AVOID THIS

It is never planned to become a victim of your own design, some may call this simply being stupid and in hindsight this is so true. I was on holiday at my beach house and decided to do a little car work and needed to check my clutch and brake fluid levels. I know this is not real car work, but more forgotten maintenance. On checking’ the fluid seemed a little down’ but while I was on my knees a sudden gust of wind caught my bonnet and sent it across the car park. A Lotus 7 engine hood does fly in small bounce like movements similar to the Kitty Hawke on the Wright brother’s historic flights!

FLYING LAPS

It was always intended to install the new suspension components once they had been tested and approved, this for me, was the single most significant change to the McGregor Mach7. I thought it would be valuable to record changes and the best way is on the track. Stephen from New Zealand’s Lotus 7 & Clubman’s Forum kindly supplied his GoPro HD camera for recording laps.

The raw footage was sent to me, a quick opening sequence then the best of three flying laps was placed on a time-code from starting to finish line gave a best lap time. The results are posted then discussions follow to determine what improvements can be made.

DRIVING TO AUCKLAND

After another great night at Hotel So and their bar What …I know you are thinking SO WHAT, but the place is fabulous! An early morning start at McGregor Motorsport to complete final checks, gasoline and be entertained by our youngest passenger on his booster seat with ear protection. [I would too in the MACH 7V8]


A group of fellow 7 owners decided to farewell us from Christchurch so we all assembled at Stephen’s house to convey out of town.


The plan included lunch at the Mud House Winery – it seems my MACH SR7 is just doomed to spend time on such excursions. No objections’ on my part or from co-driver bother Grant.


After the inevitable inquisitive collection of people asking about the cars, taking photo’s and having a chance to sit inside the cockpit we said our farewells and began the first part of our drive home with a planned overnight stopover in Picton. This part of the journey is stunning, driving north has a kaleidoscope of vista’s equal to any I have seen in my global travels.

UPHOLSTERY

Again, due to me rushing the car away from Christchurch we never had time to fine tune the new wet weather designed kit. I was adamant that I did not want a domed pinned attachment to the windscreen and in typical innovative Christchurch style a reasonable idea became excellent with thoughtful modifications. It is the attention to detail that makes things really work, little did we know that in two days time we would spend 9 hours in extremely wet conditions fully testing the wet weather designs…100% success with no wet bums at all! The work was all completed by Brendon Marshall of Canterbury Upholstery; this even included some custom carry bags that tucked into those crevices each side of the gas tank. Brendon realized my wine habits and made the bags zipped and padded…perfect for a bottle of picnic wine!


Credit must also be given to the seating and cockpit design of the MACH SR7 as the rather long drive from Auckland to Christchurch was extremely comfortable! So many people have asked was I tired, sore back, cramped and all received the same answer – NO! In fact it was better than many everyday cars I have driven over considerably shorter distances!

CHRISTCHURCH AGAIN
It was time to once again fly to Christchurch to collect my MACH SR7; this time I had a co-driver to share not only the drive back to Auckland, but the incredible Christchurch car culture! So with our best feet forward, and a window landscape, we were on our way.

AERO LOOK
For several months Mark had been developing a new front suspension which was approved and now just needed installation and testing. My car was at their factory for the winter as a demo car for installing and testing the latest components.


The results have been staggering, even in the early stages there has been a four second reduction in lap times around the Ruapuna Raceway. McGregor Motorsport is so fortunate to one, have a race circuit only twenty minutes from their factory and secondly, Mark who has a race pedigree and performance car design background. Japan seems a long way away at the moment and I cannot wait until I next get to drive my little aero flyer!

RUAPUNA RACEWAY WEB SITE

http://www.canterburycarclub.co.nz/content.php

CHANGES BEGIN
Driving on Thursday morning was certainly the best way to forget a bad Dyno-Tune and really enjoy yesterday’s results. This was however short lived as I had a flight back to Auckland but before I left the team; Robert, Mark and Warren were tearing apart the front of my car!


I simply went back to my Hotel, had a well deserved Stella Moment and headed back to Auckland.

DYNO TUNE
The whole world of Dyno Tuning is a total mystery to me. What I do know now is that you have to really do your homework when selecting a person to let loose on your engine. When my motor was installed and started, the obvious next step was to send it off to be Dyno Tuned. Now six months later a phone call from Mark at McGregor Motorsports told me that he recently changed Dyno Tune companies with remarkable results. Obviously we were all not that thrilled in both the extra money involved and why there is such a difference between the two companies.
I am always looking toward the positive and confirmed with Mark that I would happily invest in another Dyno Tune with one condition – I wanted to see a marked difference in performance. I was certainly not disappointed and suddenly I had an entirely different motor from one day before!
The Dyno Tuning was done by;
SPEC PERFORMANCE
417 St Asaph Street
City Centre
Christchurch
http://specperformance.co.nz/


I have left the Dyno Tune print outs at McGregor Motorsports for local 7 owners to view and discuss with Mark and Robert. The gains were considerable and certainly well worth the investment.