yellowss7

Ditto what Todd says re: the Dry Sump. My Rover K series is dry sumped and the guys in the UK strongly advise not running slicks without one for the K. Guess it depends on your engine. I understand the Duratecs don't suffer the same issue. Tom

Becs should be lighter, so I'll say 1030 lbs. Tom

Al who????:leaving:

I played Hockey in High School and College and I still can figure out how he did that. :cooldude::cooldude::cooldude: I'd love to see a pro try that during a Penalty Shot. Tom

Mine wasn't that long. Placed order December 24th,1999. Picked up Kit at Customs August 20 something, 2000. Start build. Engine arrives October 2000. Start legal procededings to get issues resolved with dealer. :boxing::rant: Actual build time 80 total hours. Car registered and on the road by August 2001.

I did my first track day at LOG29 this year and used Hoosier R25B compound slicks. I can't compare them to Dot compound tires but I know that Michael D. who posts on here, uses the Hooiser A6 compound DOTs for his NASA events. He did say that A6's (the autox compound) was better than the R6 (race compound) for the lightweight 7's. I did 5 15-20 minute sessions on New Hoosiers, that were in the softest compound (R25B) and Other than picking up a ton of "other peoples rubber" after I scraped that off there was very little wear on them. Being a trackday novice I can't say that I was pushing the limit on them, but they felt good all day. I definately didn't overheat them. Tom

Entry oversteer? When I ran on the Avon CR500's, which came with my car and are pretty sticky, I found that entry Understeer was my problem, probably from entering the turn too hot, so the oversteer you experienced surprises me. Check your Rake front to back as that can easily cause oversteer if it's too high in the back. That or the right foot can also be the culprit. It's not too hard to induce oversteer with the throttle. Talk to Mike D. as I think his car is pretty well sorted, unless he changed the set up for his trackday forays. He was the cause of me going to the Hoosiers, I was running the Avons and he let me drive his on the slicks, It felt like it was a slot car the way it turned in. Unbelievable difference. Tom

So Danny, how did the Caterham handle on Sunday? From your times, I suspect you were running on street tires. Tom

I don't know nuthin bout no Gamma whozits but it looks kinda yellow compared to a past Orange photo. I like the photo though. Tom

This site can provide you with some good starting points. http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=156943&pn=1&ps=15&c= Tom

Danny, do you have the adjustable spring perches on your car? Are you running front and rear anti sway bars? If so what size at the front? One of the things that it important in setting up the car is the front to back rake. I believe 15mm higher at the rear is the recommended ratio. What are your concerns about the current spring rates? The car is pretty well set up with the stock springs, especially if you're going to street it as well. IMO you don't need to play as much with the set up as you would on a normal street car. These things are basically race cars to begin with. I had my car cornerweighted and set up by George Alderman at Midatlantic Caterham in Del. And I know that Chip (Catracer) at GtClassics in Va. races Caterhams so I'm sure that they can provide good starting points for you. Tom

So shifter karts weren't fast enough for you?:smilielol5: You can fit alot more rubber than 7 inch on the caterham. Some of us run as much as 10 inch rims. As for spring rates, the stock springs are 150lbs up front and a variable rate spring in the rear. (i forget the exact numbers) No where as high as you might expect on typical autox cars. I think the next step up on the front is to 225lb springs but then you're going to have to start playing with the anti roll bars front and back. Do you have a wide track front end? That can be a good first step if you don't. As for power, I'm not a good driver but with close to 200hp, it's very easy to overdrive the car. I've driven a caterham with 135 hp and it much more controllable. Ask Jack Banha about the difference from his 100 hp to my 200. First time he drove my car he hit about 10 cones. :smilielol5: As for backspacing, If I recall correctly, I believe it's about 4.5-5 inches on the front and rear. I bought a set of Kodiak three piece rims that are nice and light. Nice to have another 7 in the Philly Region. Tom

This is an extremely well done Tutorial on how to change your oil. I highly recommend watching this as it is very detailed. Enjoy! Tom

Supersport, you may be right. After looking at the pics, it appears that most of the sideskin is new but the rear panel from the rear arch back is painted green. If new that should be also wrapped in the blue plastic or be bare aluminium. I also noted that the mastercylinder is not mounted which it usually is on new kits and I think in the list of parts still needed he listed a wiring harness, which is usually done. And from the parts layed out for the rear suspension etc, he's missing the half shafts. But on the other hand alot of the parts look brand new, including the ACB10 tires. Curious Tom

Now that looks like a real bargain! $20,500 including engine and gearbox. Even if his estimate on other parts needed is a little off, it still sounds good. I couldn't see the damage he referred to and therefore can't tell if it's significant or not. Tom

Wow a D type and a C type. If they are the real deal, then that's a cool several million right there. Not to mention the Cobra Daytona. I'd have them right up front though.:drool: Tom

Drew it looks like you could use some Salt, for the roads that is. :leaving:

Just to explain, a local car club has a Thanksgiving car meet from 7am to noon. Everything from horseless carrige brass era cars, Hotrods, musclecars, Old Bentley's,Jags, etc. All levels of fit and finish from primer to concour level. No real order, all just parked as they arrive. Guys just getting out of the house while the cooking is happening. Attracts quite a crowd. A bag of canned goods is the price of admission. A pretty cool event. Here's a couple pics from last year. Tom

Thanks Jon. All I know is that they can do some major damage if they hit your car. I guess you're about an hour further west and north of here, (Media,Pa.) But like you said, it was still a great day to be out. Tom

Hate to rub it in again, but it's been another spectacular day here in Philly. Weather is sunny and 68F. With the leaves just starting to turn yellow and orange. Not too many leaves on the road yet, However those big round green things? that some trees have as seeds? are starting to fall and that can be dangerous. They are hard and about the size of a plum. Anyone know what they are or what kind of tree it is? Had the Caterham out for about an hour and a half of nice, traffic free blatting. Not many cars out, did have a black viper wave going the other way and another guy gave me a thumbs up as I went past. The cars is running great, and it never ceases to amaze me at how quick it is and how effortlessly it handles. Did a couple of brief accelleration runs from 5 to 60 or so and the sound as it passes 5k rpm is just awesome. :drool: Hope to get a few more days like this before it gets colder. Anyone else get out today? Tom

Hey Martin, if you have time and are up for a Blat let me know. Tom

Michael's was pretty wide, it held 4 10 inch wide Hoosier slicks side by side.

Box, re: the tire rack for the rollbar, Michael D. had one for his Caterham that worked pretty well, since he has a trailer now you might want to ping him about his. Don't know if it will fit your Sumo Version though. Tom

Took mine out and got it's State inspection done today. Good for another year. I Think I'll wash and wax it and.... That's about it. It's running great. I changed the oil, brake and clutch fluid and gearbox oil in April before the Log track day. I'll do another oil and filter change, check all the belts and hoses, clean and reoil the air filter and put it back up on the lift, once the weather stops being so nice.:driving: Other than that, just the usual check of all the bolts and nuts to make sure they are torqued. I had a locknut come loose at Barber going down the third straight. It was on the bolt that went thru the sidelight marker on the left front wing and thru the wingstay. I noticed the clam starting to flap and at 90+ and thought, hmm, I've heard people say that clams cause some front end lift, but I didn't think that they would flap prior to takeoff. Just goes to prove that even nyloks can vibrate loose. Everyone should do a good check over of all their cars even if they don't track or autox them. Tom

Great pics Steve, It's a shame that fat guy got into alot of the shots. :seeya: Had a great time, lots of great cars, very friendly owners and crews. And we saw some really good races. The last one we watched had the ratty looking red 7 #71 in the third picture, starting dead last in a large field, including another S3 7. Not only did he pass about 5 cars the first lap. He ended up 3rd overall. He just kept picking cars off on every lap. It was really cool watching this little 7 picking off the field. NJMP looks like a great place to have a USA7's get together at an event like this. Several other car clubs seemed to have events scheduled today. Tom