supersportsp

I have driven a Robin Hood engineering kit. It drove fine and I actually autoX'd it once as well. Not a Caterham, but it didn't feel like a joke either. Handled pretty good even though the one I drove was on horrible tires. The biggest issue was the mish-mash of parts. Finding wheels and the like is not easy.

Looks like a very nice car. However, I have to agree with glenntwincam that you are likely on the very, very, very high side for what you might get for the car. I paid $25k for my '97 Zetec powered deDion car with less than 5k on it back about a year and a half ago. If you priced it in the mid to upper $20's, you could probably move it in a month. At this price and at this time of year, well, lets just say it won't be this time of year by the time you sell it.

Dang, I haven't seen one of these yet. I keep my eye out for cool Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars for my nephew, really, more for me . I bought a Ferrari P3/4 and a Tyrell six wheeler F1 car a few weeks back. I also got a black Ferrari 250 GTO in the fall.

From the announcement: "...the model will provide a logical expansion to the Company’s racing and trackday portfolio..." I don't think the Zolfe or any Elite reincarnation is likely. I am thinking more along the lines of Westfield XTR or Radical. Something small and lightweight that hugs the ground as it goes faster, instead of trying to leave it. Something with actual aerodynamics. I have often thought that something like a mini Panoz LMP1 Roadster would be really cool. A front engine/rwd super light car with some modern aero. Forgiving front engine/rwd handling in something that won't hit a brick wall at 115 mph and will actually stick to the pavement better the faster it goes. Put a body something like this on a CSR 260 chassis... http://www.mulsannescorner.com/Panoz-GC5.jpg

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=137900432932252&id=371952447689 "Caterham launches a new chapter in its history by Caterham Motorsport on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 3:06am British sportscar maker, Caterham Cars, will introduce an entirely new model to its line-up at next month’s Autosport International Show The latest addition to the renowned Caterham stable marks the beginning of a new dawn for the Company, but one that remains true to the lightweight, minimalist DNA of the legendary Seven and will complement its continuing global success. Powered by the next-generation Caterham Motorsport engine, the model will provide a logical expansion to the Company’s racing and trackday portfolio and open an exciting new chapter in its future. The new model makes its world debut on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at the Autosport International Show, NEC, Birmingham."

Kitcat, it looks like (from your avatar) that you are running the older style FIA bar. The newer one which is on my car has double cross bracing. They are subtly different in dimension and the newer bar also has a double cross brace. I am not sure how much more or less yours intrudes into the cockpit. I tried taking my seat bottom out and sitting in the car last night. It lowered me slightly, but after measuring the seat bottom on the stock seats and figuring in compression, I am only sitting 1-1.25" off the floor with the stock seat. It also had the rather unexpected effect of making the cockpit feel shorter. I believe this is because the back wall of the passenger compartment slopes rather significantly (60 degrees) so each inch I lower myself in the stock floors, I actually move my butt closer to the pedals.

The issue isn't the height of the bar necessarily, it is the intrusion into the cockpit. At 5'8" and in an SV, I don't imagine you have the seat all the way back. In an S3 with the seat all the way back and the FIA bar, it actually protrudes into the vertical plane of the cockpit several inches at the top thanks to the forward lean. Between having the seat all the way back and sitting higher in the cockpit due to the length of my torso, My head is very, very close to both the triangular bar and the top bar. With my helmet on it is basically in contact with it. I looked into the adjustable head rest attachments from the bar, but after analyzing the space I have available, I am not sure it would even work without the helmet on. I haven't driven the car more than from my house to my other garage 4 blocks away as I am well aware that even a slow impact would cause my noggin to smack very hard steel. I really don't understand why Caterham designed the cage with so much forward lean, especially for the S3 chassis. Granted, I am on the very upper limit on height for someone who fits in an S3, but still.

So, I ordered an FIA bar for the Caterham this past summer and it took some time to get here (October). I was a little concerned with the forward lean of the bar, but that was more from a cosmetic standpoint than anything else. Then I installed it. And the uh, oh's ensued. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/tgodbout/photo6.jpg As you can see, not exactly a lot of clearance between my soft head bits, and the very hard FIA bar bits. I am lacking the headrests on my stock Caterham seats, and originally I thought they might do the trick to protect me from the bar but was skeptical. Then I had my wife take these photos of me sitting in the car. The one that really made think this was not going to work was this one. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/tgodbout/photo5.jpg Basically zero clearance with the helmet on. I could maybe fit a 1/4" pad between the helmet on the bar. After sending these to Ben at Caterham USA he still seems to think that I should be able to use the headrests to protect me from the bar, but I don't see how, even with the 1/2 versions (https://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=114&products_id=4610&osCsid=bef0da154380459ce9b1b3f11ca49579) that this will work. Thoughts from any other FIA bar owners? I am 6'2" which makes this more of a challenge.

I have looked into this off an on myself. I love the look of the clam shell fenders, but the aero penalties, especially at the track at speed are tough. Other than what you described you will have holes to deal with. You may also have subtle (or not so subtle) dimples from where the clams were affixed in the aluminum bodywork. The dimples will depend on how aggressively tightened the bodywork was. Also, with an older car like yours it is likely to be worse from wear etc. You can always re-skin the lower fronts if you want a totally clean look, but I have seen converted cars that look pretty good. Here is an example. http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4124

I think most of our interest lies primarily in reducing front end lift at speed vs. top speed gains or even downforce.

That is correct. It has the ducted nose and the winglets of the CSR. I would have thought they would have used the CSR style cycle fenders as well on this car. Obviously, it is a little more difficult to fit the inboard suspension on the S3 chassis. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3363594410_36f873b54c.jpg?v=0 I imagine if you wanted to go whole hog on an S3 chassis you could do the following: -R500 ducted nose -Winglets -CSR style cycle fenders -Aero wishbones -Lowered and/or smaller headlights -Wind deflector vs. windshield -Freestyle inboard suspension for S3 chassis -Rear diffuser -Hard tonneau cover for passenger space and half door on driver side -CSR front splitter (shortened width wise to fit S3 nose) -Underside engine bay cover -Rear diffuser -Hard boot cover As Se7ens go, that is probably about as slippery as you can get.

I have a number of smaller projects to do. 1. FIA roll-bar. I have this in already, did it a couple of weeks ago. 2. Third brake light for said roll-bar 3. Wide-track kit installation (already have parts) 4. Head rests that work with the FIA bar in an S3 chassis 5. New shock/spring set 6. Possible power boost for my Zetec (convert to fuel injection?) 7. Locate 13" wheels for track days.

That looks like a Birkin with a full cage and wings. I also fail to see the modernity in the design. This is a 'modern' Seven in my eyes. http://www.eternalmachinery.com/seven/donkervoort_x.jpg

I was talking to a guy I met at a track day out our local big kart track (they run cars there very regularly, 1:10+ lap times). He has the carbon front 'whiskers' on this Caterham and he said when he runs at Pacific Raceways he could really tell the difference with them in keeping the front end better planted. Pacific doesn't have a huge long straight, but it has two kinks in it that emphasize grip at high speed. http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/pr_track_notes.pdf None of the Caterham race series run any kind of front wing, just the little carbon winglets/whiskers. The Masters's series which I think is the fastest run CSR 260's with no windshield and are probably about as aero as you can get with the inboard suspension, aero suspension A-arms and hard cockpit covers.

I have a Zetec with the Raceline low profile wet sump. http://www.raceline.co.uk/products/part_section.asp?SectionID=40&CategoryID=2 I think a lot of the Zetec guys are running this set-up with good results. It is baffled and has a windage tray. But, supposedly (even in their description on the site) oil level is critical because it isn't very deep but wide. There is a discussion going on here separately regarding oil return issues on the Zetec motors. I am not sure if I have this issue or not and I need to investigate a little further. http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5637

!

I just think he knew he had no chance at making the turn and thought it was better to go straight off than to possibly try to make the turn and go off sideways and barrel rolling into that tree or big ol' bush. Having done something similar on a motorycle years ago, it was like deja vu.

I just got the complete widetrack kit from Caterham (haven't installed it yet). It comes with extenders for the steering rack.

Exactly. Their site is pretty sketchy. Their address is a condo building in a residential neighborhood. They have an east side phone number but a Seattle address. Good luck ever seeing your $$ again if you send them a deposit.

My wife got me this book for xmas. It has great details on the development of the CSR chassis. http://www.amazon.com/Caterham-Sevens-Official-Sportscar-Conception/dp/189987061X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288319965&sr=1-2 several other factors weighed in on the development as well: - Rising rate vs. falling rate - Aero improvement (drag/lift) of getting the shocks out of the airflow

Hopefully it was better than this guy's...http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/26/video-lamborghini-gallardo-twin-turbo-crashes-at-texas-mile/

Croc, got your IM. I figured this was the case. Having spent my whole life near or in MT, I just didn't want to make sure I hadn't missed some area I had never seen before.

That looks suspiciously not like Montana. Do you have that titled as a '57 Lotus Seven in Montana?

Not to be too direct, but the description of your issue(s) could use a little refinement. I think many of the folks that have wandered into this post are chasing around the various issues you have described pretty effectively, but you seem to be unclear as to what the actual issue really is. What you describe in your last post referencing the master/slave change sounds like an issue with your clutch. Are you breaking traction or is the clutch slipping? That is a huge difference when it comes to providing a solution. Either way, aero apendages are highly unlikely to solve this issue. What does the light steering have to do with the clutch slipping or traction issues? Why is steering light only above 8k rpm? I have not heard of steering issues related to RPM. Does your steering rack/column sit very close to the motor and experiences significant vibration at that RPM? My revised recommendations: - Figure out if your clutch is slipping or if you are breaking traction - If clutch is slipping, fix - Try running 16-18 lbs pressure in your tires - Check all suspension components for free play and tighten accordingly - Get your alignment and rake set to the specs that JohnCH's posted

http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/newImages/182_2.jpg http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/product_thumb.php?img=newImages/182_8.jpg&w=800&h=600 http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/carbon-fibre-multiplane-contoured-diffuser-p-182.html Having the rear end feel light is not typical in Se7en. The front, absolutely, the rear, unusual. As you can see, there are diffuser options out there for the Westfield. Here is what I would start with: Different tires. Those appear to be drag compound radials. Good for straight line hook-up, not so good for lateral movement. Then, I would make sure the alignment is adjusted optimally. Moving the motor rearward would potentially make the front of the car lighter (and lighter feeling at speed). You could also try some of the little carbon nose canards that Caterham uses on the R500. A local guy I know said they actually had a noticeable impact on front end stability at the track on his car. Also, I am assuming that the dark red car in that link is yours? It is tough to tell from the photo, but it looks like your car has the narrow track front suspension on it. Going to the wide-track front-end would likely improve stability as well.