Davemk1

I have a set of Team Dynamics 15x7, 4x108 wheels for sale. They are black and have a measured backspace of 4 7/8". If interested let me know. dave

I live in Montana and can tell you that they are setting up changes that will make the Montana route a bit harder and more expensive. I don't know the particulars (since I live in the state it's of no concern to me) but i would double check the MT procedure before counting on it. I'm not sure when the new rules take effect but they were in the local news a lot a few weeks back so I suspect that they will start in 2018. Worth checking on just in case. dave

A bias ply tire has a number of advantages compared to the DOT A6 or A7. It is much lighter (nearly 1/2 the weight) and this has obvious advantages but also a few that are less obvious. First is that the unsprung weight goes way down and this helps car control and keeps the tire more firmly on the pavement. The lighter tire spins up and slows down more quickly. The softer and more supple (no DOT steel belts that are found in a radial) tread area conforms much better to the road surface making grip much better......a light car with a stiff tire can see the tire lifted off the surface but a good sized piece of gravel. And a lighter tire has less mass and is easier to get heat into during a short run like a solo or hillclimb. This of course has a flip-side in that the lighter tire will also shed heat more quickly between runs but overall the light bias ply tire will run warmer. Stay away from the cantilever tires (heavy and odd sidewall stiffness) that were meant to allow cars running in classes with wheel width restrictions to run a wide tire. Instead run a wide rim and wide tire and life will be good. dave

Nice looking ride! dave

PM's responded to - dave

If at all interested make me an offer before I put them on eBay in a day or two. dave

I have a set of 15" x 7" Team Dynamics wheels for sale. Here are the specs - - 15" x 7" - ET 22 - 4 x 108 (4.25") bolt pattern - 4 15/16" measured back space - 2 1/2" centerbore These wheels obviously fit a Westfield and it's my understanding that they will fit many Caterhams but you should check the numbers to be sure. I have been using these wheels on my Westfield and they are not damaged in any way. They have not been curbed or dented and spin true and round as new. Very slight surface scuffs but no damage to the finish. They currently have Toyo R1R tires (205/50-15) installed which are about 80% done. They would still be fun for autocross or track work but standing water would not be great. The tires can be left on or I can remove them if you'd like - the price is for the wheels and the tires are free. The wheels are $400 with actual shipping costs from Bozeman, MT 59715 on top of that. Feel free to write with questions or if you'd like more specific photos. Dave

As someone who makes his living selling high end, hand made goods I would advise you to throw real time/money at having professional photography done. Your words will generate interest and the photos will close the deal.....or not. If you take average photos with the car sitting in a driveway or industrial park somewhere they will set the tone for what the product is - in other words it will come off as a shade tree project and not give the needed impression that you sweat the details. If on the other hand you have a pro shoot it, in the proper context, in the proper light you can really develop deep seated interest. Good luck with your project! dave

Just a quick follow up - my friend bought Powerbrake's Ultralite and it looks like it fits him pretty well with a few tweaks. Thanks all for the input and advice. dave

I feel a bit silly asking but.....who makes Peg brand wheels? dave

Thank you for the feedback. I'll pass on the info. My friend also has the issue of having size 13 shoes so it seems that any way you cut it he'll need to try on a car before he buys one. Thanks again - dave

I have a friend who is about 6'6" and 250 lbs and he's interested in a 4 cylinder Seven. He doesn't fit in my Westfield (close but pretty tight) and I wonder if anyone knows of a larger fitting car. I was thinking maybe the WCM Ultralite and wonder how the fit of that car is? Any thoughts? dave

Any signs that the steering shaft has been rubbing on the exhaust?....marks on the shaft of the header wrap? dave

Just a bump in case someone didn't see this. dave

DHL. dave

I have for sale a set of four Diamond racing wheels in the 13" x 10" size. They have the lightweight spun shells. Here's the specs - Diamond Racing Wheels Diameter - 13" Width - 10" Backspace - 4 1/2" Bolt circle - 4 x 4 1/4" These wheels were used for 2 seasons of autocross and never on the street. They are straight and true and undamaged. There are a few slight cone scuffs and they present very well. They currently have a green pin stripe and if this isn't to your liking it can be easily removed. The stripes are just pin stripe tape that can be pulled right off if you wish. These wheels sell for $104 new and I'll let these go for $50 each, $200 for the set. They will have the tires removed and shipped in the original boxes. Shipping will be at the buyer's expense from my zip code 59715. I'll be happy to get shipping quotes for those interested. These are a great way to put 10" slicks on your D Mod solo Seven....the grip with this set up is just crazy and I have more than 15 Fast Time of Day's on these running against much more powerful cars. Put some 10" slicks on them and hold on tight. Please email me if interested - info@kirkframeworks.com Dave

Cool - have fun with the learning! dave

One thing to keep in mind......stiffer is not always faster. If stiffer was always faster then the logical conclusion would be to do away with the springs and have the suspension be solid with zero wheel travel. Since this clearly won't be the answer and at the same time super-soft springs aren't the answer this means that we have a Goldilocks situation where one end is too soft and the other is too hard and the one is the middle is just right. Finding that one in the middle is much harder than it might seem and is the Holy Grail. Lastly - autocross is not road racing. The two types of cars require MUCH different set ups. Road racing tends to have very stiff set ups and all too often Solo guys tend to look at what they have done and copy it. This will seldom end up working well for solo. Road race cars are driven on lots of steady state situations where the car takes a set and the car is balanced there for longer periods of time. Transitions in road racing are not that fast.....Solo on the other hand is a 99% super-fast transition and steady state corners are very rare. So Solo cars need to be set up so that they transition well. Often this means that both springs and shocks will be softer than the road race set up so that the car can take a set in one corner before the driver asks it to turn the other direction. There's lots of good reading out there on this and it's very cool when you get the set up right...or closer to right....and the car just sticks and flows. Do you know the weight of your car? Do you have the 6 or the 8? dave

I don't know the particulars on the spring rates of these two cars but there are certainly many reasons it might be this way. The most obvious is that the Stalker no doubt weighs much more (500 lbs?) and this of course would necessitate stiffer springs. The other reason could be that the leverage ratio of the two different suspension designs is likely much different. The angle that the shock sits from vertical can be a rough indicator of the leverage ratio. Where the shock attaches to the A arm compared to the tire contact patch of the tire is another (if the shock attaches far inboard the spring needs to be stiffer to give the same effective spring rate). And of course is the suspension uses a rocker arm set up all bets are off. Typically the spring rates are chosen to give the car a given amount of static sag (measured as a percentage of shock travel) so that the wheel can move both up and down from its "home" position. If the springs are too stiff the car will sit with the shocks topped out (or nearly so) which means that if the ground drops away (or the car unweights) the tire can't reach down for the surface and will become unweighted and traction will be lost. At the same time if the springs are too stiff the wheel will not be able to move up enough when it encounters a bump and the tire will become overloaded and traction will be lost. I have no idea if the spring rates you have fitted will make the car autocross better or worse.....that said it's easy to over-spring a car and have it feel fast (quick turn-in, very little lean....etc) but ultimately have the car end up being more difficult to control at the limit and slower against the clock. Typically speaking having springs that are a bit softer than optimal will make for a car that is slower than one fitted with springs that are a bit stiffer than optimal. You'll know if the springs are too stiff if the car feels disconnected from the surface....it will feel "skippy" like a stone skipping across the water. It will still feel fast.....in fact it might feel very fast due to the quick turn in and lack of lean or brake dive but if it's not connected it will actually be slower. If the car feels faster but is actually slower it could be that your spring rates have been made too high. dave

The diff is now sold and paid for - thanks for the interest. dave

This diff was removed from my Westfield only because I wanted to change the rear end ratio and it functions perfectly. It was supplied new from Westfield and has about 4000 miles of use. Here's the specs - Ford Sierra 7" differential Quaife ATB limited slip 3.9 gear ratio About 4000 miles of use. The price is $650 and the buyer pays true shipping cost from my location in Bozeman, Montana - zip code 59715. Payment by paypal please. If interested it would be best to email me directly at info@kirkframeworks.com and I'll do my best to get right back to you. Thanks for looking. Dave

You are of course correct....4 tires will grip better than 3....in most cases. The corner is smooth and there's no bump. The spring rates are 300 front and 200 rear and the front bar is pretty soft. The tires will generate massive grip and if you look carefully you can see that even the inside rear is fairly light (nothing like the front of course). It will three wheel only in a very specific circumstance....it has to be a hard right turn taken at speed and full throttle at corner exit. My body weight is right over that left-rear tire so when I corner hard to the right the whole right side of the car is light and then when you are under full throttle the weight shifts to the rear loading the left-rear tire heavily....which in turn lowers the amount of weight carried by the right-front. One look at the tire deflection on the right rear will tell you just how much work it's doing....and the more work it does the less work the tires on the other side of the car will be doing. Interestingly it will never three wheel in a left turn due the lack of weigh on the right side of the car. FWD VW's will lift an inside rear under the combo of heavy braking and a sharp turn in. This is doing the exact opposite to what my car is doing in the photo. The VW has shifted much weight (braking and turning) to the outside front tire unweighting the inside rear. I'm shifting the weight to the outside (right) rear (and my butt is right over that tire) through using all 250ish hp and cornering hard. The handling is wonderful and balanced and exploitable and on the very rare occasion where it lifts that right-front tire you can't feel it at all. All you can feel is the lateral g's like you are being swung around on a rope. It's very quick. I took FTD at this event by 1.9 seconds over a GM factory built race car (mid engine, 500 hp V8, full tube frame, Porsche transaxle...) with much wider and stickier slicks. Like I said....it's very quick and easy to drive. And oh so much fun. dave

1st - thanks 2nd - the mirrors are the common Spa mirrors but I made longer stems for them so that I could see something other than my shoulder. The aero screen is by Aerodynamix and it seems they have gone under. The front fenders are by Carbon NV and they certainly ship to the USA. The quality of the fenders is very good and I'd go to them for an aeroscreen for sure. dave

The winter is long in Montana and when spring finally does arrive it's great to feel some tires really grip the pavement. I love that feeling like you are being swung around on a rope! Dave

That's good news.....enjoy your cool car! dave