Ian7

Hi Tom, tread remaining is almost valueless in determining the health of a bias race slick. The number of cycles you get will depend a lot on car weight (not too much in this case), and how you drive. Did you wail on them from the second corner, or build up to temperature over a few laps? Did they cool completely before you wailed on them again? If abused, they'll be (relatively) slow after as few as three cycles. FFord and F2000 guys are on Hoosier radial slicks and getting 6 cycles without a significant drop off. Of course, each guys measure of significant depends on where in the pack he expects to be LOL. And just to note, and I'm sure everyone here knows this, one heat cycle per season does not mean your tires are good for three years :-)

anyone succeed in actually talking to them? what about cars and/or kits in stock - ever see any actual hardware? thanks

Wouldn't normally have been this blunt, but you seem sincere in your question... IMHO, should someone barely breaking even own a $25000 toy ?

No pic, but on our cars its the 2" dia black unit on the end of the fuel rail; more I think of it, might not be a stock street car part, as its adjustable and unlikely Ford would risk letting the avg owner play with such things.....

Glad you found your problem, but be aware that the stock fuel pressure regulator on a zetec is a fragile unit on anything bnut a stock Focus. We fail them seasonally on our Zetec-powered F2000's. When they go bad on our cars they pass 100psi or more, when 60 is plenty.

+1

Thx, that would be great. I'm sure no one is trying to be misleading, but another set of eyes on the car would be another opinion of level of wear and tear, how well the car seems to have been maintained, etc. Everyone's got their own idea of what "excellent, good, fair" condition is. (I bought a sight-unseen 7 out of England years ago; seller and I obviously had vastly different ideas of what "on the button" meant) LOL

http://texasmotorworks7.com/popupviewer.aspx?iid=3117780&pID=32648429 I'm pretty sure some of you have seen and driven this car recently. I'm considering it very seriously, (almost have cash in hand from sale of mine...). Who's driven it when, what did you think, and why didn't you buy it at the time? Please, please be constructive, as I realize this question could be considered a bit edgy. It's just that I'm too far away to drop in and see it myself. If I go that far, I have to essentially be sure I'm driving it home :-) cheers

buy narrow driving shoes that dont pinch too much while driving, carry walking shoes in the passenger footwell for changing in to.....

Is it the metal-backed rubber puck mount , or the V-shaped metal arms that go up to the engine bracket? Either way it's a dead-easy fix. Floor jack under the pan, just enough pressure to take the weight, and unbolt and replace the whole contraption. Easy, faster, and better than welding in-situ. IMHO

all sound advice, I'd add also that the advantage of a lower ultimate grip tire means you'll find and understand the edge at a safer level, and more importantly, the tires need to stay consistent throughout the day so you don't confuse tire degradation with loss or lack of skill :-)

LOL why do you think I made the comment about driving the price up :-) (still got one back in Montreal for any Canadian lurkers out there...)

Interesting to note that of 12 bids, only one is a second bid by an earlier bidder... ten guys bid once then seem to be watching or dropped away. do not understand these ebay people who drive up a no-reserve or a reserve-already-met auction days in advance of the end; pointless......

he doesn't get my vote....

Give Mark Milazzo up at Sears Point a call (he runs World Speed Motorsports). If he hasn't got time, he'll know someone who can help you. Cheers, Ian Macpherson.

Not me; her yes, and although happy no one else was hurt, that Darwin candidate shoulda gone with the car....

I guess we 7 owners have no right to ask "whatcha gonna do with those silly things?"... ... but I will anyway :-) ????

absolutely ditto !! I agonized over a "low pressure" problem that went away as soon as I scrapped the Caterham electric gauge and put in a proper mechanical one :-) I'd even shimmed the pump to raise the (electrically indicated) pressure from 15 to 30, then found the mechanical gauge was reading over 100 LOL

Proto or Craftsman click type for chassis work, Snap-On for engine work... ... beam type make good wheel chocks. (IMHO)

If you're in the northern NYC /Conn area, get to know JRMitchell at GMT Racing up in Danbury area.

Had a machinist friend back home offer to store my 7 over the winter in exchange for being allowed to strip and measure it. The copy he made is stunning... even hand formed his own alloy skins. Yikes!

Years ago at a Watkins Glen vintage event I watched the entire rear section of a Prevost bus open up vertically like the side baggage door of a Greyhound, and a vintage Mini backed out ! I've also seen a large side panel of a Prevost open up to reveal a large motorcycle on a pallet that slides out... ... it's only money.

I won't spoil it for those yet to watch, but the "check the oil in the drain tray for metal bits" was especially funny.....

I'd say you must have had some cheap ones if they developed clearance quickly.... sphericals on our formula cars last a season or more under tougher conditions. As for why not on a street car, well, usually the build tolerances on a street car aren't tight enough to avoid additional stresses in suspension components that rubber bushings don't impart (rubber 'gives' in the appropriate direction to allow for this). The infinitely stiff, zero-play spherical just transfers the load to the weakest link in the system. Classic case is all the guys who change their live-axle car A-frame diff pivot to a spherical, then change it back when they get tired of welding up the diff ears over and over :-)

Sorry guys, kind of a repost, but now that I live here in Savannah and my Caterham still sits up in Canada, I've got additional incentive to figure out how to deal with the EPA. Near as I can figure, licensing a Caterham in Georgia isn't difficult (corrections/advice welcome), but getting it past the EPA at the border seems nigh-on-impossible, especially since the Canadian DMV did me no favors calling it a "2005 home built". I have had a couple of interesting "ship it to me and I'll get it in for you" offers, but surely there's a straight-forward way? Anyone had any first-hand dealings with EPA? cheers