tomperkins

Quoting Myles: Can't recall for certain. I took the new wire to the passenger-side light cluster and almost-certainly just terminated it with a piggy-back spade connector onto the main earth. Probably not a great long-term solution, but I didn't want to have to drill out a rivet or anything at the time. I've got the honeycomb tank protection too - so there are no gaps to get the new wire inside the car - it's gaffer-taped underneath the underside honeycomb panel at the moment... ...one to fix at leisure! Cool, thanks Myles

Quoting Myles: I did the latter to get through this years mot. The earth through the light mount itself had degraded. Thanks for your comment Myles. Which earth did you hook into? Edited by - tomperkins on 15 Sep 2014 21:46:44

My number plate light's not working (common issue I know). The live feed is fine and if I plug a wire to the unused earth terminal inside the light and touch that on either of the rivets holding the light unit to the chassis, the lights come on. So my question is this... Has anyone got any advice on how to make a new earth connection? The light unit is riveted to the chassis and I don't really want to have to drill out and replace the rivets. Is it worth wiring the earth terminal to an earth point used by another of the rear lights as it seems the earth through the rivets is a regular problem? As always, any thoughts appreciated!

Thanks for everyone's comments. A number of people have suggested that, aside from AVO's not being the best, that the car may be too stiffly sprung. Someone's very generously offered to let me try a spare Bilstein setup so I'll do that, probably just springs at first, then maybe springs and dampers, before making a decision on which way to go. A new set of springs may well be a good short term fix (don't worry Simon, you'll be my first call). A new set of Nitrons or Quantums will probably come in the longer term too!

I'm currently running AVO shocks and Freestyle springs which are a little too stiff for my local bumpy B roads. A few people have suggested trying some standard Caterham/Bilstein/Eibach shocks and springs so I've been looking around and have been offered: 1) a pair of 'M0' front shocks and springs with adjustable seats (8 years old but little use I'm told) for £175 2) a full set of R400 shocks and springs (I think race spec), around 1,000 miles of use, for somewhere around £500 to £700 Any thoughts on these offerings and prices? Should I give the standard ones a try, or are the R400 versions worth the extra? Or should I wait and buy some new Nitrons next year? As always, all thoughts and experiences appreciated!

Hi there, Very interested, please send pictures via private message. Tom

Quoting tiddy1: I would still suggest trying with toe in, even if it is just 0.25 deg it makes a fundimental difference to how the wheels react once you get passed the 0 deg point. Think of it like trying to balance a small ball on top of a big one (toe out) the ball wants to fall off 0 deg is like a ball on a flat plate Toe in is like a a ball sitting in the bottom of a bowl, i.e it wants to stay there hope this is not too obscure Simon Not at all, thanks Simon

Quoting James.S: Try borrowing a set of CR500,s 888 are way to stiff and heavy. IMO they ruin the cars handling. If you want a set of Caterham spec Bilstiens, i have a lightly used complete set off a road R400. BM me. Cheers J Thanks James, I have actually got a a second set of wheels with CR500's on. Haven't noticed too much difference but may test again for comparison.

So I've just finished lowering the rear trailing arms and taken the car for a test drive. To be honest couldn't notice much difference, maybe a slight improvement over sharp bumps. The biggest improvement has come from softening the suspension, raising the steering rack and reducing toe out. This has given a massive improvement in confidence and stability of the front end and steering wheel so thanks to everyone for their advice on that. The car does feel too stiffly spring as people have said, maybe it's worth considering some different springs or maybe some standard Bilstein/Caterham springs and dampers?

Quoting Julian H: Tom Did you try lower pressures than 18? Subtle changes in tyre pressures really impact on the way the suspension reacts to the road. J No but I may well try that, good idea

Quoting Simon.Rogers: Phone calls to me a free of charge Thanks Simon, may well do that.

Quoting myothercarsa2cv: Before you spend loads of money though, make the free changes. Make them one at a time, too. See what does what. That's good advice, thanks. I've just reduced the rake from 20mm to 15mm, as this is how the car was setup on the old setup sheets I have and what a number of people have recommended. Totally going against your advice (in fairness I've only just read it) I've also reduced the toe out by rotating each track rod end by 2 full rotations. I've read that 1 full rotation gives around 0.25 degrees, so on that basis I've probably reduced the car to 0.5 degrees toe out. Be interested to know people's thoughts on how much they think I may have dialled out (I'll obviously get it checked soon). Driving the car after those changes did give a noticeable improvement which is awesome. Front felt even less effected by cambers and bumps. If I'm still 0.5 toe out it will be interesting to feel 0.5 or 1 toe in! Next step is to lower the rear trailing arms. As a side note, the rear springs have no writing on them so I've now idea how to tell what rating they are.

Quoting Simon Owen: Hi Tom There are a few options here and (IMHO of course 😬) there is room to 'upgrade' the standard set up without wrecking the ability of the car to travel down a bumpy road. This clearly depends what you want from the car though and what 'upgrade' means in your eyes. My aim was to tighten things up a bit but without making the car unusable on the road, it wasn't about going quicker .... more just altering the feel of the car. I'm running 100-275lb front & 70-200lb rear with one way adjustable damping. Thanks Simon, when you quote two figures for your springs is that because they are progressive springs with one part softer and one part harder? Anyone got any tips on a good place to get some better springs for my AVO dampers?

Quoting Culminator: you will never get a supple ride on our roads with 350lb springs on the front!! What would you suggest, somewhere around 225/130 or 250/130?

Quoting tiddy1: I would strongly suggest setting the car up with about 1 deg toe in, it does make a huge difference to the stability and tram lining. its very easy to do yourself, no need for complex measurement set ups, just undo the steering arm lock nut and twist the steering arm a few turns then re-lock. if you note how many turns you do you can always put it back if you do not like it Simon That's a good shout, I'll give that a try this weekend and let you know how I get on.

People's comments about how Freestyle chose to set the car up made me take another look at the Freestyle paperwork from when the suspension was originally 'upgraded' (dated 2009). They seem to suggest 2 (of 24) on the front and 4 (of 24) on the back. Now I have always thought (not sure why) that the car should probably be harder on the front to get a pointy and responsive front end and softer on the rear for comfort. But I guess the choice of springs bring harder on the front take care of that. So I set the car to 2 front and 4 rear and just drove to work and the front end does seem my more stable. The car does feel more 'wallowy' but maybe that's just compared to the stiff setup I'm used to and something I may just have to adjust to. Overall an improvement though. As a side note, I do have green freestyle springs (350 I think) on the front. Haven't had the wheels off the rear to check yet but will let you all know. Thanks for everyone's input so far.

Quoting myothercarsa2cv: Lower the trailing arms now and never look back. The comfort position means that the wheel that hits the bump travels up and back slightly, steering the rear. The lower position is more comfortable purely because it reduces that. Probably won't need to change much else. Thanks for your thoughts, I'll definitely give that a try.

Quoting Culminator: As has been said, Freestyle used quite stiff springs and this will be your main issue I suspect. Ideally, you need 130lb on the rear and 225/250 on the front. Check an earlier thread for Freestyle spring poundage against their colour references. Can you easily bounce the back of the car? Rear should be noticeably soft. Also, what tyre pressures are you running? Over inflating can make the ride very harsh. I'll definitely look into what springs are on the car at the moment then. I'm running 18psi all round.

Quoting 6speedmanual: Whatever the spring rates it is very unlikely they are same or softer than standard or Superlight spec. Freestyle sold "upgrade" so therefore stiffer. Combined with adjustable dampers it's easy to get the whole thing too hard. Colin Chapman promoted concept of firmly damped long travel soft springs (also a success factor for French performance hatches) Lighter tyres may help too. Have you driven other 7s to compare? Peter That's really interesting, thanks. I haven't driven any other sevens, other than Caterhams drift cars and a classic years ago. Any volunteers?

Quoting Golf Juliet Tango: Hi Tom What experience do you have on setting up a Seven? Very little, bought my car in February (my first seven) and have been fiddling ever since. Why do you ask?

Quoting Grubbster: For road use a small a amount of toe in makes it much nicer to drive, easy change to make as well. Thanks, I may well give that a try.

Quoting Julian H: Just checking in on your thread Tom. Very interested to see comments here. Mine skips along down some roads in an alarming fashion, necessitating slowing down to keep proper control. It's going in for suspension setup, rack and ride height raising and rear ARB removal in a few weeks. J I'm glad it's not just me. Do let me know how you get on. Edited by - tomperkins on 14 Aug 2014 21:12:01

Quoting Mankee: I don't have any experience of setting up a 7 for road use, but two things that struck me from reading your list are as follows: - What spring rates are the Freestyle springs? Maybe they are too hard for bumpy road use? - The front toe out will reduce stability but enhance turn-in. Maybe consider dialling in toe-in instead? Good questions. I'm not sure on spring rates so will check and post here. Reducing toe out has crossed my mind. Have you found this to make a difference? Edited by - tomperkins on 14 Aug 2014 21:11:48

I've had my car for 6 months now and I've still not managed to get it riding as well as I want on our bumpy British B roads. I'm starting to get frustrated and wondered what people would recommend as the next steps? I've tried a number of things including a full corner weight and suspension setup from DPR, along with most recently raising the steering rack to try to reduce bump steer. The trouble is that the ride is the thing that restricts the speed I can travel down a bumpy road. I honestly think I'd be faster in my diesel Audi A4 across country which is ridiculous. It's harsh over bumps, even though the dampers are set fairly soft (7/24 on the front and 5/24 on the back) and the steering is deflected by bumps and ruts more than I would like. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on how they've managed to get their car riding well for fast B road driving? Full spec as follows: 2004 car 200bhp K series Wide track front AVO shocks with freestyle springs ARB front (orange bushes I think) No ARB rear De dion R888's (185/60 R13 & 205/60 R13) Raised steering rack by 9mm Front toe set to 1 out Camber -2 Rake set to 20mm Rear trailing arms set to higher position (considering lowering these) 1.75 turns lock to lock 270mm steering wheel (considering getting a 290mm) Edited by - tomperkins on 14 Aug 2014 20:49:11

Thanks for the responses guys. Got myself a flapper wheel today, give that a go.