rcollum

At a local cars & coffee, in Fairfax, VA.

Found one! THANKS!!!

My club, NoVA Lotus, is holding an event in Northern Virginia. All 7's are welcome! The event will be from Friday, May 15th, thru Sunday, May 17th. There will be a reception at the hotel in Fairfax, VA the evening of May 15th, and a drive out to a site in Purcellville, VA, for breakfast and a casual concours on Saturday. We will drive from there, to Summit Point Raceway, just over the border in WV. We will have parade laps, and will spectate at the vintage races Saturday. A friend's Esprit 180R is competing that day. On Sunday, we will have a choice of activities, including a drive, and a guided tour of the Smithsonian Air & Spare Museum. Thanks! Bob Collum, NoVA Lotus Car Club Here is a link with more info, and the ability to sign up for the event - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-coast-lotus-meet-eclm-tickets-1983839987807?irclickid=WYCTo4SjwxycRdi0yhQwAxeEUkuzF40NUwUfV80&sharedid=&irpid=2605817&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=ebaf&utm_term=2605817&utm_content=1818731__&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&utm_campaign=afsp_ceal_pmk_fpp_0_us_0_0_bau_0

I am driving my 2006 Seven on 11-year-old tires. It's kept inside, so they're not TOO dangerous... Also, I am on 14" wheel, so tire choice is practically nil. My issue is, I could switch to 13" or 15" wheels, for better tire availability, but... My ground clearance under the Focus SVT engine is pretty minimal - that makes me leery of going to 13" wheels. For 15", I'd get better tire availability, but I worry about how they'd fit in my front cycle fenders. (My calculations say that I should not lose any height, going from 185/60 14 to a 195/50 R15.) One big plus - I LOVE the Orcus wheels! I've decided to see if I can get a single Orcus 15" wheel, so I can buy 1 tire for it, and try it on the front of my car. If it works; great. I can buy three more wheels, and 3 more tires- Bob's your uncle! (I have no reason to believe the tire/wheel combination will be any problem on the rear. If it doesn't fit, I'll be back on this forum, selling a wheel and new tire! I currently have 14" Minator (Minilite-style) wheels. Thanks! --Bob Collum

Yeah, my friend has a Birkin, but his front fenders are significantly different than my Caterham's. I think I'm gonna try the Yoko's - I loved the Yokohama tires I originally got on my Elise! Thank you! --Bob Collum

Are you using 185/55R14 Yoko 052's, on 6J x 14 wheels, with cycle front fenders? If so, that should work for me! THANKS!

I have a 2006 Caterham, standard chassis. I have 6J x 14 Minators on it now, and the tires (185/60 R14, all around) are aged out. With the options for interesting tires in 14" pretty much nil, and being concerned with ground clearance, I am looking at 15" replacement wheels. (I have cycle front fenders.) I LOVE the Orcus wheels! I need to somehow confirm that I can get an Orcus wheel, with an appropriate tire, into the front fenders, without interference. (Of course, no fitment problems with the rears.) Can anyone help with my questions? I posted a question with a Caterham dealer, and got no response! I believe the Orcus wheels are 6.5" wide. Thanks! Bob Collum

Do you use your R888's regularly on the road? Thanks, Bob Collum

I just noticed that my current tires (Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Specs, 185/60 R14's), which I LOVE, are now 10 years old. Also, apparently, no longer available. I called Tire Rack, and they came up with Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2's as their only recommendation. Probably OK, but the tread looks like a station wagon tire. After checking with several local garages (4 of whom would not even CONSIDER servicing my car), a local tire place suggested two tires that would fit. Unfortunately, both tires they suggested - Toyo Observe GSI-1 and Hankook IPIKE X W429 - turned out to be SNOW TIRES! WTF!! Does anyone know of something that would be comparable to the Dunlop Direzzas I have? (I also used them on my Elise for a while, and they are GREAT!) I suppose I could go with Toyo Proxes R888R, which are listed as 'Race or Autocross only'. I NEVER drive in snow or ice, and avoid driving even in the damp. (Contrary to the picture for my profile!) Thanks! --Bob Collum

Someone sent me a message - which I promptly lost - asking for pics of the routing of my Seven's exhaust, which is routed down the left side, but has a rear exit. Here are two pics. (My car is LHD.) BTW, related to this... I have a new but imperfect left-rear fender from Caterham available, in dark green. Let me know if interested -

Sorry - I took the 'non-Sevens' part seriously. Here's my Caterham:

My current sports car (other than the Seven) is our 2007 Lotus Elise. Bought it new back in 2007, as an all-red exterior. From the factory, it had a black interior, but my wife thought that would be bad for summer driving in shorts. She was paying, so we had the dealer in Southern California swap in a tan interior from a nearby new green Elise - SOLD! This is my second Lotus; I had a 1972 Europa Twincam that I bought used in 1980, with 20k miles on it. Drove that car for 21 years, and over 120k miles. Sold it in 2001. After the Europa sold in 2001, I went cold turkey until 2007. We love the Elise - all the more so, since we had the transformation to the Type 49 Special Edition look (via white vinyl wrap, and genuine Lotus gold decals) done two years ago. It took another year to find the Sport 240 wheels, and get them gold powder-coated. This 'special edition', commemorating the Gold Leaf Team Lotus F1 livery was never imported to the US, but was available for the rest of the world. I asked about having the factory build it for me, back in 2006, but they asked $10,000 for it. That was a 'no'. In 2012, we added another British car to our garage - a 2007 Jaguar XK Coupe. We loved the style, and especially the color! However, as it turns out, the wife never got comfortable driving it, so... We added our Caterham in 2015, replacing the Jaguar, which we sold. I've declared that I will drive the Seven 'until I can't get in & out of it anymore'. So far, so good! I drive the Elise, whenever it's too cold (usually, under 40F), or raining. --Bob Collum

Your engine cover certainly looks a lot better than mine! Thanks! --Bob Collum

Does that cylinder contact the front underside of your engine cover? That's my problem...

This has annoyed me since I bought the car - in an apparent attempt to keep some module at the top front of the Zetec SVT from interfering with the hood, this portion of the spark plug cover was ground down, and covered in silver duct tape. My questions: 1.) Is this the variable valve timing module? 2.) Is there a workable replacement for this electronic device, that would drop the high point by 1/4"? 3.) Is there a way of modifying this device, to decrease its height? In looking at this area at the front of the spark plug cover with the duct tape removed, it even appears that the prior owner shaved a small amount of plastic off the top of the electronic module, but it is still a tight fit of module/duct tape/aluminum engine lid. Thanks for your help! --Bob Collum