David-David J Marguglio wrote:The two-seater Seven raced to 60mph from a standing start in 3.21secs, having hit the 30mph mark in just 1.45secs. With 100mph reached in an incredible 6.92secs, the Caterham stopped a mere 3.6secs later.
jack miller wrote:(sic) In principal, I think we should adopt as open a policy as space and safety permit at our events. We should err on the side of leniency toward space and, just slightly, on the side of strictness for safety. I have not heard anything from any chair or member that would lead me to think anyone disagrees.(sic)
As you know, my car was originally designed by Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, as the Lotus 7. The first factory car was campaigned by a fellow named Graham Hill to very good effect, and the legend of the Lotus 7 was born. Hill later gained some additional notoriety driving German vehicles. In the USA Milt Minter and John Morton originally learned racing in Lotus 7s.
The tubular space frame chassis of my car is virtually identical to the original Chapman design. Stretched over the tubular space frame is an aluminum body and bonnet. The fenders, dash and nosecone are made of carbon fiber in order to save weight. An FIA approved rollbar provides additional rigidity and safety.
The suspension consists of double A arms with (24-way) adjustable coilovers at both ends. There is also a DeDion tube and adjustable Watts linkage at the rear. The handling can be adjusted within a very wide range from terminal understeer to deadly oversteer. The diff is a ZF clutch-pak type LSD.
The zetec motor started life as 140 HP Ford Focus motor. Salvaged from that duty it is now quite modified and still perfectly tractable. The head has been ported and skimmed. Kent cams have further improved the performance. A lightweight aluminum flywheel and underdrive pulley help the motor rev faster. The dry sump is said to add a few HP since the crankshaft no longer twists its' way through the Mobil 1. Jenvey twin throttle bodies with 90mm trumpets replaced the stock injection system. ITG supplied the airbox/filter; as they also do for 5-6 current Formula One teams. In present form the zetec puts out about 210-215 HP.
The transmission is a specially designed lightweight, close ratio, short throw six speed.
Four AP racing 4 pot disc brakes provide significant retardation when needed. The tires are Avon ACB10 speed rated high performance tires. Lightweight 13" 6.5 & 8.5 rims weigh 8-9 pounds each.
The car weighs 1259 pounds with a full tank of gas. Without driver the weight is almost exactly 25% on each corner. When I am in the car the weight bias is 45% front, 55% rear. This amounts to a front midengine car in terms of performance.
Speaking of performance, if you divide 1259 pounds by 210 HP it seems the car is moving about six pounds per HP; not very far from the figures provided by a very high performance modern motorcycle. I believe that a new Porsche 996 is pushing about ten pounds per HP (Do correct me if I am wrong by more than one pound). The Caterham factory claims that a car similar to mine with a 190 HP motor does the 0-60 trip in 3.8 seconds. Last year a Caterham R500 with a 230 HP 1800cc motor set a new world record for a street legal car in the 0-100-0 challenge: 11.25 seconds. The fastest Porsche was more than one second slower; as well as the Ferrari Enzo, Pagani, Noble, Viper, McLaren F1, etc. About the only thing slowing my car is the 200 pound driver!
Worldwide there are more than twelve Caterham-only racing series in places like Japan, UK, USA, Turkey and even in good old Deutschland (as the locals call it).
Given that the 7 was designed for racing 47 years ago and has been continuously improved and developed over those years to the degree that it still out performs cars that cost multiples of dollars more, the decision by the PCA that such a car can not run in the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium is curious, to me. If these fellows know something that the rest of us don't know about the safety of 7's perhaps this knowledge should be shared with various international racing sanctioning bodies, including the FIA.
Best to you, Brad
kary wrote:Jack, I agree with your statement about the board allowing other cars to attend. Here is a hypothetical situation that might occur. A guy shows up with an open wheel car and we allow him to run with us. Whilte running a serious accident occurs where a fendered car (Porsche) slams into the open wheel (read: small car with little protection) and hurts or even kills a person in the small car. There might not be grounds for a lawsuit since we sign our life away to run, but there will likely be something from a family member. Now what does this mean in terms of our insurance liability?
Well, not necessarily with a novice, but I not only would, I already have. I ran my Lotus 7 clone in the last DE at the Q. I ran in the red run group on street tires, and there was not a problem with speed differentials or inexperienced drivers. I passed the slower cars when my car was running right, but I had no big advantage over the faster cars. I had an engine management problem in the first session, though, and the engine was cutting out in hard left hand turns, so I pulled off after 6 or 8 laps and put it on the trailer. On slicks, the car would be 2-3 seconds a lap faster, and I think I could run pretty even with Steve's 914 on a good lap, but my slicks stick out beyond the fenders (which is allowed in SCCA Solo2, where only 1/2 the tread of the tire must be covered by the fender when viewed fron the top.) My car's performance specs are very similar to Brad's Caterham.Jad wrote:Tom T, would you really want to be in your FF or new car door to door with a novice in a Porsche road car?
No, Dan C. did not have a problem with me running my little yellow car, but due to the uncertainty about the other driver and his car, doubts and concerns were raised by other members to him. Without a clear policy regarding this, it would look rather inconsistent and uneven for me to be allowed and others with equal equipment excluded, so I withdrew my entry voluntarily to save him any pain and grief over it. I hope that it will be allowed again at some later date when more reasoned analysis and discussion of the impact and risks of X-car entries can take place at the management level of the club.gulf911 wrote:Tom, Did Dan C. tell you you can't run, or is it just the uncertainty?
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