chrisbeddoe

Great thank you for the responses

Morning All,

I am looking to get a trailer for my R500D and have found a Brian James Clubman I am interested in but want to confirm the bed is large enough. The bed is only 10ft9 by 5ft 6 (3.27m x 1.67m) which leaves little to spare! 

Has anybody run a trailer this size, it this large enough (and the weight far enough forward) or should i wait out for a larger one to come onto the market?

Many thanks, Chris

Hi Phillip, maybe try a tonneau cover, or a long nose shower cap. You you can get them both from Softbitsforsevens and thundersport. 

If anybody has a spare carbon fibre stone guard for passenger side wheel arch that they are willing to send, please can reach out.

Many thanks, Chris

All, just incase somebody has one going spare.

I am looking for a single undrilled carbon fiber front cycle wing - newer style (with shiny lacquer) for my R500D

Many thanks, Chris

As above, i am keen to attend but its booked out. So if anybody else is unable to attend please let me know.

Hi Chuckadeemus, I have a R500D which are know for their heat soak issues and have been battling with it for years now.

Not wanting to change the external appearance of my car with ducting for air into the footwell, or add grills in the side panels to let the hot air in the engine bay out (which i agree would be the most efficient solution), i have updated my car with the following:

• Heat shield on footwell
• ​Zircotech Primaries
• Fix to heater cable 
• Thundersport Transmission Tunnel Heat Insulation

If i am honest the biggest changes came from fixing the heater cable which was always slighly on, and the Thundersport side panels, both of which where really cost effective!

Perhaps this would therefore be a good starting point?

Morning All, i am contemplating an engine refresh for my R500D, can anyone recommender a builder around the surrey area please?

Many thanks, Chris

You mention that your rear suspension is on the softest setting. The softer the rear (i.e. the further down the bar it is) the more under steer you will get. Try moving the linkage up a notch or two. 

What size wheels are you running? If you are not already running them, 13's run a higher profile tyre which absorbs a lot of what the roads throw at you.

Just a quick one on this, The oil consumption seemed to be a one time only event. Have not had any issues since. Very strange, but not complaining. Maybe it was just user error!

Update!

Heater cable fixed the foot well was still swelteringly hot last summer so this spring I sent off the exhaust primaries to get ceramic coated by Zirocotec. I have to say they look incredible:

I can report that the engine bay is definitely cooler and this is demonstrated by the engine running at lower temperatures (still within the operating window obviously), which will come in handy with the odd summers day track day. The car now holds a steady 87 degrees on motorway runs and around town, but more importantly in traffic rarely hits 108 degrees at which point the fan comes on (a temperature i was never overly happy about). 

The bad news is that the food well is still uncomfortably hot :(

So my remaining options are:

1. Remove the plastic air ducting around the radiators to increase airflow through the engine bay.

2. Additional heat insulation in the foot well panels

Not sure which order I will do them in, but will update on any progress

Cant comment on the seats but its really worth going to a shop with as much choice as possible when buying a helmet. I went to GP Racewear at Silverstone and they had a great selection. The reality for me was only 1 helmet actually fitted correctly as all the others where quiet uncomfortable.  

Hamilton Classic is a great product

Second replacing the cap, I have had this twice before (admittedly not on a Caterham) 

Hi James, yes its dry sump. I am just looking in the reservoir and seeing where it is against compared to the first baffle. Just a visual check really,  not an accurate measure at all but can fairly quickly tell if its is gone down. I always check when the engine is hot too etc

Thanks for the responses. Looks like it's not that out of the ordinary then. Just completed another 500miles and a track day so curious how far it's gone down. Had barely moved half way through the track day so seems fairly inconsistent. Thinking it maybe the motorway cruising at higher revs (6 speed box) which is eating up the oil. 

Hi All, 

Just wondering how much oil other R500 D owners are burning through. I know its fairly common to top up a Duratec's oil but after 1500 miles and a track day I poured nearly 2 litres in this morning.

Definitely no leaks, Is this normal?

Thanks

Chris

They didn't test me at Hethel with Lotus on Track last week, you could give them a go?

I gave up and bought a raceco for mine. With the carbon airbox I'm getting around 93/94db static now

So it appears the heater valve was stuck open as suggested. Has made a huge difference to the foot well temperature (thank goodness). Will have to see how it fairs in the summer but for now the zircotec is on hold.

Thanks for the top tip :-) 

Sadly didn't get time to get in the garage this weekend but it definitely sounds like the heater is contributing to the issue. There is absolutely no way I would put the fan on in warm weather atm, as it just blasts me with hot air no matter what setting it is on. Will investigate this further :-) 

Looking for a set of 13" wheels

2 x 6 x 13

& 

2 x 8 x 13

Preferably R500D anthracite 8 spokes

Many thanks

Chris

Interesting, I will try and get some tinker time in the garage this weekend and investigate futher

Chris

Thanks for the feedback Roger & Neil. Think I am going to take the plunge and send the headers off to Zircotech.

Interesting point around the heater too John. I find that it does still push quiet a lot of heat through the vents even when off. So much so that I have blocked the foot well vents up. Will investigate this a little further to see if its not quite off. 

Chris

Now Sold, Many Thanks