build diary

August 16, 2006:
Going backwards on the track, this is a heavy braking zone.
But not a straight braking zone. This makes life, umm, interesting. The car deals with it well, showing no signs of upset. The driver, on the other hand, does get a little nervous.
entry 1282

August 20, 2006:
The Flyin' Miata Open House is over.
After this track day, I think there are a few more people interested in the Westfield kits!

Two years ago at the Open House, a driver named John Hunter with a turbo Miata set the fastest time of the day, 2.3 seconds ahead of anyone else and three seconds ahead of the Seven. It was a heck of a performance. He missed last year, but he was back this year and there had been a certain amount of smack talk. The difference? Two years of work on my part. Since we'd decided to run the track backwards, I didn't really have much of a home field advantage. My 10 laps or so in the reverse direction weren't much when I was up against a good autocross competitor.

The first time out, I couldn't get the back of the car to stick. It was walking all over the place under power. Very exciting for the photographers, but not a fast way around. I pulled a 1:04.260, John came in at 1:05.542. The karters say the track is 1 second slower in this direction.

The next session, John dropped a second and came in at 1:04.511. Thankfully, I managed almost the same improvement and clocked 1:03.516. That's only 2 tenths off my record in the normal direction, so maybe it's not any slower after all.

I did have a bit of a secret weapon, though. There was a lineup of people waiting for rides, so I was out with other groups with a passenger fairly often. The handling of the car is quite different with a passenger as you might expect, but it did let me spend a bit more time playing with the line in a couple of corners - particularly the fun off camber, decreasing radius, downhill "straight" with the heavy braking zone at the end. It's a real gut check every time. After one passenger ride, I decided my tires were making too much noise. This is usually a sign of low pressure on these tires, so I checked them out. Their hot temperatures were similar to what I usually set cold! Now, this is a fairly fundamental piece of setup and not something I should have been neglecting. The car has been so bulletproof recently that I haven't even bothered to check them for some time. I stuffed another 7 psi or so into the tires to see what would happen, and went out with the clocks running.

Much better. Session three caused a certain amount of excitement, as I came in with a 1:03.002. The timer came out to let me know in person - so close to a 1:02! And also a new track record regardless of direction. I'd been experiencing fuel starvation when pulling out of hard left turns so that was hurting me somewhat. John pulled off another half second, dropping to 1:04.095. There wasn't any secret to our very friendly contest either, with everyone in the pits checking times when we came in. In the next session with a full tank of gas, a poor setup on the entrance to the critical back section of the track was leading to much oversteer and a loss of entry speed. The times got about a half second slower.

While running with passengers, I once pulled out on the track in front of a 270 hp Miata that was halfway down the straight. The Seven was able to squirt away quickly enough that he didn't get slowed down. In fact, he was able to take a second off his time because he was motivated to give chase! A couple of other memorable moments occurred when I ran up behind one of my friends. First Don in his S2000 got drafted around the track, then later I latched on to the same WRX I'd been harassing a few weeks back. I was on a cool-down lap, he was on one of his flying timed laps - but that didn't stop me from taking a good look at his back bumper for most of a lap. It's fun running on the track with these guys, as they enjoy this sort of thing as much as I do and we trust each other enough to do it.

Back to the competition. On the final session of the day - at least, the final session when I was running solo - I concentrated on my entry to the back. I came in slower and was very careful to keep the back end planted on acceleration. My reward? 1:02.471. A new track record and one that floored everyone including myself. The car (and the driver) isn't perfect and there's more room left, but it was enough to make John cry uncle. He ended with a 1:03.713, a spectacular time when you consider the next-fastest car was again over two seconds behind. It was a very fun race. The next morning, I was sore from all the driving. That's a good sore.
entry 1283

August 21, 2006:
Hard at work on the track.
Again. Lots of braking here, but the car's nice and flat.
entry 1284
The most interesting corner on the track - heavy braking heading into a slow hairpin.
The Seven did just what I asked it to, but you can see the suspension working hard here. After looking at the pictures, it might be time to do a little more investigation on rear alignment. Or maybe just take my own advice and pull out the pyrometer.
entry 1285
Passenger rides!
Skip Cannon out for a few laps. He was definitely enjoying himself based on the way he was hollering out loud after that tricky and fast braking zone. He's currently working on a Caterham SV powered by a turbo Miata motor, so he's extra-motivated to get it done now. Skip's been waiting for two years for this ride.
entry 1286
Harassing my friend Don in his S2000.
entry 1287
Zoom.
I like this picture because of the sense of speed.
entry 1288

September 4, 2006:
It wasn't a Seven, but the same principles apply.
Trust me, this is on topic! I spent the day recovering a Jeep. I live about 100 miles from Moab, and a friend's sister got into some trouble on Moab Rim. This trail is a fairly brutal one, given the highest rating available for trails in one of the more hard-core off-road spots around. It climbs 1000' in about a mile of ledges and steps, right along the edge of a cliff over a river. In some places, a mistake or mechanical failure is rewarded by a long fall then a big crunch noise.
This particular Jeep had experienced a total loss of brakes right near the top and had gone for a dramatic backwards ride down about 300' of a steep slope and ended a small ravine. The final drop was probably about 5' tall and the truck was literally flying by this point. No permanent damage was done to the occupants, but both spent some time in hospital. The driver got a concussion from an unpadded roll bar and it's lucky she didn't get worse. I went up to get the truck back down to the end of the trail and tow it home.
The failure had come when a brake line ruptured. It was a stainless steel line, but had been routed so the tires chafed on it. When the truck was being held on a slope by the brakes, the exposed interior line exploded and the front brakes lost pressure. A mechanical moron had replaced the rear axle with one that had disc brakes instead of the original drums, and the otherwise-unmodified master cylinder and proportioning valve didn't provide anywhere near enough pressure to the rear lines to even slow the truck on flat ground - never mind a steep rocky slope. The new disc brake calipers had a different cable attachment so the emergency brake cables weren't attached. In other words, the truck had one weak spot and managed to lose all braking capability due to both negligence and ignorance.
The moral? The owner and driver of the Jeep knew about the vulnerable front lines and the lack of an emergency brake system. The lack of rear brakes was a bit of a surprise, but it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. In the process of bringing the Jeep home (very slowly, as we had to pass over some tough terrain while looking at the river far, far below), we came up with a catalog of weak spots in this truck that filled a page of notes.
How does this apply to Sevens? Well, off-roading and track use share a certain exposure to risk and reliance on mechanicals. It's more than foolish to go out with known weak spots in your vehicle, it's dangerous. If you're going to make major modifications or build your own car, make sure the components you're using will work together. If possible, test the modified parts to ensure they're working. And do not explore the limits of your talent and the vehicle's talent when there are known problems in major systems.
As for my Seven? Well, it's been quiet for the last week and a bit as I travelled back to Ottawa to clean out my old house and garage. But in the meantime I've learned some interesting things about the rear lower control arms. More on that in a couple of days.
entry 1289

September 14, 2006:
Autocross time - again.
The autocross organized by the Red Rock Racers is on this weekend. This is the group started up by myself and a few others, so we'll see how it turns out. It has been a lot of fun setting up the wireless timing gear all over the office and timing people as they walk down the hallway, that's for sure. There's also a time trial competition on in two weeks - it's the second annual "Octoberkross". My parents are in town that weekend so I don't know if I'll be able to make it at all. That's not liable to make me popular with the organizer, given that I haven't managed to make it to any of his events since we announced we were running our own. Regardless, it's time to get the car back out of the garage and have a bit of fun. I'm going to run more tire pressure than I have in the past and see what happens.
entry 1290

September 19, 2006:
The autocross went well overall.
There was the usual chaos in the morning as we realised that having the same guy doing tech and start line duties was a poor idea, compounded by a rockslide in one of the canyons that closed down the interstate. Hopefully we'll have a larger turnout next time, but everyone got a whole lot of track time. The pavement was cold (so was the air! Brrr) and there was lots of loose gravel on the course. I was stuck at the timing station for a while but eventually snuck away to take a run.

As per its tradition at a new venue, the Seven fouled its plugs as soon as I went to start it. Cute trick - but this time I was prepared! Sort of. I stole a set of plugs from a friend's Miata ("Hey, why is my hood up?"), fired up the engine to get the cylinders warm and then popped the crusty plugs back in. Perfect.

Not so good on the course, though. The car was running lean and I could only use light throttle, but I still managed a decent time. Why lean? My old friend altitude again. The course was no higher than the one at Aspen, but over the course of the various trips I must have forgotten to leave the fuel I needed in that vacuum range. I popped it back in and the car felt strong. On my next run I missed a cone so I looped around in a big circle to reach it - and put down the same time as the last! The big problem was gravel. Competitors had pushed it off the course, but if I got off line at all the Seven would just wash out in front and I'd be frantically adding lock. Not smooth, not fast. I had to basically the follow the same line as everyone else which wasn't all bad. The final run came in at 1:02.750, nearly 7 seconds faster than everyone else. It's hard to beat a Seven through the cones, no matter what kind of hack is driving! There are some good pro pictures online - this one is my favourite.

I expect everyone who's a fan of homebuilt cars knows about the DP1. I've been reading the build log for a few years. Why do I mention it? Because the car made its first drive today! Click on the Recent Updates for the DP1 to see the latest. AWD, turbo bike motor - yikes.
entry 1291

On the autocross course.
This was a tight gate - it felt claustrophobic to me. Imagine how the poor guy driving the Grand Am felt!
entry 1292
Not a bad view for autocrossing, is it?
entry 1293

September 22, 2006:
Chaos reigns.
I'm moving. This means all the tools are packed up, I'm filling trailer after trailer with odd car parts (it's a lot easier moving the spare parts for the Mini than it is for the Cadillac!) and my garage looks bigger than it has since I started the Seven build. I'd always joked that my garage was larger than my house. Turns out it was closer than I thought! If you count the storage area up front there's only 28 square feet difference. Meanwhile, the place I'm hoping to move into has an even larger garage. Heh heh heh. During the process, there's not going to be a lot of Seven work.
entry 1294

There was a set of 18" wheels off a pimped-out Miata sitting in the shop, and the Seven was sitting nearby.
I don't think those front fenders are going to fit over the wheels, but I'll have to bolt them on just to see. Well, you just have to, don't you?
entry 1295

October 10, 2006:
The Seven is living in a temporary home - as am I.
I have to walk by the poor thing every morning as I head off to work. Non-stop rain means I can't take it out to play. It's starting to drive me nuts!

Thankfully, I'll get some chance for some fun in the next few weeks. This weekend is another Corvette autocross. Then two weeks later, a Red Rock Racers autocross. The weekend after that, a two-day event at the local track as well as a one-day event in Pueblo. Oooh, that's a tough choice to make. Since we take possession of the new garage - sorry, "house" - a day or two before, I think an out-of-town trip is out of the question. If the rain lets up, I might have to go for a blat around my local roads just for grins. One of the local hidden twisties just got repaved. Hmm...

Something that might be entertaining. I've become involved with the build and possibly sale of Miata-based Westfields. This means that I have access to all sorts of interesting details. One thing I've put together is an online configurator that lets you play with options. The kit is a bit out of Locost territory, but it's about half the price of the equivalent Caterham.
entry 1296

October 15, 2006:
Autocross time again.
Once again, I was out dodging cones with the Corvette club. They're remarkably good-natured about having non-Corvettes take part. Especially when, after all the experienced Corvette drivers have had three shots at the course, I knock 4.6 seconds off the fastest time on my first run. Heh heh, whoops. Overall, just a normal autocross event. My fourth run (we get six, in two races) was a little eventful. I was having a really good run. With fairly cool temperatures the tires weren't sticking all that well but the engine was happy, so I was mostly steering with the rear of the car. On one sweeper I was keeping the rear loose by using just a bit too much throttle and it got a half step ahead of me. I spun the car and missed a gate - so I slotted into first, lit up the back end, spun around to go through the gate then left the car in first for the final 180 and over the line. The rear wheels were smoking the whole time and my sideways trip across the finish seemed to entertain the spectators. I still managed to put down a pretty good time too! My fastest lap was a 51.8, about 4.3 seconds ahead of the next fastest car - also not a Corvette. I have to enjoy this while I can, because when Bill has his Westfield up and running I'm going to have some serious competition. Good thing he doesn't like autocrossing then.

There was one odd thing during the day. The venue is about a half hour from my current house. The drive out was fine (and refreshing!), but on the way home the car just cut out at a steady cruise. I coasted to the side of the road and restarted, but what the heck was that? I forgot to check to see if the ECU has lost power. I'm going to start monitoring that.
entry 1297

October 16, 2006:
New video.
It's been a long time since I've had any video to add to the site. Thanks to a friendly bystander with a fancy digital camera, I have video of my first run at yesterday's autocross. The color on the camera was all screwed up so I corrected it as best as I could. The first run was quick but there was still a second to come off in later runs. Still, it's kind of fun to watch the car from outside and to see just slow it looks through some sections. Not always slow though. During my FTD run (which had pretty much unuseable video, so you won't get to see it), it's possible to hear someone beside the cameraman say "Jeeeeez!" in response to my fairly late braking at one point.
entry 1298

October 17, 2006:
Zoom! There's a new video from the October 15th autocross up.
entry 1299

October 20, 2006:
Sexy engine on the dyno.
We had an engine I've been lusting over on the dyno today at work. It's very similar to the one that's in the Seven now - except that it's 25% larger. 2020cc in size instead of my 1640cc, with the same sort of compression and head modifications. There are even a set of roller-barrel throttle bodies installed. I have high hopes for this powerplant. Given the better head that's on it, it should be good for 200 hp at the wheels.

Well, it goes very well up to 6000 rpm. At 4000, it has 150 lb-ft of torque compared to my 100 lb-ft. Boy, you'd sure feel that! Unfortunately, it falls off at 6000 and doesn't fulfill all the promise. If the power curve kept going and continued to mirror mine, it would be right around 195 or so. We think the cams aren't up to the job. We'll sort that out!
entry 1300

October 25, 2006:
You can't see it, but I'm reworking the greasy underpinnings of the site.
It'll soon have much better integration of pictures and text - no more flipping back and forth! It'll also have more powerful searching capabilities. Heck, it'll probably do my laundry.

In the meantime, I've been driving the car. A quick blat here and there while I can - just because. I'm not going to get to autocross it this weekend because I can't be bothered with trailers and the like, but at least it's getting some use

We're all waiting eagerly at work for "our" Westfield to show up. I've been going through the assembly manual and some of the pictures have me ready to cut the back end off my car and redo it. I think I could drop a fair bit of weight, get better geometry and have a much cleaner setup. Big words - it might happen. Someday. Probably once Bill starts taking my lap records away from me!
entry 1301

October 30, 2006:
Another autocross.
The Red Rock Racers were out on the weekend again. The events are held in the parking lot for a ski area at a fair elevation (9000' or so) and there was certainly some worry about the weather. Lucky for us, it turned out to be sunny and warm. Well, sunny and not cold anyhow. It was another fairly small group but a good one with a fair mix of cars. We all managed to get a dozen runs in.

For some reason, I was having difficulty putting down a good clean run at first. The biggest problem was a 270 degree corner that I had suggested. Going in too fast meant loads of understeer, and while I could break the back end free with power that was a little risky because it was tough to line up the exit smoothly. Naturally, you had to do it twice per run. There was one section of the course that was quite quick - at least, it was for me. Apparently I was far faster through there than anyone else. It sure was hectic with a fairly smooth but narrow line available. At one point, I messed up my braking, got into a little tank-slapper and managed to collect two adjacent cones with opposite sides of the car! Whoops. My typical times were around 1:14, which was a second faster than my (much smoother) friend Mark in his Miata. Then finally, I got it right on one run. The guys in the timing booth thought something had gone wrong with the timing gear - I'd pulled 3 seconds off my time! I did manage to back it up a little slower on subsequent runs, but it left me with another FTD by a fair margin. I'll have to work on those 270s, tight slow corners are my weakest point. I have to admit that it was crazy fun letting the rear end just smear across the pavement. There were a few spots on the course that were well suited to walking the back end around with the throttle. It's the part I miss the most about driving a FWD.

We're closing on the new house today. There will be much chaos and hard work ahead for the next couple of weeks. Very little of it will have to do with the Seven.

The latest autocross.
Luckily, the snowballs were kept to a minumum. The pavement was cold but clean and the air was warm. What a great way to end the season!
entry 1303
It's fun watching the different cars at an autocross.
The Isuzu was surprisingly agile around the cones, able to move the back end around without the crushing understeer you usually see on econoboxes. The Miata was up to the usual Miata antics, the MINI Cooper S driver was a neophyte and simply trying to figure out where the course went, the WRX driver was quick and of course there's the noisy little orange thing.
entry 1304
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