Davemk1

I have one installed in the Ford Sierra diff in my Westfield. I can hear it (not surprising given that it's 6" from my elbow) but it's nothing that really sticks out in my mind. What kind of noise does yours make and when does it do it? dave

Any word on whether they are making or selling stuff? dave

Look for a race shop in your area....they should have a set of scales. Before you spend the time and money to put the car on scales you should have the ride height and alignment done, have the tire pressures accurately set, and you should be mindful of the fuel load you want to consider. Once you get to the scales you should disconnect your sway bar(s) and be ready to put yourself in the driver's seat or have ballast ready to mimic your weight. Once you get the corner weighting done you'll want to adjust the sway bar end links so that the swaybar is unloaded and in a neutral position. With your weight in the car adjust the end links so that the bolts will just slip through. This will assure that the swaybar isn't influencing the corner weighting at all. Once the bar end links are adjusted you can double check by rolling it back on the scales to be sure they aren't messing with things. How accurate do you need to be? Some will say that being off by 20 lbs is nothing and others will say that is WAY too far off. Once you get a feel for how it's done it's not hard to get it down to 1 or 2 lbs. I own a set of scales and as funny as it sounds can set the car up so that I have a perfect 50% cross weight with my hands on the steering wheel but if I put them in my lap it's off just a bit. Does that matter? Probably not. But if you can do it why not? One thing's for sure - doing a corner weighting will make the car better at the limit. Will it make a difference driving around your neighborhood? No it won't. Will it make a difference while on track, solo course or during an emergency maneuver? Absolutely yes. dave

It seems to be fairly simple - the Caterham has more torque than the tires can put to the ground given it's weight and weight distribution. The Atom has wider tires and much more weight on the rears so it can put power to the floor and it doesn't battle power-on oversteer and wheel spin every time the driver gives it the boot. I autocross against a well driven supercharged Atom at nearly every event I do (owned by a local friend of mine) and its ability to put power down far surpasses my Westfield S2000. It weighs just a bit more, makes much more power and can put it all down so the acceleration can't be challenged. Yet it's extremely rare for it to post a faster time and it comes down to two key things....first is that the Westie is narrower and in slaloms and sweepers that makes my course shorter and that adds up quickly. Secondly the Westie is much better in violent transitions with much less tendency for it to wag its tail or spin due to having a more even weight distribution and a much lower polar moment of inertia. I'm sure that on an open track like the Atom and Caterham were on my friend's Atom would just walk away from my Westfield with ease. dave

That is very interesting and unfortunately not surprising. Do you know where Birkin would like to land in the USA? dave

You can use an online spring rate calculator and get really close on your spring rate. It will ask for the diameter of the wire, the number of coils and the diameter of the coils - all of which can be determined with the springs in place. dave

Under what circumstances do you experience understeer? Corner entry? Mid corner? Corner exit? Tight turns? Sweepers? dave

I keep coming back to the coolant temp.....My money is on the coolant temp sensor or a thermostat being stuck open. It's overfueling 'thinking' that it's in warm up mode all the time. dave

I just wanted to say that I still have these wheels and that they have been in safe storage for a long time now. It makes zero sense for these to be sitting and not on the road so make me an offer and let's free up my space and get them on your car. dave

I'm 6'4" with a long torso and like you I don't fit in many sports cars due to the lack of head room. I drive a 2014 Westfield S2000 and it has a longer cockpit than the original Seven and it has lowered floors and I fit very well. If my legs were much longer it wouldn't work but as it sits it's near ideal. When I first built the car I set it up with a full windscreen and weather gear and ironically I fit in it just fine even with a helmet - I don't fit in a Vette but I fit in a Westfield! Go figure. Over time I realized that I almost never used the full weather gear and wanted to try an aero screen and it was one of the best mods I ever made to the car. It's quieter with much less buffeting at speed and overall just more comfortable and fun to drive.....and of course it's awesome in autoX where you can see everything perfectly. Depending on how you want to use the car you might consider an aero screen. dave

I wonder about the coolant temp sensor being bad and causing it to run in warm-up mode all the time. dave

If you're interested I can measure the height of my engine so you could rule it in/out. Just let me know. dave

I doubt you're interested in going this route but I wonder if you've considered using a Honda S2000 engine and trans? I have one in my Westfield and it uses Omex control and works very well in a Seven. My concern with it would be that the package would be too tall to fit in the Birkin bodywork.....the Westfield has a bulge in the engine cover to give the needed room. Just wanted to toss this out in case you never considered it. dave

You are of course correct - it's not that the front wheels passing the pivot is the only issue but it's by how far and with how much weight. My larger point, poorly made, is that one needs to be mindful of the length of the wheelbase relative to the length of the behind-the-pivot portion of the bed. The only way to be 100% sure it will work out is to roll the car on and see what you get. dave

I looked at Aluma a few years back (there's a local dealer making it easy) and I was serious about buying one until I had a realization......if when driving up onto the trailer the front wheels go past the pivot point of the bed before the rears start rolling on it won't work. If the fronts pass the bed pivot before the rears are on then the weight of the front of the car will push down in front of the pivot and the rear of the bed it will pivot and will rise up hitting the bottom of the car before the rears can roll on. I measured the beds at the local dealer and none were even close to long enough to allow the rears to get onto the bed before the fronts pass the pivot....so i ended up going in a different direction. I'm sure glad I had that realization before buying it and getting it home! So double and triple check the distance from the rear edge of the bed forward to the pivot to see if it's shorter than your wheelbase. I think most ATV's and side-by-sides will have such short wheelbases that they will work but very few cars will. I hope that helps. dave

The SCCA typically limits sound to 100dB for Solo. As I recall this is measured at 50' perpendicular to the path of the car when the car is at WOT.....typically tested just after the start where drivers will be using WOT. The idea that any officer could tell the difference between 95 and something like 97 is a joke. I totally get the need to limit noise and support it but this seems like it's ripe for bringing to court and challenging the basic law based purely on the subjective feelings of a well intended cop. dave

I didn't try to PM you.....jcerier was sending a PM to me. dacve

I doubt they are what you are looking for but i have a set of 13 x 10 wheels with a 4 x 108 bolt pattern. They are lightweight steel and were used for autocross for 2 seasons. If you'd like more info or photos just let me know. dave

Welcome to the club....I'm 6' 4 1/2" and I don't fit in a small Seven. I do fit in the big Birkin and the Westfield that I ended up buying and building. dave

I just got my copy of the magazine in the mail and I like the way it came out. Simple and clean. I've attached the 5 photos I submitted for the contest....they used 3 of them in the layout. Well it's back to the grind now of making stuff and getting my shop dirty again! dave

I wish the car/bike cross over was larger and that things like this would aide the cause but 99% of my customers have never heard of the magazine and 99% of the magazine readers think an expensive bike costs $500. But this whole thing has been fun and I won some cool stuff. Not a bad result considering I entered on a whim as I had nothing better to do on a cold but clear winter day than clean the shop and take a few photos. Good stuff. dave

Cool - I look forward to my copy arriving. Are you a subscriber or did you pick up a copy on the newsstand? dave

The tank you have there is the long range tank. The luggage trays are all stepped now as I understand it. dave

It's now track/autocross season and someone must need these. Free up the space in my basement and get some serious grip. Make me an offer. dave

It's spring and time to get these nice wheels out of my basement and on to someone's car. Make me an offer. dave