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xflow7

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Everything posted by xflow7

  1. As for the 5spd/4spd discrepancy, keep in mind that when Caterham supply kits, they essentially just include *ancillaries* to support a particular engine and tranny choice. The builder still has to source engine and tranny themselves and can put in whatever they please if they can make it work. So, while the kit may have been supplied with bits for a 5spd, there's nothing to have stopped the original builder from purchasing and installing a 4spd if that's what they wanted.
  2. Pretty much everything pi7ot mentioned plus: IQ Tull King's X Tool various others.... You ever heard of/been to NEARFest, pi7ot? Based on your tastes, you'd probably like it. and on the jazz side: Chick Corea Weather Report Dave Holland various others....
  3. Utterly fantastic! ...and I have a new Desktop.
  4. Usage patterns vary a lot. I typically average ~2000mi a year on mine. I drive it to work occasionally, but not regularly due to the terms of my insurance. Streetability also varies a lot depending on engine spec, gearbox, etc. My car has a modestly tuned Ford Crossflow and a conventional 5spd. It's tractable and while traffic certainly isn't fun, it's not a big problem. Mostly I drive mine for fun touring drives, or to shows, races, etc.
  5. Maybe check that the float level is correct and the needle valve isn't sticking? Also, maybe make sure you don't have a big exhaust leak? I had a big leak on 2/3 and replacing the exhaust gasket made it run a lot better. I think I have read tale of the screws in the bottoms of the barrels that secure the Venturis coming loose wreaking all kinds of havoc.
  6. Just noticed this roll call thread. My girlfriend and I will be there Friday to Sunday with my Seven. Looking forward to it. :hurray: Dave
  7. Mike, Are the dyno numbers you put up wheel HP as recorded by the dyno, or do they incorporate correction for drivetrain/wheel losses. 20% drivetrain loss (depending on all kinds of things) is pretty typical which doesn't fully explain the delta, but explains much of it. My 1700 xflow was engine dyno'd at 135HP when it was built and it pulls pretty strong. Twobone, The first things I'd check in addition to the items John mentioned are no intake/exhaust leaks, carb synchronization and then go through the lean best idle procedure for the DCOE's (hunt around on the 'net and you can find this). You'd be surprised how much you can change the character of the engine by getting those things right (or wrong!). You'll probably want a synchronizing meter that you can stick in the trumpets to check the sync, although you can use a length of hose and your ear in a pinch. Dave
  8. Welcome, Matt! As far as Caterhams, for $25k you should be able to find a decent crossflow or mildly tuned Zetec car. You won't get a really big HP car for that money, and it's probably at the low end for a De Dion car, but the live axle is nothing like the concession some folks make it out to be. It gives up a little bit on ride/handling over bumpy surfaces, has a bit less room in the boot, and caps your power output at maybe ~160HP or so, but it's somewhat lighter and still a joy. There are a number of Sevens advertised here: http://www.lotusowners.com/ForSale/ As noted, Sevens make great weekend tourers. You need to be judicious and creative when packing, but they are marvelous. I routinely take mine to spectate at vintage race weekends and bring a tent, sleeping bag, folding chair, stove, clothes, personal effects, etc. Lots of stares extracting a campsite from a car the size of a roller skate. Particularly for a first Seven, my advice is to buy what you can afford now. You'll get huge amounts of enjoyment out of it sooner, and you can always trade up later. Dave
  9. xflow7

    Log 30

    Dean, Thanks for the additional info. Is the concours on Saturday? Dave
  10. xflow7

    Log 30

    Is there any additional information available yet about the various events? For example: guest(s)/speaker(s) at the banquet, subjects of tech sessions, etc? I've trawled this thread and perused the LOG site and the Group page at the hotel, but haven't turned up many details. Anyone know more?
  11. xflow7

    Log 30

    I booked my room the other day for Fri-Mon. Not sure yet if I'll end up sticking around on Sunday or not although the Autocross and scenic drives are appealing. Looking forward to it! :party:
  12. Let's see them wirelessly hack a couple of 40DCOE's and a dizzy cap.
  13. Very cool. There's a good feature article also in one of the recent issues of Motorsport Magazine (it's the one with the 38 on the cover ).
  14. It sure is. For whatever reason, I was never all that hot on the P 4/5's looks from the articles I saw at the time, but from the image in that link this will look terrific.
  15. Do you give the throttle a number of good pumps prior to cranking after the car sits a while? I don't know what your carb arrangmenet is, whether you have a choke/cold-start circuit, etc. But on my crossflow with 40DCOE's (no choke and without cold start circuit hooked up), the car likes ~4 full pumps of the throttle to start if it's been sitting for a day, and more like 8-12 if it's been sitting for a week or more. Dave
  16. A Competizione version of his Pininfarina P 4/5 that will contest the Nurburgring 24hrs in 2011. In order to be competitive, it sounds as though it will be basically a GT2 430 with P 4/5 bodywork. More info here: http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=134008
  17. I don't know if mine is the one you are referring to or not, but here is my datapoint on deer vs. Caterham. Needless to say, I replaced the windshield with another windshield rather than the Brooklands I was considering prior to...
  18. The adjustable rear wing rule is a bad joke. I have no problem with the driver-adjustable-element concept, but the "Not in the first 3 laps", "Only within 1 sec of the car in front", "Cannot be used defensively" s*** is for the birds. I'd like to have the impossible overtaking dilemma solved as much as the next guy, but employing Mario Kart techniques is not the answer.
  19. Forget over the winter that you have to push the stick down? :jester:
  20. Though not continuously adjustable, some of the Bilsteins use a circlip that forms the seat for the spring perch with 3 or so different grooves in the shock body that can be used for the circlip. This obviously doesn't allow sufficient resolution for corner weighting, but it can provide a coarse ride height adjustment. You might have a look to see if your present Bilsteins have this arrangement and can be set to a higher ride height on the front end.
  21. Well, color me confused. I figured that article was about Lotus Cars (aka Group Lotus) targeting some involvement in Indycar. Sounds like great news if it can be parlayed into a Lotus-designed chassis in a multi-chassis formula for 2012. But then the last paragraph implies the Indy entry is tied up with the new Lotus F1 Team which is unrelated Group Lotus. I wonder what the truth is! OK, just gone and Googled Mr. Berro and it seems he belongs to Group Lotus, so the Indy entry must be coming from there.
  22. None of the Toyotas I've ever driven have shown any tendency for unintended acceleration. Having said that, they've never shown much of a tendency for intended acceleration either.... :leaving:
  23. Wow, that is really cool. Very nicely shaped. Thanks for posting.
  24. xflow7

    Nice footwork

    That's one of my favorite videos out there. Utterly amazing on a number of fronts. For general interest, I just heard on the Radio LeMans podcast from right before the holidays that Walter Rohrl is going to enter the 2010 Nurburgring 24 hours in a stock GT3 RS.
  25. My girlfriend is moving to Vermont and wants to put snows on her car ('09 Accord Coupe). I support this, being a firm believer in proper snow tires. I advised her early on to chump up and buy a set of steel rims and have them permanently mounted so as not to pay out the nose for a mount and balance twice a year. Thing is now all cars have Tire Pressure Monitoring which of course won't function without sensors on the wheels. Normally I wouldn't worry about the damn light being on from November to March, but evidently on Hondas if the TPMS is non-functioning then the car makes it impossible to manually disable the stability/traction control. Now, that is downright irritating because my experience with traction control in winter is that sometimes when it's really slippery you do much better turning it off. But now that won't be possible unless she chumps up a couple hundred bucks for 4 new sensors plus re-syncing with the computer. Plus, I've seen at least one comment from someone saying their insurance company told them they wouldn't be covered in an accident if TPMS was disabled. :cuss: For all their charms, modern cars can be really damn annoying. I hate it when a basically good idea (tire pressure monitoring) gets implemented in a way that just makes me resent it.
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