NRG

Hi John, We are off to the Tarn region...close to Albi. The 7 will overwinter there and come back in May / June. That way we avoid the salt and dirt the UK authorities like to throw on the roads... There's also a guy with a blue S4 in a nearby village...on French plates. Apparently an expat...so I'll probably stooge about and see if I can coax him out for a blat when I get there.... N

Hi Mark, Nice to see you here.. Now the rain has blown through, I think I will put the car up on the stands at the back and fill the oil up to the marks before I go. If it stays dry, we will come out in the 7 on Friday...see you then! N

Hi Mark, Nice to see you here.. Now the rain has blown through, I think I will put the car up on the stands at the back and fill the oil up to the marks before I go. If it stays dry, we will come out in the 7 on Friday...see you then! N

Hi, I wonder if anyone can reassure me? I have a 1.8 Zetec, 5 speed sierra 'box and an Ital axle. Had the car for 25 years! It has always had a whine on overrun (decelerating using engine braking). I have covered about 20000 miles. I recently bought a hood to extend the driving season and when driving with the hood up a lot of the transmission and road noise is more intrusive. The car is not used on track days, just simple road use. Is the transmission whine normal? There are no oil leaks anywhere. The gearbox, engine and diff casing are all as clean as a whistle. The only time I have seen oil is a couple of years ago when I tried to top up the diff using the breather filling technique...and spilled some over the top. I am about to hibernate the car for the winter in south west France, so she is going on a 700 mile road trip starting on Sunday.... N

This has all been really helpful. Thinking about it a little, the performance was a little haphazard in the last few days of running in the autumn...which I now realise, could be the early signs of spark plug degradation, though I had no idea at the time..... Yesterday, we went on a 70 mile run, around Winchester, Southampton, Hamble etc and the engine was a lot smoother that I can recall for ages. No spits or overrun and a nice smooth eager acceleration profile. I have ordered a flow meter and will attempt to adjust the air flow to balance up the carbs....there's definitely a little work to do as she's a tad lumpy at tickover still.

OK Guys, thanks for all the helpful comments... First...no choke is fitted as far as I know...nothing driver operated anyway...although I gather there's an automatic system, though not sure where it is or how it works... Went back to the car cold this morning....and fired her up without doing anything at all. Within 30 secods I could tell that the No 2 cylinder (second back from the front) was not firing because the exhaust stayed cold while the others heated up quickly. Took off the spark plug lead and there's a nice electrical flow....so the plug itself was suspected immediately. Changed that straight away and she's now running on all 4! Normal smooth tickover and smooth pick up when revved. Though the 2 exhausts at the front of the engine are not as hot as the ones at the back after 10 mins running in the garage... I could't see anything particularly different about No 2 spark plug compared to the others...not oily or wet or anything special. I changed the other plugs for protocol's sake and am waiting for the storm to blow through to do a road test. NRG

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help. I have just woken my car up for 2015, and she's running very rough. No power and especially bad when under load, accelerating etc. Sounds like a major misfire... The car was fine when she went into hibernation in November. The engine is a Zetec 1.8 running off twin Weber DCOE carburetters. I have never really had to touch the tuning in nearly 20 years of ownership as mileage is low. Now moved to Corhampton, Hants, on the A32. Anyone have any rules of thumb to tune, or a good contact to get reasonably priced professional help nearby? Thanks in advance NRG

Thanks for that...sounds workable as the heater is on it's own loop from the engine Any idea where I can get a valve which I can operate from in the car? NRG

A picture is worth a thousand words, so that would be great...thanks.. NRG

My S3 has a Zetec 1.8l and the engine installation has the heater permanently plumbed in. It gets a tad hot in nice weather like this! I'd like to be able to switch it off. I think I need a bypass valve http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=333 and a control cable http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=332. The heater is the old fashioned type with the 3 bladed 2 speed fan, blowing downward across the heater element. Have I got this about right? Any other bits needed? Can anyone advise any tips for installing / mounting the valve before I order the parts? Where does the valve usually go? Cheers in anticipation NRG

Could've been me, driving back to Lightwater from Hamble avoiding M3....probably later, around 9.15....lovely evening on A33 / A30...

Think about the battery too. Most batteries hate 15V. I'd check that too while you're at it. AGM ones will just about stand it, but wet ones won't for long. 14.4 is the max you should charge at.

Cheers guys. Thanks very much for the swift responses... Seems my car has a much less sturdy looking rollover bar...ruling me out for the club events. Might have to stick to being a spectator. ☹️ I am not considering competitions....I do my racing in yachts! NRG

Hi, I am a new member of the L7 Club, enjoying the regular invites to track days. Very tempted to take my 7 to somewhere like Brands as a complete novice, but unsure if the car qualifies. How do I know she has a "MSA acceptable" rollover bar? Any advice or pointers gratefully accepted NRG

Hi Jo, Passwords etc all through now! Nice evening, great people and even a couple of sailing crew! Bit snowy for the 7 now...will be out and about in 2011. N