Croc

I have continued my personal interest in this topic by following up with WindCutter who specialize in sound recording solutions including wind shielding for microphones. Below is an extract from an email exchange I have been having with Michael Stamp of WindCutter. He very kindly consented to me posting extracts of his email on this forum as I believe it is very helpful for us to hear from a professional. indented text in blue is from Michael's email: Email I've been giving your problem some thought and have a few ideas that can be tried to reduce the wind noise. I noticed you are trying to capture the car's unique engine sound. In the sound recording industry the proper term for any sound you want to record, is "sound". Any sound that you do not want to pick up in your recording is called "noise", as in wind noise. For example, if you wanted to capture a recording of a bird song and there was a car engine being picked up in the recording, the car engine would be referred to as noise, and the bird's song would be referred to as sound. Likewise, if you were intending to record only the sound of a car engine and you picked up the sound of an unwanted bird, the bird sound would be the "noise". Recording moving car sounds is one of the most difficult recording situations, especially at high speeds. There are several problems that must be dealt with. 1. Equipment. I suggest you use an audio recorder (like your Tascam or Zoom) and separate wired microphone/s. The recorder can be inside the vehicle and a wire run to the microphone/s. The mic wires should be taped down using gaffer's tape Gaffer's tape is designed for this purpose. It's strong, re-positionable, sticks very well and won't harm your car's finish. A good lavalier mic should work in most cases where the sound you are after isn't to far from the mic. You will need to shock-mount your microphone so it doesn't pick up unwanted vibration noise.A shock mount can be made using foam or rubber as an insulator between the microphone and the mounting surface. If you would like, I can design and build a shock mount enclosure system for your particular microphone/s. Some Zip Ties would be handy for securing your shock-mounted microphone to your desired mounting locations. And of course you'll need a StormChaser WindCutter designed to work with your particular set-up. 2. Microphone Placement. This takes some experimentation and trial and error. You may find it helpful to have another person drive the car while you test your record levels on your recorder while listening to the live sound through headphones. You'll be watching your meters and listening to make sure your audio levels don't peak (too loud). Also, you should be listening for any rattles or vibrations in your mics mounting. You'll also be listening to determine if you are getting the sound you want without noise that you don't want. You may have to try moving the mic or adjusting it's angle to avoid unwanted noise and try again. When mounting the microphone, you want to avoid surfaces that will get very hot. You also want to try to keep the mic out of pick-up range of radiator fans and any other engine parts that create sounds that you don't want in your recordings. I like your idea of placing a microphone on the rear fender aimed at the exhaust pipe. Some long strips of gaffer's tape should be able to secure a mic in that location. The mic would need to be both shock-mounted and shielded from the wind stream. I have some ideas about how to get it shielded from the wind and shock-mounted. My idea is to place the mic inside a plastic tube like a PVC pipe. The inside of the tube would need to have some sound dampening foam like what microphone foam windscreens are made of and it would also need a shock mount system built into it. The interior foam material to prevent any reverberation caused by sound waves bouncing off the interior of the tube. The outside of the tube should be wrapped in something like Neoprene rubber or similar material. This outer material would serve as a first level shock-mount and protect the car's finish from scratches. In addition to recording the exhaust sound (called the exhaust "note"), you'll probably want to place a separate mic to record the engine sound. This can be done from under the bonnet. This type of placement can be tested with the car's engine running while the car is still and then tested while at speed to check for wind noise. Once again a tube apparatus might work well in the engine compartment as well. 3. Technique. A lot of trial and error to discover what works best. Here is a link to an article by an expert Hollywood sound man who has a lot of experience in recording car sounds. I think you'll find this article helpful in learning some of the techniques the pros have developed. Rob Nokes Guide to Recording Cars Best regards, Michael Design & Fabrication TheWindCutter.com http://www.thewindcutter.com/shop/ I will note that I use the WindCutter microphone "dead cat" wind shielders and they have been the most durable out of all brands I have used so far, although I suspect they would melt if taped to the exhaust...

I don't want to say yes for fear of jinxing myself given the delays so far. Sadly a fire pole was rejected - I actually did try - its against Millville building codes. However, the recessed flush mount lift that can do double duty for cars and as a podium for dancing girls was approved along with a deck overlooking the track where we can set up a video to record for posterity your spins on warm up laps

In case people do not look down in the North East seciton of this forum, I just posted a save the date on our 2014 - link below: http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9158 This year we have arranged for a Sevens only session - so no big cars that get in the way as we scoot around corners! :hurray: Hope to see you there in 2014!

Video links from our 2013 event

East Coast Sevens Track Days 2014 Following on from a successful 3 year run of HPDE track days with the great group of Seven owners, it is time to lay out our plans for 2014. SAVE THE DATES – Friday July 4 to Sunday July 6, 2014 This year we are going all out – we have managed to get agreement to have a private Sevens run group. That’s right, no big cars, only Sevens in our HPDE group. We will have approximately 2 hours of exclusive track time each day spread over 4 sessions at the New Jersey Motorsports Park Lightning Circuit. The format of the day runs as follows: 7-9am Tech inspection and set up cars for the day 8am Breakfast is available 8.30am Drivers briefing 9-12 noon Track is live. 2 sessions of track time for us. 12-1pm Buffet lunch at the NJMP Clubhouse 1pm to 5pm Track is live. 2 session of track time for us. We are scheduled to run the Lightning Circuit for both Friday July 4 and Saturday July 5. Cost is yet to be finalized but will be approximately $200 per day which includes breakfast and lunch and all refreshments (non-alcoholic) during the day. There are a few instructors available if you are new to the circuit. The NJMP instructors are highly experienced and most have past experience of being terrorized as passengers in a Seven. The day is aimed at those who have been on a track before and understand the HPDE concepts of cornering, braking, flags and signals plus rules of the track in pointing people by and, most importantly, staying safe. Rules will be passing on straights and only with a point by from the driver being overtaken. This is not a race – there is no trophy – it is HPDE. If you are interested in joining the event but have not been on track before then PM me offline and we can work out the best way for you to attend a few introductory events in advance to get you up to speed safely so you can participate. Having a Sevens only event will be a huge improvement over our previous years where we have had to navigate other cars more used to wobbling around corners than our corner carvers. So it will be a much more enjoyable track experience than in prior years. For the evening of Thursday July 3, 2014 we will have an informal dinner at the NJMP Clubhouse for those arriving the night before. On the evening of July 4, 2014 we are invited to join the NJMP member group at their Annual July 4 party held at the residence of one of the NJMP founders near the track. This is a great event hosted by Don Fauerbach at his home on the Maurice River where everyone enjoys talking cars – even most of the spouses! Cost to be finalized but will be reasonable based on past history. For the evening of July 5 the current plan is to have a group BBQ at the track, grill some steaks, some salads, a few drinks and a lot of laughs. If this does not work out we can always organize a group dinner at one of the many local restaurants. For Sunday July 6, with a more respectable start time, we plan to hold a karting completion so that we can show who is really the best driver. NJMP has one of the largest karting facilities on the east coast with a range of challenging track layouts as Tom, Karl and I recently discovered. Format will be: 10 minute Practice 12 Lap Qualifier 16 Lap feature Race Winner will get a trophy and more importantly bragging rights on USA7s! Cost for the karting is expected to be $80 per person. Spouses and pit crews are invited to join in the karting – you do not have to be a Seven owner to compete. Depending on interest we may need to have a second group. We are still trying to see about the possibility of a third track day adding onto the two days already guaranteed but that cannot be guaranteed at this time. There are lots of accommodation options to choose from. There are pit suites located above the pit complex at the Thunderbolt circuit which run at $110-120 per night. These are basic and comfortable motel units located on the NJMP property over at the other circuit (Lightning) to which we are running. In Millville/Vineland, for similar money you can find the more upmarket Hampton Inn, Fairfield Suites, and Holiday Inn Express, although not as convenient. There are cheaper motels located in Millville which may suit your interest. Camping is allowed on property at NJMP and there are electricity hook ups available if you have a caravan. You can leave your car/trailer at the track as there is strong 24 hour security. There is the possibility of garaging your car on property for a small fee. Past participants will know that this event is really a social time with the other participants sharing a great experience. Just ask them if you want to know how much fun it can be. At this time, we do not need firm commitments or money but we encourage you to mark the dates down and think seriously about joining in an event that has been huge fun for the participants in previous years. To get you in the mood here are some photos from last year plus the link to the YouTube video put together in good fun after the successful 2013 event. I look forward to seeing you there! :seeya: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5580_zpsd70be67f.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/NJMP06212013groupdinnerpic_zpsab87252d.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1193_zps50335316.jpg

Rob Nokes Guide to Recording Cars http://designingsound.org/2010/08/rob-nokes-special-guide-to-recording-cars/

No she was never a Scientologist but Tom Cruise is gay if that helps? :svengo:

Ok ok I did not realize you were lusting over my car and here I was just happily driving mine oblivious to your breaking one of the ten commandments - thou shall not covet another man's woman! Did you want to risk frostbite and drive mine on Saturday? It may cause you to have a Scientologist experience and upgrade to a Duratec :dupe:

Reminds me of the ass of one of my previous women...it spread out just as widdddde...

That is a really neat looking set up. Packaging is tight but you really have thought it through carefully as it seems to work. I guess this is not a plug and play exercise and involves a lot of custom fabrication, tuning, etc? Despite not having any free money right now thanks to a few ongoing car restorations and a garage build I do have all this free space at the front of my engine that I could fill with something useful..... Happy Thanksgiving!

:rofl: And you wonder why you have been hitting things! Please invite me next time - that looks great fun! :seeya:

+1 on this comment!

Skip I am just pissing myself laughing of the image of you going head on into your lift tower! Your workshop is plenty big enough in the other direction! :rofl: I think I want one of these for Christmas :drool:

Dave - you said exactly what I was thinking. Submarining is my biggest concern in our cars especially against SUV and feral F150 drivers. I am curious if the passenger compartment cage played any role in stopping the Stalker from submarining further? I think the Brunton Auto team deserve a big thumbs up for building a good strong car that can stand up to an accident like this.

All I will say is that if the government cannot efficiently run a country then what hope do they have in establishing and running a mere website! :leaving:

....and my 13 inch wheels.....

Maybe you are right? Maybe the various shop fitters are right? Maybe the manufacturers are right? Given the environment where I am using the car I felt it was an unacceptable risk to stretch them that far and went with a consensus view from the majority on the basis I was getting a sensible answer to my problem. Call me conservative but at least I dont look stupid with an ill-judged decision on a topic where I am happy to admit I am not an expert.

Daniel, I never did go for the R888s although I have since learned a CSR owner in Europe has fitted them. Its close but they fit supposedly. I have been trying to go a different direction - 13 inch custom rims for my offset that I can then mount a bunch of thicker sidewall sticky tire brands on. Despite others with fat wallets saying I should go for slicks I don't feel the need for that. 235/50/15 can be stretched for the rears. Any lower (i.e 225/50s) cannot and you will find tire installers will refuse to for fear of litigation - they will only follow the manufacturer installation guidance - I tried and got rejected. Between LA and Shanghai means you are in Hawaii or Guam? With a seven??? Cheers mike

I can see Wemtd is a polisher! Nice car! Well for a different type of scale here is my car next to the E type: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/October%202011/DSC00951_edited-2.jpg And for a scary type of comparison here is Jvbtte's seven next to a Lamborghini LM002: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/October%202011/DSC00950_edited-1.jpg I have seen the D type before - lovely piece of work. But when are you going to come out and play with other sevens Stiggy? :cooldude:

Forget Caterham's online UK store - just call them direct in the UK during their working hours. The website is frequently inaccurate as to what parts are or are not available. The out of stock issue on critical parts has lately been unacceptable. Sadly I think they are suffering from trying to grow too big too quick. I second Redline as a place to phone. They have frequently managed to send me parts within a week across the Atlantic for very reasonable prices. I usually call the UK directly these days when I need something - easier and quicker and often cheaper than trying to get locally.

Martin - Congratulations and comiserations are in order. I hope you find something of interest to move onto but that we still see you turn up on this forum from time to time.

Hardly, Steve is like the local neighborhood dog, he chases anything that moves! :jester: Hi Steve :seeya:

Unless you run a business it may be hard to understand but Caterhams are expensive because they have a small number production run built largely by hand in one of the most expensive countries in the world for manual labor. If the design was radically changing to go more advanced then you would see them far more expensive again as they seek to recover from that investment. The comparison between Caterham and Donkervoort is interesting as Donkervoort have tried to make the cars technologically advanced and they cost double to triple the Caterhams now. I saw the financial details of Caterham when it was shopped to us at it last private equity buyout and while I cannot disclose details I can confirm that there are no mega profits in the business. In fact I thought it was a bad investment - great product/brilliant cars but high cost production and low margins with the uncertainty of heavy capital demands from the production/inventory process and high risk to whims of markets/trends and uncertainty over government regulation making the cost of compliance prohibitive. I think the current management are doing reasonably well with the hand they have to play. While I would love cheaper cars personally, if you want one you have to pony up the cash because thats what it takes to live the dream. Very sad but true. Personally, I think Brunton Stalker have a better business model foundation than Caterham and have the advantage of a cheaper cost structure to scale up in the future. I hope they continue to do well. Anyway, an emotional debate about high prices for the cars we love should not be disrupted by sensible logic! :jester:

Keep Calm and Blat on

Of course they will. Hell, they even let me, a truly redneck southerner, get involved. Us southerners should stick together and show these yankees how to drive - not too difficult actually!:cooldude: