rnr

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

Have you ever tried RT615s on a heavier car? Say a Mustang?

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.

Only on a Se7en site would an Elise be referred to as a "practical" car:)!

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.

The sun. I've had quite a few drives be uncomfortable and dangerous because I am forced to squint (or use a hand as a visor) due to the sun. Usually the solution is a tight-fitting baseball hat and sunglasses, but these are often forgotten, and are not 100% effective. Its a shame to think a sunny day car is anything but that.

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

Hello rnr, that would be nice.

 

Here is the plan:

We are planning to leave Thursday, 11/26 around 8am from Pasadena, stay in King City (Keefer's Inn), drive up Friday to Carmel and back to Paso Robles (Best Western Black Oak) and return home Saturday from Paso Robles.

 

If anybody wants to join us and meet at some point please let me know.

 

Gert

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

I prefer to call the U.S. distributor you faster action. 909 947 0114

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

I'm not real big on the look of the Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 but sent them an email about size (checking to see if the 9.5" is actualy available) and fitment. Sent them an email when the link first came up on this thread and didn't hear back so hoping for better luck this time. What a difference wheel shopping is for this car than past ones where my "problem" has been picking from so big a list it was hard to decide.

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.

Nice roll bar set up. I don't plan to enter my S2k in competition events, partly because I didn't think the lack of side bars and cage would fly and partly because I'm getting a bit less competetive after passing 60 a couple of years back. Will the setup shown in the photo meet the "full cage" requirement? Looks like it will meet side impact.

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 talked with the Wheeldude store in Fremont to make sure someone would be there this afternoon before I went by. Guy I talked to had no idea what a kit car or lotus 7 clone was and pretty much said nothing in one type of wheel that would match the size/bolt/offset I was looking for.

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)

Please post some pics of the cage when you get a chance... I'd be interested to see what it looks like.

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.

Really getting stoked to take the 7 out to T-hill or where ever HOD or some other club event I can get onto is happening. Lotus Club has an AX coming up in Santa Clara that would probabaly be fun, and a great learning curve since I don't know squat about how the 7 handles, but I'm a confirmed speed freak so miles of track is always going to top a parking lot.

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.

Hey RNR. If your reading this thanks for the Rota link. Only a couple of wheels that will work but looks like I can go with a 17" X 8" front but have to jump to an 18" rear wheel to get the offsets that work in a set and have 5X100 available.

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.

On the tire note; Already figured that Hoosiers are better than just about anything that is street rated as I think tread wear has to be 200 to get a street DOT (that's just from hearsay so don't quote me on it) and that means you have to give up quite a bit of stick.

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

I have Falkens on my S2K, and they are very good on the track and street, particularly when new. They definitely do not like being cold, and tend to loose grip when old and heat cycled ( like most tires)

Thanks Jerry, its possible that the Falkens I got with the car have been heatcycled which could have led to the low grip.

Opposite lock is not unusual in an S2k, prticularly if you hammer it in 1st or 2nd. With my half worn Falkens, full throttle in 2nd gear will break the tires loose continuously in a straight line.

I can't comment on the hoosiers or the r888's as I have only used the falkens ( two sets). I'm not sure if you can ever get enough meat under the back end of a seven, particularly if you have high horepower.

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?

Santa Clara autocross, you must be a local to the Bay Area also. I'm in San Mateo but have the car warehoused in Milpitas as I didn't have much luck trying to register it so it's been a paperweight for the trailer since I got it. What are you doing for the DMV, SB100?

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

The Falkens were pretty decent on the MINI but it's not light for a small car and front wheel drive to boot. Was mostly a question of getting a lot of rubber on the road and the big contact patches on the Falkens did that pretty well. I also down sized to 16" (Just cleared the Wilwoods) and went really light and max width on the wheels when I went to the Falkens so that may have been part of the improvement over the two previous track sets.

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.

Thanks for the input and lets get together and drool over our cars. LOL

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.