DaveD

At last year's event, TrackDaze was checking for seat belt dates. Had they found mine, they probably would not have let me run. They did tell me to not come back unless I got rid of my 4 point and went to 5 or 6 point belts. My old belts had a date of 2001 on them. The sticker was under the seat so they could not see it. My club day last year was not a big deal. But then at the club event we ran behind the pace car and were not allowed to pass. This is probably why the tech was no big deal.

I just got done rebuilding my T9 replacing the sycro rings (2nd was shot) and input shaft bearing and I got all my parts and gasket/seals from John. He is very knowlegable on the T9. Good luck. I hope to see you at the track. John Esposito Quantum Mechanics LTD. (203) 463-8299

I had to replace my stop switch. The contacts became pitted from the arcing to the point that the stop lights would not always light. I just bought a new micr switch and it has been fine. I expect eventually it will do the same again. Dave

This is just my opinion and I am not an expert, so take it for what its worth, just an opinion. I have heard that most any suspension will work if you just don't let it. I noticed at the track these last 3 years at the NJMP 7s event, that most of the faster 7s do lean when cornering and they eat pretty much everything at the track in terms of handling. I have an S1 and my suspension is very stiff. Not far from that of a go cart. As a result the car is easy to upset at the limit and it requires the utmost smoothness when driving. Otherwise I end up sliding. And from my days of autocrossing, sliding translates to slower times. Maybe some others with experience can comment here. Since I am looking to go with track tires this year with smaller rims 15" vs. 17" to get more rubber on the wheels in order to try and get some added softness to my handling. Dave

I found that putting the back wheels of my tow vehicle up on a pair of Rhino Ramps decreases the angle of the ramp enough to make getting my car in and out of the trailer worry free when it comes to hitting the oil pan. I parked the car in the trailer after each session to keep the sun from keeping it hot. Of course with this trailer it would probably make it hotter. I like this trailer, very very NICE! http://usa7s.com/vb/images/icons/icon14.gif Dave

All ready had it on my calendar, just needed to add the dates. Count Bev and I in. DaveD

Don, I enjoyed your narrative on the trip. Some day I hope I can do something like this with my car. To any of you that own an S1 and are experiencing the issue with the car acting like it is starving for fuel and quiting need to do a couple of things. I chased this problem for 5 years and finally got it figured out this year. First you will find that in the fuse box, on the firewall, the fuel pump fuse is the middle fuse in a chain of 5 fuses being supplied with what looked like 2 wires. One wire at the top fuse and the other at the bottom fuse. When I removed the fuse box and found the insulation gone on the wires chained together, I rewired the box so each fuse had it's own supply wire. Obviously at some point these wires got very hot which would lower the voltage to the fuel pump. Second, my car was getting air into the fuel line prior to the fuel pump. This is what causes the fuel pump to get noisy. I tried taking the in-line filter out, but air continued to get into the line. I had the tank off the car multiple times tightening and checking the clamps inside the tank. To no avail however, as air was still getting into the line somehow. After reading through the installation and service manual I ran across the recommendation that the fuel be taken from the bottom of the tank, not run out the top and not to use an in-line filter. Only use an in-tank screen. I finally bit the bullet and installed a bulkhead fitting in the bottom of the tank and ran the fuel line directly to the fuel pump. After 5 years PROBLEM SOLVED. I had my car at NJMP this summer for it's 5th and 6th track day in 4 years. It was the first time I made it through the day with out the fuel issue causing problems. I did find out however that when the tank gets below 5 gallons the long fast right hand corner before the slow left hand turn on Lightning would cause enough fuel to run out of the sump that the fuel line would pick up air. I had to make sure I started each session out with a full tank (which is only 9 gallons). I found that pushing my car hard I was using 5 gallons of gas in a 30 minute session. I don't know how the Caterhams and other cars are with heat. The S1 is very hot in the engine bay. I don't believe the Caterhams and other cars have the engine enclosed like the S1. I found my oil temp getting to 150 degrees C even with the oil cooler on it. The regulator in my alternator quit during the track weekend. Probably due to the heat. This is the second alternator to go on the car. The Caterhams all have lots of venting in the engine bonnets. Plus they do not have a pan enclosing the bottom of the engine compartment. My car has two cowl induction type scoops on the hood, but I don't think it is anywhere near enough to allow enough air to flow through the engine compartment. The rule of thumb for cooling in an airplane is to have 2.5 times the exit openning as intake openning for proper cooling. I know my car is no where near that. I am planning on coming up with another bonnet with the venting similar to what the Caterhams use. Also, the comment about the open space around the radiator is a good one to address. I plan to use silicone, as used on airplanes, to close off the openings and force all the intake air coming in the nose through the oil and coolant radiators. Dave

That is a pretty nice looking car. I like the way it sounds too. Once sorted out this will be fantastic. I can understand your situation. I have lots of activity close to me, but I have too many irons in the fire and time to work on and enjoy mine is not what I would like either. Because of other projects I needed the room in my garage. I ended up finding a 20 foot enclosed trailer to use as a mobile garage. It is working out great. Plus when I want to use it on the track or go somewhere that is far away I have it to trailer the car and anything else. I used it 3 times this year to take the car to the track over 2 hours away. If you have the room for a trailer, you might want to consider trying it. If you are anything like the rest of us you are going to be sorry you got rid of it. I don't imagine you will have any problem selling it. Dave

I've had my car there once. You can count me in to come to a sevens meet there.

Not sure if this will help. I have Webcon fuel injection instead of carbs. So I am running much higher fuel pressure. For the last 4 years my car was exhibiting similar problems to what you describe. I have a Superformance S1 and the engine compartment is fully enclosed so heat is a problem I am still dealing with. I found a couple notes that talked about the fuel pick up when using a Bosche fuel pump. Both highly recommended only picking the fuel up from the bottom of the fuel tank and NOT putting an in-line fuel filter before the fuel pump. Mine was picking up the fuel from the top of the tank and it had an in-line filter before the fuel pump (I bought the car used this way). At times my fuel pump would buzz louder than normal. This was the loudest when the car would stop running. It would act like the fuel pressure was dropping. I eventually figured out that air was getting into the fuel line before the fuel pump and was causing the buzzing. This past year I finally used a bulkhead fitting and started drawing my fuel from the bottom of the tank and I removed the in-line filter prior to the fuel pump. Since doing this I no longer get the loud buzzing and the car has not stopped running. In retrospect I think my problem was 2 fold. One being when the air bubbles were going through the fuel pump the buzzing was indication that my pump was no longer supplying full pressure. And two, on very hot days when the pressure dropped I believe I ended up with vapor lock in the fuel line. The car could not be restarted right away, but by taking the hood off and allowing it to cool for 15 minutes or so it would then start and run again. In the last 4 years there were a couple of times where I had to pull the hood multiple times to cool it down before I could get it back home. I don't know what kind of fuel pressure is required to prevent vapor lock. But what I would recommend is to try and make sure your fuel pressure is always there. From my experience as long as my fuel pressure does not drop I don't get a problem. I would think that there are a lot of other cars out there similar in setup to yours and I doubt yours is the only one experiencing hot temps. It sounds to me like you may possibly be lossing fuel pressure which then allows the fuel to boil and cause vapor lock. Good Luck, Dave

Same Here!!!!! As a new comer to participating and it being my first experience running Solo and in a very fast group, I really appreciate all the encouragement and help all of you gave me. This was the best experience in motorsports I have ever had. Absolutely a great group to hang with!!!!

Ok. See you soon.

Can't Wait, Can't Wait, Can't Wait. Its been 3 years and I am finally going to participate. Woo Hoo!!! Bev and I hope to be at the track today by 4:00. See Ya!!!

Maybe if I watch Karl's video enough times, I will forget about what NOT to do. I'll have to try and leave Dick home too. Like you say, he always seems to get me in trouble too.

Mike you just had to go and do it. Now that I know what line not to take, I am doomed :banghead: to follow it just like you in the video, over and over and over :deadhorse:! That line through the left hander looks very well worn. Almost like there is a rut that takes you off road. I might have to increase my ground clearance to handle the off roading like you.

I spent $15 at Advanced Auto and fabricated a bracket for my GoPro suction mount. It turned out nice.

With the windshield on, my center mirror is mounted at the top of it and it does provide good rearward vision however with the windshield removed I don't know if a mirror mounted lower will give that kind of visibility. The side mirrors do provide sufficient rear visibility. I just don't want to be told I can't run without an inside mirror. I think I will try and pick up a mirror that I can mount on my GoPro suction mount just in case it is required. Althought the only reference I have seen to the center mirror is the item on the inspection checkoff list.

Another question. Is the inside mirror required? I have both side mirrors. If it is then I have more work to do.

OOPs...I did not think of that. I will have it drilled out. I wanted to do that anyway. Thanks Mike.

Mike, I just got done making myself a roll bar mount for my camera last night. I have not looked into an external mic yet (probably a little late now) so if you have an extra I would be much appreciative. Dave

I don't recall seeing any information on how to check in for the track side suites on Friday evening. Is this done at the entrance?

Steve, Bummer, I was looking forward to catching up with you this year. If all goes well I'll have the roll bar on my S1. Have a nice time at Hilton Head. I have my own trailer now so maybe I will get to do a Blat with you sometime before the end of the year. Dave

I am following up after replacing the oil in my T9 with Redline MT90. The shifting into 2nd is much better than it was. I tried a few shifts at around 7000 RPM and had no grinding trying to go into 2nd gear. I am looking forward to running on the track now.