JBH

[begin rant] But this just shouldn't happen...not at least if you hope to stay in business. The only way RMSC can help is if they have spare parts in stock. To save money, Caterham ships parts by containers - that means all the US orders are placed each month, Caterham fills the orders (hopefully) and then puts them in a container that is loaded on a transatlantic ship. I am still annoyed that it took forever (5 months) to get a spare watts link, low camber DeDion ears, Superlight wheels and a set of brake pads. Recently, I tried to get another set of the Lucas Blue Strip brake pads for the rear calipers. US Caterham has none in stock because Caterham UK didn't include any in the recent container shipment. I come from a strong business background and honestly, I don't understand how this happens. I get the impression Caterham UK doesn't really care about the US market. [end rant]

Is this what you want to do? http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f92/10433d1113265833-bwr-harness-bar-schroth-4pt-harnesses-review-dscn0330_edit.jpg

As someone mentioned, despite all the extras, one has to wonder about the mechanical condition of the engine and drivetrain after being thrashed for the 25 hours. If this car just had road miles, it might have sold for even more. I hope the buyer had a pre-purchase inspection before placing the final bid.

I really like this car, but it really is for someone that will track it on a regular basis and knows something about tuning shocks. Penskes are pretty much top of the line for 2 way adjustables. The problem with this auction is the table of features on the left - are those spare parts? If I didn't own a SLR, I would bid on this one. The 6-speed gearbox is close ratio, again much more applicable to track than street driving. On the street, I typically short shift fourth to sixth. The car is running around 3400 rpm at 60 mph and close to redline at 128 mph. I wish the sixth gear was a little taller, but Caterham tells me that is not an option. Even changing out the rear end is not straightforward. Too bad.

Electronic components don't do well with heat. Can you relocate the coil? I think you are asking for trouble if you don't take care of it.

The Raceline will be my Fall/Winter project. I am not sure why, but at Mid-Ohio, there was some oil coming out of that breather hose. I changed the oil right before the event, so maybe I overfilled or used the wrong weight. It only happens under high rpms and warm engine - I never see it when driving on the street. Whatever, if you are going to track the car, the breather hose should also go to a catch. That's also the way my Formula Ford is configured.

Your car is identical to mine. My breather hose goes down to the ground, but in the interest of keeping the track dry (and other drivers on course), I am rerouting it to a catch vessel. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1879170762_Engine-red.JPG

Brad: This weekend is busy. but the one after should work. If you want to go to VIR, I'll be there Aug. 23 and 24. The track is about an hour and twenty minutes from you. We are very lucky to have such a great track and excellent facility so close by. The motor is the 2.0 liter Zetec with individual throttle bodies, higher compression, EFI and I think a more aggressive cam. The transmission is a Caterham close ratio 6 speed. My car is a late 2002 that was built by Caterham USA as a journalist test car - one article appearing in a February 2003 Autoweek edition. I have owned the car almost exactly one year - it has been (knock on wood) trouble free and very reliable.

I gotta ask - where in NC are you? If you are anywhere near Raleigh, send me a PM and I'll take you for a ride in my Superlight R - I can let you experience it at speed on the track at VIR. That should give you a pretty good sense of what the car can do. LOL - by me for one. Despite having a lot of experience on the track with everything from a Porsche turbo to a vintage Formula Ford, I didn't really know what to expect with the SLR. From the first lap I was amazed by how capable and predictable the car is. It's not until I start passing the M3s, Vettes, Mustangs and Porsches that people start to understand how fast the Seven can be. I think the big difference is the Seven was built as a race car that could be used on the street while these cars were built for the street and converted for track and race. I also suggest you look at and drive Doug's Westfield - he's in Raleigh

The iPhone has an accelerometer? That's surprising.

I've seen Doug's car - there is no comparison to the one on eBay. For a no issues car, his is the one to own.

Per mile driven, a motorcyclist is 20 times more likely to die than the driver of a car. A Seven is probably better than a motorcycle, but I doubt much better. Side bars won't do you much good except in low speed impacts. You really have to think about what would happen to your head and neck in these circumstances. If your head hits the roll bar or a side bar, it really hasn't provided you much protection. Most head injuries in automobiles occur when the head hits the top of the window frame. Look underneath the rear of your car. Is the tank sandwiched between the rear axles and rear panel? It's not hard to imagine an even minor rear end collision squashing and rupturing the tank. Remember the Ford Pinto - same deal. A fuel cell will help, but it has to be mounted above the axles. Given your situation, using your Seven as a daily driver is a mistake. Take the advice given above and buy a car that has front and side impact air bags (not just side curtains). Save the Seven for back roads where you know you have better control over the driving environment and you are not passing through a lot of intersections. Glad you are thinking about this - you are irreplaceable.

For that kind of money you get pretty close to something like this (with comparable performance figures) http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/11/1113_super_mosler/image/mosler1.jpg One showed up at VIR over the weekend

I don't think you need one for street driving. Are you measuring oil temperatures now and they are running excessively high? Very few street cars carry oil coolers, except Porsches and that is only because oil is the cooling fluid. Ninety degrees is really nothing and shouldn't be a problem if your cooling system is working properly.

Highways are the most efficient place to run cars. Want to conserve fuel? Start with reducing traffic in cities: how about spending money on mass transit, timing of traffic lights, more bicycle lanes, 4/80 or 9/80 work weeks and educating the general public on energy conservation. I agree - the cities that have the best mass transit systems have become and will continue to be the hubs of commerce in the future.

There was a gravel trap at the end of the straightaway, but the car was moving so fast, it skated right over it. I doubt shortening the track would have saved Scott Kalitta - he hit the concrete wall doing more than 200 mph. A collision with anything solid at 200+mph is not going to have a good outcome.

I must have a death grip on the wheel - so much for being in a relaxed driving position. I don't understand the SCCA graphic - what do the two 6" Max dimensions represent?

Nice tribute to a great driver. Jim Clark Memorial Fund Not sure why Lotus doesn't just pay the £10,000 rather than tie it back to the sales of this car.

I've run my car (aeroscreen and tall FIA bar) with several Porsche Clubs without anyone questioning the safety. For the reasons you point out, the broomstick rule is flawed and not necessarily a measure of safety. But as blami pointed out, the 5 or 6 point harness will hold you in place and a sufficiently tall rollbar to protect you if you ever did flip. These really are requisite safety elements for your protection. Put on your helmet, measure the distance between the top of the rollbar and your head then give the Track Chairman a call and tell him/her the results. They will let you know. During tech if they do a broomstick test. scrunch down and lean your head back. At all the events I have attended, I have never seen this, but perhaps this region does.. Mid-Ohio is a great track for the Seven. I was there last month with Chin Motorsports and had a blast. Have fun! This will give you an idea of my head position relative to the roll bar - I am 6'3". The advantage here is the bar is slanted forward - I think I pass the broomstick test. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1468016130_Broomstick Test.jpg Yes...Chin does not require long sleeve shirts. Long sleeve shirt requirement was one of those safety things I never understood, but that's the subject of another thread.

Al...I don't disagree with you often, but this statement can not be true. All owners may be equal, but there are so many variants of Sevens, it is not possible for them to be equal in terms of performance, reliability or value. If there are members that have owned many of those variants and can articulate the factual differences (good & bad), I am interested to hear about it. I am also interested in hearing the responses I think opinions, based on speculation or heresay, is where people get into trouble.

As weird as it may seem (and I still don't understand it), the problem was in the turn signal toggle switch. The resistance on one side was just enough to cause the problem.

Roebling is a fun track - very fast - the Seven just eats up those Porsches and BMWs. You should join Chin in November. They run a great event and you will get about double the track time as PCA. They also allow passing in the turns for experienced drivers. With its high speed curves, that makes Roebling even more fun.

My right turn signal buzzes the relay, but the left blinks properly. I think my relay is bad - I checked the bulbs. The relay is a Wehrle 54 102 101, 12 V 3-prong. I can not find a relacement supplier for the exact relay when I search the internet. Anyone have a replacement part number or supplier for this relay?

I would make the decision based on build quality above all else. Look carefully at the components used in the build, who did the build, the quality and care used in the build and the source/age of the components. After that, it is a matter of preferences (appearance, size, hp. wheel size, etc.) and use (street, track, AutoX). I would not assume one manufacturer is necessarily better than another.

MoPho: Congratulations! You owe it to yourself and Mr. Orange to visit the track. The cars are really a lot of fun to drive at the limits. They can take a line that heavier cars can not. They absolutely eat M3s, Corvettes and most Porsches (except TT and GT3s) except on the longest tracks. I run Hoosier R6 on mine and I like them a lot. My choices in radials are somewhat limited because of the 13" wheel size. I think many of the details for the Zetec engine in the Superlight can be found on the Caterham website. They say HP is just north of 200, but I think it is closer to 160. The car does so well on the track because of its balance in turns and the torque the engine generates as the car accelerates out of them. I can not get much above 125 mph - I think this is a limit dictated by aerodynamics (or the lack of). I just returned from two days at Mid-Ohio and it was a blast. So many people are surprised by how quick the car is - they just don't expect it.