Silber

Today I met up with @Frankie for a drive along East Canyon Reservoir. Great weather and a nice, leisurely drive. https://maps.app.goo.gl/tfgTPuN7eFgVYyoq7 A couple of pictures from my dashcam, and Frank may post some video after he goes through it:

I really meant to update this sooner.... I did enjoy driving the car late into the year. Even took it out on Thanksgiving day because we were having such a mild November. Then parked it until about March. A couple of updates: I finally got around to ordering a really expensive cable to be able to plug into the standalone ECU. I don't know anything about tuning, but there was one thing I wanted to address. When I first purchased the car the redline was set to 6500 rpm or something, which was lower than what I wanted and felt the engine was capable of, so when I had the car dyno tuned I had the tuner set the redline to 8k rpm, based off of the specs for the Crower cams and valvetrain. No problems running it up to 8k, but long story short I realized I don't actually know for sure what components are in the engine, and if the bottom end has been touched at all, so to err on the side of caution, I bought the cable to be able to set the redline to a more conservative 7200. Mostly have been occasionally commuting to work and doing little drives here and there. Went to a casual cars & coffee at my work with my three-year old. I also bought a new shift knob. I wanted something taller for ergonomics, and the JGTC-style knob from my old Miata wasn't actually the right thread pitch. Pictured is the Lotus branded knob the car came with, the JGTC-style knob, and the new one: I'm satisfied with the purchase so far, and keeps up the tradition of buying a shift knob for every car I buy. Fixed an exhaust leak from where a gasket blew out, including replacing two sets of four stacked washers being used to fit these bolts with some proper spacers. I pulled the muffler heat shield off and gave the muffler a quick polish. I kind of like the look, and might keep the heat shield off (until I burn my leg).

I also have hooded sun shirts when I don't need to wear something nicer (e.g. for work). Same principle as a sun hoodie, and can get them cheap on amazon. I still do the same baseball cap and neck gaiter combo with the sun shirts.

I like to wear sunglasses, a baseball cap, a lightweight hooded jacket with the hood over the hat, and a neck gaiter over the top of everything. The neck gaiter provides sun protection for my face and keeps the jacket hood from flapping, and the hood keeps the hat on my head. Ear plugs underneath it all and driving 70+ mph is comfortable. This is with a windscreen and wind deflectors. Without the windscreen I wear a full face helmet.

I'll be second in line if Origin7 doesn't want them.

Checked on this today. Registration has opened: 2026 LUG

For what its worth, with my Birkin having a Duratec and my FPR a different unit, the location is the same as yours: This is an old picture I pulled from my other thread, with an arrow added to point out the FPR.

The cupholder puts a smile on my face. I've never wanted one in my 7, but I guess even an entirely impractical car needs a little bit of practicality?

I've never seen another Birkin in the wild, so I would look forward to comparing ours if you brought yours. I'm planning on participating the whole event, but I won't be staying at the hotel. I can provide some local tips for good drives for the free day on Sunday. I've driven the majority of the best roads within 50-ish miles of Salt Lake City.

Here is a tentative schedule: * Thursday, Sep 24 – Check in, Meet & Greet * Friday, Sep 25 - Helper, UT Field Trip, Lunch, Group Photos * Saturday, Sep 26 – Kirkham Motorsports Factory Tour, Casual Concours & Voting, Dinner @ the Utah Natural History Museum * Sunday, Sep 27 – Free For All Day for scenic Utah drives culminating in lunch @ a TBD restaurant. * Monday, Sep 28 – Track Day at Utah Motorsports Campus

I was searching for local car events and came across an announcement for the Lotus United Gathering taking place in Salt Lake City from September 24-28, 2026. It is apparently an event similar to LOG and the West Coast Lotus Meet, sponsored by Lotus Ltd and the Golden Gate Lotus Club, and hosted by the Utah Lotus Owners Coalition. I have no affiliation with any of these organizations and have no part in organizing this event, but I wanted to post it here to find out if any of the folks on this forum knew about the event and plan on attending. It would be cool to meet some of the people from the forum if anyone comes out to Utah with their 7s. More info here: https://go2lug.com/ and here: https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/lotus-united-gathering-lug2026.559414/?post_id=6401032&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHokvgUeSr6VfcgN0GHry6f05jALSmDVsRD-3piSHMhQ1cadm7r3xPRtjszqF_aem_Udaz0vJzssZtApM2hDd93A#post-6401032

It was an NA8, low power due to high altitude here in Utah. I wish I still had it, but I wrecked it at an autocross back in 2019. I have a picture of it over in my thread in the Member Rides section. Apologies for hijacking your thread to start talking about Miatas. I'm looking forward to your build thread here with the 7.

I totally understand. My Miata was about 1950 lbs, but only a meager 108 whp, but it was so fun to drive. Wanting to replicate that feeling is what led me down the path to get a 7. Different cars, different experiences, so I agree that it isn't a clear cut answer. One thing I can say for sure is that I get a lot more attention from people in the 7. Everyone likes that car, little kids, old farts, car enthusiasts, and that makes it fun in a way the Miata never was.

I saw your post over on the MiataTurbo forum and read through some of your build thread with your Miata. What happened to that enginer is a bummer, but it looks like you have big plans with it. Which car do you think you'll have more fun in, this 7 or the Miata with a spicy motor?

The previous owner of my Birkin was probably about 6'2" or 6'3" and fit fine. My opinion with the size is fitting in it depends more on how wide you are than how tall you are (though both are important factors to consider). I'm just 5'7" with size 8 shoes, and I can drive with almost any shoe or boot, and am almost too short to comfortably drive the car.