AndrewB

Courtesy of a link from a Caterham Group on facebook I have only just seen the finished 'new' assembly guide. The one they issued a year or more ago asking for comments looked really good and now the guide appears complete. There seem to be lots of tips and tricks in there which will help builders. 5 stars from me. Hopefully putting a link here is not a problem. Caterham Cars Assembley Guide Link. Interestingly it shows bolts going up into the standard roll bar. Nice touches such as telling you in the earlier damper fitting section that the roll bar needs to go on first.

It is very interesting to discuss but only a lawyer could advise and even then only a court could decide. It does make me wonder though what duty of care do L7C owe it's paid participants which seemingly other TDO's not owe their paid participants? It's a shame they didn't help but then again maybe they see L7C as competition and quite like the specific roll bar requirement as it drives business their way.

John A, where do you perceive the clubs negligence to be if they follow the industry norm of only insisting on a cage when slicks are used? Is it possible for L7C to speak to BaT or the Lotus on Track people and ask them if they have taken legal advice and if so what was it. It may be that those organisations would not want to get involved as once you give advice (even verbally) you become liable to a claim or part of a claim. Andrew

In construction the HSE are only now concerned with risks outside of the expected norms. e.g. years ago we used to have to write designer risk assessments to tell the electricians to be careful or they may get an electric shock! Thankfully we no longer have to turn out standard forms for working at height, working with electricity or working below ground. What we can now spend our time doing is looking at the things that would not be the norm, e.g. working on a chandelier weighing 250kg and mounted 30m above the ground etc. It is far better for us and the contractor that we focus on the unusual risks. So back to trackdays. The normal risk at a trackday is that you may crash and roll. It is also a risk that you may be hit by someone else crashing or indeed just being a moron. You may lose a wheel or indeed be hit by someone else loosing a wheel. So whilst I am no expert (now there's a word which carries a lot of legal ramifications), is it more important for L7C and indeed all of us that we look for the unusual risks. e.g. There is one 620 on track with everyone else in a 160, or, there is one new driver whilst everyone else has done 50 trackdays and there cars look like they are from mad max. The roll bar is suddenly not the issue as there are other aspects which have a higher risk and higher severity in the case of an accident. The buddy system and novice / intermediate / experienced sessions are clearly good at mitigating the unusal risks I highlighted which is great, but then the trackdays are not always run that way. Again, all of the above is more to do with understanding the legal position of running trackdays than the roll bar issue.

I will go and check my wire gauge in a minute and report back. If you do put it under the dash where I have mine then I would recommend taking it out every time you park up and not just in the garage. Last thing you need is some prankster taking the red key and leaving you stranded. Andrew

I think the bigger issue is the legal one. How should L7C word it's trackday entry / disclaimers such that the MT and everyone associated with trackdays are free from civil or criminal actions. It must be possible as other trackday organisers manage it. The data comparison between bar A and bar B will be interesting but possibly pointless as the preceding 10-15 posts have shown that there are a plethora of different types and styles. Therefore if bar A is shown to protect the driver in a crash but bar B doesn't, where does that leave everyone who has bar types C, D, E, F....... or, are MIRA testing every connotation of bar? What if it shows the petty strut must be used? Also, will we all now need to get CC to give us a certificate to say that our bars are XXmm diameter and XXmm steel thickness etc.

GJT. My understanding was that there is no such thing as an FIA bar unless it also has the petty strut fitted. Therefore the talk of L7C trackdays requiring an FIA bar is not strictly correct as you do not need the petty strut for an L7C trackday. Therefore I felt it appropriate to refer to the L7C bar as half an FIA bar. I could well be wrong!

Yes this thread was started after or at the same time as the happy xmas post but the debate had started before and so your post was not giving the full picture. That is all I have done. The discussion began on the 21st, (this time around although one could say it has been a constant discussion in blatchat).

Hi James, This thread (Roll Bar 2018) was created as it was taking over the thread discussing the use / preference of the Lotus 7 Club name. I think I was the first to mention roll bars in the Lotus thread on the 21st December. Therefore the Roll Bar 2018 thread essentially began life on the 21st December, 3 days before the happy xmas post and therefore was done so without knowledge of the tests which had been commissioned. It's an important point to make as your post suggests that the thread was started in full knowledge of the happy xmas post details and in fact it was not. Andrew

I am not sure there is much left to say until the article is published. But I'll give it a go anyway. It feels like Brexit where the question was everything, also it's like the ref in rugby asking the TMO 'any reason I can't award a try' or 'try or no try'. Also, will the review cover the legal position for both cases, i.e. where the half FIA roll bar requirement is dropped and where the half FIA roll bar is required.

Playing devils advocate for a second. With self scrutineering at L7C trackdays, could I attend if I were to glue some 32mm gloss black UPVC tubing into a cross frame pattern onto my standard roll bar? I'll sign the form to say I meet the club requirements. As a few have said, it is not about whether the half FIA bar is better than the standard bar, it is about people taking responsibility for their own safety. Everything else left to the driver and so the roll bar should be aswel.

If we all wanted to be safe on the road then we wouldn't own a Caterham to start with. I would go so far as to say that driving on the road is more dangerous than a track day.

I did the same as SM25T, Link to the blog detailing the wiring here

The remap is definitely on the list of things to do. You only ever hear good things about the two steve's.

JNC I have the same set up in os much as the 2lt Duratec and BMW diff via the type 9 box. I only have the 175 version of the Duratec. The light flywheel being a cause of the overrun noise makes sense as does the mapping. I have learnt to not fully come off the throttle and slow down that way before moving from the throttle to the brake.