Croc

Good to see you on here Al! Hope all is well? Did you ever get through to Ben? Sadly I will not be able to make this event as I will be on the west coast that week but I hope the weather is fine and dry for you.

Mike - On Thunderbolt, look at your lines in the corners up to and including the octopus/Jersey Devil. I claw back a huge amount of time in 3 corners compared with your lines.

Agree that is happening but it happens as I change gear not because I am checking my speed. Look at my right hand go for 5th gear at that point plus look at my rev counter on the dash. Having sound would have made it easier to pick that up that detail.

I hear you Steve - I am always careful braking at the end of the straights - I have too much past race history butt puckering up the seat fabric when I discover there is nothing under the brake pedal. This video did confirm crossflows remain nicely competitive, especially on a momentum track like Lightning. Swap over the speed brake (windscreen) for a set of Brooklands and I think you will be even more happily surprised. Mike - for the bowl you should be foot to the floor halfway through, way way before the apex. At least that is what I am trying to do. The biggest single giveaway on all tracks is turn 1. This is followed by the 2-3-4-5 sequence on Lightning which you need to string together to make it all work as a run onto the back straight. MichaelD is sending me some video - I will see if I can merge it into this comparison. Video update - I have 19 x 22 min sessions startiing to render in HD. Takes approx 3-4 hours per session. I have previewed each raw video (29 sessions) and there is so much good stuff in there - Mike's two wheels off and dust cloud, Stewart's dust cloud, my oops moment, Steve's bonnet reflections, the Elise having death wobbles and then a later spin in front of me, Ron's spin from 2 angles, MichaelD's wing, etc. Only then can I start merging it all toegther into 1 big edited video. I had to buy a terrabyte drive to cope with the files! I am beginning to feel like Top Gear - ambitious but rubbish.

No I avoided warm up laps and cool down laps and I tried to stay with middle of sessions where you would be warmed up and going for it. I was trying to get faster, clear of traffic laps to be a better point of comparison on where each of us was best on each circuit. I think what it shows quite effectively is that you take the best corners out of each of us and there is a good to 1-2 seconds lap time saving for both of us. I need more time myself to think through what I am seeing. It is a very interesting comparison.

Hmmmm.....yes and no. Your lines are like mine - good in places and terrible in others - neither of us have a really good lap where all the corners come together. Also I call my driving 7/10th or 8/10ths as I am 3-4 seconds off what a good time in my car would be - I have a healthy respect for the track as I need to drive my car home at the end of it. Thinking about your comments above plus the idea you planted in our offline PMs re your videoa, I quickly put together a comparison of driving styles at each of Lightning and Thunderbolt Circuits. Four cars - Mike, Tom, Steve and myself. The results are very interesting. Mike and I are paired up top. My Thunderbolt lap has a 200 weight penalty called Jvbtte which evens things up with Mike better. Steve and Tom are paired down bottom. The crossflow was competitive with a Rover K series and they both have clams which give a major aerodynamic disadvantage. Tom also suffers extra wind resistance from 10 inch slick tires. Ideally I would have substituted MichaelD (if I had his video) as the better driver in place of Tom in order to match Steve's excellent driving skills (Tom will pay dearly for that saddle in Texas Roadhouse! ) I tried to pick laps that are representative - not the fastest but close in time and no traffic that holds things up so we can compare lines corner to corner. The rear view cam in my car on lightning is not quite synced with the front cam - fixing that for the event video. Each car has been started at the start finish line and the video only runs 1-2 laps time. I would review Mike/me first and then replay to see Tom/Steve as each pair is fairly consistent. For reference my GPS lap time on Lightning in the video is a 1.20.1 and on Thunderbolt is a 1.37.4 so you can estimate from that what the other cars are running. These videos are not in HD but will work full screen to see better. Sorry no sound as I could not combine 4 soundtracks properly. Lightning Thunderbolt The videos confirm what I already know - I need more time on Lightning as this was my second time on it plus I am awful at Turn 1 on both circuits. There are a number of corners where I give up speed just as Kitcat notes by overly slowing plus do not use the full width of the track. This should keep people occupied until I can finish off the proper video. Let the debate begin! :lurk:

For a moment I thought that was a photo of Tom's car then I realized it could not be - its going too fast! :jester:

I was wondering if it was the same Mike in Dubai off Blatchat and Tom plus the pic of your car in the other thread seems to confirm that it is. Welcome to the forum. :seeya:

Kindly provided to me by MichaelD to clarify a debate at the NJMP track days. Here are the Caterham SCCA EP lap records by circuit - posted on the forum for reference purposes: Carolina Motorsports Park 1:41.8 Eagles Canyon Raceway 2:00.32 LaJunta :56.6 New Jersey Motorsports Park (Lightning) 1:13.8 Lime Rock Park :57.9 Miller Motorsports Park East 1:45.7 New Jersey Motorsports Park (Thunder) 1:30.3 Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway (w/Oval 1-2) 1:05.3 Pocono 1:44 Pueblo Motorsports Park 1:39.8 Road Atlanta 1.35.4 Roebling Road 1:17.2 Summit Point Main 1:20.4 Texas Motor Speedway 1:32.4 VIR - North 1:38.9

Australia is pretty good at accepting refugees from third world countries. It is easy to get working visas sorted out and move across the Tasman Sea. I think there are more Kiwis (aka New Zealanders) in Australia than there are in New Zealand as there are more job opportunities given the strong economic growth. If he was a miner then he would have an instant $150k+ job in Western Australia - they are so desperate for workers.

Kiwi - If you do not get any response here then PM Kitcat on this forum. He has an IRS Birkin on road tyres and it handled pretty nicely at the sevens track days earlier this week.

On a CSR chassis probably not cost-effective given the chassis modifications needed around the pedal box, steering column and then a new dash. Its easily possible just not as cheap as you are hoping.

Mondo - That could leave a nasty taste in the mouth?:rofl: :leaving:

I watched your video last night, twice for some sessions. And it does not lie - you show up as nicely smooth on the video - no head games or jokes from me on this one. Your driving style is surprisingly close to mine - let the engine work, not many changes, use the width of the track, little shuffling of hands, etc. Only real difference is I am a stickler for technical track lines whereas you go offline from time to time. I will let you time your laps on screen. Fastest time for me on Lightning was 1.18.7 and a 1.35 neat on Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt time was set with Jack (Jvbtte) as passenger on the Sunday. My car is far more stable in high speed turns with a passenger. Here is to doing it again next year!

As the lucky owner of a CSR Superlight, all I can say is that they are one hell of a car to drive on road or track. It puts hair on my chest, arms, back, neck, face,....

Jason - The car looks absolutely beautiful in the photos. I hope there is a good replacement in the wings?

Here is a video recorded on the Sunday Members Day at NJMP by Glenn who runs a rapid Exige there. He is edging towards buying a Seven!

Was there daylight at the end of the tunnel?

I have mixed views about the "curvy" dash. I like its ergonomics and the way it looks. Every dial is easy to see when pushing on the track unlike the standard dash. I did have to adjust my left leg when using the clutch as it used to hit the lower arched bar below the wheel - no long legged drivers should apply. The non-removable wheel is closer to you which is how I like it. Having a proper indicator stalk, horn, and wiper stalk is just decadent . The big design issue that comes with the curvy dash style is the heat that the chassis tubes radiate into the cockpit. I had burns on my right elbow on Friday from driving to the track in 95 degree heat. I have a special foam insulation elbow rest that I normally use. The circular vents are kept permanently pointing skyward as they blast superheated air - a heater is never needed for this car. A cold climate (like the North Pole, Alaska or Canada) makes this a cosy car for use. The summer climate in NJ is bearable but not ideal. I would hate to use my car in Arizona or Texas where it is hotter. Anyway, the car for sale only has the standard dash and not the curvy dash so it is a moot point.

Jeff - It was a really nice surprise on Saturday when you came into the garage and said hello. We will definitely make sure you are aware next year when we try this again as doing NJMP on a Mon and Tues is much nicer than doing Debbie. I am starting to work through the raw video now. Tom's video will hopefully arrive by Saturday and I can start playing around in the editing process. Ron's spin was beautifully caught by Steve's camera. Kitcat's driving style was a surprise given his reputation - it is smooth to look at from behind the wheel and he only trucks around in 4th and 5th. The only flaw I have found so far is my Tuesday footage seems not to have picked up sound - I guess the mic batteries were worn out. Soundtrack time to cover up that stuff. Remember 15 sevens and we get our own run group next time. That would be really fun! :party:

Some say...Karl is planning a carbon fiber wing on his cage roof like MichaelD.... :willy_nilly:

Postscript - Less than a mile from home I was hailed by a white BMW 3 series. Turns out he knew I had a Caterham and a buddy of his just bought one in Houston Texas. The owner is on here but his friend did not know his profile name. Small world!

This thread was getting too long. To make it easier to find on the forum I started a new thread with photos and commentary at here: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=65893&posted=1#post65893 Head over to that thread to add your comments.

Another group photo with drivers and their cars: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC00460.jpg So on to Thunderbolt - a very fast technical track but a good challenging one to drive. A sevens freight train (we all just passed the M3 and the Mustang in the background). Front to back is Stewart, me, Steve: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC_2437.jpg Just before the Jersey Devil out the back of the circuit: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC_2851.jpg And again: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC_2833.jpg I am tired after 4 days on track (I was there early) but very happy and will be looking forward to doing this again. With 15 sevens we can have our own run group with no pesky Corvettes, Beemers, Porsches or Mustangs to provide mobile chicanes. Thank you to Tom for helping to pull this together. Looking forward to June 2013!

So Tuesday dawns perfect - bright, clear, and after the last 3 days no humidity. It was almost cool. A group photo on the podium for the drivers. Stewart is missing: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC00449.jpg Group photos at Thunderbolt circuit which we ran on the Tuesday: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC00451.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC00458.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%2006252012/DSC00453.jpg Do you like my carbon effect headlight covers from Sevenspeed? I had to have something in carbon that Karl does not have! ;-p