bigdog

Other than the compact size, I am not sure why everyone seems to be so impressed by this. You can get a 2.0 turbo four in a regular production Mercedes sedan (CLA 45 AMG) that makes 355 hp and 322 ft-lb at 2200 RPM.

 

WRC cars are 1.6 liter turbo units which are restricted to 300 hp. They could probably easily be putting out 400 hp reliably without restrictors.

 

I still prefer normally aspirated motors for Sevens, but turbocharged motors are getting really, really good. With direct injection and new turbo systems there is almost no lag.

The compact size and very lite weight are the point. If you can reduce the weight of a seven by 180Lbs that's a 15% reduction, Which is equivalent to your family car loosing 700-800 lbs.

I shudder to think at how short a life it will have at that kind of output, as the cylinder pressures must be astronomical along with turbo lag. (do a search on the BMW F1 M10 1.5ltr fours that put out 1350HP to see what small can do) Turn down the HP a bit and you might have something. Even at just 200HP the lack of weight would be like a much higher HP engine.

I think there are a lot of former (and some still) motorcycle riders/racers here. If it wasn't such a hassle to get to a good riding area I'd probably still be into dirt bikes. Did the sportbike thing for a few years but I'm used to learning from mistakes on dirt bikes and tossing a sportbike down the track is kind of an expensive way to learn;)

 

So the 7 is my best compromise. Now if I only could get my priorities to change and free up a few bucks to throw at the dang car... especially in the set up area (new heim-joints, corner weighing, shocks and a full-cage). I really want to explore the limits of the car. Or should I say myself.

Truth be told, I still love bikes. But I don't ride anymore for three reasons.

1, I know that my reactions are slowing a bit, And my brain says slow down but my right wrist says WFO baby.

2, Other riders. By that I mean that the typical response I get when I say "let's go for a ride" Gee bigdog that would be great, I do have fifteens minutes on Sunday afternoon three months from now. So I got tired of riding alone.

3, When I was 49 (I'm 56 now) I had a bad fall on my dirt bike and ripped my right thumb from it's socket, broke the ball in half on the fifth metacarpal bone on my left hand, Blew out the bursal (sp) sack on my left knee cap. So there I was both hands in casts and my left knee wrapped up for 6 weeks. Life was difficult when I ended up not having the use of my hands. My right thumb and left knee still bother me. I sold that dirt bike and haven't been on the dirt since then.

I think you are selling your self short.

But the bike scene is lightyears different than the car scene. Due to the huge power to weight ratio of a modern bike (dirt or street) Most bikers do not spend a lot of time messing with the engine. And most concentrate on handling. Which of course is (normally) quite the opposite to a car person. I would say that the vast majority of car people are only slightly aware that their car even has suspension.

I've been fortunate that as a (now former) biker I spent a few years working at a bike shop. And since 1982 when I first started riding I've owned 38 bikes. I've had the racer bikes (Suzuki RG Gamma, Ducati 888 SPO LTD). Touring bikes (2 Goldwings, BMW K12LT) Dirt bikes (CR250R, KDX200, KTM 620 adventure, Yamaha WR450F) Even 2 supermoto bikes (KTM duke II, Husqvarna SM610)

I know that while the physics are a bit different between a bikes and a cars shocks. The theory is the same. But a bike gets so much more suspension loading in a corner. With dirt bikes having so much more travel, one can adjust to have initial softness to follow the small bumps. My Yamaha WR450 used a straight rate spring, but also used air volume (not air pressure) via oil level changes to create progressiveness in the last bit of travel.

Riding a fast sport bike will certainly teach a person about the proper approach to corners. With smoothness being a key factor, trail braking technics, and learning that if your front washes out getting on the gas will help you regain front wheel traction. Which seems counter intuitive.

Thanks for sharing. Any idea what the two bars are sticking out of the rear fenders and connected to the side of the car? My ignorance asking.:rofl:

Maybe a set of long trailing arms for the rear axle?

I thought the original idea of the clamshell was (in addition to classic styling) to keep crap off the car and drivers elbow. This method doesn't mitigate either situation and would seem to simply add weight without any benefit. It looks interesting though.

Hitting frost heaves at 70-80? Holy crap. There just isn't enough suspension travel in a seven to absorb that. What you need is a Baja race buggy.

When I was riding dirt bikes we called what JohnK talked of "suspension packing" If one puts a too stiffly rated spring on then they will try to add more rebound damping to counteract the pogoing effect an overly stiff spring requires. In the street scene we (most folks anyway) have been brainwashed by the lowrider look. The super low F1 look works on a smooth track but not the street. So we have learned to prevent bottoming out on a suspension that has little travel by throwing on stiff springs and damping. It was an ingrained attitude that we fought hard to loose in dirt biking, where bikes had 13" of travel and guys were still throwing on too stiff a spring.

Left turns only aye! I guess that makes it a NASCAR street rod.

Well, That definitely makes a statement. I kind of like it. In a Frankenauto mad scientist sort of way.

That new badge is hideous.

All one has to do is look back through the history of the Bradley GT in America. And you will soon see why there is a stigma attached to a "kit" car. The Bradley GT's weren't an inherently bad car. They just more often than not had bad builders. The old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" pertains very much to kit cars. It makes selling a kit car you built such a hard sell as well. The instant gratification of our modern culture may play a part, I do also believe that it is our culture that we are never very far from the office. I.E. Those hideous cell phones means that your work normally follows you home. Kids no longer just go to the park and play any more either. Oh no, It needs to be organized with teams, Uniforms, & silly stupid schedules. It used to be that in the 1980's when I lived in Tokyo. The Japanese worker was at the office more hours than any worker world wide. That honor is now held by the Americans.

Why would someone do that? As a Caterham is technically a kit car. Why shouldn't or wouldn't it be registered as what it really is.

That looks rather modern for a 1967 lotus. Isn't it illegal to falsify one's registration documents?

(Youth is fleeting but immaturity can last a lifetime, etc).

And my wife will whole heartedly :iagree: with that statement.

Just because I'm older and what I might think is wiser. Doesn't mean I don't want to have fun. It just means that it no-longer requires that I have to light my hair on fire, And then drive off a cliff to have it.

BigDog, as a new Caterham owner, you obviously have not yet been infected with the dreaded, UPGRADEITIS virus. You cannot avoid this disease and will eventually succumb to its power.

 

Chasing Lightness, Handling, and Power are the three main symptons of the disease. You'll know when for some reason you buy carbon fiber "cat whiskers" to put on your nosecone to improve your down force, or buy a carbon fiber cam cover to save weight. :willy_nilly:

 

Assuming your caterham was assembled correctly, and suspension set up to specs, have good rubber and inflate it properly, it will be one heck of a good handling car. I've found that driving style/ skill has as much impact on handling as anything else.

 

You are right that enjoying your car is the key. Some like to Polish, some like to drive, some like to go really fast. Nothing wrong with any of them. Just have fun.

 

Tom

I'm not one that ever had the upgrade bug. With one exception. I have been quite satisfied with just having a nice toy that I don't see someone else driving every time I turn the corner. And I like the social aspect of owning a not often seen car. I enjoy entertaining questions about what I'm driving or riding, more than I enjoy pointing out to everyone the minutia details of having managed to get 20-30HP more or shaved a few grams at a cost of X thousands of dollars. I've owned a "69" Corvette convertible, "69" Mustang 302 convertible, "94" Ducati 888 SPOLTD superbike #9 of 100 made. A Suzuki RG gamma street version of their MotoGp bike. They were all stock and were better off for it.

Now when I owned a Vintage speedsters replica 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster. The original bug engine blew up. I went crazy and had Chico performance racing in LA build a 2.3 Ltr 170HP 173Ftlb Air cooled type 1 monster for it. It was bloody fast, But was a nightmare to drive. The engine ran hot, the weber IDF's were always going out of sync because of the Rube Goldberg linkage. I always regretted haven fallen for the numbers game with that engine build. I also know for a fact that even though a subby WRX will blow past my Caterham on the straits, I take solace in knowing when we get to our local German version of the cafe at the top of the twisties called Johanniskreuz http://goo.gl/maps/sjHab I live not more than a couple of miles from there in Molschbach. Guess who's car everyone gathers around? I don't need big HP numbers nor record low weight numbers to enjoy my self. The chasing of numbers in a seven is mostly an American affliction. Just look at pistonheads and the sevens for sale in the UK.

I'm kinda like the kid in the Honda bike adverts. "I just wanna ride" or drive in my case. In fact most folks who know about sevens in Europe/UK like the fact that mine is the same as when it was built by the Caterham factory in 1983. So yes it was screwed together correctly.

As you say & I agree. Each to their own. I just think that as I've grown older and a little wiser I see the futility & huge cost that will never be regained from chasing numbers.

A while back Kitcat noted that, in his experience, just making sure that the suspension on his Caterham was in spec as per the Factory seemed to be the best course of action if he wanted the car to work optimally. And possibly fiddling just a bit with tire pressures to see if there was a difference.

Now think back on how well a Caterham handles, that it does so while providing a ride so comfortable that it feels like a family 'saloon', exhibits chassis roll that looks absurd, and then abandon any hope that you're going to be able to fiddle sensibly with anything on the suspension that's likely to improve its handling - or even make sense.

 

At a certain level I have come to look at the crazy obsession that a lot of us have for chasing numbers to be as silly as the futility in this old video. We sometimes have a hard time just admitting that we should just stop chasing numbers and enjoy the drive.

Terrible news. Condolences to the Button family.

You mean that the rock hard "developed at the ring" ride advertizing hype by auto makers is bollocks?:jester:

I learned a long time ago via sport & dirt bikes that you need the suspension to soak up the bumps so that your tires follow the road and don't lose contact.

As I'm new to sevens, I look forward to gleaning a little helpful info from this thread.

Jenson comes across as a down to earth sort. Hard to read Hamilton, He does very well in his interviews. But likes to hang with the Gangsta crowd. De Resta from Ireland seems a nice guy as well. To be honest, All but a few seem ok to me. Pastor Maldonado being one, He likes to blame everyone else for his errors in judgement. He'd fit right in with the politicians.

It will be very interesting to see what happens with the new engine formula this season. I'm looking forward to a bit of a shake up. It will do the sport some good. Luckily, Here in Europe we have brilliant coverage via British Skytv. They have a dedicated 24hr HD F1 channel and cover everything from first practice all the way through to an after race analysis.

Well done S17. Keep us up to date as to the foot traffic around the sevens.:lurk:

How about a few more pic's. The first three were taken in my small village at the local bakeries car park.

The last one is of my Zed 4 which was sold to fund the seven. That was taken just outside Bitche, France about 40 minutes from my place. Sorry to brag, But the Zed photo was submitted for a UK BMW calender contest. My car was the July photo.

xcarguy, glad to see your frown got turned around.

Welcome aboard.

Xflow7,

The big difference with the Miata though is that it is inexpensive, easy to drive, user friendly. The O'Reilly store has parts for it. And of course you threw in the modifier "enthusiast crowd". I emagine that the Miata was a flop amongst that group untill later. The Caterham, as charming as it is. Is still a very narrowly focused car. While people can and do drive their sevens across the country or commute to work in them. It takes mountains of planing and a dedicated & very special owner & passenger to attempt a cross country trip. Something that the Miata can do in spades, and in comfort.