rnr

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.

Thanks guys

Jerry, was your fender support basically made of a single sheet of flat metal and bent at right angles to form the upright mount? Mine is completely different and is made of hollow square tube that is welded onto a flat metal support which is bolted to the upright. Yours looks like a much more practical and beefy design especially with your additional T-brackets.

You have PM

After having the fenders fall off 3 separate times I'm looking into the practicality of having someone machine a billet support. Do you know if anyone has tried that before? I do have the 12" Willwoods in the rear though the bigger problem was the bias was actually turned all the way to the rear as well. I ended up readjusting it to even front to rear and it became a lot better. A remote valve setup is definitely on the shopping list.

I've gotten rides with about half a dozen Solo Champs over the years and there are 2 things that stand out for me 1) They can get into any car and on the very first lap they can get to within 0.5 second of its ultimate pace. Ben usually drives a FR car but he can jump into a strangers Elise (MR) and immediately go faster than the original owner. 2) How quickly they can recover from mistakes and continue on without losing much time. I can usually catch my car when it wants to spin around but that usually costs me a lot of pace. These guys can instantly catch a slide and immediately change their lines to take the new position into account. The final thing is that it feels like they carry more speed and are firmer with their inputs in turns especially the slaloms. Though its possibly that this may be partly an illusion because when you are driving you anticipate the motion and brace appropriately which reduces the sensation of speed.

It was an amazing experience to ride with him - he makes cars do thing that I never even think of. He did say that while the Ultralite has potential it is a lot of work to drive and still has a long way to go in setup terms. This is my attempt to follow his lap. Not as much corner speed but is a pretty decent line though I did unfortunately run over the penultimate cone before the finish. I did have a faster lap later on but my passenger knocked the camera out of allignment when he got out :-(

I got Ben Martinez (reigning DSP National Champion) to take my Ultralite out for a couple of runs at the Lotus Club autocross yesterday. We spent a lot of time sideways in the first two runs before we were able to get the rear suspension soft enough for him to get drive out of the turns. The brakes were a little too far rear biased which meant that he had to brake very early or the rear end would step out. It was fascinating to see a really really really good driver drive the car and see what it can do - still have a long way to go with setup though. Click through to youtube to watch the video in HD.

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.

Since John is going to be driving south from WA he could pick them up on the way. Could be a great time to have another Sunnyvale lunch.

BTW if folks who are travelling need someone local to ship their tickets to I'd be happy to collect them and bring them to the event (will be there on saturday and sunday). PM me for more info. Also please let me know if you have any issues ordering tickets and I'll check it out on the GGLC end.

Is your gas cap a two way vent? I know that the one on mine is a one-way only (out -> in). If it is two-way would you mind posting a picture/part number because I have been looking to replace my current cap with a two way venting version.

I just ordered my tickets for Saturday. However since the wife will be bringing massive quantities of camera equipment I will probably be in the Elise instead of the Seven.

A sensitive right foot and a basic sense of self preservation should suffice

My car was measured at 95 dB @ Laguna Seca so it is definitely quite a bit louder :-) The SoloPro school sounds a lot like the Evo Phase 2 that I just did. It also had the same 4 course structure with only a morning walkthough with new elements being thrown in without walkthroughs while simultaneously reducing the number of runs on each course. Similar class size as well - 24 students with 4 instructors.

+1 on the helmet cam and looking ahead though it can cause nausea for people who watch. I've always thought that the best video for autocross would be a full view looking out the car with a picture in picture view of the helmet cam (like road racers have the pedal view) The Evo school was great though I do have to say that it is quite difficult to get proper instruction in a seven (cant hear the instructors). In the end we resorted to using hand signals to communicate.

Took some random videos at the Evo School this weekend Phase 1: Phase 2 (helmet cam): Click through to watch them in HD on youtube. Recorded using the ContourHD 1080P

Are you still going for 600 whp? I'm assuming with that much power and the right gearing you could probably get within spitting distance of 200.

You could try the Lithium Ion battery from Porsche: http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/2010/04/add-lightness-porsche-motorsport.html Only $2000