slomove

I have had some oil weeping for the last 2 years after using the car on track (a few spoonful trickling down the front of the engine for every track session) and I believe it started after I upgraded the cams. There is no oil spill when road driving. This engine is a Contour based Zetec ZX1 with Raceline cam shafts. It was enough to be annoying but so far not enough to make me do something about it. Today I bit the bullet, took the belt and pulleys off and it actually confirmed the oil is coming from the intake cam shaft oil seal (see the oil droplet on the milled flange below the shaft).http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/240120870_CamDrooling.jpg Question to the folks who know the Zetec: Is it likely that the seal is just damaged? I re-used the old cam shaft seals when upgrading the cams. Or is the seal just not seated properly? It looks like the seal is pushed in further on the top. Since I have it now apart and need to do the cam adjustment anyway I guess I will replace the seals. Anything I should look out for so that this does not happen again? Thanks, Gert

Hmmm, and my homepage link does not work ?

No test....but a question: How do I change my password from the automatically generated one to something new? Thanks, Gert

Al, if you should know an unemployed journalist who can afford 2 weeks out (and is looking for a vacation), we may find a seat for the Pacific Northwest tour in August http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif But that might rather end up in a coffee table book than in an article http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Gert

Somebody who will not be named lost the key for his Birkin while on a trip and had somebody drive him home to pick up the spare key. For safety reasons he took the steering wheel with him. When he returned to the car with the spare key he found that he left the steering wheel at home. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif Since he really did not want to make another round trip he drove his Seven home (a few miles) holding on to the big center knob that holds the Birkin removable steering wheel. He said, once the car got moving it was not too difficult. I did not see it but it sounded credible. Obviously that would be more difficult with the removable wheel that has only the spline on the column. So, maybe good advice but not entirely mandatory http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif Gert

yeah, their typical customers keep a dust cloth over the cars, polish them every weekend and drive one of their treasures up and down main street when the sun shines only. After all it is a collector's car insurance and who would expose a collector's car to the elements? I think that is part of the deal. Don't even think of mentioning track days or autox. My latest Hagerty contract practically disclaims any coverage if you even come close to a racetrack. Gert

As they transmit time, position and precise speed (0,05 m/s), the speed between time stamps could be interpolated with pretty good accuracy. It might be at least good to 1/10 sec, possibly better. I am not sure however, what the time window for the speed measurement in the GPS chipset is for every transmission, i.e. if it is almost spontaneously or over a certain period within the 1/5 sec. This Bluetooth GPS standalone solution is not going to compete with high-end 100Hz GPS data acquisition systems. The beauty is in the comparably low cost and unobtrusive size at reasonable accuracy. You don't even need to install it in the car but can carry it in your pockets. Gertslomove2007-03-30 15:29:19

After a demonstration at the last track day I have been playing a somewhat with the MaxQData >GPS-only data acquisition system . Actually it is very nice for logging driving performance data on the race track or for autox, especially the comparison option for consecutive runs or between different racers with the graphical/color representation of lateral and longitudinal acceleration. Obviously it can not log any car parameters but if you are just looking for pretty precise lap times and hints where you lost some seconds this is it. The user interface is a little clunky and getting the Pocket PC to connect with the Bluetooth GPS was a challenge but that is maybe because I have not done it before. It also claims to be usable and quite accurate for drag runs but at 5 Hz GPS update rate I don't know. The software can be downloaded free for unlimited number of computers and it has no use restriction or registration but the price for the GPS module is a little steep at $299. Now as it happens, >Semsons is selling a device that looks extremely similar for $99. I got one but right now it seems to be out of stock. I guess MaxQdata needs to think about the feasibility of their business model http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/eek6.gif Gert Another one >here slomove2007-03-29 22:07:59

Before we can decide WHERE to meet I think we should discuss HOW to meet. I learned from my Pacific Northwest Tour organization effort that you just don't get many people on a 2 week tour. However, for a one-week trip it is almost impossible to drive 1500 miles or more, do something together and drive back home again. Well, of course it is possible but more an endurance challenge than a vacation. That said, personally I would love to do another 2 week tour sometimes. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Maybe there is somebody on this list with good connections to the transport industry who has an idea how to get our cars to/from a central location at reasonable cost. Gert P.S.: I had suggested South Dakota for totally self serving reasons....I always wanted to see the area of Badlands NP, Black Hills, Mt Rushmore etc. which is said to have >beautiful blatting roads. And without the incentive of such a tour I will probably never get my Seven there. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/cryin.gifslomove2007-03-25 20:39:00

Come on, I look like that every morning http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif Well, to be honest I look much older, too http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/cuss.gif

Come on, we are professionals..... You need > this http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif You don't even need to drive your car anymore. Just simulate the fun http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/cryin.gif Gert

Directly into the trumpets. Obviously tricky if you have 4 of them. I suspect if you spray it onto the foam filter you will just wash out the filter oil and possibly cause a nice explosion in the filter (happened to me last weekend with a big bang and a plume of smoke just from the fresh spray of filter oil).

Similar with my wife. She likes the car, accepts it as my predominant time waster and comes out on a few hour blat on the weekends. She really liked the week on the USA2005 tour and will do the full PNW2007 tour this time. But that is more a vacation thing than a car thing. Once you accept the little issues of traveling with a Seven (space, noise, weather etc.) it is a fantastic touring car. And still more comfy than touring with a bike or even just a backpack. Before USA2005 I signed her up for a track driving school, to get a better feel for the car (sneaky birthday present...). However, while she enjoyed it in principle she is not exactly a high speed fanatic. All the other pushy guys in Mustangs and WRXes in that driving school hanging tight behind the Seven bothered her. Gert

You should look for a job around here... I went for a leasurely 160 mile blat around the Angeles National Forest today. Down here in LA it was pretty hot at 85 to 90 degrees but what a beautiful day in the mountains. Mid 70's and no traffic whatsoever. Funny enough, I drove by Mountain High ski resort and there were still a few hardy souls skiing on the remaining snow patches. The only thing missing was the smell of the spring flowers but that has to wait another month or two http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Gert O.K., if I got your interest send your resume by Private Message http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif

Looks like USA7s is now getting quite a few members. I am wondering if we might have already the critical mass to negotiate a club car insurance (liability and comprehensive) with some underwriting fellows. Not that I am dissatisfied with Hagerty and it is not even about a few Dollars more (or hopefully less)....but a more tailored insurance for Se7ens without the pesky use or mileage limitations would be really nice. Maybe even one that offered track day coverage for a few events per year at an additional fee....O.K. I know that I am daydreaming now. Anybody around with connections to the insurance industry? Gertslomove2007-03-07 19:23:08

Well, I would not buy one for the sake of beauty...but beauty is in the proverbial eye of the beholder. Obviously Donkervoort has made a living with their cars for some 30 years and although they developed the Se7en concept in a, well, special direction, their cars are really fast. Hey, if somebody likes that design, why not. I am not the judge. Actually, I think you can buy easily a Caterham CSR for the price of a Donkervoort. Since I can not afford either one I don't care too much http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Beat one on the track and then you can slag them..... Gert

Hmmm, I see some flame war potential here..... I think so far we avoided matters of personal brand preference here.

You need this for Mazda's suggested test http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif http://www.holtsauto.com/products/112.jpeg Contains a lot of diethyl ether and raises an engine from the dead at arctic temperatures. But I am not sure if you can buy this (or the similar Holts Start Pilot) in the U.S. And if you get too frustrated you can sniff it for a good night's sleep http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/ack2.gif Gertslomove2007-02-28 19:48:28

The problem with these test drive based methods is that you really can not do it well on the road, except you find a nice choppy/curvy piece that you can run fast without police attention. On the other hand at regular track days the track time is too valuable to leave the track after every round, unstrap, get out, adjust, bundle up again and try one more time. Also, the traffic und just having fun distracts somewhat from the observation task. But I suspect this is just the way to go. I had already wondered to build a mini shock dyno wich a spinning roller (maybe 4" dia, 1" off center) driven by a variable speed drill under the wheel and a cheap accelerometer chip stuck onto the car at this corner. The acceleration amplitude plot vs. frequency should give some good hints for the shock setting, e.g. overdamping or bouncing at resonance frequency. While such a gadget may not really be worth the effort it should be a fun project. On the other hand, being an instrumentation EE without much experience in suspension setup maybe I just don't see the complexity of the problem. Did anybody try this before? Oh well, there are still 2 other projects in the pipeline to tackle first. Gert

Thanks, yes that makes sense....Although it comes down to the trial and error method after all. Maybe that gives me just a good excuse for some test drives http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif Gert

USA7s Pacific Northwest Tour sounds good. Maybe a little late because the preparation activities are winding down. So everybody who is supposed to come already knows. As it turned out the number of participants has dwindled quite a bit. Obviously it is really difficult to get more people involved in something that takes 2+ weeks. With vacation time at premium this is a bigger problem than in the UK. Anyway, even with the smaller group (11-14 cars) I am sure we are going to have a lot of fun. I am wondering if Al Gore is going to get his >concert series going that is announced to be on 7-7-7 in seven cities around the world. As environmentally conscious people you want to push the Se7ens along the ToD http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/eek6.gif Would save speeding tickets, too http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif Gert slomove2007-02-19 17:41:13

Nope, hot water is far too cold for Lexan (would need 370F for thermoforming). I used 40/1000 Lexan sheet that flexes into the shape of the metal frame. Now, if you ask me how I got the aluminum profile to follow the 3D sweep... that was a couple of hours with vise, mallet and some steel pipe. I may re-do the half-doors sometimes as a real thermoform from 3/16 Lexan sheet on a wood pattern. The ones that I got begin to look beat up and ratty after 3 years of use. Gert

Another example that everybody likes it in a different way...I tried the sidescreen "doors" for a few days when I got the car and found them annoying. Don't like the looks and it takes away from the open air experience. Since I don't like the wind buffeting either I fabricated full Lexan half doors that move the turbulence area back and out of the face while allowing for good visibility. http://home.earthlink.net/~slomove/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/mirrorscreenlr.jpg Works pretty good for me. Gert

I got my new ProTech shocks installed and set them to the baseline recommendation of the manufacturer, i.e. 1-3 clicks for a lightweight car like a Se7en. I ended up using 1 click for the rears and 3 clicks for the front. Driving feels pretty good, I think much better than with my tired old Spax shocks. Is there a "scientific" way of fine tuning the settings? I know I could experiment and tweak it on the road and on the track until it feels right. But I was wondering if there is a more straightforward method of optimization. Thanks, Gert

As a good citizen you surely will pay the Use Tax on your State Tax return http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif Here another data point: GBP104 (about $195) UPS shipping for 4 aluminum shocks and 2 front springs.slomove2007-02-16 12:03:26