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The shifter is an issue that Lotus has been dealing with for a while beacuse they are reusing gearboxes that were designed to be used in FWD applications and the various linkages have to be turned around. The Elise has a pretty crappy shifter as well. This version of the Evora is pretty much a GT car and not a track car. Its designed to sell to people who want a sporty 4 seat coupe that is not a 911. It is not for serious track work - the next version which is be a supercharged 2 seater should do much better at the track.

It's an april fools joke from last year.

Congratulations!!!

My header setup is slightly different with two on either side of the frame tubew http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4402112411_16069a1da6.jpg

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I believe that the original seat in my Ultralite was a 16 inch Ultrashield. At 6' 1" ~185 lbs I found them way too big for track work but ok for street driving. The main thing to watch out for is lumbar support which you can add using towels/cushions under the seat cover.

+1 Since you are looking for a Spec Miata size you should post on Miata.net and I'm sure someone there will let you try out their seat before you buy. Also dont forget o try both with and without your weather gear on.

Nice video Jim. I absolutely remember you from WCLM - before I met you I figured that sevens are only for short people in fair weather and then I see you at well over 6 foot driving it everywhere in the rain. I blame you for starting this unhealthy Seven obsession of mine Glad you like the Nittos. What kind of tire pressures are you running them at? I was using ~15 psi hot all around and ended up with some graining of the fronts. Its a self-built Locost with IIRC a Nissan motor. This is a picture of the car from WCLM 08 (I may be wrong) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2915071415_4ac3f6f323.jpg

Kitcar

That's what they are all about for you. The beauty of Sevens is that they are infinitely modifiable and can be made to fit each owners needs. There are plenty of us out there who bought them for the power and not necessarily the handling. IMHO the Elise has better handling and feel than my Seven but I still love the combination of power, handling and price that the Ultralite provides.

The really odd part is that if that happened on an Elise you actually would be locked out. The electric and key locks run separately and cannot unlock each other. British engineering FTW!

One you've experienced your steering get lighter at triple digit speeds you will happily trade drag for downforce Plus if you can get around bends faster your laptimes will still drop even you lose a couple of mph down the straights.

You could do the external surge tank that Tom Tweed created on his/my car (http://members.rennlist.com/tweedt/S2K.htm). I have had zero fuel starvation problems at track or autocross even though I am usually well under half a tank when I come off the track. Rather than asking us you should check the tank capacity on the car you are looking at. Each Ultralite has its own quirks and mine for example has a ~8 gallon tank. With the external surge I have run it down to less than half gallon left on the street with no spluttering. I have also driven 4 hours straight on the highway (70mph 4k rpm) with a helmet and earplugs without hearing issues.

I got one and will definitely recommend it. I put down my impressions and Laguna Seca sound readings at http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4728

Question about that - do you have individual masters with a balance bar as well as a bias valve on the rear line? I was reading somewhere that they dont recommend using both and it should be a one or the other approach.

Unfortunately neither of us was really pushing the cars anywhere near as fast as they could go. We were both on our second event in the cars so there was a lot of learning going on. In my case I had brake bias issues as well as a pedal box that made heel and toe impossible (in many cases I would just not bother shifting down). 2:00 flat:driving::hurray: I data logged only 2 sessions on Sunday and was did a best lap of 2:10 and a theoretical of 2:08. With fixed brakes and proper heel toe I should be easily into the 2:05 theoreticals at least. I just need to learn how to drive better before adding power to the car The guy in the Superstalker said he did a best lap of 2:01.5

My thoughts from a weekend at Buttonwillow. Includes pictures of Seven Se7ens, video of me chasing a Caterham R500 and details of a long tow home. [/url]http://www.rahulnair.net/blog/2010/06/07/buttonwillow-weekend/ http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4678636437_7900422936.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4679301698_7957538d1d.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4679971755_7150266d74.jpg

Full writeup including datalogged video of me chasing the R500: http://www.rahulnair.net/blog/2010/06/07/buttonwillow-weekend/

I've posted some of the photos at Track photos from Vanhap Photography (http://vanhap.com/) I do have more garage shots so let me know if you'd like more of any particular car. Video and write up will be forthcoming. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4678636437_7900422936.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4679296606_d938d83e93.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4679300452_80fb77e083.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4679301698_7957538d1d.jpg

If you are referring to the Elise then I can guarantee that they do not drain the lines. The service manual specifies that you leave it as is and to flush the coolers only in cases of major engine failure where the coolers may have been contaminated with debris. The oil coolers and lines hold 3.2 liters (~3.4 quarts) so it is significant amount of fluid. Again there is no harm in changing the oil in the coolers but I just want to say that it may not be necessary especially if you are on a frequent oil change schedule.

You dont really have to drain the oil all the way especially if you are doing frequent oil changes. On the Elise for example you have two front mounted oil coolers and 10-15 feet of hose connecting them to the engine but Lotus does not require that you drain the coolers. Instead you just chane the oil in the pan which which mixes with the old oil in the coolers and essentially distributes the waste on the first startup. This is on a car with specified oil changes every 7.5k miles which is nowhere near the 3-5k changes that most folks here will do.

Congrats. I hope you can make it down to some of the GGLC autocrosses this summer. Now that we have the same tire setup I'd love to see if you are having the same wheel slip issues that have been hitting me.

I used to have an Ultrasheild seat but found it to be very uncomfortable on long drives. I've since upgraded to an OMP pista composite seat that is waaaaay more comfortable - is 18.5 inches wide though.

You have PM

You have email. If you had posted this one day earlier you could have joined me at the GGLC autocross and gotten a ride in a Seven being driven by the reigning DSP national champion.