Adrian Bridge

Hi Thank you all for your advice. I note with interest your comments Richard. I should have made some records when I last drove the car but I am pretty sure the revs exceed 4,000 rpm at 75 mph in 6th so I may not have a 3.62 diff after all. Food for thought. Next dry day I'll go out and check. I don't really want the hassle of changing the drive train (or the car) at this this stage but may need to think again. Adrian

Hi - advice and wisdom please I have a 1996 1.6 K supersport (138 bhp) with 6 speed gearbox and I assume 3.62 differential. The 1:1 final drive and resulting high revs is tiring when touring. Wheels are 14 inch with 185/60 H tyres I am not an engineer but am keen to look at after market crown and pinions available that are higher ratios than the 3.6. Road and Race transmissions can achieve longer gearing with a 3.36 and 3.14 giving a 7% or 13% drop in revs for a given speed (approx cost to get this work done £720) Everything is a compromise I know: while a 7 % drop in revs hardly seems worth the expense of going for the 3.36, I am worried that going for a 3.14 ratio would excessively limit acceleration. Has anyone done this before? Your thoughts would be appreciated Adrian

Thanks for all the advice and contributions. Cam belt changed about 500 miles ago in February. Dry sump. Armed with your advice I will have a more careful look and listen to see if I can locate more clearly the source of the squeek and let you know how I get on. Many thanks Adrian

Thanks everybody for the advice and sharing the circuit diagrams. I'll have a fiddle with the car on my next day off and hope I can sort it Adrian

Hi This may sound an awfully dumb question but advice please. New to this. 1996 1.6 K series. Cam belt (routine change) about 500 miles ago. Last 100 miles squeeking sound that can be heard above the exhaust noise about 1 squeek / second but increases with revs. I've taken the nose cone off and had a look ? from alternator belt or alternator. Everything looks OK to me - nothing rubbing. Electrics and starting fine (apart from turn in indicators not working - separate topic). Any ideas? Is this a common problem and do I need to get it fixed ? Adrian

Hi Does anyone have a link to a diagram or labelled photo of K-series fuse / relays (on bulk head passenger foot well)? Indicators suddenly stopped working today when out for a blat. Both directions. Hazards work OK. I have reviewed a helpful TechTalk article from 23/4/03 "Turn indicators not working". I think problem must be the indictor switch or the fuse/ relay. I have no manual for my 1996 1.6 K series so no diagram of the switches/ relays and I don't want to start pulling them out until I know which one could be the problem. There is a thread on Pistonheads with useful diagrams of the fuse positions and function but as far as I can tell this covers sigma and duratec cars only. Many thanks Adrian

Many thanks for your advice. I will consider Toyo R888R's but was initially put off by the Toyo website info suggesting poorer performance in cold conditions. I suppose on a wet (not flooded) road in winter you just have to be careful as you should be in any car

Hi - advice please. I bought my first Caterham last summer - 1996 1600 Supersport. 14 x 6 rims with 9 year old Pirelli 196/60 R14 tyres that need replacing. Widetrack front suspension (I dont know the damper / spring set up) and de dion rear. I intend to get a proper chassis set up in due course but need to think about what to do about the wheels / tyres before then. So far I am feeling my way with weekend road use and cant see myself doing anything serious on the track. Changing to 13 inch Apollos and ZZS tyres would cost approx £1000 so I would like to keep the 14 inch rims if I can find decent grippy tyres for wet and dry to fit. I know ZZS and Toyo do not fit 14 inch rims. I read the topic about Uniroyal rainexpert3. How do people rate these? Can anyone recommend other brands that I might consider? Many thanks

Dear All Thank you for all your responses - great to know such a wealth of knowledge and experience out there. I am based in Yeovil Somerset and will approach the Wessex club members to see if an experienced member can have a look over the car. SM25T -I checked the tyres with your advice: 4708 so I guess 9 yrs old! I am running them 18 PSI already. New tyres first on the wish list along with suspension set up for road use Jonathan - Speedo is mechanical off the gearbox. The rotating spindle (I said I was not technical) broke just after I bought the car in July and was repaired by the dealer so I assume this time the sender or the cable is the problem. I don't know when cam belt last done - I assume more than 10 yrs ago so I will again get this looked at in the spring when needs servicing. sforshaw - Getting the above sorted will put paid to any dreams of engine upgrades on hold and in any case I would feel more confident in using the power I already have once tyres / steering / handling more sorted. Thanks for your advice - easy to get carried away! once again many thanks

Hi - not used the forum before and new to all this so please bare with me. I have limited technical knowledge so apologies if I am asking the obvious! Bought my first Caterham last summer from a dealer - 1996 1.6K supersport 6 speed, dry sump, superlight front suspension and de dion rear. Pirelli P 6000 (lots of tread) 195/60 R 14 front and rear. The MOT certificates suggest the car was not driven between 2007 and 2017 but the dealer apparently serviced the care before I collected it. Ive probably driven 1000 miles now (speedo and odometer not working for 2nd time so I dont really know!). I love it and its great fun but I don't think I am getting the best out of the car. The issues I have are: 1) steering and handling at speed on anything other than a flat road is all over the place. Scary in the wet. I feel more confident driving my Honda diesel. I suspect I need to get a suspension / tracking assessment performed ? I assume Pirelli P6000 are not a good choice and that I should consider saving for a set of Avon ZZS? 2) 138 bhp when new (non cat) but I have no idea what that feels like in a Caterham. Certainly feels quick to 30 mph if you floor it and rapid at 5000-6000 rpm at speed but nothing much in between but I know the k-series lacks mid range torque. I don't know whether the engine is in a reasonable state of tune or whether the valve timing has ever been looked at. Would it make sense to consider upgrade to vernier timing pulleys at the next service? Will this make a noticeable difference to mid range performance? 3) Assuming I get the handling and service done and funds at some future date allowing, sensible upgrades would be on a wish list. I cant see my self racing and I think I would be looking for more power / torque at mid range to avoid running at 6000 + rpm on motorways etc. I've looked at the DVA power website and it looks like the choice basically boils down to Emerald ECU upgrade +- Jenvey throttle bodies or going the root of taking the head off and porting, changing cams etc. Any advice here? (apart from trading in for a 1.8K with 5 speed!) Many thanks for your wisdom