xcarguy

Dang, Z, looks like Christmas has come early around your house! :cheers: The car is looking great! :hurray: I hope you will load your photos on Gallery for other Stalker owners to see as I think there are several owners/builders out there who don't frequent this forum (I could be wrong). I don't have any input on your tire choice other than I too run 17's on the street and 15's on the track. My initial thought is to try the combo and report back with your results. In the mean time, I'm enjoying the show. :lurk: X

1) Wheels and tires Other than having a set of wheels built with a custom offset, opting for the type of wheels you want will probably require the use of wheel spacers/adapters. Earlier on, I ran 5zigen FN01R-C wheels which required the use of a spacers/adapters. I used these, first with drums on the rear, and then with Grand Am GT disk brakes on the rear which I am still running. Here’s what I did: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7111 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9335 For track use, many Stalker owners use to run (still run?) a 13” wheel/tire combo, however I believe the Goodyear tires that were being used with this combo are no longer available. I currently run a set of relatively cheap 15x10 aluminum wheels from Summit Racing (4.5 backspace) on both the front and the rear with Avon 10.7/21.5-15 (A11 compound) slicks all around. This combo was the result of several conversations with Roger Kraus Racing and their recommendation per my application and use. While my combination works very well, I’m researching other wheel/tire options such as Hoosiers or Avons and a set of 15” wheels from Kodiak or Keizer with custom backspacing. Here is the link for the Summit Racing wheels: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-571-5161ps/overview/ 2) Mufflers Not sure with the V6. The Flowmaster Hushpower mufflers I use with my LS6 work very well and, while they sound good, are not overly loud and intrusive. Some of the V6 cars seem to have an issue with exceeding decibel level limits at some tracks; Road Atlanta, for example. I would suggest contacting a manufacturer, such as Flowmaster, and seek guidance for your application. 3) Interior I personally like the bare aluminum look, but I’m a minimalist when it comes to these types of cars; I prefer form to follow function. IMHO, bed liner is a relatively heavy coating and once applied, it’s virtually impossible to remove. At the very MOST, I’d simply paint the panels and touch up as deemed necessary. For what it's worth, I have absolutely NO issues with heat in the cockpit with bare aluminum panels. 4) Rear end Why would you want to modify the rear end? It works great as is. Dennis Brunton put a lot of time and racing experience into designing a street car you could drive to the track, be competitive with and then drive it home, and all without touching a thing suspension-wise. Dennis Brunton, before he stopped racing, saw many NASA wins with his Stalker (super charged V6) which used the same four-link/panhard ‘straight-axle’ setup you currently have in your car. Here is a link to his web site which lists some of his previous wins: http://www.coilovershock.com/news.htm 5) Brakes First of all, you do not need a BIG BRAKE kit on these cars to stop them. As you start tracking your car, you’ll find that you can go deeper into the braking zones than most (if not all) other cars in your run group. I have a Wilwood kit installed on the front of my Stalker (sheds about 35lb over the stock S-10 setup) with BP-20 pads and stock Grand AM GT disks with stock pads in the rear: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9591 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9335 In addition to the BP-20 pad, Wilwood offers a BP-10 pad (comes stock with the kit) and a BP-30 pad. BP-20 is a good street/track pad and it doesn’t eat rotors. I have 7,000 plus miles and three track days on my BP-20’s and they look almost brand new. You’ll be hard pressed (no pun intended) to wear out the brakes on these cars. 6) Lightening the car Again, the Wilwood front brake kit is a start; 35lb decrease in weight. I also run a lightened flywheel and an aluminum driveshaft. Little things, such as running aluminum jam nuts with blue Locktite on the four-link and panhard heim joints. If your panhard bar is steel, consider changing over to aluminum; mine is an aluminum unit from Jegs and no issues on these light weight cars. And don’t coat the aluminum panels. The bars on top of the frame rails on your car (see photo in link below) are not standard. Unless needed for something I don’t see, consider removing them: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18834 Also, consider smaller headlights (5" as opposed to 7" units). Your headlights (7"?): http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18830 My headlights (5.5"): http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=23370 7) Other According to the following photo, you still have the old steering rack-to-spindle eyebolt type setup. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18856 I would strongly recommend (for reasons of safety) upgrading your steering rack-to-spindle connection from eyebolts to the following setup (available from Brunton) before tracking the car, I did. Scott Minehart (see number below) can shed more light on this issue: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=20051 Here is contact info for Brunton: Scott Minehart’s cell: 386-931-6437 Glen Minehart’s cell: 386-445-9962 Good luck with the car. :seeya:

Yep. That did it . . . now I'm really 'parsed' off! :cuss: Sorry, Bruce K, couldn't resist. Just trying to add a little humor to all of this. :smilielol5:

Parse . . . now there's a word you can have some fun with!

Before making the decision to group all V8-based Sevens into one weight-biased category, I would encourage you to experience the variants for yourself if at all possible. While I can't speak for the Westfield, or other V8-based Sevens, my Stalker, with it's aluminum LS6, has a near 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. I recently corner weighted the car, and empty (with no driver and prior to making any suspension adjustments), it had a mere 24lb front/rear imbalance. As for cornering, here is a video of an M-Spec 'V8' Stalker taking 1st place in Emod at a SCCA Solo National Tour:

Over-powered? Nonsense! How can anything be 'over-powered' when too much horse power is 'nearly' enough? :deadhorse::jester::deadhorse:

Okay, borrowed photo, but . . . . :devil:

scannon nailed it ....... ditto.

How about a photo of the cracked mount. It would make for a more informed decision.

Escondidoron, Seriously, my comment was just a pun. Clearly, not ALL the cars in the video are Porsches, but there are ALOT of them in the vid. X

Does anybody over there NOT own a Porsche?

Very impressive!

Nordschliefe........okay, I'll admit it, I'm envious; been on my bucket list for awhile now.

Okay, living in Germany and now driving a 7.........Your next post better have something to do with the Nurburgring! Welcome aboard, bigdog!

Sorry .... Is the pickup area clean?

Just a stab here, but us the pickup area clean; road grime, etc.?

I have a chop saw, welder and cutting torch that screams YES! :smash:

Next thing you know, they (whoever THEY are) will have scaled chassis dynos and micro tunes. :jester:

Cobra, As locost7018 said, Caterhams are imported, as are Birkins; Caterhams from the U.K. and Birkins from South Africa. If parts are needed for either car, and not readily available state-side, getting the part may be an issue, and then there is the cost involved. Caterham and Birkin owners can chime in here and give you guidance.

Cobra, If you are insistent on the purest look, (IMHO) look first to Caterham and Birkin as these two cars best replicate the original Lotus 7 style. The majority of these cars are (were, at the time of original purchase) equipped with foul weather gear, but very few owners (at least, the ones I’ve met) have actually ever use the top and doors. These cars were meant to be driven in the open air, period. If you want the look of a seven with phenomenal power-to-weight, then you may want to consider a Brunton Stalker. There are several cars out there with the super charged V6 and the V8 cars are finding popularity among Seven fans. I’ve personally owned a Birkin and now own a Stalker with an LS6. However, unlike Caterhams and Birkins, which are very common in build quality as well as in appearance due to factory completeness of the cars, Stalkers are more like finger prints; they may look the same, but they are ALL different. The majority of the used Brunton cars available (unless factory built) began life as a truly basic kit with the owner/builder needing to source the majority of his/her parts for the build. Seat/seat positioning is different; steereing wheel positioning is different; gauge/dash layout will be different . . . . . . And, most importantly, build quality will be different. As for occasionally driving in a straight line, very fast, that’s not likely going to be the only type of driving you will want to do with a Seven. Once you get a taste of twisty asphalt under your Toyo’s, there’s no turning back. Anyone on this forum with seat time in a Seven will certainly agree. As for the mechanics of these cars, it does not matter which variant you purchase, you will have to do some wrenching. That’s simply a part of Seven ownership. While not totally necessary for ownership, being a gear head helps. I’ve personally never owned a ‘specialty’ car that I did not have/want to turn a wrench on. Things break or you will want to upgrade/modify. Own a Seven long enough (probably a month or less) and you will find yourself wrenching for both reasons. As for my car, I own it for the second time. If you click on the link with my signature and browse the last two pages of my build file, you will find numerous fixes/mods from the past year. For the best out-of-the-box experience with first-time Seven ownership, purchase the most well-sorted car you can afford. However, don’t be afraid to buy a car that has a few issues, especially if the price is right. If you are handy with a wrench, these things can be sorted over time, and wrenching on the car will allow you to become intimate with the mechanics of the car. A plus for the Stalker is that it’s a U.S. derived replica and parts are readily available over-the-counter at virtually any parts store. Good luck. :seeya:

Tom, I may have missed it, but have you added a 'water wetter' to your coolant?

What did the previous diffs do?

Now, that's good! :cheers:

Is it synthetic or organic?

Breakdowns, grasshoppers, doo rags, desert, pretty girls . . . That's one man-sized, man-up road trip! Congratulations on Seven ownership!