blubarisax

Oh Happy Day! It looks as if the chassis is not bent. We have measured diagonals, checked level up and down the body and raised the motor off of its mounts on one side and lowered it back down to check alignment. My shop has an old craftsman that knows how to hand form body panels to take out a few dents in the side skins. I'll just throw on a Carbon Rear from Mog-Racing (try to top that Croc!) and be good as new. So, there are still plenty of parts so source and replace but at least the chassis looks to be undamaged. Hard to believe I know. The big upside is that I'll be back on the track in short order. Hyperfest!!! NJMP 7's Day!!!!

I'm working on it as fast as I can!!!

Thanks, I may need you to get Caterham to rush building me a new CBU! I should know tomorrow if the chassis is bent.

Here are some detailed photos of the car with the suspension off. Link to photos

Unfortunately, I hear that the CSR is not that fun on the track! Too much traction to go off.

A CBU is 4,100 GBP. I hate to think of the FedEx cost. We have discussed this as an option, hard to say yet if it would make sense.

So far, the car is stripped of the damaged parts, but the body work has not been taken off. The parts list comes up to $15,300 so far. I think the frame is slightly twisted (lower left down 1/2 inch) so we are looking at a "long front" chassis replacement and new sideskins. If anyone has reference measurements for the chassis that would be helpful. I am trying to get them from Caterham as well. Caterham UK says the parts are all readily available so with any luck I am back on the road in a couple of months.

I use the AIM Smartycam and have it connected to my ECU to get RPM. It uses GPS for speed and position. Gears are calculated from RPM and Speed. I like it, but wish the video was HD.

You see Tom, Mike is the smart Johnson brother... he does not run head on into walls when he spins! And Mike, wasn't it you the you the girls were after at LOG 30? Karl

I got mine from OG Racing, very quick shipping to NJ. I have two pair, one from Simpson (my favorite) and one from M&R, also nice.

I was wearing arm restraints. Gary is right, they are a requirement for all PCA events and they have become a habit. Neck restraints are going to be as well. For the full cage, it will be a good motivation to keep in good enough shape to climb into the cage through the top.

Gary, Not taken as a sermon. Yes, I do like to drive with the PCA guys because they are all (at least all the ones I've hung out with so far) good people and they put on great events. I started researching cages as I am driving a lot faster than I was last year. Caged is building me a tall (yes I am 6'6") cage with an extra side intrusion bar as we speak. Something like this, but with a second bar just above the side bar in the photo with a ladder style setup.

So, I have seen the car up on the lift and we have looked over the chassis. Fortunately, we think the chassis did not sustain any damage, other than the steering rack platform which should weld in easily. That said, the entire front suspension is a goner. The nosecone and suspension bits took all the real damage. There are some minor dents in the body, but the shop thinks their dent wizard guy can get them out, good as new.

The cage is in the works from Caged in the UK! If you want to see the car, it is at Radical Motorsports in Ramsey, just tell Joe or Bert I said to show you the car. I'm already working on the replacement parts list. I'll get off my soapbox soon, but I can't say how glad I am to have had the neck restraints on. They did there job well. I use the Simpson Hybrid Pro because it was the only thing that fit with my size and seat configuraiton. The SCCA now requires neck restrants for all of its events, and I agree it is a good idea. While the tires were like jumping into a waterbed, had it been Armco I would have been much worse off. Going to look in on my baby at the shop now. I'll be back very soon.

Gary, Thanks for the feedback and taking the time to reach out via the forum. I was probably trying to keep with your wife! I'm sorry to have ruined her last session -- the early group of cars she was with looked very quick! I was not thinking much about the heat in the tires as it was a nice day out and at the end of the day. I thought I was neutral on the steering input, but probably was on it just a touch (I knew better). The spin happened so fast, I let up on the gas to put "both feet in" when I felt no response at all from counter steering. There were a number of little discisions I could have made, but did not, that would have avoiced the accident. Not the least of which was taking the last run with the Green group so we could leave early (as my wife suggested). All I wanted to do was to get a good clean lap with a quick time. I learned to take it easy on the last session of the day. The event was a very well run Hudson Valley PCA event, top notch in every way. Thanks for having me. Karl

While I plan to stick to other tracks in the future, Lime Rock has its charm. It was there where I was inspired to get a Caterham, watching a pair of Lotus 7s duke it out in a historic race over Labor Day a few years back. I did not get a chance to walk the track after my spin, but plan to do so at a car show on the track over Memorial Day. I definitely had some major wheel spin as seen in the quick rise in RPM...

Mike, I'll definitely use your help with the beer! I have taken the car to Radical Motorsports of NJ. They installed my front suspension and repaired Ron's rear fender. Before long we may have our own trained Caterham shop if I keep this up. As I replay the spin in my mind, it's amazing how fast this one felt compared to my offs at NJMP last weekend in the SCCA Spec Racers. I was already left on the track and was onto the grass between the main track and the chicane nearly instantly. The Sat Nav from the Smarty Cam makes it look like I sped up in the spin. The gear is calculated from the RPM vs. speed. I don't recall shifting down to third to take the hill, but I may have. The lower gear/higher revs could have also contributed. Or, I could have been getting wheel spin even before cresting the hill...

The three story rise and crest is a big part of the charachter of the track. I am convinced I had two issues going on, too much power vs. weight at the crest and cold tires. I should have used tire warmers, lol, who knew. I had been off the track between sessions for about an hour. People go off her enough that they built a tire wall a few years back. I'm glad it was not Armco. I will say that the neck restraints really worked well. Not even a tinge of stiffness. I just started using the Simpson Safety Solutions Hybrid device last weekend and I'm glad I had it on. Here is what Trackpedia has to say about this turn: Turn #5 (The Up Hill) Limerock has 2 corners where you can do real damage to your car - the Up Hill is one, the Down Hill is the other. It is also one of those corners that you will never forget once you have driven the track as you don't often go straight up a small ski hill at full throttle. To set up the corner, you are coming into the Up Hill at full throttle (115mph in 3rd/4th) and you have to brake pretty good on a bumpy track surface (pre-resurface). The safest way to take the Up Hill is to late apex and aim your front left tires just left of track center as you crest the hill. Slighty faster is mid apex with your right side wheels being midtrack as you crest the hill - this position feels good, safe and fast and you have huge grip from the hill's compression - you will trackout with a few feet to spare. The fastest line is a mid / mid/early apex with early braking completed to set up a near WOT uphill attack with additional compression / grip from the hill - this line may also require an additional steering input after the apex to straighten the car out before you crest the hill as the earlier apex and additional speed push you further left - there is less room for error here as once you crest the hill you will be fully track left. NOTE - There is really only one rule that you must follow on this turn, when you 'crest the hill', you 'MUST HAVE THE WHEEL STRAIGHT'. As you pick up speed, you will have enough speed to unload the rear springs (front also if you are extremely fast) and 'get air' for at least a fraction of a second. If and when you do this, and the wheel is not 'STRAIGHT', you will likely crash as you will land not straight and the car will likely snap in one direction or the other depending on the car's rotation and steering angle - most likely the front will hook and you will go straight right into a wall. If the only thing you say to yourself on this track is 'STRAIGHT WHEEL OVER THE HILL' you will be fine. (my wheels felt and looked straight, but may well have been off just enough to hook...) Strategy on this turn is then to late apex and leave yourself lots of room / time on trackout to have your hands straight and then to slowly earlier and earlier apex until you have still given yourself at least a foot or so when you land on the left to save your bacon. It you don't care about your car and are pushing for that last 1/10th you will have to be fully left when you land with absolutely straight hands.

Hey guys, thanks for all the support, it means a lot to me. I won't know about the frame till tomorrow when they get it up on a lift. It was about 62 at the time of the accident, but it had just turned cloudy. The track was still fairly warm, but it was my first lap on the last run of the day. My wife was there and tried to talk me into moving down a run group so we could leave early. Lime Rock is a beautiful track, set in the hills of western CT, too bad there is so little run off on a couple of tricky corners.

Just tell your wife that it is the Lime Rock track that is the problem, not track days. That's what I did.

I hope to be back on the track for the June Se7ens event at NJMP. I think I'll make it as long as the chassis is not bent. This was actually my third event of the year and I was feeling quite confident about my driving. Last session of the day, cold tires and trying to keep up with the crowd... a bad mix. Just glad I had not put the new CF nosecone on yet. I had it painted and all ready to go...

The frame looks OK from what we can see. I've got my fingers crossed that the mounting point for the left front control arm is not bent, it seems to have hit the hardest. The headlight bracket is from Mog-Racing -- Lightweight Headlight Bracket Mike, I'm not to stiff this morning, thankfully. I'm watching the video and trying to figure out what went wrong. I think I spun the wheels (watch the RPM jump up) as I crested the hill and that broke the car loose, no time to catch it at speed. I felt just a little better seeing skid marks right where I went, guess I am not the only bonehead...

the tire wall is your friend... http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac336/blubarisax/IMG-20120407.jpg So, on the last session of the day with my confidence way up from previous runs, I went off into the tire wall at Lime Rock. First, I'm just fine, not a scratch. Well belted in and wearing neck restraints (Hybrid Pro). I came up over the crest of the hill at turn five and was on the power a bit too much. Cresting a hill + plus power = wheel spin. I thought I had my wheels straight, but they could have been slightly off, hard to say for sure. Here is a video clip. The speed is from GPS which must not be all that accurate while you are skidding (at least I hope so) The good news is the chassis and drivetrain look OK, AAA covered the towing and my wife is being supportive. I'll need to replace: the upper and lower A arms, steering rack, shocks (Nitron), nosecone, bonnet, two front wings, radiator, oil lines, one headlamp, one rear wing (I wanted carbon fiber anyway), one coil, perhaps a left side skin and a bit of paint. I'm sure there will be more to uncover down the road. Yes, I've had better days.

My shop cut the cone off so it was just the right size for a very tight fit (their smallest size is too big) and we inserted it into the tube on the muffler that slides into the collector. Did not use any bolts as it really has nowhere to go.

Doug, It would be great to see another Caterham buzzing about Harriman Park! (Mahwah NJ here) This looks like a great car.