 5th are irrelvant at most tracks. But all these trannys are excellent. Skip Cannon (see scannon post above) has a 300 hp Miata turbo in his Caterham. Its cheap, relaible and tons of parts are available. That wld be on my short list of engine options.The Miata 5sp seems to be robust and they make a 6 sp as well. I owned a Miata 5 sp and wld rank its transmission equal to or better than the 5 sp T9 transmission. I suspect Skip had a build diary that shows how he put his car together.

Will fill out the form and e-mail in when I sign up today. Yes Croc, it wld be ideal to be out there running together.

Thx, mine have the holes, never realized they were wear holes. Whether they will still be there after 2 days on Lightnng is anyone's guess. I will have a set of semi-treaded rain tires I can use in a pinch if needed.

Thx Mike, I took your advice and sent them an e-mail. Since their website shows cars like the Ariel Atom, it seems likely that they are flexible on this stuff but I dont want to sign up w/o knowing. Wld also be nice if we cld do pre-tech ourselves.

I am edging ever closer to doing this track day as an add-on to the 2 day Lightening only event over the weekend. I have downloaded the LTW pre-event inspection sheet. It requires certification of at least 3/32" tread in tires. But, I run slicks. Also, mine is a full tilt race car, so I do not have working lights or turn signals, nor do I have wipers, or even a windshield (I have a wind deflector and wear a full face mask). Do these disqualify me from participation?

The se7ens just jump out of the corners. Only saw 3 cars, so a pretty small race? Beautiful track. What was the camera car? An X-bow?

Croc: Does the 2" taller roll-over bar come with a top that still works? Or does getting the taller bar eliminate the top? And, can you achieve the same "lowering" result by going with Tilet seats and a non-lowered floor? I know you chose the more comfortable standard CSR seats, but did that have the effect of positioning you higher? Turbowood: Are you building the car yourself, or is Cat USA or someone else doing it? What will the paint color and scheme be? When are you hoping to be on the road?

Yes, looks aren't its strong suit. It wld make long distance travel nicer tho. Haven't we seen similar set ups on the Japenese se7ens?

I think the issue is whether your shocks are gas filled, like Bilsteins, wh/dont care if they are upside down, or oil based hydraulics, like Koni, wh/do care a lot.