Premier power Sigma Ti-vct upgrades.

[Toughie]

"if anyone has a tips on how to break this sort of thing to the better half, they'd be welcome! "

Someone here offered me some sage advice some time ago (apologies for not remembering to whom the credit belongs):-

1. Cost should never be a consideration when it comes to safety related upgrades.
2. Ensure that all upgrades are safety related upgrades.

May the Zephyr of Blat be with you.

[krisfl]

Sage advice indeed.

And of course more power is really about safely pulling out into fast modern traffic, like the motorway, safely over-taking and so on. After all, these "old style cars" have "small weedy engines" by todays standards... Then there is special wrap on the headers, to reduce temperature under the bonnet and therefore the chance of fire. Oh and the beautiful billet ultra light flywheel? Better engine braking so much safer to slow the car in slippery conditions under control...without locking up - so safety is everywhere really...

How am I doing? convincing??  or 

[og22]

Highly recommended. Clutch is heavier, but nothing too bad. Was totally worth it.

[K7 VCT]

Think you are home and dry Kris

[Toughie]

#27.  Highly enterprising.

Have you thought of becoming a lawyer?

(With all due respect to those members who are lawyers)

(The above in no way reflects the views of Officers or Members of the Caterham and Lotus Seven Club, nor of Seven Club Limited)

(The value of your Seven may go down as well as up)

(The price charged for membership in no way reflects the value of the benefits you get)

(All excuses and arse covering correct at the time of printing)

[krisfl]

Ha! Best not say what I actually do then! 

[K7 VCT]

So my 7 was delivered to Stuart on Saturday morning, Chrisfl was to arrive soon after me to deliver his 7 also.

A pair of Ballistic ornageand black S3 7s, looking good.

Exciting times

[krisfl]

And collection can't come soon enough! 

[DerekH]

Any update after delivery? How is it?

DerekH

[krisfl]

Hi Derek.

Fantastic is the short answer.   In slightly longer form:

Stuart and the PP team are fantastic. Experienced, lovely to deal with and great service. Stuart pulled out the stops to get my car ready and another club members ready in time for the F&T run. So my first real drives were with the 190 other sevens over 600 miles through Wales bookended by motorway schleps. So probably enough miles to answer...

My car was in 270 trim. So a 1.6 Ti-VCT sigma with 135bhp and the standard flywheel + CAT. I now have the F160 kit along with PP's ultralight flywheel and clutch fitted. The car is now putting out 163.8Bhp and 135.3(Lbs Ft not Nm!) of torque from just 3300rpm all the way to 7,500rpm. A rev limit which it rips up to and firmly headbutts!

F160 is new cams, new induction kit, uprated valve springs, new injectors, oil catch can, tensioners, belts and a few other bits and bobs, along with a full re-map and set up on the rolling road. I also had a twin oil temp and pressure gauge and wrapped manifolds added, and a de-cat pipe. Quite a different beast to the Caterham Cars 310 upgrade.

The difference is incredible. The car now rev's like a motorbike, with a VERY responsive throttle. The flywheel and clutch assembly has removed 7kg of rotating mass over my standard Ford number I had. And that alone has bought the car ripping into life.

Then the extra torque and power along with the extra response means the car has a new feral character and will rip off up the road in a way the standard 270/310 can only dream of with a burst of induction roar and motorbike style revs. It on familiar roads it feels significantly quicker EVERYWHERE including deceleration, due to the flywheel and MUCH better engine breaking and the car feels much more "up on its toes" in general. Equally though it will idle smoothly, cold start with a single button press and slouch around at 30mph in 4th without issue.

If there is any compromise at all over the standard car, its the clutch. It's a competition clutch and its initially a fair bit heavier in action. It's taken me a few hundred miles to properly tune into, partly weight of action and partly due to the rapid flaring of revs. But I'm now pulling away easily and "stop starting" through villages again without really thinking about it. But rev matching and heel and toe changes are bliss and MUCH easier to execute smoothly than the standard car. So really, on balance, given what these cars are all about, its spot on...

For me, its been worth every penny. I love smaller capacity engines with a revvy character - I think it suits the 7 very well. And with PP of course, there is a easy upgrade path all the way to over 200bhp should I ever want it. And all on an engine which is 20kg lighter than a Duratech...

If you have a Sigma and an upgrade itch, look no further 

Kris

[K7 VCT]

As pet Kris above I too collected my orange 7 on the same day ready for the Taffia run.

I had similar options as Kris although I went from a 310 car with lightweight flywheel.

Kris has worded it perfectly, my car only had 148bhp in 310 trim, now just 164 and much more torque and with a very flat delivery to it.

She gets on it in a way she didn't before.... very happy, yes it's not cheap but what price on proper engineered modifications.

The invisible drag you felt when at higher speeds seems to have disappeared.

 

The clutch is different but will be second nature soon.

 

 

[22daz]

Last year I had a Premier Power F225 conversion done by Stuart on my Duratec.

This was with the ULW clutch and flywheel which is being discussed above. The clutch pedal is definitely heavier as is the throttle pedal actuating four throttle bodies instead of one. That makes all the pedals feel very well balanced.
 

The new clutch has a more positive feel than the standard Mondeo/Fiesta light action. Much more motorsport. The clutch pedal is firm, the brake (should be) firm, and there is a bit more weight in the balljoint throttle linkage that Stuart fits on the accelerator pedal. 

Driving the car, it all feels more special for having it. After a few miles you'll really start to appreciate how everything works together rather than it being random separate parts. I never notice the weight now until I jump in it after a period of driving the daily. 

What you do notice is how quickly the revs pile on and also how eager it is to blip when heel and toeing. 
There is also more engine braking when coming off the power. After having had it, I definitely wouldn't go back to the standard clutch and flywheel. I'd go as far as to say on a Sigma it'd be worth taking the engine out to fit that alone.

But then you know, if the engine is already out...

22daz