Silber

@JB455 You are awesome. I'm really grateful you tried this out and confirmed it works. I'll need to double check that my fenders are cut out the same way yours are, and once that is done I'll order some lights and grommets and replicate what you did. I'll report back here when I'm done. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice, but the standard running light is so pitiful. I'm excited to try this out.

@JB455 Can I ask you for the links for what you purchased? That looks like a great alternative to the original Birkin lights.

Looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I may copy your setup if it works out well.

I'm following this topic to see if anyone comes up with an affordable solution. My Birkin lights are also as @JB455 described, mediocre at best. I put in LED turn signal bulbs which helps with that, but the taillights are incredibly dim, if they are even working. One socket is really fiddly with how the bulb sits in and often goes out when driving. I've looked but haven't found an off-the-shelf solution yet, but I'll take another look at Amazon.

Eventually I'll take the time to post a proper update, but for now some videos from Bones' first track outing:

Define "older" please. I have a 2009 Birkin and from my experience they are everything a Caterham is, nothing lacking.

I've heard good things about the A052, but I'm cheap and can't stomach the cost when I'm not actually competing for anything. I've really liked the Kumho V730s, even if they may be a few tenths slower on an autocross course. If money weren't an option I'd probably just run DOT-rated slicks like the Toyo RR. We don't get a lot of rain here in Utah, and I'm not putting enough mileage on the car to worry about tire wear, as the tires will likely heat-cycle out before I run out of rubber.

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.

I was driving the car quite a bit during the summer, even daily driving it for a couple weeks when our old Jeep Cherokee had a catastrophic water pump failure. It was fun parking it up next to the typical monster trucks people around here usually drive. But, the summer did not end without any problems. I was out at a local university for work when I went to start the car and drive back to the office, but the car did something like "chugga, chugga, clunk," and then I had no starter. I tried bump starting it and jump starting it, but neither worked. Hot, flustered, and a bit embarrassed as most of my coworkers were there, I decided to utilize roadside assistance and get the car home where I could diagnose the problem without pressure. I let the car sit for about a month as life with a young family keeps me busy, but finally had the chance to try and diagnose the problem. The symptoms were no starter and no fuel pump, which prompted me to look at all the fuses. Checked every one of them and all was good, but when I happened to turn the headlight switch on with the ignition on, I heard a buzzing coming from the fuse box. The culprit? The ignition relay. The parts store didn't have a comparable replacement, but I could hijack the relay for the heated windscreen, swapped it over, and boom, everything working and engine started right up. I'm so glad it was an easy fix, and happy that it was also fairly painless to diagnose. Could have done it in the parking lot at the university, but alas, you live and you learn. I'm looking forward to a bunch of drives before they salt the roads here and enjoying the nice fall weather.

Due for an update. Had a fun time at the British Field Day in Salt Lake City. Two Caterhams there in addition to my Birkin. I helped set up the "Race Course" with a good friend and experienced autocrosser to allow a course that flowed a lot better than last year, the main requirement was we needed to keep the average speed below 25 mph. I had the fastest time of the day by the end, narrowly jumping ahead of my friend in his Bugeye Sprite according to the "old man timing system" that was a gentleman doing the stopwatch on his phone. I calculated the average speed of my fast time to be 21.03 mph. Mission accomplished!

I suggest going with the R888Rs if you want to maintain a grippy tire in the same size. Another option is moving up to 195 width tires which opens up a couple of Falken tires that would both be adequate replacements for your Star Specs.