Mondo

Well it's usually blazing hot around now but we have some overcast today so went out and had a great time in the foothills this morning. There's this one section that has over a dozen 2nd/3rd gear left-right turns that all about the same amount of degrees and are one after the other with no straight between them... great for trying to go a bit faster each turn. I've noticed that the front sticks like glue and the rear is the first slip, which I assume is a good thing. But I can't help thinking I could pull more Gs if the back was tuned in a bit more. The car is corner balanced with right at 50/50 front to back and only a few pounds diference side to side. Rear alignment has slight negative camber (can't remember off hand) and tire wear shows all across the tire (more than the front actually). I have 20lbs tire pressure all around in my 1450lbs car (plus my 200lbs). Even with the 275 width, the rear tires seem a bit loose... Don't get me wrong, the thing pulls some good Gs... maybe I'm just getting used to it and need to work more on smoothness and throttle control. But I think I'm getting a pretty good feel for the car lately. From my sportbike days, I know tire pressure can make a huge difference. My question is: with tire wear showing all across the tread pattern, should I still try lowering the pressure a pound or two? Will that be ok out in the foothills as I'd hate to roll the tire off the rim?

I'm sure you can find a ride in a Caterham near you (the guys at californiacaterham are great). I'm a couple hours away, in Bakersfield, if you'd like to try a WCM S2K (little bigger & 240hp honda motor)... pics in my album (click my name/profile). Lots of choices out there... plus you have to deal with California DMV, so I recommend doing your homework before you let emotions get the best of you. Being a previous sportbike rider (and living to tell the tale;) ), you won't be disappointed! These are kind of hardcore cars; creature comforts are more in tune with a motorcycle than a car in my opinion so keep that in mind.

The problem with full smog compliance is that it's not just the motor/ECU/catalytic converter.... you have to have the same transmission/ rear axle & gas tank (that's the hard one) that came with the origninal car... and no ECU errors (like speedo for example). If the State really wanted clean air they would just check tailpipe emissions for compliance and have the owner address gas vapors from the tank. That's what matters. And to top it off, I know of at least one rich bastard with connections that has no problems getting exemptions for the custom cars he builds.

A couple issues: I believe you can register an out of state car straight up if it has been registered and has over 7500 miles (not sure how the smog check works). Mopho can probably chime in on an out of state car with less mileage. You can build one yourself or buy a "turn-key minus" which is everything but the engine/trans, and then purchase a motor/trans from another business and have them install it. Then apply for SB100 exemption. This is what I did. The only problem is California only gives out 500 exemptions a year and they are gone in a matter of hours. So if you car is ready in March you'll have to just stare at it and wait until January 2nd (do all the DMV paperwork in December) and hope your DMV gets thru to Sacramento. Mine didn't the first time and I went a year on temp registration.... I've been told that they no longer will issue temps while you wait for another chance (though it seems they should give you back your registration money then). You can also buy a 7 that was made in the 70s and not have to worry about smog. I've also heard the custom/kitcar industry is pushing to up the allotment of SB100 certs. It seems the smog exemption will likely make the car more valuable if things don't change. Your best bet is to keep checking places like here, californiacaterhamclub.com and ebay for a California car.

I don't have a trailer but after scratching the heck out of the lower front side of my car due to the rear trailer height I bought one of these just in case I need to borrow/rent a trailer again. http://www.tiltahitch.com/photos/buick.htm

There are other 7 cars (and manufacturers) in Texas;)

Exactly! Probably have it made like this and then coat it (maybe radius cut one end to get close to exhaust tip. Still waiting for insulation material to show up.

That rear shot really shows how far they flew...

that was going to be my guess;)

Tom, I like the way you think.... we have very similar tastes

what would your hobby look like with an unlimited budget http://69.89.25.185/~trexsoft/t-rexsoftware.com/buzzandjackie/collection.htm

I just bought some heat material (expensive - $1.08sq. in) and plan on making a shield sort of like the one here. http://www.koolmat.com/side-exhaust.shtml It will be a lot shorter as the muffler is only 12 inches long (and the tailpipe a little more)will probably ceramic coat it to match exhaust. Don't think I'll go all the way forward to the collector due to the 2 sensors and the different diameters along the way (only exhaust pic I got)

I wouldn't worry much about it... most people will likely make things worse than better with all that fiddling. Or they'll use a reference setting... which is what a lot of us do now;) Also, I wonder if it's always changing (auto-mode) how do you learn to drive it that way?

An option should you not have a father to walk the bride down the aisle

pretty wild

OMG! You'll need to put that thing in a wind tunnel to work on downforce! Maybe time to add a full cage so you can put a big midget outlaw wing on top of it;)

It's kind of relative.... racing=full-cage... but if you drive mainly roads I'd be more concerned with adding side protection. I wouldn't say a properly made rollbar is a joke, have you ever seen a pick up roll over? They don't have to meet car safety standards (maybe newer ones do) and I've seen the cab tops flattened. Guess it depends on how you plan driving... more risky, more rollbars;)

It's a great time to have cash available for toys. Though I'm rarely one of those lucky guys to get a great deal. Chad, you can take solace that if your in the market for another toy it's probably got a similar discount.

I heard the Veyron was so limited on space that it doesn't have A/C.... urban myth?

That's good news (printed it out & in car). Of course the main reason I put the plugs in is because of the speed I'm going... guess it's better than getting a ticket for two infractions;)

The 7 is always under cover in the garage. But after Sunday's drive I've left the cover off just so I can see the car when coming and going thru the garage (have to admit I've stopped a time or two to stare at it)

We can't wear earplugs in California (though most sportbikers wear them under their helmet). I wear some molded earplugs from my bike days... but their purple so only out in the foothills or if on the freeway for any length of time... should of gotten the flesh color. I wish we could wear ear protection as that would definately solve the problem. Baseball cap with chinstrap would be pretty dorky

Mine pretty much matches the rollbar rake.... which you don't seem to have much of. To reduce drag, I think it would look better cutting the window down rather than laying back (don't know how the wipers would work in either case.

Especially the wide belt and sideburns;)