Gareth H

Any idea what could be causing this (5 speed CSR) , a couple of days ago I couldn't engage second gear on a couple of occasions (it sort of felt like the gate was shut, no graunching just resistance ). Yesterday I was out for a drive and couldn't engage any gear, stopped the car, engine off, still couldn't engage a gear, engine on / off a few times and I was able to get first gear and then everything returned to normal. any ideas as to possible causes? thanks Gareth

I've been trying to find a screen that reduces the buffeting (and wind noise) on my Multistrada, on later models Ducati space the screen off the fairing and have a cutout to allow air to flow up the back, this seems to reduce turbulence off the top of the screen, it did occur to me that the same principles might improve the side screen wind deflectors, as your really looking to just prevent turbulence and clean up airflow around the side of the screen.

Thanks, yes I'd been through the previous thread and theTeam Leo's parts are being fitted as we speak. I just wanted to highlight the issue to anybody who wasn't aware.

Thanks Mike, that's really interesting, considering the potential consequences of a failure you'd think Caterham would offer the upgraded part.

Ben, it's got approx 8k miles on it, these are the photos Simon sent me, I haven't seen the failed parts, (I'm off at the Laon Historique this weekend, should have been in the CSR! Going by the size of my wife's suitcase I think she's glad we're in the Cayenne :))

As some know I suffered a lower rear damper mount failure to my CSR on the F & C run, fortunately it failed on a 50mph dual carriageway as opposed to some of the faster twisties which could have led to a nasty accident. I have just heard from Simon at Meteor who is repairing the car for me that the other side was also cracked, so a potential double failure. if you own a CSR I would recommend an immediate check of these mounts, it's only by luck that I didn't have what could have been a serious accident.

Be a little careful, the spring to steering arm clearance is very tight when the car is jacked up and the wheels are full droop.

My only real experience is with motorcycles, which run lean at certain RPMs for noise / emissions testing, is this something Caterham need to do?

I was lucky it happened on a 50 mph dual carriageway, near a refuge, could have been nasty otherwise. The tyre was covered in oil from the (new) Core damper and the drive shaft may have taken a hit. It was recovered to Simon at Meteor who is dealing with it for me. The one positive is that I was due to travel down to the Laon Historique with my wife in a couple of weeks, I don't think she would have been quite as relaxed as my buddy who was navigating.if it had happened on that trip! Looks like we're going in the Cayenne now.

Yep, I'm close to St Davids, good call to replace the mounts, mine failed on the F & C run on Saturday, fortunately wasn't going too quickly! How are you finding the reactive suspension?

I've been having similar thoughts about my CSR, which will be used mostly on the road, it already has a big silencer, and wondered what effect putting in a link pipe on the exhaust outlet to exit at the rear of the car rather than next to my ear might have.

My CSR was in for some suspension work and I noticed this in the workshop, what a beaut! Probably the tastiest 7 I've seen.

I did quite a lot of research and bought one of these recently https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher-menzerna-intro-kit as my recently acquired Cayenne was black and swirly, been very impressed with the results (not sure how it works on bare Ali though).

Thanks, it's advertised on some of the more specialised sites too, and I know there's a bit of hate for driving a Caterham in a flying jacket, but the B6 is really good as a car coat, lightweight, very warm and not at all restrictive, unless you buy a size too small like I did (I've forked out £870 for a new one)!

Those photos don't really do it justice, here's a link to some better ones on the Aero leather website https://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/usaaf/usaaf-type-b-6--contract-no--42-18283-p/military015

Lovely thing, unfortunately a bit tight for me, size 40 (and fits true to size), very soft and supple. £425. has a swing back that makes it much easier to move in than the B3 or Irvin.

I plead mitigating circumstances, my CSR came on race suspension which was too low to run on the road, so the perfect opportunity......

Holy thread resurrection! (Sorry) but the comment about a matrix table caught my attention. Some (probably irrelevant) ramblings. First, I plead guilty to being a serial suspension upgrader, ranging from KW V3 on E46 M3 (outstanding) to the same on a Monaro (so stiff they were dangerous, I later found out that they had been developed in America where it would appear all roads are perfectly smooth), to several cars with Bilstein / Eibach, which worked ok but I had 3 dampers fail spectacularly inside the first year, and another couple within 3 years (the guy who did my suspension work now refuses to fit Bilstein's because he's had so many failures) A few years back I had an Aero 8, the suspension set up was awful, driving it quickly, which the car was quite capable of, had you almost airborne most of the time, I had a chat with Simon (I'd had Quantum's for a Caterham and Nitrons for a motorcycle from him previous;y), he suggested bringing the car up and he'd assess. It was a really interesting process, an optimum suspension frequency was determined for road use and then the suspension measured to determine ratios, and the car corner weighted, this info was fed into the computer (not sure what software was being used) and a spring rate calculated to achieve the required frequency (obviously dampers can then be selected to match the springs.) So I guess it wouldn't be impossible to put a spread sheet together for a Caterham showing different spring rates and how they affect frequency (although some assumptions may have to be made for tyre compliance) Unfortunately I was seduced by a shiny 410 Exige and the Aero got sold (although I do hanker for another and if I do it will go to Simon to be sorted), interestingly the 410 Exige had 3 way Nitrons from the factory and was way more composed on the road than the 350 Exige ( on non adjustable Billies) I had owned previously, Although I did have to tweak compression damping by a couple of clicks so that the car flowed over poor surfaces. I also got to drive a 430 Evora which came on Ohlins from the factory back to back against a 410 on Bilstein's, the quality of damping was very obviously better on the Ohlins car, which is quite difficult to put into words, but it could be pushed with confidence on bumpy roads where the standard car had my bum squeezed very tight! Rambling finished :)

If one of the fronts is leaking you can probably assume that all the dampers are past their best, and with front / rear spring rates not matching it could be a good time to consider other options

Another shoutout for Callum, there have been a few teething problems with the CSR I bought from him, and he really has gone above and beyond.

Thanks Ben.

Sorry I'm a bit of a numpty, I've seen Multimatic and Bilstein dampers mentioned in relation to the CSR, mine came on Bilstein track, and from what I can see Caterhams road offering is Bilstein. what are the Multimatics?

I used rivnuts and put button head bolts in.

These were fitted to my car when I bought it from Turn 7, they had the dampers tested and replaced the rears which were weeping. I have fitted something more suited to road use. £600

Any use to anybody, 5mm tread, came off my car as fronts were worn and replaced with ZZS, I need to check the date stamp but they are quite recent. How does £120 for the pair sound?