slomove

Really sorry to hear that and no, having been right does not make it better :nonod: I am wondering if water vapor from the dyno test coolant somehow got got past the gaskets. Another possibility might be that they ran the engine a few seconds before shipping and taped the exhaust shut before the exhaust gas condensate had an opportunity to evaporate. Hope this gets straightened out with not too much more trouble. On the upside....there will be one or the other USA7s club trip in 2009 :party: Gert

Suppose it depends on the sump configuration. The ZX1 with Raceline sump claimed to need 5 liters but that was always overfilling a bit. So, may 4.5 quarts are just right.

Obviously this can be developed from scratch but there are already many solutions on the market, be it installed in luxury cars or after-market controllers. So why would I want to re-invent the wheel? Also while the actual control unit could probably be made cheaply the required wheel sensors and actuators will cost some money. I would also guess if the big guys spent a few man-decades in getting this to work nicely there may be some smart tricks to it. That said, I would sound like an awesome project to me :cheers: On the other hand, if I wanted a car to legislate my right foot I would probably buy a BMW M5 or so......it is so unsevenish. Gert

Sorry, it is sold....

150 horses, come on.....IIRC this drag engine was supposed to make over 1300 hp. However, as displayed at the Arts Center show in Pasadena it was obvious the engine was never turned on. Maybe just a show piece. In case nobody noticed this is a Mercedes V8....But you are right, lot of plumbing. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/524855125_120_2095 Large e-mail view.jpg

How about a real engine....quad turbo :blueangel: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/357954276_120_2097 Large e-mail view.jpg

That is Bud Darling's Birkin? Very nice car! I checked it out (only 3 miles from my home) for another potential buyer and liked what I saw.

Good Choice!!!!! I can not say that my Birkin is jumping about much but maybe that is just a matter of expectation? Obviously my Honda Accord has a somewhat smoother ride. Actually I increased the spring rates from standard 250lbs front/150 lbs rear to 325lbs front/175 lbs rear without noticeable detriment to the ride quality (4000 miles in 2 weeks last summer without calluses on my butt). I do have the ball joint radius arms (home-made) and changed to Protech shocks but I forgot how much it may have been worse with the stock setup. I would experiment with the shock adjusters and make sure they are almost turned CCW completely for most soft setting (plus a few clicks depending on the shock type). That said, I know that most Se7ens with life axle or DeDions tend to hop a little around bumpy curves. Not sure if that holds true for IRS models like Westfield or S2K. But it has never really bothered me. Gert

Just read that fuel prices in Europe are now up to $ 2.17- 2.25 per *liter* (e.g. UK and Germany) Makes for a good $ 8.11 to 8.41 per US Gallon Maybe we should stop whining......or maybe start to get used to the pain. Gert

I emailed you back. Do you need any more information?

I just read that th 24-year old co-pilot was in control during the approach. After she got in trouble the captain pulled it out. Makes me wonder about judgment....

It is the rFactor Game There are several Caterham models available for free download with supposedly pretty real behavior but I never tried that. It is quite popular with some of the Blatchat folks.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ddb_1204404185

Last summer I had a large pebble or something smash into the windshield of my Seven, probably hurled by an oncoming truck. That made a nice star crack on the outside layer and a quarter sized shell crack on the inside layer of the laminated glass. I don't think sunglasses would have held up. Would not have been fun to catch it with the forehead, either.... How about a paintball mask and goggles? :jester: http://www.saspaintball.co.uk/img/paintball-masks.jpg Gert

I bought that game controller steering wheel/pedals and the rFactor racing game last year but must say I never got the hang of it. Very nicely made but not the real thing..... Anybody interested? I would sell for, well, how about $50. Please send PM if interested. Gert http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1827984261_Momo.jpg

FWIW, I have less back and neck pain after a day's worth of driving in the Seven than I have after driving same time in my Honda Accord. Admittedly it is easier to get in and out of the Accord

Yes, that may be true and a matter of discussion for neutral forum members. But I am with John that a commercial seller (even a small one) should not post something that smells like advertising. That said, I kind of agree with the post in question :jester:

Huh, that sounds like a good deal. And from Caterham?

But you can use the remains in your fireplace.....which begs the question if such a car needs an upgraded fire extinguisher system.

I run 225/50 on my stock Birkin 15" rear wheels, and 8"/22-13 ACB10 tires (nominally 235/45 R13) on my track wheels, no problem. For the front usually 195s are maximum unless you put small spacer bushings between wings and wing brackets. I know some people have put on 205s that way. Gert

Well, for now this is just an experiment to see if the horrible wear pattern improves (see below). I have no idea if it actually will work. As you can see from the various posts this is not really an exact science. Rather something between solid black magic and slightly superstitious beliefs. The only thing that is less scientific in the Se7en community is engine oil discussions :jester: Gert http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/441905497_RightFront.jpg

You will probably get as many opinions on that one as you get replies. Since the Weber and TB setups are not standard there is no "correct way". I know that a few folks who have had their PCV vent directly connected into the K&N carb air filter box (as has been done on my car and other early setups in the late nineties) experienced a big mess of oil spillage when using hard on track or during autox. A catch tank helped a lot but oil blown out of the PCV vent can still fill it up quickly. I sometimes had to drain it after each track session. I eventually shut off the PCV outlet and now vent only from the valve cover into a small catch tank. Crank case and valve area are anyway internally connected with sizable conduits (feel the pulsating air over the open oil filler neck in idle) and it should not really matter where you let the blow-by fumes escape. The catch tank may need draining of the condensed water and oil mist once a while. Works fine for me but there are surely other methods that work as well. Gert P.S.: Especially with Webers I am not aware of anyone using manifold vacuum in regular operation (actually I do use it for balancing the throttle bodies). The Charcoal canisters I have seen are rather for fuel tank venting but not all Sevens even have them. For that matter my fuel tank vents through a breather filter into the open air.

I tend to agree with Martin. I suppose "optimal" tire pressure depends on tire type (and type os use...). For my ACB10 bias ply track tires I use 17-18psi with good results. I tried to run my previous Bridgestone S03 radial road tires on the track with this low pressure and the result that the side walls rolled off the rim in corners and complete loss of pressure (happened twice until I found out). After increasing to 21-22 psi that problem went away and the tire behaved and wore well. Now I have Yoko ES100 radial road tires and tried the same setup. I get bad wear near the tire walls, especially on the inboard side of the tire. Now I changed the camber to neutral and increased the pressure to 26 psi. Let's see if that helps..... Gert

Well, makes sense. But does not make it easier....

Considering the time and crunching it takes me to get from forward to reverse with my T9 I don't know either how they do that. But I guess they run wooden tires. There is more dust than smoke coming from the spinning wheels. Gert