CSR Steering

[richardhomer]

Having had a number of Sevens over the years, I have always enjoyed light responsive steering. However my CSR has inordinately heavy steering which I have had to tolerate even having replaced the rack ( low ratio) and fitted an increased dia steering wheel. My CSR is an early model and a recent meeting with another member who had probably the last CSR did not consider his steering to be heavy and said he had read some article that alluded to later models having lighter steering. I can only imagine a change in set up geometry to be a possibility. Does anyone have any info on this, or suggest a viable solution ?

 

 

[Wrightpayne]

Not familiar with the CSR, however, the S3 chassis lower wishbones have washers on one side of the front bush and either side of the rear bush, up to 6 in total, which alters the castor and affects the self centreing tendency of the steering.

Perhaps worth checking your set up and conferring with other owners.

[paul jacobs]

Hi Richard, I think there must be something wrong with the setup on yours.  I had an early 260 and later on, an earlyish 200 and both had light, direct steering.  It would be worth going through the setup with a fine toothcomb or taking it to a Caterham setup expert.

Paul

[Shortshift]

Two things I'd check, having owned a CSR and worked on the steering a lot.

Firstly, check for free movement in the column down to the rack (no interference anywhere, to body/bulkhead and also to the chassis frame where it passes close by) and also that the axis of the steering rack pinion is aligned as closely as possible to the axis of the steering column (rotate the rack in its mountings as necessary to optimise alignment).

If you have free movement throughout, I'd then look at caster to see if the car is set up with too much.  Note that the CSR runs different settings to S3 cars but, in any event, excessive caster would cause high steering weight (and high self-centering forces, too).  To reduce caster you want to have the lower wishbones moved rearwards (within the adjustment facility provided by moving the washers either side of the lower wishbone mounting points), thereby making the front hub inclination more upright and less angled.

James

 

[OldAndrewE]

The first thing I would do is jack the front up so the wheels are off the ground.  There should now be virtually no resistance to turning the steering from lock to lock.  If this is the case then your issue must surely be steering geometry, if not then something mechanical in the steering system

[7 wonders of the world]

James is correct however removing castor will also remove dynamic camber too.

I would also check UJ's and lower joints for sign of seizure and look if its had new TRE's as these can be excessive tight from new.

[aerobod - near CYYC]

The rack pinion preload could also be too high and does vary a bit with temperature. If this is a new rack and has never been checked, it may have been incorrect from the factory. It is adjusted with a large socket and Allen key, but can be a bit fiddly to get right.

With the front end lifted off the ground, just a small amount of pressure with the tip of a finger should be enough to move the steering and if you flick the steering wheel it should continue moving a bit as opposed to coming to a dead stop.

[David aka Blue7]

Some good advice above #5 is the first and easiest check and then get the geometry checked.  I have had 3 CSR's, 2008, 2012 and 2015 and steering was the same with each model and I only needed Schwarzenegger biceps when parking.