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Its time for another GGLC Sunnyvale lunch. This time we will be meeting at 11:30 am for Persian food at Chelokababi. Its a small restaurant in the Camino Wolf Center strip mall and has a small parking lot which should be pretty empty at that time. The lunch is open to all Lotus enthusiasts and you do NOT have to be a GGLC member to join us. Se7eners are always welcome. Please RSVP on this thread by the 29th so I can make the necessary reservations. I will keep editing the first post with any updated information When: 11:30 am on Feb 4, 2009 (Thursday) Where: Chelokababi Restaurant 1236 S Wolfe Rd Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 737-1222 http://www.chelokababi.com/

Drop me line the next time you are around - maybe time for a Usa7s lunch?

A fellow 7 owner from Vallejo who also races Lemons???? May I ask which team you are on? I am the captain for Formula BMW (Pink Pig E30).

That is in the next vid - a little after the 2:00 mark

Since the guys who uploaded the videos are track day organizers and the official Italian importers for Caterham I'd think that they might actually know how to drive them. Easier to drive does not always mean more fun. I know that the ridiculous power to weight ratio (>400 bhp/ton) of the Ultralite was one of the main reasons I bought mine. Its great fun to get the back end to break traction at will.

Just posted this video from Track4Fun on the GGLC Blog: [/url]http://gglotus.org/blog/?p=561

My team used them as race tires on our Lemons E30 BMW race car. They did a pretty good job with good grip, progressive breakaway and good audible feedback when they slide. This was all in the dry so I dont know how they will perform in the rain.

As someone that has both, the Elise is absolutely is my practical car. I daily drive it and have over 45k miles on it including several trips to Costco.

My helmet works quite well for me and I always leave it in the car which means I cant forget it. Cant you just leave the glasses and cap in the car when parked at home? P.S: I went to Gatech 02-04 for my HCI masters

I'd likely join you for portion of your trip south from Carmel before either taking 101 or 1 back home. Will confirm as the date gets closer and the wife decides the Thanksgiving plans

I might be able to join you for a portion of the return trip (I live in the Bay area)

Team Illuminata has a list of Pro Race 1.2 prices: http://www.teamilluminata.com/Shop/TeamDynamics/TeamDynamics.htm

Sounds like another example of a govt employee slacking off and making up rules to avoid work

Thats the guy I called. Out of stock and said 6-8 weeks to order fresh.

I spoke to the CA distributor as well as Team Illuminata and neither of them had the 17 x 9s in stock. Where it got interesting was the CA guy said he could order them in 6-8 weeks while Illuminata said that it used to be 6-8 but now takes 12-16 weeks and that is standard across all importers. I didnt know who to believe and since I'd rather not wait at all I'm trying to see if I can get the Rota setup working instead.

I'm not planning on competition events either but I do believe that it will meet SCCA GCR reqs. We are replacing the current small diameter tube holding the dash in place with 1.25 inch DOM roll cage tube which will allow it to meet the requirements for "low front hoop" which mandates the hoop must be higher than the steering wheel. I looked at their site as well and am thinking of buying the Steel grey DPT in 17 x 9 (http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5732) for the rear and sticking with my current wheels 17 x 7.5 ( ) for the front. The number of spokes is different but I'm thinking that they are close enough in looks that most people wont notice. What do other folks think?

1) New roll cage - not really my project since I'm having a fabricator put it in for me 2) New harnesses 3) Kirkey full containment seat (driver only) 4) Wheels and R-comp tires 5) raise engine 6) replace suspension heim joints 7) replace fender rivets with bolts 8) replace carpeting once cage is done 9) replace wind deflector (current ones are too scratched up)

I'm going for something very similar to the cage Brian does on the newer cars (pic below)). Will have to cut out the existing roll bar and add a couple of square tube sections to the chassis as well to create a new load path. Will hopefully have it back next week and I'll create a new thread then.

The GGLC autcross is currently full but they might be able to squeeze in a few more club members so I suggest you sign up asap. Let me know the next time you head to Thunderhill and I might join you as well - am getting a full cage put in today and should have the car track ready by the end of the month.

You're welome. I'm most likely going to go for a set of DPT 17x 9s for the rear and torque 17x8s for the front. The wheeldude.com guys are up in Fremont and I'm just going to drive over and have a look at them before I buy.

What to people think about the Rota DPT wheels? http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5866 The 17x9 have an offset of 42 which should be plenty if 17x10 will fit with an offset of 45. At just over $200 a wheel and easy availability (compared to Team Dynamics) they could be a great budget option for the rears.

RA-1 and R888 are both treadwear 100 and DOT street legal. RA1s are also heat cycle free and grip till the cords - I havent tried the R888s yet but they are supposed to be the same compound as the RA1s

Thanks Jerry, its possible that the Falkens I got with the car have been heatcycled which could have led to the low grip. My newbie opinion is that this car really needs a staggered setup width wise because the back end would run out of grip well before the fronts complained. The lack of balance between front and rear was probably the bigger issue for me than the lack of grip. Do most people run wider rears or even all around?

I'm from Santa Calara myself - I noticed your mention of Thunderhill which is why I brought up the autocross I bought a pre-registered CA SB-100 car which made the DMV a 10 minute process. One thing I can tell you is that my title says that the car model year is 0000 - I dont know whay they were telling you to be 2006 My car currently has 235 width Falkens all around and that just isnt enough tire. I was at the GGLC autocross last weekend and my Elise on RA-1s was several seconds faster than the 7. Will probably move to 235/275 R888s as my street tire instead. Definitely, drop me a line the next time you are in the area. Also you should definitely sign up for the GGLC autocross since its a great way to learn the car.

I just bought my Ultralite 10 days ago but after spending most of Saturday on opposite lock IMHO the Falkens have nowhere near the grip you need for the cars power. I will likely end up using R888s as my standard street/track tire. I will be running some old Hoosiers (from the PO) at the next Golden Gate Lotus Club autocross (http://gglotus.org/blog/?p=427) in Santa Clara and you are welcome to come down and give the car a try.