griffchris

Perfect aeroscreen weather I'd say. Anyone wearing a windscreen or hood tomorrow is soft.......

Slight thread drift - I bought an SGS trolley jack as recommended on one of these threads late last Summer - height wise it is fine (but heavy) - when jacking the front on the crucifix, its significant width means there isn't enough space to place the axle stands on the cross members arising laterally either side of the crucifix. Is there an acceptable alternative front jacking point that leaves the cross members clear for axle stands (or an alternative place for the axle stands)? Thanks Chris

A couple of queries before embarking on the above: The existing copper brakes lines are riveted to the de-dion tube, does one just drill out the rivets, and re-rivet some P-clips in place to hold the flexible lines? Can this be done from above by removing the boot floor, or does this need the de-dion to be removed? Thanks Chris

Yes good comment, I've searched the archives and seen similar comments so have just ordered 2 flexible brake hoses - I had planned to do this at some point in the future but might as well got on with it now!

I'm resurrecting this thread to comment on rear pad wear, as discussed above. Did my 1st track day of the year at Oulton Park on Tuesday, and have now totalled around 2700 miles including 6 track days, running the OEM 420 pads. I recorded the rear pads at somewhere between 3 and 5.5mm over the winter but can't be sure whether this was inner or outer - but there was definitely some inner pad left at that time. On the journey home I could hear quite a bit of rear brake squealing, and on checking both rear inner pads have competely gone and are metal on metal. The outer pads are 3mm drivers side and 5mm passenger side. I know it is said that the inner pads tend to wear faster as they contact the disc first and drag the outer pad into contact - but is this degree of disparity to be expected? The handbrake seems to operate OK and I can spin the rear wheel around 1/2 a turn after letting go so I don't think the brakes are dragging. I have ferodo pads from Meteor to replace them with- is it OK to put these on the rear whilst keeping the OEM pads at the front - they are barely touched. Any views? Cheers Chris

Ditto, definitely not normal on a 420R. FWIW, the ECU supplied with my kit (self build) was faulty and had to be replaced at PBC so they have form on this......

Me booked too

My 420R has side exit and RBTBs - My statics have been around 102 -103dB. Been planning on a Raceco for a while....

Thanks all, very useful - I'll run a new wire then, sounds like the safest solution - errrr very basic but what gauge wire should one use?!!! Chris P.S. Sorry Peter, I had assumed your name was Scott!!

Thanks Scott, any images and further details you can provide would be great! So, did you run your own wire from the oil temp sensor through the tunnel to the under-dash area, or did you make use of an existing (redundant?) connection for (part of) the way?

Hi, I know this is a subject that has been at least partially covered in a number of previous threads but I'm after a bit of clarification before i embark on it. I plan to wire into the existing water temp gauge and use an indicator or main/dip beam switch: I have a 2015 420R self build with dry sump. The threaded oil temperature sensor is already fitted to the dry sump tower. I've heard mention that the wiring for the oil temp sensor should already be in place (and the R400 wiring diagram in the manual displays it, though I'm not really sure how to interpret the diagram!) - any idea where this wiring is and what it looks like? I've found a Black/green pair which I must have tie wrapped out of the way on the left side of the engine bay, as per photo, is this the right one - I don't think this which reach to the sensor on the dry sump tower as is anyway so would need extending? /sites/default/files/images/users/12129/20161212_192024_resized.jpg Assuming I can find the correct wiring in the engine bay, be it the above or something else, will the other end of the wiring be conveniently tied off somewhere under the dash, ready to attach to the switch/gauge? Apologies if I've got this completely wrong. Alternatively, if I need to run new wiring the whole way, what wiring and teminals would I need? Thanks for any help. Chris

Yes fair enough, just popped the rear pads out and measured - they are at 5.5mm, not 3mm, so a bit of life left yet... Fronts look barely touched.

Thanks all, very useful. Scott, I never found a good fit for the torx heads so also replaced with 12.9 cap heads. Soooo much easier taking the calipers off yesterday! The rear pads are well worn, perhaps 3mm or less (I've done at least 5 track days this year), but the fronts have loads left. I'm replacing with Ferodo pads as recommended by Simon at Meteor. Cheers Chris

Hi, 1st winter service underway on my 2015 420R, 2500 miles done: I had noticed a little drag on the offside front hub, and remembering stories of poorly greased bearings, I have removed the front caliper and hub, and taper bearings. (As it happens the hub ran much smoother once I removed the caliper so I don't think the bearings were the problem). Anyway, there is a little damage to the integrated rubber seal on the inner bearing so I have ordered new bearings from CC. The outer bearing cups are retained within the hub - do I need to remove these and replace or can I leave them in? If they need to be removed, do I need a bearing puller? Secondly I need to replace the rear brake pads. I have fixed copper brake lines - an initial dabble suggests that removing the caliper body to replace the pads may be difficult without potentially damaging the brake lines - am I missing something obvious here, is there another way to do it? I do have a piston wind back tool so hoping that won't be a problem! Thanks very much. Chris

Ditto, I had exactly this problem with leaking brake fluid and bubbling paint work - I think leakage was from the clutch and brake master cylinders - came to light after doing lots of donuts at Throckmorton! Replaced both caps with plastic ford master cylinder caps from eBay, again tie wrapped in blue paper roll - so far so good...... Chris

Yes Mark, how could you tell ;)

Popped this video on Youtube a few days ago: Chris

Ditto, thanks very much, especially to James B and Dave R. Chris

Excellent, been thinking about getting something like this, order placed! Cheers Chris

I have a newish 420R with side exit. At a true 5k rpm it measures 102 to 103dB. It failed IVA initially due to static noise, and had to be retested with a rear exit exhaust fitted temporarily. I am looking at a raceco for next year to give me a chance of getting on at Donnington, Bedford etc.

This thread rang a bell from my build last year, so i fished out my email to Derek H, and his reply: Hi Derek Just a quick one - attaching the rear flexible brake hose to the rigid pipe, through the vertical aluminium panel. If I add plain washer/aluminium panel/plain washer/shakeproof washer/locknut then attach to the female rigid pipe union as suggested in the manual, the female union strikes the locknut before it has actually tightened on the threads. i suspect this might be because the plain washers I'm using are too thick - which washers should I be using for this? Ta Chris Reply: Hello Chris, Leave the second plain washer off as long as the shack proof is still there it will be ok. Kind regards

I booked in here: http://www.angleseyaccommodation.co.uk/

My Varley Li-5 starts my 420R 2L duratec absolutely fine - not sure what the compression ratio is though, somewhere around 11:1 I thought? Chris

An update: As mentioned above, the Magneti Marelli lithium battery was no longer available through ebay, so after discussing with Simon, I went with a Varley Li-5 lithium battery from Meteor. It is even smaller and lighter than the MM, weighing just 1.1kg (the Banner was 7.7kg) I also fitted a cut-off switch to prevent parasitic drain by the immobiliser (though only used the basic connections, so I must make sure the switch is not turned off whilst the engine is running or risk frying the alternator or something!!). Installation was fairly straightforward, and it works! It is slightly hesitant on starting, but still starts within 1 to 2 seconds at most. Happy days.... /sites/default/files/images/users/12129/lithium.jpg

I tried E12 & EP12 and neither was a great fit, though EP12 was the better of the two - just take it slow and ensure the socket is fully engaged before applying any torque, and hopefully you will avoid having to drill 1 or more out like I had to.. Caterham told me it was E12 but I think not. Swapped to capheads now - due to the new caliper design these have to come out to to change the pads, as CraigyB says.