Slomove

Don't know your ignition system but I had that with my Zetec&Emerald, when the startup advance (while cranking) was too high. I believe 5-10 degrees is recommended for most engines but I reduced to zero and it starts better. Gert

I use the Emerald with a USB adapter (Belkin, I believe) on my laptop. No problem whatsoever. You just need to find the right Com-port number. Gert Edited by - Slomove on 5 Sep 2004 15:44:50

I found a good solution that works for me . See here and here. It is a flexible funnel rolled from thin aluminum roof flashing that squeezes flat between radiator and nosecone. This is connected with a 2" conduit to the pedal box cover box. Funnel and conduit are insulated with aluminum duct tape over 1/8" neoprene tape. The air blows from the cover box down to the feet. The only permanent modification was the 2" hole in the front of the cover. Everything else is just strapped in and nothing visible outside. Also cheap and quick to do. Works very nicely. We had a toasty 35 degrees C outside today and the temperature in the footwell went "only" up to 40-41 degrees C. Still pretty warm but so much better than before! The only thing I am still going to do is to put some insulation on the scuttle firewall that gets very warm. Gert Edited by - Slomove on 5 Sep 2004 04:30:48 Edited by - Slomove on 5 Sep 2004 04:31:59

I did some "scientific" experiments the last few days because I had the exhaust headers off and could change various conditions: - car is LHD with 150 bhp Zetec engine, i.e. driver behind exhaust. No extra footwell insulation, only the ali sheet - I drove the same 35 minute route each time with a mix of city (20 min), freeway (10 min), city (5 min) - I measured the difference between outside temperature (22 to 25 deg. C) and the temperature in the footwell (barbecue thermometer strapped to my right foot) Results so far: - Generally I noticed under these condition it takes about 15-20 minutes from cold start to reach somewhat stable temperature in the footwell - There was not much change going from city driving to freeway driving. I suppose the better air draft cooling offset the increased generated heat. However, there was a noticable temperature increase (3-5 degrees) going from the freeway to city speed. That may be temporary, however. - The end temperature difference with bare exhaust headers was 16 degrees C above ambient, that means 39 degrees at my foot, which was uncomfortable but not unbearable. The same temperature difference at - let's say - 34 degrees outside might lead to a footwell temperature of up to 50 degrees which is definitely not nice. But maybe the difference gets smaller at higher overall temperature. - Then I added exhaust header wrap (double layer glass fabric tape with an aluminum sleeve). This lowered the temperature difference to 13 degrees above ambient. I was somewhat disappointed that it does not do more but the 3 degrees improvement is noticable. Obviously the bulk of the heat penetrating into the footwell comes from the hot engine block, gearbox and the radiator. - Then I uncovered the footwell bottom louvers (sucking air out to the rear) that I have in my car and had covered with carpet for the previous tests. This lowered the temperature again a tad but I would not suggest this is a worthwhile modification. - I made one run with a 3" vent hose (donkey dick style) hanging out of the cockpit side and scooping up fresh air to deliver directly to the bottom of the footwell. That made a BIG difference. The temperature difference dropped to only 5 degrees above ambient. Unfortunately somewhat impractical to drive all the time with a donkey dick between your legs 😬 My conclusion is: I can live with the header wrap/louver for now but I am still not satisfied, especially when temperatures reach 35 or 40 degrees (California!). The outside air scoop is surely the solution but I don't really want to install something on the outside skin. Next I will try to route an air duct from the narrow slot above the radiator to the footwell. Let's see..... Gert

Interesting discussion.... I don't want to claim that the sump guard I have on my car fits all mentioned requirements but I am satisfied When I got my car it had a simple steel sheet guard (maybe 1.5 mm) installed, with a ramp in front of the sump, a plate below (with some holes to make lighter and 1/2" clearance to the sump) and slanted "ears" to attach to the chassis. That worked well for the occasional speed bump or grounding by compressing the front suspension in a dip. The sump guard just makes a nasty crunching noise and slides over the obstacle. Of course it happens more often than without guard but no consequences. The guard may wear through sometimes but can even be patch-welded easily. I don't really see a point using stainless. As a disposable piece mild or alloy steel with primer is just fine. I almost killed my sump anyway by running over a grapefruit-size solid rock (here). That made a fat dent into the steel sheet (here) and knackered a sump fin. Such rocks are everywhere in the area and therefore I reinforced the guard (here). Very safe, but quite heavy. But it is easy to take off for track use. There ain't no speed bumps on the race track (I hope). Gert Edited by - Slomove on 22 Aug 2004 00:43:55 Edited by - Slomove on 22 Aug 2004 00:45:20

Dave, I made my new dash in brushed ali (they called it "grained" at the shop) and had it black hard anodized. Looks pretty cool but attracts dust (bad thing here in high quality Los Angeles air) and you see brushes with metal parts (keys etc.). But it is easy to clean up and shine with some Armor-All. Gert

I have diligently sealed all gaps and crevices to the engine compartment, including complete removal and blanking off the heater. But the remaining small openings (around the steering column and pedal box) still inject noticable jets of hot air into the footwell. And of course the heat transfer through the ali sheets.... In my LHD car I am sitting of course right behind the exhaust and California summer makes it no easier. A big louver in the floor of the footwell helps a lot and is invisible (if you don't crawl under the car) but I am not satisfied yet. I think I try some additional insulation or a duct next Gert

Adam, yes it was quite impressive. A Mercedes based drag racer with four big fat turbo chargers, who knows how many 1000 hp and who knows how many 100k$. I saw it at the annual Supercar Show in Pasadena. All in chrome, match colour anodized alloy and carbon fiber. Kind of an automotive wet dream. I bet they will never race it because that would spoil the finish. There were of course many other goodies at the show..... Gert

Is it this one? 😬 Gert

Quote >>a succesfull caterham racer from the Uk was only a mid fielder when he bought his car over hear

I played with the bypass screws (my butterflies are also slightly off sync, maybe due to a twisted shaft) so that I got even reading on the Carbtune vacuum sync meter. That satisfied my engineering curiosity but I did not get the feeling the car had "better" tickover or running in the progression range. I ended up closing the bypass screws and I am not sure if they are really useful. Even with the small asymmetry the car runs better. That may be due to the fact that, while the bypass can balance the air pressure drop across the closed butterflies, they do not balance the fuel mixture. But that is just a guess. Gert

I am not sure if that sparkling thing is a good idea with front engine and rear tank. Might become really exciting if there is a filling spillage, dripping vent or cap Gert Edited by - Slomove on 10 Jul 2004 00:37:12

Cobra model Roadster7 here. A little on the heavy side but very comfy. However, they needed minor surgery to fit and I bolted them to the floorpanel. Gert

Re spring compressors: 2 extra large hose clamps (or is that jubilee clips here?) to compress the springs. I re-used them for both front springs and still O.K. Gert Edited by - Slomove on 24 Jun 2004 04:17:48

Don't know the Comma stuff but a general purpose foamy window/mirror spray has become my most powerful friend. I use it to clean (as intended) the windscreen glass and mirrors without streaks, the insects from gelcoat and the last traces of black residue after polishing ali. I go through a bottle a month. But it is dirt cheap. Gert

I have the RF concept bullet cam/microphone and the sound is distorted with exhaust/engine noise (mic between driver and passenger seat). Actually not too loud on the tape but I suppose the built-in mic preamp hits the limits. I tried a 10:1 attenuator, which reduced the volume but the distortion did not go away. Next time I will try to wrap the mic with more damping material or try a non-amplified separate mic. Would be nice to know if somebody finds a method that works! Gert

If the venturis (or chokes) haven been moving around you may have the culprit already. You can not just tighten them with the grub screw in a random position. You must align them exactly so that the grub screw goes into the pit in the side of the choke (opposite the fuel channel hole). Take them out and you will see it. If it is only a few degrees off you cut your main jet fuel outlet. I had that happen and the car ran like crap although I never had fuel spill. As you mention fuel pump: borrow a gauge and see it is less than 3.5psi (ideal around 2.5) If it is higher a regulator will help. Gert Edited by - Slomove on 1 Jun 2004 06:06:53

Steve, I was just wandering around the site and thought to visit the infamous test area before the club cuts me off 🙆🏻 Oh well, they own it, it's their choice. Anyway, the convertible top is my last weekend project. I was waiting for something to become commercially available and finally made it myself, California Summer is around the corner. You can find more pictures here. I went the extra mile to make it open and close from the driver seat because I am not caterpillar and hate to crawl out from under the hood (my wife hates it even more). Works pretty well, so far tested to 75mph. Wind buffeting is minimized as well as the dusty cheek and ear after a blat. See ya, Gert

You need that ! Gert

Maybe intake gaskets opening up a small leak when everything gets nice and warm, due due differences in thermal expansion? Gert

I have Zetec/Raceline with 90 C stat (however 3 holes of 3mm drilled) and get to abot 75 C water/oil temp when running (somewhat dependent on the weather) and 85 in idle with fan. Only when running really hard (track) water temp gets a little higher and oil slightly over 100C. Heater removed and the heater hoses are plugged. That sounds consistent with what you write. Maybe you should try a little higher temp stat. Next time I have the stat housing open I will try one with only one smaller bypass hole. AFAIK the problem with the low temperature may be that blowby gases with water vapor condense in the crankcase when the engine is cold, never boil out and may even butter up. Have not seen it with my engine yet. Gert

I had the same and changed to side exit (pic). The fume backdraft while driving is gone and I recommend the change. Penalty: you will have more exhaust fumes when idling, e.g. in slow traffic and you may need earplugs depending on your muffler can. Gert

Maybe one more interesting observation: I was used to tow trailers in Europe with mid-sized sedans and everybody is doing that. Now here in US I did not find any normal tin-top that is specified to tow more than a ridiculous 1000 pounds. My Mitsubishi Galant even had "no towing" spec. The smaller 4-cylinder SUVs had 1500 pounds at best. That is how I ended up with the 2.7V6 Hyundai as the smallest car allowed to tow a Seven (even that only with ABS). On the other hand that makes some sense because I guess the mass of the towing vehicle contributes a lot to the overall stability or, to prevent the tail from wagging the dog. Gert

I will not dispute that a tandem axle is the nicer solution. Anyway, here some own experience: 1. I now have a single axle trailer with my Seven towed behind a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV (for US that means a really tiny tow vehicle). Gross weight with load is about 1000 kg. I noticed that I need to load the hitch at least with 60 kg load or it will fishtail uncomfortably. At loads above 70 kg on the hitch it becomes very stable. 70 mph no problem. I mean, ahem, of course I would do that only if it was legal ....(actually it is 55mph for trailers on the freeway) 2. I did a memorable trip as teenager with my parents to Yugoslavia with a totally under-sized one-axle boat trailer (long story by itself) behind a '76 Audi 100. The trailer tires blew no less than 8 times while driving and we had to buy more tires twice while doing the 3200 km round trip. In no case the car or trailer got out of control. It just sagged on the blown side and rumbled until we could stop. That is not meant to say that this is a good or safe situation. But at the end it was just another "oh well, here we go again". Gert

darn double posts Edited by - Slomove on 25 Apr 2004 03:34:40