SkinnyG

You're dang right it's up there, regardless of how it's rated.

I posted this in a different thread. My Locost is a measured 119dB of wind noise at 55mph. That's permanent hearing damage within seconds, not hours.

I only use solid form-fitted silicone ear plugs. Very quiet, but really not good on large altitude changes.

1972 Ford Pinto, 2.0L/4spd. Mags, stripes, spoiler, glasspack, 80's bling. Bought when I was 13. Taught me auto repair. Got rid of it because all it did was break down 1977 Honda Civic. Corvette Yellow with cool '80's graphics that were cutting edge for about a week. Got hit three times in one year, finally written off in a parking lot by some kid who lost control showing off to girls. 1974 Ford Pinto, 302V8/FMX Bought it already swapped with the intent to house a '69 351W-4V I was rebuilding, but never did. 1978 Honda Civic. Thumping stereo. Lots of suspension repair. Lots of rust. 1985 Pontiac Firefly (Chevy Spring equivalent) Thumping stereo, slightly lowered, highly abused. Fun, nimble, and reliable. You could drive the snot out of it, and nobody knew. Parted out because it was dying a slow and horrible death. 1976 Ford Pinto, 302V8/C4 I built this one as a stress relief during University. Very cam'd and high compression engine. Taught me left-foot braking (one foot to keep stopped, the other to keep it running. 1975 Pontiac Astre, 350V8/4spd (Chevy Vega equivalent). Eventually ripped the lower control arms out of the floor, so I designed and built a Ladder Bar suspension that worked awesome until it tweaked the body and the doors wouldn't open. Parted it out. 1986 Honda Civic 1500S. Got me into autocross and taught me driving. Racing seat, harness bar, rear sway bar, Tokico Illuminas, 2" exhaust, Radio-interfering ignition system, thumping stereo, terminal East-Coast rust. Sold it to a kid who didn't ask questions, and I didn't volunteer information. 1995 Nissan Sentra XE. Energy Suspension bushings everywhere, Whiteline caster bushings, Suspension Techniques sway bars, KYB AGX shocks, Hypercoil springs, front & back upper & lower chassis braces, Cold air intake, 2" exhaust, thumping stereo. Took me to 2nd place in the Canadian National Autocross Championship in 2003. Sold it when our second child was born. 1994 Nissan Hardbody 2WD short box. Previous theft-recovery/write-off. Energy Suspension bushings, Lowered 4"/5" (BellTech spindles, torsioned down, short shocks, 3" lowering blocks, softened bumpstops, frame notched), 2-1/2" Magnaflow exhaust (horrid drone on the highway), thumping stereo, relocated ECU, retrofitted A/C, 4WD front fenders. Two baby seats shoehorned into the standard cab. Still have it.

This is very fascinating. Thank you very much for the pictures and sharing your experience. Are there others with more to share?

For cheap, I'm a big fan of the Suzuki Swift, Chevy Sprint, Geo Metro cars. Dirt cheap to buy and run, cheap parts, easy to work on, super reliable. 55-60mpg. Not a chick magnet by any means though.....

I like how the Hamlin cage was done - it looks easily removeable if need be. Though ~any~ type of bolt-in cage is iffy on a 7. It's not a fair comparison, though - while it does replace the wee crossmember under the bellhousing/transmission, it also adds a full cage or something "cage-esque" which would add considerable strength to the tub - it's not just a replacement tube under the frame. It would seem to me, that keeping that bottom tube in the footwell 1" square and all the way across would be more rigid than without. Tony's Weale's book says that the curved tube at the base of the gearbox was deleted in 1990 to fit the Vauxall engine which had to sit 3/4" lower. Apparently torsional testing revealed the bottom tube was redundant. I just have a hard time picturing this. Perhaps it is because the transmission mounting crossmember is significant enough to make up for the missing tube at the front of the tunnel.

The Lotus 7 chassis has a 1" square tube running the full width of the chassis at the bottom footwell. The floor is also a full sheet riveted to the bottom. The Caterhams now seem to have 1/2" (or 5/8"?) square tube running only on each side of the transmission tunnel, and not all the way across. The floor no longer spans the full width, but only under each passenger. How does Caterham's version provide more torsional rigidity than the Lotus?

The frame looks a lot more like a Locost than a Caterham. Well done, though.

You could buy a compressor, a spray gun, and a gallon of paint and still be under a grand if you do it yourself. Get enough wet/dry sandpaper to sand out your defects.

Bah. -5°C in mine, no heater, no doors and no top. Bundle warmly!

Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounties always get their man! http://www.ioniclodge31.ca/rcmp_musical_ride.jpg

Mine's pretty much like this, and keeps me warm when it's below freezing: http://www.porhomme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/marshall-artist-waxed-canvas-hat-1.jpg http://www.porhomme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/marshall-artist-waxed-canvas-hat-2.jpg

I had previously driven mine down to -5°C (23°F), but I'm older and wiser now. Mine came off the road early this month.

Quick and dirty afterthought engineering: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/skinnyg/locost2007061.jpg

I converted my 4AGE Locost from "factory" EFI (I had made my own plenum manifold, deleting the TVIS) to ITB's using GSXR600's, Megasquirt and EDIS-4. The ITB's were noticeably more torquey in the mid range. Top-end felt about the same, but this is my butt-dyno talking. In datalogging, there are numerous points where my MAP reading with the ITB's (I never measured the stock system) were reading ~higher~ than atmospheric. ITB's must be tuned off the TPS, not the MAP sensor. It will also be fueled completely different than what you have now, so you will be completely re-mapping the engine. ITB's can be made to work very well and very driveable, but wee movements of the throttle can give you BIG changes in RPM. I find it harder to drive smooth, but you get used to it. Also, at full throttle, the ITB's are louder than my exhaust - something you may have to shield for track days with a dB limit.

My Locost is 1275 wet, with a solid axle. I calculated my spring rates to 2.4cps suspension frequency, which came out as 320lbs front, 140lbs rear. It's FIRM, but not punishing, and handles REALLY well. You could send me some numbers, and I could crunch them for you.

I know ~my~ ears are burning. Anyone else's? I could be persuaded..... And I know JUST the road to drive on, too!

I ran a set of Gooyear R160 (or was it R175??) 20x9.5x13 slicks for two years. On really short asphalt autocross runs I could not get enough heat into them. I'm now running a set of Hoosier R35 20.5x7x13 slicks that feel grippier, and I can get them hotter. I run in D/Mod in a very under-prepped street legal 7. Our events are scored via PAX, where I do not have a chance. I run for the fun of it. Or at least that's what I tell myself. I'd seriously consider running RA1's for everything, and not have to carry a set of slicks to and from events. But.... slicks are addictive. I bought the Hoosiers used, at $35/pair from this guy: http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/leegrx7/

Here's the newspaper article from the North Shore News:

And seal off as many holes into the engine bay as you possibly can - especially the pedal box & brake stuff. My feet melted into a puddle from the heat after I converted to twin masters and a balance bar, and did not seal the holes up effectively. I love the polish.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/skinnyg/duratec001.jpg $150 from my local Pick-N-Pull, including starter, w/p, alt, clutch and flywheel. Came out of an '05 or '06 Focus, I pulled it in '08 for my next 7, which currently is a pile of tubing on the floor. Canada though, not the states as you requested.

An English Wheel? Cool! I've only ever used a French Wheel. It looks just like an English Wheel, but you speak a lot of French when you're using it.

I've done polyurethane bushings on a number of cars. They can squeak nasty. Energy Suspension has their own lube which is very thick, really sticky, and slightly translucent. You can probably get it through your local speed shop or auto parts store. I've found a similar synthetic grease called Super Lube which has worked ok. I've also used Moly Slip, a grease high in molybdenum sulfide with success. I have also use Never-Seize in a pinch. Most polyurethane bushings will need disassembly and re-lubing every so often. More so in wet weather. Rubber bushings theoretically should not squeak. But if they do, try some of the lubricants above.

I ran a set of 13x9.5 Goodyear slicks for two full seasons of autocross (probably 35+ events, and two drivers). They actually went off in 15 runs. But I'm cheap, so I kept using them. I bought a set of used 20.5x7 Hoosier slicks (couldn't get the 9.5's hot enough on asphalt) for $35/pr, and last event I soaked them overnight in 50% Xylene and 50% Toluene (I already have my kids, so I'm not worried about genetic mutation anymore) and they softened up pretty nice. Though I understand that once you use softeners, you always have to use softeners because they accelerate the aging process. I've run Toyo RA1's in the past (on a different car), and I echo their awesome longevity. They grip and grip and grip and then they cord. They don't seem to age. Not as ultimate grippy, but an awesome dual-purpose tire.