Kitcat

What, me worry? Actually, the question was posed by a potential buyer.

Is anyone running with a scattershied to protect them against exploding bellhousings, flywheels, clutches, etc? There has been off and on discussion here abt adding driveshaft loops/hoops, but I haver never seen anything on the use of scattershields. Is this something anyone is concerned about? I would assume the need increases in proportion to RPM's and power? Any particular concern with a 200 hp Duratec redlined at 7K?

Looks perfect!

Wow, a 65 pound single wheel tire combo on a seven, are you sure? So you saved a total of 180 lbs by switching? I had a 265x19x45 on the back of my M3 that weighed less. My 15'' Birkin wheel w/15x205x50 Toyo was about 32 lbs. Both the wheel and tire were heavy and, like you, I dropped down to low 20's w/liteweight 15'' 949 wheel with light weight Avons 15x195x45.

Sure would be interesting to see what that car with its new power and paddle shifter would do in the 1/4 mile (120 mph?)

The Honda engine is too tall to fit under the Caterham bonnet anyhow.

I have had 2 Dedion Caterhams and also an IRS Birkin. So far I have never been able to notice a difference in handling. Maybe I have not been on bumpy roads? I have not driven a solid axle version of any se7en but I had a solid axle AH Sprite and it did not like bumps, esp in curves.

Thx Croc: I had a blast last year so cleary 5 groups was not excesssive. And Tom has accurately listed me as attending as a drver, above.

Ditto dx by bball, on my X-Flow Caterham as well. The engine mounts wear out very fast, then the motor moves around and then bad things happen. I replaced the mounts 2x during my 4 years/15K miles of ownership. Each time it fixed the mystery engine problem (wh/only occurred on high G track day curves). BTW, I may have some left in my basement, PM me if in need.

Croc: Remind me, was it 5 run groups @ SCDA there last year, or 4 ? Five is slicing and dicing the available track time pretty thinly. It mite yield four 20' on-track sessions. And, all it takes is one ''incident" and your alloted 20' on-track segment, that you waited nearly 2 hours for, is vaporized.

And new, fully completed, Duratec Bikins are posted here, and on E-Bay, for $48K.

Not so sure abt the low price: I sold an identical spec version of the same X-flow model Caterham here last year for $21.5K. It suggests to me that I should also post my '09 Birkin for sale this Spring on E-bay, as well as here, when I relist it.

$9K for a popcorn machine (maybe it came with a lifetime supply of popcorn?). Certainly the collector who amased, and now has sold, these little cars looks like a financial genius.

Decisions, decisions:)!. First: I will attend whatever event the group decides upon. Preference: For me, the weekend makes no difference. So I like Mon, Tues with SCDA as it includes a day on T-bolt vs. Trackdaze 2 days on Lightning. And, we have done this with them 2 years in a row and know they do a great job. I have never done an event w/Trackdaze so have no thoughts on them. I do know an incompetent sponsor can screw things up (usually by booking too many cars and being totally unorganized). That doesnt seem to be likely here since T-daze limits entries to a reasonable number. OTOH, I prefer Lighting as its so much simpler. And, if track newbies are tempted to try this, Lightning is the way to go as it is soooo much easier to learn than T-Bolt. I wish SCDA were doing T-bolt Monday, I'd do Sunday w/T-Daze and Mon w/SCDA on T-Bolt. Like Jeffs, 4 track days is likely too much for me, and maybe for my car. So, I will follow the group's decison and show up for whatever the consensus is, with a slight preference for SCDA.

New home for this excellent se7ens print, attached. These pix do not do this print justice. It is a beautiful, deep butterscotch yellow. It is not an exaggeration to say that my office is transformed.

WTex uses it on a Honda S2000 engine, I think.

I dont think Zetecs have a turbo issue. TurboTom (1turboFocus), who posted earlier on this thread, has done tons of turbo Zetecs. Visit the focusfantics.com forum (where he mostly posts) for more info abt turbo Zetecs than you need or want to know.

My memory is the Miata transmission is a big, stong, heavy lump. Skip will know for sure. Birkin USA (Texas Motor Works) has a $5K supercharger kit for Duratecs and, at last report, was developing one for Zetec versions too. Since the stock Birkin engine bay is almost the same size as the Caterham, this mite be worth exploring. Bumps rw hp to 300 and has a nice fat/flat torque curve. It runs on the T9 transmission.

Good job for a newbie! We need more pix! If you drive it home, will you have put more miles on her than you put on Orange? Keep us posted on itinerary. I have a tow vehicle and trailer and wld be happy to help out if you have need and are within striking distance. Or, I might just come to an overpass and waive you by. You do know that May is rain month in the mid-west? Not to mention tornados. Drys out by early June. BTW-A great, and often scenic, route from Cincy-to near Hagerstown MD is route 32, then 50, up I-79 abt 40 miles, then over on 68. Very lightly traveled, even on the interstates (except I-79). Almost no semi's. Once you hit I-70 just before Hagerston it gets ugly.

Brakes? Probably depends on ultimate power, right? So if your approximately 200 hp Zetec gets boosted to 300 hp, it is making the same as some of the fancy Cosworths that do just fine with standard brakes. If you go to 700 hp, maybe add hydraulics to the back of super high-tech (plywood) wing you run so it can be used as an air brake:). For bang for the buck, turbo is the way to go vs, more hp from an naturally aspirated engine. These seem to come in around $20-$30K. And, if you blow up your turbo engine, it's a short trip to the junk yard for a replacemenmt. But when you blow that $30K engine, you have to write another $30K check (and/or find a new hobby).

A Birkin has a tighter cockpit (you sit closer to the wheel) than a "long" cockpiit Caterham, so trying on each for size is important. I have never seen a Superprformance on the track. The little roll-over hoops are not enough protection. In terms of out-right performance, no other se7en will touch a V8 Stalker. Or, at least, nothing has come close at Grassroots Motor Sports Ultimate Car Challenge, at VIR. New se7ens take a pretty huge depreciation hit the first year, then seem to hold their value well after that. So buying used can save $.

Croc: I think it is time for you to post a photo of your Mustang: I consider it to be one of the coolest looking varients out there. Perhaps it even deserves its own thread to help focus the drool:)?

Our basement is overrun with tires, piles everywhere and my wife loves to kid me also: "When are you opening your own tire store, etc?" And every financial setback, or windfall is converted into race tire consequences: "Oh, too bad no race tires this month." or, "Look at that money, I can just imagine how many race tires it will buy." Not complaining tho, she is a saint to put up w/this expensive hobby.

Karl: I am looking forward to the new hp/torq graphs. I will guestimate 20 more hp and 3 lbs torq. That wld make your already very impressive 2.3 liter, naturally aspirated motor even more impressive. You seem very close to upper limits here. 9500 rpm's is really wild, I cant wait to hear it at NJMP!

Looks good. I thot that Texas Motor Works was the only authorized dealer/representative but I was obviously wrong. When did you start selling them officially? Do you get your kits thru TMW, or straight from S Africa?