xflow7

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.

Those GoPro cameras have been the hot-ticket item at the couple of autocrosses I did this year. Everyone seems to like them.

Good question. I've wondered the same thing. I've always kind of assumed that the delta b/w ratings in US and Europe on the same model car is more down to liability and driving standards than any meaningful difference in engineering. I remember when I was a kid using our '79 Rabbit loaded with a family of 4, luggage and a Sunfish and windsurfer on the roof to tow a 14ft Aluminum boat all over creation and we never had any issues. I have noticed that among small, relatively miserly cars, Subarus in the US tend to have pretty solid tow ratings. Imprezas (at least through the last generation) were rated at 2000 lbs or something and the Foresters (same platform) at, I think, 2500. Move up to a Legacy and you got 3000 or 3500.

I can't help thinking Microsoft Paperclip "It looks like you're trying to heel-and-toe. Would you like some assistance?"

Hey Al, Congratulations on the new car. Sounds like it will be a lot of fun, and with minimal headaches being a fresh restoration. Looking forward to seeing it sometime in the future.

Actually, unless I'm mistaken, Lotus (as in Group Lotus, the operating automotive manufacturing and engineering company) hasn't actually owned the name Team Lotus for competition use in a long time. I think it's resided with David Hunt since the Pacific-Lotus debacle, but even prior to that wasn't affiliated with Lotus car company for some time. So, if they bought "Team Lotus", then "our" Lotus didn't get anything. However, if they purchased the rights to use "Lotus" in some other way, then maybe they will have had to license from Group Lotus. ...I have a headache. Bottom line, though, it's mostly a branding stunt and (IMO) mis-represents the history of the new team.

I bought my tickets today for Sat/Sun/Mon. I'll be arriving probably mid-morning on Saturday and will be parked in the Lotus Corral (Sat only).

Hi Bruce, I think I'm pretty likely to head over. Assuming I do, I'll probably drive over Friday evening or Saturday morning and stay through Monday. Look forward to seeing you there.

Depending on the severity of the cratering, you might be able to lightly tap the aluminum back down with a light mallet if you can get something something behind the panel to back it up. As for preventing same in the future, I remember reading, I think on BlatChat, of people using Nylon bolts to hold the rear wings so that in the event of a strike, the bolts fail and don't tear out the rivnuts. I know people have also fitted Nerf bars in front of the lower edge of the rear wings to deflect cones.

Very glad to hear you've got it sorted. Now, time to drive the snot out of it!!!! :driving:

Someone on here was looking for a S1 or S2 Seven a week or two ago. Edit: Just found the thread from Ricko32 and he wants LHD. Oh well.

A guy I knew when I lived in Canada was into RC jets like this. He had two he'd built. I can't remember what the first one was, but IIRC, the second was an F-18 which was 7 feet long with a Thrust/Weight ratio over 1. He had something like $20k in that plane. I went with him one time to a meet that the local club had at an old RCAF base and saw a whole bunch of guys fly them. They are unbelievable. Airspeeds of up to 200mph or something like that. And every once in a while someone would crash theirs which was tragic to watch.

I don't know what spec your engine is built to, but mine is also a Marcovicci-Wenz engine and is very streetable. Having said that, mine is only ~135HP. If the car was running fine for so long and then suddenly started running poorly, I wouldn't really guess a carb problem - at least not in the sense of jetting, idle mixture, etc. Did the engine start acting up while in motion at speed? While at idle? pulling a way from a light? etc. Obvious things might be: - pull the plugs and see if any of them look strange - make sure you didn't have a plug wire come loose or something - check that throttle linkage between the carbs is still hooked up correctly.

Man, those cars are so beautiful. For those who, like me, are lusting but are still looking in the couch cushions for the other $64,999: http://cgi.ebay.com/1960-LOTUS-ELITE-BLUE-1-18-DIECAST-MODEL_W0QQitemZ150302183870QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDiecast_Vehicles?hash=item22feb551be&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A2127|293%3A2|294%3A50 :jester:

Keep in mind that the kart gleans *much* more benefit from the lateral slide method of braking than any "real" car would because in doing so it is able to use all 4 contact patches to provide braking force rather than just the rear two. Honestly, I'm surprised that the FSAE car would see much benefit from that technique. That they improved so much leads me to believe that either their brake balance was way out, or they were not making best use of the brakes. How did they stop the car in the first test? Lock 'em up, or threshold braking? True threshold braking is difficult, and particularly from such a low speed on dry pavement where the time duration of the event is relatively short. Secondly, in doing the "power slide" stop, did the drivers truly not make a control input until the beginning of the 35 feet ? I find that hard to believe, because from 70kph=64 ft/sec, even a 0.2s duration to react and get the car into the slide and decelerating would eat up 13 of the 35 ft, which leaves 22 ft to stop from 64 ft/sec ~ 3g which I don't really believe. What I'm saying is that in a true panic stop situation, where there's no advance notice of the impending stop, you'll burn a lot less distance stomping on the brake pedal than attempting to get your car into an appropriate slide to scrub the speed. With respect to ABS, in spite of how it tends to be marketed, the point of ABS is to maintain steering and vehicle stability through the braking event, not necessarily get the shortest stopping distance. Edit: What I have observed in my Seven is that *smooth* application of the brake pedal makes a big difference in getting the car to decelerate well. Indiscriminate stomping on the pedal causes the front wheels to lock up prior to building enough weight transfer to maximize their usefulness. Dave

Most importantly, the xflow on carbs makes it sound like a proper Seven. :jester: :leaving:

Nicely done!

I don't have any experience with making something like that cover, but as a resource I would recommend a book about DIY boat projects. There are many that discuss making bimini tops, etc which will be of similar weight material and probably employ many of the same techniques. Have a gander at the library or Barnes and Noble or similar and I'll bet you'll find something. Dave

This idea's been around on the 'net for a while. To be honest, I don't see a lot to recommend this. Splitting the cycle up does have some benefit, but they can't possibly make up for the negatives they seem to incur. Aside from the very valid points already raised, igniting after TDC as they seem forced to do will likely be a disaster as far as efficiency is concerned due to the finite burn time of the fuel mixture unless the engine is restricted to *very* low rpm. I also tend to be pretty wary of any supposed great new engine technology where the marketing materials do not show a prototype running and making net positive power or at least running! Particularly one that has been in development for years already.

Thanks for the reply, Steve. Don't worry, the desire to upgrade to an ali radiator isn't motivated by anything so rational as a delusion that it couldn't leak. Sounds like it's worth trying to find a local rad shop.

I discovered this morning that my radiator has begun leaking from along one of the seams where the bottom tank is attached. It qualifies as a seep, not a gush, but it is severe enough that it needs to be addressed. Anyone have any experience with repairing a radiator (or having it repaired)? Or am I better off just shelling out for a new one (and possibly upgrading to an ali rad in the process )

I wonder if you could get: MZDSFNNTZ Probably too many characters, but oh so appropriate.

It is amazing how incompetent alot of these salespeople are. My girlfriend is casually in the market for a new car. Not quite a year ago, she decided she liked how the Nissa Altima Coupe looked so we went to look at and drive one. After hanging around a car on the lot for several minutes a salesman came and greeted us. He proceeded to tell us how they couldn't move these cars at all and that Nissan just kept shipping them to the dealer. Not that I'm complaining, but what kind of salesman openly volunteers that they can't move the car you're interested in? We asked a few questions about equipment and he couldn't answer anything. Didn't even know which engine was in the car we were looking at. Then, on the test drive, Jude asks him what he would highlight as far as differences/discriminators from Accord, Camry. Here's what he said (no shit): "Well, this car has a completely different engine which is designed by Nissan, instead of a Honda or Toyota engine." WTF? I have no idea if he was an idiot or if he thought my girlfriend with degrees from Harvard and Cornell was an idiot, but I couldn't believe it. Jude and I still laugh about that guy. Sorry, that was a long post (and not GM related), but this thread highlights a special kind of incompetence.

I'm at 1180lbs w/ 135 HP (crank). 8.7 lbs/hp_crank Figure maybe 110 HP at the wheels 10.7 lbs/hp_wheel

I've driven 3: The first was a Caterham live axle car w/ 1700cc crossflow, bare aluminum, green wings, and yellow nose. Then, some time later I drove another car. This one was, erm, a Caterham live axle w/ 1700cc crossflow, bare aluminum, green wings. But! With *green* nose and rear exhaust not side exhaust. Then, I built my live axle Caterham with.....1700 xflow, aluminum/green/yellow and.....Red Interior! I guess I've been in a little bit of a configuration rut! But, what can I say, that's the one I always wanted.