Al N.

I'm currently up to my eyeballs in work and my many side projects...so Don, feel free to pen a blurb, poach pix from the pix thread (or use your own) and submit to Steve T. for review. He's a founding club member, a Brit, and a two-time owning Se7ener...seems as likely a candidate for vetting any public articles as Mazda, John, or I. Thanks for keeping the momentum going. I wait eagerly for the print articles to start showing up.

Coupe...how did you find us?

I really don't like the Atom. Mostly because it gets so much press as a Se7en alternative. But try and price one out built, with all the fun options. It ain't cheap. And then, try and get it registered in some state like NJ that requires a full windshield. Uh, I don't think so. Oh, and IIRC, no Atoms successfullly posted hot laps at the GRM/UTCC. I overheard someone saying something about the winged car being mildly uncontrollable at speed.

Al logging in from a bookstore in NYC...Ava's 7th birthday and some biz meetings mixed in. JBH & Tom G...I covet your mags, just a little too rich for my blood. I'm probably going to get the Rials that Fluke sells when I get 13-inchers. Note that the US Superlight Rs are this weird amalgam of UK spec models....we get the full carbon pack of the r500, but not the Stack e-dash. As for hp/ton, I think most of our cars came with about 200 horse, which puts us in the r400 range. Also, JBH has the r500 "smoke" aeroscreen...this is different from the one that came on my car...which is the newer "interchangeable" deflector that uses a few of the mounting holes from the traditional full screen. --- Regarding the engine...looks a lot like mine...TMW (not the Jenveys) 50 mm TBs. The engine has a red cam cover, which could be cosmetic. Pretty sure the later ZX-3s had the squared off black cam cover as supplied stock. When I bought my car (from a dealer, untitled and unregistered), I needed the bill of sale for the motor...it shows what kind of car the motor came out of, to prove that it was not stolen. Also, if I recall, the head in the "supersport" head is decked .060". One more thing...I've noticed that some folks with TBs have the ITG upside down (Ed Hudson & Michael D.) and others have them right side up...JBH and myself...just another example of "even ones that are the exact same model aren't identical"

Note, the final files might be large (5 Meg), so not everyone will be able to receive it via email. Also, does anyone care if the files are available to general public/non-attendees who are forum members? I bet Mazda could restrict access somehow if anyone has a problem with making them available to general public/non-club members.

This second round does not have Steve T.'s final blessing yet, but I'm going to be out celebrating Ava's bday tomorrow and wanted to put it out there. All comments welcome...note that the unretouched photos will be made available...and there will be a version with people in it. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THE FINAL FINAL FILES ARE POSTED OR RELEASED BEFORE RIGHT CLICKING TO PRINT ON YOUR OWN. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/835200020_GroupPhoto_FrameBeta2 .jpg

As part of my research for the eventual engine upgrade that I am going to do despite the well intentioned cautionary posts of some , I have lurked the Focus/Zetec tuning forums. I see a few Se7eners who were there before me, btw...shoutouts to the West Coast posse! One of the de rigueur upgrades has nothing to do with power, but with reliability (if you're going to up one, you generally have to bolster the other). It's about changing the oil pump gears to a billet gear instead of one made of compressed metal. Apparently at high RPM the stock gear implodes, potentially sending bits of itself into your engine. The folks at Quicksilver have talked up a similiar mod in my conversations. Anyone do this to their Zetec yet? Anyone have the oil pump gear fail? Has this all been covered at the CCC site already?

feel free to visit, add your 2 cents, take the short survey they have...pass on to friends who might be interested. http://alfaromeoisback.com/ TIA. No witty comments in this thread, please. PM or email is fine. -A

I'm probably out for 8/8/08...cousin in the Phillipines is getting married and we'll probably make a whole family pilgrimage out of it.

can we have a USA7s.org east mid-atlantic FSAE car that we collectively own, tune, and "campaign"?

As I think I've mentioned before, after the meet (we saw one rider down in the woods during our non-parade "conga" , and then I saw a guy down in the middle of the road when I took Nancy J. out for a spin on Sunday night), I truly thought "that road can be dangerous and they need to think about what to do with it". It's not so much for cars that I think it's dangerous...especially not for Se7ens! It's the bikes/trikes that have it bad, I think. You mis-read something, you're basically down or in the other lane. In a car, that's sheetmetal damage...maybe even more. On a bike, that's skin and bone damage, maybe even more. I'm sure many smarter people (including more than a few locals) have pondered controlling access to the road. I'd personally pay a daily use fee to make one way for part of the day or to have staggered entry (to control traffic density...which wasn't too bad Friday and Sat, but pretty bad for me on Sunday night...made worse by cruisers who wouldn't pull over to let me show Nancy what Se7ens can do). Of course, it's a public road and all... It might also be good to have something like the "ski patrol" who can flag you for reckless driving/riding. Two warnings and you're banned for 3 months or whatever. The road is amazing...especially in its curves per mile. It's a shame to have it turn into a 24 LEO supervised parade grounds. I'm sure I'll be back eventually.

funny that you mention alternator noise, gert. because i encountered it when I tried to rig two powered mics into my cam set up. i eventually bought a battery adapter, but wonder how you got around the "glitchyness" the alt. noise might cause.

I'm about to watch vid (though maybe I shouldn't!). Apparently Tony V. was inspired to get a full cage on his old Seven when a deer jumped over his bonnet. Oh wow, I just watched it. At first (when i saw the first), I was like "That wasn't even close" And then that little guy comes running across...YIKES! I've never even had that close a call with a squirrel in the Seven. Though there was that bat or something that hit me in the face a few weeks back. Gert, what vid system are you using and would you fab up some of your servo controlled deals for the rest of us? I have abunch of Futaba 8008 servos, btw...and also one 3801 (high-torque/high-speed).

I generally check tailofthedragon.com (monday), and killboy.com (wed) weekly to see what's going on down at the Dragon, and all I can say after reading this week's installments (killboy pix not up until Wed, but some good commentary) is WE ARE LUCKY to have made our meet when we did. It seems that, in the wake of the fatalities that happened the week after we left, police presence has been stepped up quite a bit. Check out the pix and details here and here. --- I renamed this thread to make it "more relevant to actual post content"!

The pix are in the thread "777 Group photo" somewhere around here. And it's funny that you mention it, because I just got the retouched proof back on Friday and have submitted it to our resident art director extraordinare (that would be Steve T.) for comments, which he has already provided. So back to fitting it into my art staff's schedules. Oh, and BTW, it's a month tomorrow (Please keep in mind that A) I have a day job that I had to focus on after months of neglect, and B) I was physically and mentally exhausted after that weekend...)

I've used Audiogon and Ebay, but thought I'd try this too...

Lt. Moles- Having seen first hand that weekend 2 riders down, and then reading about the fatalities the following week, I truly appreciate how dangerous the Dragon can be, and what a tough job your group has day in and day out. The others know I am one for trying marathon drives (though not in the Seven!)...so perhaps I will try and make it down to your open house in Sept. Best, Al Navarro Secretary USA7s Club

Folks- I have an Arcam FMJ CD23 and matching FMJ Tuner available....want to buy some 801 Matrix S3 speakers for my "big" system and the responsible thing to do is get rid of some of the "little" system. The CD23 was a very well reviewed player that used dCS's "Ring DAC" technology. Here's an excerpt from a Stereophile review... "Conclusion The Arcam Alpha 9 CD player, on which the FMJ CD23 is based, earned a Class B rating in Stereophile's "Recommended Components." Arcam's attempt at morphing it into a snazzier-looking unit seems to have done no harm—the FMJ CD23 offers outstanding performance. I didn't get to spend any time with an Alpha 9, but it would seem that the more-than-cosmetic changes made could give the CD23 an edge. Is it worth the $400 price hike above its progenitor, the Alpha 9? Probably. It does look quite elegant, and the changes are substantive—the front panel itself adds structural integrity, and the doubled power supply and damped chassis add considerable value. Either player would be an excellent choice as your last CD player. Your last CD player? You betcha. Some day, the new high-resolution formats (DVD-Audio, SACD) will reach such a state of maturity that you'll be able to buy a single player that plays them all, along with your library of CDs, with stunning sonic clarity (or should I say, "perfect sound forever"?). And someday after that, there'll be enough compelling software in these new formats—and at popular prices—to make owning such a player a reasonable investment. But until that day, you're still going to be playing your old CDs and buying new ones. Me too—which is why I'm buying the review sample. I need a killer CD player now." http://www.arcam.co.uk/archive/fmj/products/cd23.html --- I am the first and only private owner...the unit was a dealer demo. As such, there is some wear and tear on a few of the front panel buttons that I price into the asking figure. New, the player was $2250 Now, it's just $850 (would be $1000, but I'm factoring for button wear). Functionally perfect, and I have the original box, manual, and remote. Also have FMJ Tuner...Never used...comes with better remote that also controls CD player. -Al

or any other footage? I know Boxologist is working on some, but I'm hungry for more...I did no vid that weekend (I had to draw the line somewhere...)

Jason-Welcome aboard! While all the other marque-specific forums and listservs are great (especially for specific info on a particular kind of car), I find the USA7s site to be a a great hub for all types of owners and enthusisasts... We have a few Locost owners/builders here, including a few Bike engined cars. Very interested in what you do to the Duratec...

Literally and figuratively, IMHO. If you check out Killboy.com and tailofthedragon.com, it seems like they now have heavy law enforcement in place....ever since the fatalities that occurred right after we left the area. Again, good timing for our group. In truth, I'm not surprised and sort of glad that they are patrolling it more....I saw two riders down when we were there, and can see how it gets DANGEROUS fast on 129.

Gert et al.- For vids, get the passwords and user ID for the club's You Tube account. Or link to whatever provider you prefer. FWIW, I don't mind downloading ones that aren't that big (like Jeff's lapping vids), but when they get Nurburgring size, I prefer to stream.-Al

I'm just trying to steel myself against my wife's guilt trip.:jester: Count me in to work grid with you...and will my Schuberth moto helmet pass? It's not Snell, but I promise you its German-made self is tougher than all manner of cheaper Snell-rated helmets.

Does Jeremy F. go in for Auto-X? I'll try to rally the Hunterdon posse too. There are at least 3 of us. I'm bailing on a semi-family (Laura's god-daughter) bday to stand out in the heat for this...so it better be fun!

As long as I get to okay the final cut! :jester: My car's got a reputation to uphold!