pierats

Terry, what is the recommended time between rebuilds?

Copying here for any bay area se7eners: http://californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/showthread.php?1969-Nor-Cal-Sevens-picnic After driving today, Tom and I were discussing the sometimes spotty contact between 7 owners and enthusiasts in the area. So we thought it might be good to have a picnic. So I'm thinking, depending on whether it rains or not, maybe Saturday, October 13th or 20th I'll go down to Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos ($6 for parking, but very safe!) with some basic picnic fare and hang out at one of the first come, first served picnic tables by the creek. Any with a Caterham, Birkin, WCM, CMC, or whatever are welcome to join me, and any who don't have one would be welcome as well. Please register interest here, or PM, or CCC site or whatever. Shooting for the 13th, weather permitting, and moving to the 20th only in the event of a rainy 13th. Why Vasona? No. 1 reason: close to twisty roads! has a cool 100+ year-old train and a 100+ year-old carousel it's large, with lots of parking has a creek and a lake, with paddle boats, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards for hire, as well as fishing if that's your thing a large playground area for kids (two actually, counting the one in the adjacent Oak Meadow park), if you have kids lots of BBQ facilities/picnic tables burgers/hot dogs/popsicles/etc. available for purchase if you don't feel like doing that stuff yourself, and not crazy expensive freeway close! a whole bunch of trails throughout (and beyond) for hiking and/or biking Gotta be one of the better parks in the area. -- Tom Jones

Yes Caterhams are light and I think NA engines are nice, but I'd love to have the HP to blow by a GT3 on the track. It will not happen with a NA engine. Terry, I love the sound of your Rotrex & Hayabusa powered seven. Please post more videos! How is it's drivablity compared to the NA Hayabusa?

Hi Sean, How thick is the spacer? Also what is the throw distance of the bearing? Thanks, Tom

YES: http://www.mirrorsforsevens.com/

This looks like a VERY nice car.

Why yes, I do. $100 Tom

That was GREAT! . . . But now I want an upgrade or two.

That is most excellent! Way to go Pee Wee!

I have a set of brooklands on my car. I have a makeshift center mirror, but will be upgrading to either a spa or one of the Racetech mirrors, which are similar but narrower. The exterior mirrors are slightly convex GT style mirrors mounted on tripods. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4800539825_848b016555.jpg

Wow. I see this and think: "Trees don't move. Really. If you hit one, the tree will not give, your car (or you!) will!!"

I've done a fair share of touring miles. I have a starcom intercom wired into the car. I've used various headsets. The over the ear headsets are convenient, but as Gert says they can get sweaty/sticky on hot days - they are GREAT when it's cold out!. They can also squeeze your head after a few hours of wearing them. A member of se7ens.net worked with Sensorcom to create an in ear solution. They did a group buy but now it seems like they have made it a product: http://www.sensorcom.com/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=346 They work best if you have custom molded earpieces made for them. This is a very nice solution as it does not get hot and it's unobtrusive. It also transfers less wind noise (the aviation headsets transmit wind noise from their body because it is in the slipstream). The downside of the in ear guys is that it takes a little while longer to put on and they are a bit pricey. I found that the headset does two things: #1 it reduces the ambient noise - which is fatiguing on a long tour, #2 it allows you to have a nice easy conversation with your passenger (instead of having to work at it). Both of these add up to a more pleasurable touring experience. You can also connect it to a cell phone, a gps, ipod and/or wire in a car-car radio, but these are really secondary reasons to the above items. All in all I would not drive for a long period of time without some kind of hearing protection. If I'm not wearing a headset, I'll be wearing foam earplugs.

That is a very nice looking Saab - wish it was a turbo!

Gert, that looks like a great trip. I'm interested. Tom

Check out this article on making your own seat bottom. The plastic bit is available from Oxted Trimming http://www.oxtedtrimming.co.uk/caterhamcars.php http://www.sjmmarsh.f2s.com/Caterham/Foam%20Seat.html

John, I'll be there. Ordered tickets for both days.

Seems like a very interesting project. I wonder what the drivetrain losses would be for this setup?

For those of us who tour in their se7ens it is quite valuable to know your mileage - because this gives you a range. I know some owners who are only getting 12mpg, which limits their range considerably. In turn, this makes the job of planning a tour tricky, because you have to make sure there is not too much distance between fuel locations (this can be tough in some spots!). Hank, let us know how your next trip turns out. All of our cars fuel consumption goes way up with aggressive driving (especially on the track) but I would guess that you're going to easily get up to 25mpg. FWIW, my 2.0 duratec get's ~30 when touring.

Redbeard!

I had a generic AGM battery, but it eventually died. I replaced it with the Odyssey PC680. The two batteries are the same dimensions, but the PC680 is probably twice the weight. I took this to mean that there is more capacity (quality?) in the Odyssey than the generic version. The Odyssey was more expensive...I suppose you get what you pay for.

I'd love to have one that is street legal! That would cut down my commute. EDIT - I just looked at their website and it IS Street legal! Awesome. 3-wheeled vehicles are allowed in the HOV lane here in CA. I agree that it is odd to have a huge front wing but nothing in the rear.

Ed, Nope, just hitching a ride. Tom

Ed, Thanks for thinking of me. I'm sure this would be a great tour - the fact that they have run haggis so many times just shows how much everyone enjoys it. I'd jump on it, but I'm saving up for Italy.

Yeah, that is a good one. I really like the 5th gear shots of the car sliding around on the wet track. Taken from this video perhaps? http://www.garagetv.com/video-gallery/flitspaal/fifth_gear_lotus_exige_s_vs_caterham_7_csr_260_superlight.aspx

Mike, I'm guessing these would do? http://gotbluemilk.com/web100215b/56/index.html