Help,We are all alone

[hhedberg]

We may have the only Caterham in Alaska. It is a 2005 roadsport with 202HP Z Tech.
We would like to start autocrossing it but are rank amatures. any suggestions for set up and wheels and tires?
We would appriceiate any help

[Sean]

We may have the only Caterham in Alaska. It is a 2005 roadsport with 202HP Z Tech.
We would like to start autocrossing it but are rank amatures. any suggestions for set up and wheels and tires?
We would appriceiate any help

Can't help with autocross advice, but there is a member of this forum who goes by the moniker "alaskossie" who may dispute your opening line. :) If you click on "Members List" above, you'll see he is conveniently located right there on the first page - you are not alone!

[moosetestbestanden]

The 1st question is, are you going to use a separate set of wheels & tires just for autoxing or will they be dual purpose? Iow, slicks, or not?

Imo, best results come from 13" wheels and tires due to low unsprung weight. The ultra wheels are the Barnby mags but they are essentially unavailable. I use the Caterham 8 spokes as well. Goto Caterham's website online store for pics.

I don't autocross so I prefer to stay silent on tire choice. You'll likely find as many opinions as there are brands available. Hopefully some experienced auto-xers others will be along to help.

[Boxologist]

http://www.alaskascca.com/drupal/

local scca region. though in beleive the Canada Sports Club may be more active. any wheels and tyres are fine when ur staring out. the 7 will be fine, but all about the drivers inputs. be prepared to really uise the brakes, even though we normally don't need to in everyday driving.

if u like autoXing, then u way consider a second set of wheels with more specialized tyres.

i have spoke with CatUSA and RMSCI and both beleive that the specs listed in the build manuals will be more than adequate for autoX. until ur at the stage that ur monitoring tyre tempatures across all the tyres, there's no need for deviation.

[Elv15]

You are not alone my friend! Take heart in the fact that there is another crazy guy with a se7en in Alaska! :)
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no not me, but his name is also Tom. He goes by the handle "alaskossie". You will find his profile here: http://www.californiacaterhamclub.co...mber.php?u=182 . He is also active on the http://usa7s.net site (here is his profile: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/Def...=profile&u=211 and on http://se7ens.net mailing list for the USA.

Of course you are most welcome to hang out with us here on the CCC site. These guys (and gals) are a great bunch!

[Roll a 7]

If you are planning to attend SCCA autocrosses be prepared to be forced into Dmod or Mod 1. To be competetive in the class you will probably need Hoosier autocross tires. These are not street legal, so a second set of wheels is probably in your future. Most of us have a few sets.

In the SD SCCA region we have a sort of catch-all local class that permits me to run on street legal tires, Kumho V710s, which I highly recommend. These tires are basically slicks and not really suitable for use on the street. The second set of wheels would enable you to have a lot more fun with your 7. And at the autocrosses!

The SCCA rules don't give a 7 owner many choices about what class to enter. Hopefully your region has a similar street tire class for fast cars that don't quite fit into the other classes. A 7 is the perfect weapon for such a class. Good luck!!

[Boxologist]

We may have the only Caterham in Alaska. It is a 2005 roadsport with 202HP Z Tech.
We would like to start autocrossing it but are rank amatures. any suggestions for set up and wheels and tires?
We would appriceiate any help

you will start off in the novice classes. all 7 clones, including Caterhams are to be in D Modified. Since u are just starting out, I expect most people in ur region will not care. Once u become better, enough to actually bump people in season long points competetion will people complain and protest u out. I've run in C Stock(old Lotus 7s), CSP (with most of my MR2 buddies), ASP (futher built Lotus 7s), and finally D Mod. luckily i really never impacted anything other than a cone. Ok, more than a cone.

Go and HAVE FUN. there too much technical stuff worry about, so concentrate on not going off course, and your inputs. use the brake. alot more than u expect. don't hesitate to ask for assistance or an instructor.

then find someone with tons of experience to be a co-driver for an event or two. the amount of insight they can give you is just too much to comprehend that first day.

worry about ur next set of tyres after you wear the current ones down.