Cherik

I'd agree with your tuningshop's view on the GEMS. I started with one and had a lot of trouble with it. Quite obsolete. The Emerald and Pectel are popular systems. I switched to a DTA s60, simply because it was the most up to date and interfaces with just about any sensor source. Calibration is straight forward. It's been rock solid for years and a lot of miles. Other DTA 7-users that I'm aware of have been quite impressed with them as well. Esp. the S-series. http://www.dtafast.co.uk/ It allows for a basic startup configuration and develop and refine it as you learn more. It has a "scope" feature which is very useful for map debugging. Their logger is excellent. I sound like a salesman for them... better stop. Still snowing here, 10" down, 8" more to come... ughh.

Well done Mike! ...looks like you didn't even stop to make that picture! Cherik

I'm on my 2nd windscreen as well, same issue with the slow spreading circle cracks. If in the end you land at the dealer option, ask for the "glass only", i.e. without the frame and w/o the screen heater. It's still a 3-layer safety glass! Cherik

Bruce, I guess this is probably for ECU protection. As it is an input, a 1/8watt or 1/4watt will work fine. I'd suggest 'in-line' solder joints with about 1/4" overlap of the wire & strands. Put heatshrink over everything with 1/2" beyond each solder joint. The joints should not be mechanically loaded. How's that machine running? Getting any usable weather up there yet? Cherik

i've gone through a few of them, but found the key issue was that on long(er) trips when the clutch foot is rested under the pedal, when you bring it back up, it flips the clutch pedal up and starts a kink at that very location. Next time you apply the cable it begins that process. Eventually strands break and it goes from there. Since then I've been careful to not flip up the pedal when pulling back my foot and haven't broken any cables since. A proper pedal stop would be a better solution.. or go hydraulic. I have those parts, but never put them in... The lengths that I have used are 62.5" / 159cm and 68" / 178cm. The longer one doesn't seem to be available in the US. Top pic: "home comer" - with heat shield sleeve still in place Center: long cable, frayed Bottom: spare that I carry in the boot. Both short and long work for a Zetec, but some careful ty-rapping is needed so it doesn't get caught in the belts in front. Cherik http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1144432031_Clutch-cables.jpg

..couldn't resist to chime in... with that little hint provided by Al, it just ticked over 77,000 miles. And still enjoying it every time. I have a well running Lotus Esprit, or my wife's TSX to borrow, but when it's time to choose, the 7 is always the 1st choice. Individualistic, sure. There's no need to be average or normal, which I think are the same. Not everyone can afford to own or run one of these, but if you're a gear head and like tinkering as well as driving, this certainly is the best option.. in my humble opinion. I see a lot of that on this list. On daily driving capability, there are certainly a few items that make the car more suitable for longer drives, e.g. deDion suspension, the adjustable seats, the full windscreen, -33dB earplugs, but with those it's pretty exhilarating all the time. Every turn is an opportunity. Normal... never spent much time thinking about what that means, although I think it's suv's, trucks, automatic transmissions, cup holders. I do like to push the envelope on just about everything, just to see what's there and the 7 fits in there perfectly. During 7-7-7 I got to meet some fellow 7-eners, some who build their cars from the ground up! Now, that I have a lot of respect for! The 7 experience is all about what you make of it, and a lot of it is self improvement: driving skills on the road and track, mechanicals, and... explaining things ... Cherik ps: put 2 x 340 miles on it last Wednesday to get to a business meeting... very nice - and if that's not ..uhh... normal, I want more... quickly lock me up before I want to get into my 7 again..... :jester:

hey Bruce, good to hear you're collecting the miles! The season's getting short now... 55F and dropping rapidly... Some ignition light stuff, that you didn't ask for: The charge light has a few functions: 1. it connects the alternator field winding via the regulator (mounted on the alternator) to B+ when the engine is not running, but the ignition is on. When the alternator starts running, it's output will be equal to the battery, via the alternator diode groups. Then the difference between the alt. output and B+ is zero, and the light goes out. 2. it provides an indication that the alternator output voltage is lower than the battery. 3. it uses a 24V low output bulb to also act as a resistor to prevent the alternator from causing "after-run". It needs to be around 80..100 Ohms to work properly. If it's lower, then engine may not shut off... because the alternator field winding continues to feed itself from the small induced field and.. then things won't stop. An after-running cooling fan can cause the same. Given the above: 1. alternator diodes went bad - this can happen when briefly shorting B+ to ground by accident with the engine running 2. bulb is bad, but you already checked that - but make sure it's a 24V bulb, not 12v (as that doesn't work properly) 3. the regulator went bad - if it was a rebuild it may have been compromised... good news is, Autozone carries diode and regulator replacements as I recall for Delco ( if that is what Geo uses). Let me know what you find and I'll come up with more ...... Cherik

nice story! The imagery of being stranded on a dark side road w/o bars on the cell is certainly a tantalizing one... I'm gonna check the batteries on my flashlight. Glad it worked out without too much reconstruction! And you are correct, the piezo pumps can run all the time, but it also depends on the fueling system. They usually maintain 2..3psi pressure, which is fine for Carb systems (2psi is plenty already), and for EFI system they can be used as a low pressure pump to maintain a main tank / surge tank loop from which the high pressure circuit takes it's feed Cherik

..one more thing, If you do find that the cable is too long e.g. 1/16" or 1/8", make sure to grind it off, as cutting leaves a messy end. Cherik

..it's a function of driving a lot of miles without sidescreens... Eventually your senses will re-adjust and you will experience the buffeting as comforting. I found -33dB earplugs (Walgreens) give me a sense that there is a lot less wind in the cockpit. Cherik

I've had some troubles like this a few times and learned of potential causes: 1. cold weather - stiffens the cable and causes it to "jump". It's a square spring coiled cable, thus it is predisposed to this kind of studdering motion. 2. reverse installation - one end of the cable has a collar around it, make sure this is at the speedo side, not at the gearbox. It prevents the inner cable from sinking down, in which case it'll bottom out in the right angle drive and eventually loose touch with the speedo, it'll jump before failing 3. the cable is too long.. check this at the gearbox, by removing the cable from the right-angle drive and spinning it by hand, and have someone watch the speedo. Also, get a feel for how it spins. If it's too long at the speedo side, it'll eventually take out the speedo. Check how deep it goes when the collar touches the speedo and make sure it'll still run free. It's best to take out the speedo and the cable for this test. 4. don't use ty-raps anywhere on the cable. It needs a large smooth arc. If it's kinked anywhere it'll bind up and eventually take out the short 1" cable segment between the drive and the right angle gearbox. Probably more things, but that's what I could think off Cherik

the "oil leak" from the valve cover is from the engine being designed for transverse mounting. In the 7 it's sits for-aft and during spirited driving (esp. on track), the valve cover exit is in the wrong place and it'll throw oil from there. I used to run an overflow bottle from the valve cover hose, and recently added a nice filter box from JEGS with a drain. After each track session, I have to drain a couple of oz of fluid. As far as the ring gap measurement, the top-bottom difference and the lack of a visible honing pattern, it looks like well worn bores. I'd suggest to compare the cost for another block (although by now all the Contours will be "aged"), or get an overbore and fresh pistons. A 1mm ring-gap and the .3mm difference suggest you're well past the service life. Most of the bore wear is where the greatest combustion and lateral pressure exists, which is about 10..15% from TDC. Maybe redundant is a check with a bore micrometer for bore ovality left right vs front back to confirm the wear. As was mentioned, the piston skirts show some scuffing, which could be from a lot of miles or a few Wisconsin cold starts with old / thick oil. Cherik

just about any surface on the bulkhead will conduct heat. I solved that by using heavy duty velcro (Radio Shack has it), to prevent heat conduction. One issue during trackdays is the higher revs, and subsequent higher load on the ignition and injector drivers because of the number of pulses per second that it results in. I used to have a GEMS unit, which had no real heatsink and it eventually died. Repeated cut-outs from overheating will eventually damage the drivers. I now have a DTA unit on two of those velcro strips and it's been flawless. Cherik

Congratulations Bruce! I saw the pics of your car in motion elsewhere on this forum. The car is looking very sharp! Let the fun begin! Cherik

no-one warned us, but then, would we have listened? Se7eners generally don't listen well to warnings anyway, like the warning about the $'s and time, the ridiculous explanations to the roadpatrol as to why you did what you did... it just goes on... But, no-one can truly explain to a non-se7ener how much fun this continues to be :thumbs:

...ok, fine I'll bite. Just uncovered from (Nov20-March30) 100" of record snow fall in that period, but.. we've recently had some +30F and salt free time. They ran out of salt back in January, which means lots of sand and sliding, but virtually no salt left in the pavement! So, yes, I've got my 1st 250miles clocked away for '08 in the past couple weeks. And that makes... 72,500 miles in 9 years. And that's all without a snowplow on it :-) The odometer shows 68,500, since it's the 3rd speedo, but hey, a few k miles more or less makes no difference. As far as tires, it does eat them - I'm on set #4 now (the best sofar have been the Yokohama's, the worst the Bridgestones) Cherik

I just voted for Montana. It's very unique compared to the many other possible locations in my opinion. We've been there a couple of times (in '82, some time before the great fire and after in '93). The scenery is just phenomenal. North of Yellowstone is Red Lodge and the legendary B.T. mountain pass. Matches Totd twists and bends pretty well, albeit a very different scenery. May need to tune for high altitude if you have carbs. It's about 2000 miles from here, but it should make for a nice drive in the 7. I may just put in some fresh oil for the occasion. Cherik '99 dD/WT Caterham - 2.0Zetec - 72k miles ps: today temps climbed to -1F from -10F this morning... I've covered the 7, so I don't have to look it in the eye...

the 3614 works both for the XF and the Zetec. If there's a oil cooler distribution plate in between the block and filter, I'm not sure that still fits. I've seen very short ones, but that seems to compromise utility. As far as oil pressure, the (external) oil pump on a XF engine has a relief spring in it that is used to set the bypass pressure, as in the max pressure that is allowed to build up. The larger clearances suggest use of 10W40 or similar. I would not use 10W30 (at least I didn't). Note that because of the largish amount of blow by gas during the warmup phase (esp. forged heron pistons), the oil will contaminate faster, and regardless if it is synthetic or not, it should be replaced after any track event or Cherik

yes, correct on the last one - rerun in 4th for ref, but do subsequent reads in 6th. The layshaft will still rotate (it always does whenever the clutch is engaged), but it'll be unloaded, and thus minimal losses. With Redline MTL this difference will be less.

Al, for these runs it matters which gear you use. In the t9 5spd box, you need 4th gear (=direct), in the BGH 6spd (Caterham...) it's 6th gear that is direct. The non-direct gears add two loaded gear pairs in between, each taking their share. Using Redline MTL gearoil brings a bit more and gives better shifts and lastly 75/90 Mobil1 synthetic in the differential. As far as 150BHP/122ftlbs at the wheels (approx 175BHP/140ftlbs at the crank). sounds reasonable, as the 200HP quoted is usually SAE horsepower. SAE HP's are quoted with no ancillaries - i.e. no pumps, no alternator etc etc. Usually this is 12..15%. Then.. the later Zetec's (> '01) recommend running 5w20 oil, and of course lots of controversy about why (CAFE rules etc.) it does offer lower friction than 5w30 and this does make a difference >6000rpm, which is where you're trying to get a reading. It all adds up.

I've used both the G-tech and the AP22 from Race-Technology. The G-tech is primitive and I had a difficult time getting reliable readings from it. The AP22 on the other hand, is very good. two axis accelerometer and impressive PC analysis software. A bit more expensive than the G-tech, but.. you get what you pay for :-) Check out the website and go to the car section - products - AP22 etc. http://www.race-technology.com/ap22_10_1529.html http://www.race-technology.com/software_10_1095.html

bought the kit 10/98 via Jon Nelson - RMCSI (Denver). Engine (XF) and tranny (T9) from Grand Prix motors (London). Arrived mid Feb /'99, on the road the next month.

Some items: in addition what was already mentioned.. after mounting the flywheel (use ARP bolts and blue locktite, no washers!) put on the disc, then the pressure plate and bolt it on, but make sure to very evenly crank the bolts to avoid cocking the plate. It is under full tension. The bellhousing goes onto the tranny with the four large bolts. Clean them up and use locktite and proper spring washers! If not, things will come loose... Also, there is a gasket between the bellhousing and gearbox. The shiftfork shaft does extend out of the gearbox and moves when shifting (for-aft), this allows for some slight oil seapage, thus requiring the gasket. If the engine came from an Automatic, make sure to switch the crank sensor for a manual type and also clean out the crankshaft pilot bearing entry and insert the pilot bearing for the gearbox primary shaft. The bearing is $10..15 from the local Ford dealer. Mount the clutch release before bolting the tranny/bellhousing to the engine. For bolting the engine and bellhousing together, use grade 8 plated bolts with spring washers. Mount the starter and verify that it fits properly - there are several versions of this - (starter / flywheel combinations). When lifting the engine, I suggest to tilt the whole assembly (use a cranked leveler for your hoist, so you can adjust the angle) about 45dg and stepwise go forward and lower, carefully clearing the top enginebay rail (watch the wiring...) and next watch the top of the transmission tunnel - on some cars there is a brake line running there and wiring... Be careful not to knock off the pins of the reverse switch on the gearbox (on the right, just below the shifter). They tend to get snagged once the box is in the tunnel. Easier is to temporarily remove the switch and put it back in later. There is a 1.5" rubber cover on the right side of the tunnel for that. Put a jack under the transmission when you get close, as next the propshaft must be guided. Careful with the seal, it's easily damaged by the edge of the propshaft. The jack will allow the transmission mount to clear the chassis plate. Go half inch steps at a time when you get close and wiggle the engine a bit. Good luck Cherik

2.75" under the Raceline sump with the 15"-195/50 street tires. Occasional side exhaust scrapes in bumpy right handers, and I've scraped the sump a few times on speedbumps at very low speeds :-) Cherik

Sounds like some nice cars! I'm in Sussex (WI). It's about an hour South from Elkhart. Did not have the time earlier this year to join. I think there are other track events later this year organized by CAROC (Alfa Romeo club) or the Lakeshore club. Cherik