Austin David

Those specific plugs come up in my ad feed, with all my various searching. Thanks for sharing your experience. What beanie exactly, or is there a term for which I could search? I use a hat or do rag, and tuck a pretty big gaiter under it. This gives a pretty thin layer over my ears, and doesn't do anything to moderate the wind.

OK, I've been doing some semi-scientific research, specifically around noise. Summary to date and today's update below. Test platform is my 2021 S3, LHD, exhaust to the right. I assume RHD + RHS exhaust would be different. Also I *always* drive with a tonneau in place. 1) helmet + earplugs are probably best. earplugs are OSHA-rated, 33dB reduction is about as good as you'll get. ANY earplugs will transmit direct pressure (like wind blowing on your ear), the helmet will stop that direct pressure and leave the sound pressure to the plugs. With over 100k on motorcycles and another 20k in a different open cockpit car, I can safely say that full-face helmets are useful for noise suppression, and any 3/4 or half-helmet is of little or no use. 2) after 33dB plugs, Isotunes (isotunes.com) remain the best. They're an OSHA-rated earplug / 25dB reducing. PASSIVE reduction, not active -- they're earplugs which can play music (at limited levels, because OSHA). They work and are hearable at highway speeds with windscreen or aeroscreen. 3) Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro definitely, and any active sound-cancelling system probably, are not particularly effective against direct wind pressure. They work awesome in a noisy-but-calm environment like an airplane, but in a windy car the noise cancelling doesn't really deal with wind. Volume gets drowned out and wind comes through. I've had the same experience with every active noise-cancelling system, but I can't directly speak to airpods. * Windscreen w/o door might be the worst, close competition to this configuration + half hood. * Windscreen + half hood is the worst combination of wind vortex, which conspire to blast wind directly into your left ear, and to a lesser extent the right. Hats are not usable. * Windscreen + side door is better; the incoming rush from the left rear wing is deflected a little (depending on the door). * Aeroscreen is best for noise and windiness. Hats + sunglasses are fine, but for me the wind comes in right about eye/forehead level, so I would always want good eye protection. However the wind deflection doesn't overcome heavy rain. At all. Oh also, if you want to TALK, get a throat mic. Under $20 for wired @ Amazon. I have exhaustively confirmed it works AMAZINGLY WELL at highway speeds, where the best mic-based systems tend to start failing around 25-35 mph.

what else do I need, now that I'm investing in three pounds of shipping?

I've been chasing low-volume drips. I saw a small puddle (like a teaspoon) this morning. Put on 100 miles, found a few more little spots of residue in a LOT of places that were new. Tightened most of the clamps again for the Nth time. I did cycle the engine and heater a bunch before starting the proper break-in. Nearing 1000 miles I think I'll just touch everything under the hood when I change the oil. Thanks for the tip on the reservoir cap; I have no issues, but I don't want to invite anything. edit: https://caterhamparts.co.uk/master-cylinder/914-brake-master-cylinder-cap-race-no-float-switch.html this one? On a quick search, it seems the problem is "enthusiastic" driving -> slosh -> dribble out a vent/weep hole. The race cap has the bellows to allow for expansion, while maintaining the full seal.

I saw that. I have a grinder at home but woulda had to go out to hunt for tiny washers...

I did about 700 miles in the last few days, which I'm calling the big shakedown ride. From here I'm calling this complete, though there will always be something to improve or fix. On the ride (specifically, in the last 60 miles) I noticed the temp gauge bouncing a little. Like, very little but it was new behavior. I pulled over and still had coolant, but it was lower than when I left. No other indication of problem. This morning I confirmed the coolant was down below min; I topped it up to max, ran to refuel + check. After 5 miles it's still right where I left it. No OBVIOUS signs of leakage, but there was some wet blue in the front cowl on the left side, so I assume it was dribbling out of the lower radiator hose. I snugged that fitting and the upper slightly. During the trip I kept a close eye on all my parking spots and never saw a drop of any fluids, and with no burping it looks like it didn't spit out too much either. Oil is right where I left it. Brake fluid right where I left it, and no wet spots. Clutch pedal is a little squeaky all of a sudden, but otherwise everything seems to be really happy. Mileage and range are still sort of unknown, but 220 miles => 7 gals consumed. Some afterthoughts about the actual build: - I am glad I went with the S3 & retractible belts. I have to scoot to buckle up, and I definitely shouldn't gain any more weight, but it is VERY COMFORTABLE with 5 hours in seat. 5'8" + 180#, 33" waist. My head brushes the hood if I don't slouch. If I were taller I'd want the lowered floor, and if I were wider I'd want the SV chassis. But I'm not and I am happy with the S3. - I mighta paid more attention to all the checkboxes, but no regrets. Specifically the 360 + wet sump combo appears to be relatively rare, compared to the 420 w/ dry sump. I LIKE the wet sump for fewer tubes, but I don't have a lot of points-of-reference out there. Ground clearance is about the same, except that my leading edge is an oil pan, and the dry sump leading edge is "just" a bell housing. Side note, I do have most of a Pace dry sump kit, not sure it will ever get installed. - I am glad I didn't go for "less torque." Another vote for the 360 is that it's relatively torquey, esp compared to the Zetec lineup. I'm sure the Cat 160 is a fantastic car, but I like my build a lot. And ITBs will go a long way too on this duratec, someday. - I like the ARB, definitely like the option of turning it on/off. I haven't disconnected the rear ARB yet, but at 2/4 (2nd-softest) the car rides VERY flat, but also very comfortable on sh*tty Atlanta roads. I haven't even begun to test limits yet, but casual driving in the 7 is "oh crap" in anything else. Eventually I'll play with tightening / loosening (or disabling), but I'm pleased right now. - Glad I went with the 13" wheels and the spare. The extra sidewall makes for a comfortable ride, not really too harsh but still very communicative. The spare is mostly because 13" tires are impossible to find in the wild, but it also makes the back look nicer in a way I didn't anticipate. And the extra ~ 12" hanging off the back doesn't at all interfere with the "size" of the car, it's still pretty small in my garage. But I was expecting to be able to remove the spare for around-town use, and I don't have a good solution for that. The carrier is bolted on (removable) but the license plate and light are tightly integrated. I'd have to obtain or make a license plate carrier, and a disconnect for the light. Not impossible, but since I kinda like the spare and I don't need to shed the ~ 15#, I won't bother. - Tonneau cover was a deal-breaker for me, and I like it. I honestly do not understand why anyone would NOT use one -- even with passengers, it protects your stuff + interior while parked, and it makes solo driving so much better (esp in winter). Go for the tonneau, and the aeroscreen. Both are easier to do at build-time than trying to fit in later.

maybe a little late, but have you driven a powered miata? I have a 99 running about 200whp, and if I could change one thing I'd make the diff a little taller. Shedding half the weight would make me want this even more. I'm only a few hundred miles in my cat (which has the same transmission + similar final ratio), but when touring I also feel like a little lower ratio would be nice. 75mph @ 4k RPM, there's a lot of available power in top gear, but I would also be ok with less power + downshifting...

I love the *look* of the brooklands, but from what I've read it buffets more than the "aeroscreen". Any direct experience between the two? I have ~ 870 miles on my windscreen, fitting the aero tonight and intend to put about 100 miles on it tomorrow. For science.

also, for scientific purposes, when you next have it out there please get a video (esp audio) of that supercharger spinning up

Based on all that I feel like your alternator works, but you've got an idle issue. It seems like a little throttle on startup leads to a happy car experience? You may or may not have an issue with some dark load on the battery. Are you going to let it sit overnight, then more tests?

Tell me you're still early in your build without telling me... :-P Count yourself lucky if this is the weirdest of it. The upside is, having built it you'll be best able to debug it later.

I've concluded about half the Seven experience is Stockholm Syndrome. Or masochism. $3 do rag @ CVS stuck like glue for 300+ miles.

I got the LED headlamps and I LOVE them. I assume that bulb is for a "parking light" function? In terms of the ground, you're going through a few layers of powder coat at the shock tower and at the headlight base -- it doesn't conduct well until you at least snug up the mounts at both ends of the little support arm.

my usual method (motorcycle) would be the jerry can approach, drive till it sputters, get to a gas station, and measure with fair precision the volume of fuel between "full" and "uhoh". But I don't want to starve the EFI motor...

isotunes.com -- they aren't active, but they are excellent for noise-suppressing. and they play very nice for non-Iphone bluetooth connectivity.

I'm glad it was of use to more than just my future self, trying to figure out why my tach was set up weird.

oh man, I forgot about my bomber helmet. From the 90s. It was wool-lined tho, 100% winter, would not fly (pun) in this weather. I ordered some "sun balaclavas" to add to my list of things to evaluate.

jumping in a little late, as I'm on my "maiden" voyage and discovering how much fun it is to lose hats. setup: windscreen + RHS tonneau * do-rag is OK with half hood and/or half door and RHS tonneau cover. * do-rag ejected hastily at 80-ish MPH with side curtain / no half hood, RHS tonneau * ball cap is never OK > 50mph, no amount of snugness, any configuration. * boonie / bucket hat is less OK, airflow seems to hit right about ear/cheek I've been playing with a half-door. I mocked up a minimal version (mid-arm height) using the outer snaps, it helps. I also tried just folding down / using folded LHS tonneau cover, which helped more but was also more restrictive (shoulder height). The hood SEEMS to make things worse, but it helps with the sun and I didn't lose the do-rag even after a couple hundred miles. With "reasonable" windiness -- defined as something as tight and secure as a do-rag will stay put -- I've only really found success using good sunglasses, do rag, and a gaiter for sun. Half hood provides ample sun protection, but in the coming weeks I'll be checking out my aeroscreen / no hood.

I'll make a post when I get to it. I like the "float on 2 gals" method because I don't need to look at the gauge so much, assuming the float-deflection roughly matches the gauge deflection. Thanks for the info & confirmation, it will help me plan that fun event. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on the trip odo.

uh, stupid question: where is the in-tank fuel pump? Do I remove the Al panel from the boot to expose the tank, and in a very obvious place will find a cover, from which presumably hangs the pump + sending unit / arm?

I'll just (some day...) bend the float. No other plans to change the fuel delivery or otherwise further complicate things.

obviously never driven a supercharger. Battery eliminator + park on a hill tho, that might be a good path forward.

Hey, I know I'm coming in late. 14v @ load seems kinda low -- wouldn't you expect the alternator to run closer to 15v when charging, and ~ 13.5-ish when it thinks the batt is full? I would definitely leave the battery on a trickle charger in the garage. If you're able to start normally on a full battery, and hard-to-start when it's been sitting, then this really does sound more like "phantom drain" / dark current, and less like "engine problem." If the battery is sufficiently low it can soak up a lot of your jump current, which would give some of the issues you've described about "hard to jump". hard-running when cold could be a lot of things. I don't know that zetec motor but an SC has some parasitic load at idle (where the SC probably isn't contributing any boost), and if your alternator is also trying REALLY HARD to charge a battery, it could be that your idle just isn't high enough to deal with both. If you're in the mood to tinker (and I don't know the rest of your build, so ... grain of salt) pop the belt off that charger during your garage testing, just to eliminate that load from your troubleshooting. This may help you decide something's not right with your charging system (faulty ground, bad regulator, bad alternator etc) without confounding issues like "also the idle is rough". To follow up on MV8's suggestion -- all tests with an independent voltage read (not your dash gauge). A $10-20 meter is your friend here. - test voltage right after a nice long run: engine on, ignition off, ignition on (3 separate readings) - test the cold voltage (ignition off, ignition on) the next morning keep track of those. If it's a new battery, the off/on readings shouldn't change much after a run or overnight, and definitely not day-to-day. For my car (yours is very, very different so YMMV) 12.8-ish is right after a nice hot run, battery is fully charged, ignition off. The ignition load will induce a drop to like 12.5v or so, and this is more than enough to start the car. If you're seeing a LOT of drop (like 12.0v on a freshly-charged battery) or a significant change after sitting overnight, you could have a short or some sort of parasitic drain in the system. ... every car is different, especially since they're hand-built AND british (double-whammy). I would love to know if you have a slow-to-react gauge or if there's something else happening. MV8's proposed testing is a good place to start. PS I love that zetec + SC. Looks like a J&R kit for a Zetec, I think they used an Eaton unit? I bet it's a blast, nothing sounds quite like a good roots blower spinning up.

Following up, partly for posterity and partly to track my own progress: I mocked up a few potential bags, v2 shown below. It's a little overstuffed right now with "the kitchen sink" in there (read: bulky garage tools useful during assembly). I think I can slim it down after this maiden voyage, 300 miles from home. The bag is 18" wide (left-right in the boot) + 6"long (fore-aft) and 8" high. By comparison, the softbits bag is about 16x6.5x6.5. The boot is 8" high in the back, deeper toward the bulkhead.This should leave some extra space when I unload the non-emergency tools. I fixed the toolbag to the rollover bar, I do think it needs to be pretty securely fastened. I don't much like having it occupy most of the easy-to-access space at the back of the boot, though, so I may try to fix it up against the bulkhead somehow. This bag is also soft, and doesn't really hold shape well -- v3 will fix that. I may also add a zipper or snap closure for the top.

That's an interesting idea. Would it be reasonable for me to drain the tank down to an "OH NO" minimum like 2g, then set the float to bounce on E at that level? That way I would know very well how much is left in there. I have MC experience and that petcock / reserve "tank" option is gold. They're also on carbs so there's the first ride trick of running it bone dry and checking mileage, while carrying a can, then never driving that far. I don't really want to run my EFI motor dry if I can avoid it, and I'm not quite ready to play chicken with the fuel level in my new toy. So far (3 fill-ups in, all at ~ 5g) mileage seems consistent. Still not super confident on that fuel gauge, but I've got at least 2 fillups before I'm back home so .... ps: Good Luck sainthoo, sorry for highjacking your thread I know how nerve-wracking the first crank can be... IMO get the idle set (TB screw) to like 1200 RPM, then deal with oil and coolant verification at temperature, then everything else (like brakes and stuff). The tach is probably the least important gauge, until you get your license plate / get it on the road or track. When you're actually putting your foot on the accelerator the RPM starts to matter more, but even then you've got hundreds of miles at low RPM before you really really start having to care.