To upgrade or not?

[chris whitlow]

I bought another caterham last year, before I'd sold one, and decided I'd sell the old one in the spring. However, circumstances now aren't ideal for selling anything so I'm wondering if I should upgrade the power so, once we're free to roam again, I can have a bit of fun in something more powerful than I'm used to.

The current spec is as follows:-

2001 Roadsport A with the handbrake under the dash and no carpets.

1.6 k series super sport with ported head, dry sump, forged pistons and power speed exhaust - 152bhp.

Six speed gearbox and ZF 3.92 LSD.

I have a set of Piper 1320 cams on my bench so I'm wondering if I should fit them along with a mappable ECU but I'm not sure what kind of power I'd get using the standard plenum and 52mm throttle body.

I'd obviously get more power fitting Jenvey throttle bodies but the cost is prohibitive unless I get lucky and find some second hand.

I ultimately want to sell it so want to keep the costs reasonable but would like any mods to make it more desirable when I do sell.

Any thoughts and ideas greatfully received.

Cheers,

Chris

[CaterBram]

Chris, have you considered contacting Andrew Willoughby, I know he was thinking about making a return to sprinting before the lockdown happened......

[oilyhands]

1320 cams are a little hotter than supersport cams but would only buy you 5-6BHP, a remap wont gain that much as you already have an SS ECU which allows higher RPM.

Oily

[TomB]

Personally, I’d keep it as standard, shift it and let the next owner decide what they want to do with it. An Emerald ECU and remap would cost you probably around £1000 and you would get it back in sale costs. Spend the money on your new car!

[chris whitlow]

Sound advice chaps, thank you.

I think I'm getting bored (of gardening) so I'm looking for things to fiddle with!