Blackmamba

Hi I have the original carbon front and rear wings on my 2003 R400 and I know it's a common issue to have the carbon discolour over time. My rear wings seem fine but the fronts have broken out in white blotches at the top of the wing. I'm keen to retain the original wings rather than out new ones on so wondered if there was a good solution for this? I have previously tried trim restorers and it worked but more recently the blotches come back quicker and I now can't get rid of them at all. Any ideas welcome.

I had 7.5 x 15s all round on my R400 and recently switched to 6+8" x15". Feels great and still very playful. I wouldn't want less grip! I think you'll be told go 6+8" 95% of the time for good reason.

Another fan of the Draper 69924. Had mine for nearly 15 years and very accurate and reliable.

Thanks Jonathan, will give the wheel circumference a go. I've got a link to the manual and just seen the configuration section. Appreciate the help.

Hi I have a stack dash fitted to my car and noticed it was over reading the speed by about 15% i.e. showing 46 mph when my GPS speedo is showing 40mph, 81 when it should be 70 etc. While this is a bit irritating, I know all cars over read the speed a little so didn't worry about it. While it is fairly obvious / logical, the odometer is also over reading, presumably for the same reason? 15% is quite a lot and obviously the recorded mileage has a potential bearing on service intervals, insurance (I have a limited mileage policy) and values etc. My car is showing 17k miles so the reality is it has probably only done 15k or so. Stack instrument display was serviced earlier this year Has anyone come across a solution for this or do people just accept the variation for both speed and miles? Thanks in advance

Now sold

A couple of people have asked me for pics and detail about the condition. The only marks I can see are on the front face of the roll bar. I foolishly stood the bar up on my drive and the bar fell forwards leaving some feint marks which I have tried to capture in the last couple of pictures. Other than that, it is immaculate. Any other questions, please let me know.

Hi I have for sale a standard roll bar from a 2003 Caterham so S3 imperial chassis. A few small marks but no damage and in excellent overall condition. £50, collection from London W4 (Chiswick). Thanks

What did you buy Ed? Check the archive 2016_02_Feb.pdf (lotus7.club)

The self healing films are very good. Either a heat gun or some boiling water out of a kettle and the marks all but disappear. I've not tried with older films.

Hello I foolishly missed the 31 May deadline to order the Silverstone Classic Car Club Display Package (2 Adult tickets and infield car display pass). If anyone ordered them and now can't make it or has a spare, I would love to hear from you. Thanks

Thanks for the feedback. I have a Caterham carbon airbox I could try so maybe I could take a chance with that? Shame as there seem to be very few noisy days circuits.

Hi I have a 2003 R400 K-series, standard apart from the Cat bypass. I would like to book some trackdays and wanted to get an idea of static and drive-by noise as I suspect I won't get on to quite a few of the days. Does anyone have recent experience of noise issues / success at circuits? Looks like the noise limits on some circuits depend on the day. Thanks

Hi Ian Everything has sold. Thanks Feroz

As JonT has suggested, the A4069 is a lovely road when quiet. There are some great roads out of Brecon heading north - B4520 to Builth is great or B4519 to Garth and then B4538. Carry on up to Rhayader and take the B4518 until Llanbrynmair. For something more scenic, take the the road from Beulah to Tregaon over the Abergwesyn Pass. So many good roads and routes its hard to go wrong.

Thanks both, will give that a try. Anyone know if my car has the standard set up? Curious as much as anything else.

Hi I've been reading some of the old threads on the K series dry sump system and how to correctly read the level. Seems to be a number of dry sump set ups and ways to read the oil! First thing I wanted to check was that mine has the standard / correct set up for an R400. The oil tank looks to be the standard item with the catch tank located under nose cone behind the radiator (off side). Is this the standard set up and location? The next question is then how best to check the oil for this set up. I've so far followed the manual (run it hot, check using the built in dipstick within 1 minute etc) and while it seems fine, I noted that many people found this inaccurate. Is the issue the dipstick doesn't fully reach the bottom? I've topped up the oil and put a little extra in and noticed a very small amount collected in the catch tank I'm trying to make the most of the weather and have done about 1200 miles in the last month or so. Want to make sure the car is adequately topped up. So far seems to have used very little oil. I know cars vary depending on engine / use etc but was expecting some oil consumption after reading other people's experiences. Any suggestions welcome.

@ #18 I am still very surprised no one does a decent maintenance free battery to fit the 7! First time I have ever topped up a car battery and had to figure out where to fit a vent pipe! I think I'm going to switch to a lithium battery when this packs up.

Yes please David

Thanks all for the help. Found some tubing of the right size and plugged directly into the hole. Routed and cable tied the tubing down and onto the floor.

Just had a look and there seems to be a white plug on one side and nothing on the other. There would be no room for a vent pipe with the covers screwed down fully so not sure what the correct set up for this battery should be?

The vent pipe and the plug are missing on one side so there is literally a small hole where the fluid is escaping.

Thanks all, will clean it up and fit the vent pipe.

Hello My car is fitted with a Banner battery and each side has a small plastic plug on it a little below the rim. I seem to have lost the plastic plug on one side so when I drive the car, I lose water from it. It looks like it serves some function so I don't want to fill it completely. Does anyone know if it can be plugged up (with glue / sealant etc) or do I need to replace the plug? Thanks