CarlB

A note of caution - this thread will produce multiple differing recommendations that likely conflict with each other. All reflect each person's own experience based on their context. You should consider everything and make your own decision based on your own circumstances, environment, track condition, your own driver skill/comfort level and car condition on the day. We will not be there to make the decision for you. Spoken like someone who has had to deal with our litigious society.

These cars do not need much. I would bleed the brakes to get fresh fluid. Set the alignment to 3 degrees of negative camber, 3 degrees of caster, and 1/16th total toe out. Make sure you do not have any toe out in the rear. Zero toe, to a little in, is what you want in the rear. Starting tire pressure of 20 LBS, You can probably go down a little. These are very generic and will get you started. Brake pads are a personal thing as well. They have different characteristics and I would try what you have and then read about and try something else. The cars are really good the way they come. At some point you might want to change springs and bars, but again I would recommend you go drive it the way it is. As you get familiar with the car, it will tell you what it wants. Everyone's driving style is a little different.

Thank you - I will see what they have.

I want to get new rear fenders, or as our English friends call them rear wings. Has anyone had good luck with the non-Caterham makers?

I was there just to make sure the car was OK. I was planning on going to a SCCA event over the weekend. Summit has a program called track time where you show up at 3:00 in the afternoon and follow the leader. It is for people who have never been on the racetrack. Before you go out, they give you an hour lecture about the line and follow them. One always has a lot of standing water on the line. I didn't want to get out of line but as the rain picked up my car was all over the place. So, I slowed down the next lap. Coming out of one I was trying to catch up and halfway to 3 I got on the throttle too much. Around I went! I should have known better.

Apparently I didn’t send the message I wrote this morning. thank you Croc. I have Someone to fix the car that is more than capable. I am questioning how I want it repaired. Do I want to get the frame fixed and drive it. Hopefully before the USA-7 event. Then deal with the body. The alternative is to do a lot more to a car that has been well used and could use a refresh. My car is an imperial and I am going to call Arch Monday and see if I can get a basket. That is definitely how I want to fix it. From racing stock cars it is common to do the same thing. They have a different name. They call it a clip.

Thank you. Buddy Norton at SASCO SPORTS is a good friend. He and his son probably have the fastest SCCA Caterham in the country. I spoke to him and he couldn’t do it. I think I have someone. Although if anyone else has ideas I would like to hear about it. The guy who built my roll cage has a the tools and skills to do it.

Thank you for the concern and help. I am fine. I was lucky I went in a tire wall. I didn’t have a head and neck restraint on and I am not even sore. If you look at the pictures of my car you will see the rear down tubes from the roll cage come down to the area where the jack points are located. I believe that stopped the damage and protected the fuel cell. I have more pictures if you think people would like to see them.

I went to Summit Point to test my car. I shouldn't have gone out in the rain, but I wanted to make sure it was running well and I thought I would just go slow. Big mistake! Avon ZZS tires that are almost worn out and me being stupid. I bent the frame on that side behind the main roll bar hoop, and I need to find someone to repair the car. The two people I have confidence in are both busy. Does anyone know a good race car mechanic with a surface plate?

I had this problem. I had a motorsport quality engine harness built for my car. The guy who built the harness is a very well-known tuner and he set up my ECU so the fuel would cut off on oil pressure.

There are 3 tracks at Summit Point. The main circuit is a traditional track Jefferson and Shenandoah are smaller and were built for NPDE. I actually really like Shenandoah.

Thank you - I appreciate the input. I am going to see if I can find these here.

I need some treaded tires. Does anyone have any information on the Kumho Ecsta V-70 tires? Jack Webb says they are about the equivalent of a ZZS. They are close to the size of the Avon / Nova 13-inch tires.

I live in the Washington DC area and go to Summit Point and Dominion. I will let you know when I am going.

I have had a Motive bleeder for a long time and used both ways described above. It has always worked for me. Some proportioning valves are difficult to bleed if you do not put them on the highest setting. The Motive brake bleeder will not work on late model cars with ABS is you get air in the ABS system.

The Caterhams sold in the USA with Zetec engines came with the starter on the right hand side from the drivers seat and up higher under the intake manifold. The picture you are showing has the starter mounted low on the left and it would be below the exhaust. There are flywheel differences that affect the starter motor and clutch. It is my understanding that Caterham never sold Zetec powered cars in the UK. The cars in the UK with Zetec used a bell housing like yours. I do not have any experience with Burkins, but the T-9 transmissions in Caterham all have the longer input shaft. You might be able to find a starter alternator rebuild shop who can identify the starter, but there aren’t many around any more. Race line in the UK might be able to help you. They sell all the different parts.

Where does the starter motor mount on the bellhousing. That is an issue. I have a Zetec with the Focus engine and flywheel; it uses a bellhousing that mounts the starter under the intake manifold. My car uses a Focus starter. There are bellhousings that mount the starter down low. They are available to mount the start on either or both sides of the engine. I do not know what starter they use.

I have a similar car so I am not a perspective customer, but you mentioned a setup sheet. I didn’t see it in the post. I would be very interested in seeing it.

My car has the Caterham AP brakes. The regular brakes are very good, but if you really use your brakes the AP brakes are better. At the time of the test, I think the car could have used more rear brake. I do not consider myself a very good driver and I had never been to that track. I had the car setup so I wasn’t going to get in trouble. If you get a 420R with 200 HP you will easily be faster than a MX-5 factory race car.

I use my Caterham for track days. Everything you like about your Miata will be better in a 7. Last year when I went to a new track, I followed a Miata I though was well driven to learn the line and understand the track. The next session I followed for a bit, and when we came in his comment was wow can that thing turn. It is like hooking your brain up to the tires. There isn't any delay in response. The seating position is as far back as it can be and that gives you a very clear idea about over or under steer. Depending on the power the car is very easy to drive with the throttle, and they are very easy to drive. I let the guy that does all the track testing for Grassroots Motorsports magazine drive my car. We had had some correspondence over an editorial he had written that suggested people would stop building their own cars and buy factory race cars. He was very impressed with the driver assist in the car. I pointed out I had a car without any assist that was better, and he politely disagreed. At an autocross I let him drive the car. When he came in from the run, he removed his helmet and looked up to me and said this car does everything right. Drive one, you will love it. The parts are easy to get and there are UK suppliers that are selling part to the US all the time. One very good one is Redline. There are dealers and they all seem to have a good reputation, but I do not have any experience with them except one. Beachman Racing knows their stuff and are great to deal with. For me being on the East Coast, it is a little more challenging to get parts from him, but his help can make it worth it. If you have a track toy Miata, you have accepted a higher level of maintenance than a street car. If you use the car on track, you need more maintenance, but a 7 isn't high maintenance compared to a race car. A lot depends on how much power the engine makes. Faster cars require more maintenance. Brake pads last a season. I am 75 and not as flexible as I once was. The cars are easy to work on. I mentioned the Grassroots editor. He did a video track test on my car. He compared my car to one of the Miata factory race cars that are used in the MX-5 cup, and my car's time was a little faster than the Toyota Supera. It is an old video, but I think it is still on their site. My car at the time had about 180 HP and was on the Avon street tire called the ZZS.

Thank you for that information. My wheels arrived on 2/24/26. That was the first day the tariffs were supposed to be lifted.

I recently purchased a set of Revolution wheels from the UK. UPS sent me an email to pay the tariff before they would deliver. The tariff and processing charges were 104.00 dollars. I actually order the wheels, and they were shipped 1 day after the Court said the tariffs were not legal. That did not matter is what I was told. Last week I got a letter from UPS saying I still owed over 500 dollars more. They think I got 32 wheels. The other thing was for the exact same wheel with the same description on their invoice one after another the tariff charge was 10%, 25% and Free.

Yes and less than impressed. It is a little clumsy to use and I am not confident of the accuracy. Some people like it for at the track use, but I have Dunlop gauges and they are very accurate.

Croc pointed out that MRF is making a tire that looks like a possible choice for our cars. MRF is a large manufacture and has a good reputation for Rally tires. Here is a chart with what I believe is the tire in the test Croc brought to our attention and their F-3 Tire. MRF Formula 3 and Formula 4 Racing Cars: Slick Brand / Pattern Tyre Size Equivalent size(For Reference) Std Rim Width*(inch) Section Width(mm) Tread Width(mm) Overall Diameter(mm) NSD(mm) Compound Application** ZTD1 200/540 R13 225/45 R13 8 225 / 8.84 195 / 7.68 540 / 21.26 2.8 H/M/S/SS Dry Racing 240/570 R13 275/45 R13 10 280 / 11.02 245 / 9.65 575 / 22.64 2.8 H/M/S/SS Dry Racing MRF CIRCUIT RACING - SLICK / WET / INTERMEDIATE Brand / Pattern Tyre Size Equivalent size(For Reference) Std Rim Width*(inch) Section Width(mm) Tread Width(mm) Overall Diameter(mm) NSD(mm) Compound Application** ZTI2 185/60 R13 175/550 R13 5.5 190 / 7.48 175 / 6.89 550 / 21.65 5.8 H/M/S/SS Dry to Damp 205/60 R13 195/580 R13 6 210 / 8.27 190 / 7.48 575 / 22.64 5.8 H/M/S/SS Dry to Damp

I live in Fairfax and have the ones for a S-3 if you would like to try them. They are not currently in the car. PM me if you would like to try them. The ones I have are the FIA approved race seats. They are much stiffer than the ones that come from Caterham.