AG2728

Last night I did an oil and filter change ahead of the first track day of the year. (420R dry sump). Managed to extract 4 litres straight out of the top of the oil tank into the the extraction pump and got about another 0.5 litres from the filter housing, once the filter was removed. Before I pulled out the finger strainer in the block for the final oil to be drained, I placed this CLEAN yellow tub underneath. After nearly having heart failure, I put my hand in the tub and thankfully realised the debris wasn't metallic. I then emptied the rest of the old oil from the extractor through a strainer. This morning I sawed the oil filter in half. At 1500 miles, this was the third oil and filter change. That filter has only done 400 miles on clean oil!! Any clues as to what this might be? I'm wondering if some internal gasket or similar has broken down. Whatever it is, there's plenty of it.

What's the situation with camping at Goodwood? Can I arrive the day before and stay overnight at the circuit? Andy

Makes sense. Thanks everyone. Andy

I have entered this years L7C championship and have already entered the L7C events which have currently been made available online. I am also a member of Liverpool Motor Club and fancied entering their championship as I thought it would be easy to do seeing as there is a (division 2) option to enter less than 6 rounds and many their events are local to me, all being at either Aintree, 3 Sisters or Barbon. So just 4 or 5 very local events with no overnighters. Whats not to like?. My issue is that the Aintree and Barbon L7C rounds are at the same meeting as 2 of the Liverpool qualifying rounds. How does this work? Do I have to pick a championship? or can I run twice, in 2 different classes? or can I run once and count in both championships? Thanks in advance of some advice. Andy

Maybe it is softer on the 420, I don't know. I must reiterate though that the contact was only likely to happen in extreme compression situations. For example, when I hooked up the Go-Pro under the car at Anglesey, even whilst driving in manner to prompt a reaction from my drop links, I could not replicate the impacting issue at all, I could however, by reviewing the footage and looking at the relative movements of the drop link and the driveshaft, tell exactly how it could easily happen bouncing over the curbs at say Curborough. For road use, or if every sprint was at Blyton Park, then I would never have had an issue. The set up was effectively good for 99% of my usage. Unfortunately the other 1% cost me £400. Maybe the R400D does have a different set-up though, as I can only describe my 420R experience of ARB adjustment from full soft to one off soft as "barely noticeable" whereas I found even the most minimal height adjustment at the rear would effect a very obvious change in behaviour. I had put this down to a high spring rate vs a weedy ARB. YMMV. Andy

Thanks Graham Take my money!!! Just the tonic needed now the nightmare that was 2020 is over. Finally having something tangible to focus on has put a spring in my step this morning. Have entered the championship and registered for both Curborough events. Here's looking forward to a full and uninterrupted season. Happy new year to all. Andy

Hi Steve All of the above really. It stiffens the whole assembly, therefore reducing the arc of movement at the end of the blade. It also moves the drop link joint forward, out of the way of the driveshaft It also further restricts sideways movement of the blade so it can't 'twang' about under load and hit the driveshaft. Andy

I have had a close look at mine and trying to work out if there is a possibility of it fouling the drive shaft on the rear most hole but I don't think it is possible to tell how it behaves under load. In order to try to determine the cause of my problem, I slung my go-pro under the car at Anglesey, because whilst stationary, I could not see how the drop link could cause the impact damage where it was. On viewing the footage, I was surprised to see how much lateral movement occurred at the drop link under cornering. This was due to both end-float in the ARB itself within the bushes and also because of flexing of the ARB blade. This showed that there was indeed enough movement to cause the damage sustained. Andy

There is some history on Tech Talk concerning later cars (420 era) showing signs of the drop link fouling the drive shaft if using the first hole on the blade. Is this due to a combination of a floor set up at the lowest extreme, S pack suspension (softer) & no ARB lower spacer? No, this isn't the case. My car is an R fitted with track suspension. My car has now been set up and corner-weighted by Northampton Motorsport purely for track use and the handling is now sublime. It has sufficient rake, ie. the rear is not set up at the lowest extreme. I am now running the rear ARB one off soft because the drop link would still impact the driveshaft under full compression over the curbs and rumble strips if it was set at full soft Andy.

I have a 2018 420R and running the rear ARB on full soft did not go well for me. I found that the bottom joint of the N/S drop link would impact the driveshaft under compression. I have an S3, 13" wheels and track suspension. Yours may be fine but just check you have enough clearance. It was an expensive mistake for me. Some images in this thread to explain what was happening. https://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/more-driveshaft-woes I would also add that with these cars being so light, the ARB assembly is a very flimsy, flexible thing and with the soft adjustment settings being at the extremities of the long, narrow gauge blades, the difference between full soft and one hole stiffer was much less than I had imagined it would be. For track I am happy at one hole off soft but if I was using it for mainly road use, I would just run with out the ARB. Regards Andy

It also lessens (but doesn't eliminate) the risk of driving over your own bonnet. How cruel of you. I was trying to forget that incident.

Pete I've sent you a PM. I didn't drive my car to events last year but it transpired that most of the events that were not cancelled due to COVID seemed to be miles away from me as I am up in the grim North. To be honest after my first outing at Curborough, I was so hooked that distance became irrelevant to me and I entered everything I could, packing 6 events into a shortened season.. For example, Wiscombe Park being a 6 hour drive is almost in another country for me and is closer to Paris than it is to my house. There are many others who drove their cars there and back to events, so yes it is well doable. Next year there should be several more local events that I would probably choose to drive to. Don't get hung up on being able to carry loads of tools so much as there will always be someone willing to let you borrow stuff. Andy

Hi Pete I did my first (albeit short) season this year and 12 months ago was asking the same question. I have a 420R and was unsure which class I should be looking at. I ended up choosing to compete in Class 4, the road car class. In this class I knew I would be using list 1B tyres (ZZS) whatever the conditions, whereas the higher classes had greater choices/options. One less distraction for me as a newbie to think about. In class 4 i don't need a FHR device which would also probably entail a new seat as my original Tillet appears incompatible with a couple of FHRs I have tried. I do think they are a very good idea but didn't want any more initial expense as I put my toe in the water. FHR is mandatory in Class 5. Class 5 (modified specialist) is limited to 210BHP but weirdly Class 4 (roadgoing specialist) is not limited at all. No idea why, but that's how it is. Your car would fit into either class, both of which were under-represented for 2020 but to roll up, do an event and drive home, I think Class 4 sounds the ticket. Just go for it. I should have done it years ago. It's a blast! Andy

I swapped mine out for Schroth this year. The main reason being ease of adjustment in a tight fitting S3 cockpit, being as they use pull up instead of pull down lap strap adjusters. Not the cheapest but very good quality and also have their anti-submarine feature in the shoulder strap. Demon Tweeks stock Schroth.

At last, something positive on the horizon to focus on Can't wait!

marc.me Hi, Nice setup you have. Wondered if you could help me please? I have been looking at so many scissor lifts and none are long enough to reach the jacking points outboard of the wheels. Liked one which seems to be the same design as yours with an H frame promising better access. Longest being around 76" to pad centers. What is your experience with jacking with this lift? Where did you put the lift pads? Any tips appreciated as wary of buying a lift that I can't then use safely. Many thanks. Hi I place the rear lift pads under the rear corner extremities of my lowered floors and the front pads at the outer ends of the cross-member by the front wishbone pick-up points. The pics with the Mazda above show exactly the same lift as mine and I got it from the same place. Andy

420 also has 3.91

I initially went in to Oakmere after doing my research with the specific intention of buying a 310. 3 hours later I had signed my order form for a 420R, pretty much for all the reasons you have mentioned. Budget was well and truly blown which hurt at the time but have never looked back and am glad I did it. Andy

I just have the shoulder straps, Im afriad. Andy

I've got 2 black ones I would let go if they are any use to you. Fitted to the car for 600 miles. Andy

Mine is a pure track car. I don't really care if it whines, grinds, groans or judders, as long as it's doing it's job properly but I absolutely understand those who use their cars for road use being unhappy with it. Although the Titan is not by no means a pleasant thing in terms of NVH, I must admit, for me, it has worked fabulously on track. My concern is that because I know the noises it's making now weren't present before. Therefore something has changed. ie. If it was correct before, it isn't now. After being in my job for longer than I want to admit, new noises aren't usually good. Yes, I expect diff rebuilds - but how often is reasonable? I think I will just take it out and have a look, strip it down and see what it looks like over the winter. At work we look after many race cars (not Caterham) all with LSDs of differing manufacturers and generally don't seem to have the same issues as these here on Blatchat, so I think something is surely wrong somewhere. Just an opinion. Andy

Me neither. But I wouldn't even consider putting a Quaife in my car, so really interested in peoples view of other alternatives.

I agree

My diff (420R) has got noticeably noisier already after only 2000 miles. That's 600 road miles whilst running in and the rest have all been on track doing track days and sprints. I changed the diff oil at 600 miles and again at 1500 miles. I also bought a magnetic plug to see if I can hopefully identify any serious issues at an early stage. Out of interest, has anyone fitted a Wavetrac in a Caterham? I ask because we fit many of them at work and get regular good feedback about them. We have only fitted them to Porsches though. I must add I have been impressed with the performance of the Titan and it does work really well in the 420 (for now). The Wavetrac appeal to me is they seem to be pretty much fit and forget and I don't really find the idea of spending the same amount in regular rebuilds as appealing. But will it work as well as a Titan? Andy

Just found these, should anyone be interested in some photos of the weekend's proceedings. https://amm-photography.co.uk Andy