Chris Perry

CycleSi, As Simon Rogers says. The rear de dion suspension on my car is a bit lighter than standard so I went with the double digressive damping as Simon recommended. If Simon says Digressive/Linear I would go with what he recommends. In terms of set up I found the best way to dial them in was to set the ride height and get 10 to 15mm of rake. Firstly adjusted the front damping. I set the front to full soft and the front end became really wallowey, full hard and the steering became hyper pointy. I dialled the front until I found a nice setting between the two, not too pointy but still with a good turn in. Once I had the front set I then I dialled the rear. I found that setting the rear damping slightly softer than the front got a good balance and a benign handling 7. When you set the balance front to back you have to set it by feel and driving. Setting the front clickers to say 6 and the rear to say 7 is not what I am suggesting. I have had Quantum dampers on my car for a year now and the ride is super smooth. I am not sure if there is a bedding in period with them but the ride this year seems a lot better than last year, but that might be a ti a frame I fitted over the winter. One thing to note is that the holes on the Quantum spring collars are bigger than a Philips head screw driver, I turned a bar down to a good fit so as to not knacker the holes when adjusting the spring collars. I think Quantum also sell a tool for the job. Spray some WD40 on the damper body so the collar will turn freely to make the spring adjustment easier and adjust the spring collars with the suspension un-loaded. I am no suspension guru and I don’t know if the way I set my car up is correct but it has worked ok for me. Have a chat with Simon Rogers, he is more than helpful on this stuff. Hope this is of some use! Chris Perry

Hello, I cannot really comment on Nitrons as i have never driven a car with them fitted. I have Quantum One Zero dampers, with double digressive damping, front linear and progressive rear springs which are a considerable improvement over standard Bilsteins. All supplied by Simon at Meteor Motorsport. Chris Perry

Paul and Ian, Thanks for the replies. Paul you have blatmail. Thanks, Chris Perry

Hello Peter, Thanks for the reply and offer. After consideration i think i need a 6 speed gearbox for my car. Regards, Chris Perry

Dear All, Are there any gearbox ratio experts on Blatchat? I am about to place the order for a new Ford Type 9 gearbox for my 1.6 140 bhp Sigma car. Ideally when choosing the ratios do you want: a) Rev drops between gear change to be the same. b) Equal speed range change in each gear from shift to shift. c) Equal ideal shift points. Thanks in advance, Chris Perry

Dear All, I am looking for a Ford Type 9 gearbox to re-build. Does anyone have one in their garage spare?! Thanks, Chris Perry

Hello Aeroscreens, Thanks for the reply. I have the weights of the imperial parts already so no need to start digging. Chris P

Dear All, Does anyone have the weights of the metric S3 narrow bodied FIA X braced FIA roll bar, petty strut and Academy Roadsport cage? Thanks in advance. Regards, Chris Perry

Dear All, I am looking for a Caged 'X' type FIA roll bar to fit my 2010 metric chassis with the petty strut if possible. Condition un-important, surface rust and scratches are ok. Thanks, Chris Perry

Hello, Thanks for the replies. I am replacing my Sierra rear brake calipers with Golf Mk4 ali calipers and also changing the diff at the same time. The rear suspension is apart and diff is out and have just discovered that a CSR hand brake cable which works with the calipers is about 14 inches longer than the Sierra cable. Doh! I need to get the cable shortened, but want to put the diff and rear suspension back together. I will probably get the diff in place then see if the cable will fit. Chris Perry

Dear All, I seek the collective wisdom of Blatchat once more! Is it possible to replace the handbrake cable on a 2010 Metric chassis S3 narrow bodied car with the differential in place? Thanks in advance. Chris Perry

Hello James, i have one of these, it's not perfect condition and only has one bracket but as a seat it works! if you want some photos blat Mail your email address. regards, chris perry

Dear All, Does anyone have an old original equipment Ford Sierra type 9 gear lever which they would like to sell me? Must be the old pressed metal/rubber type, not the newer caterham/quaife spherical bearing design. Thanks, Chris Perry

Hello, I dont know whether a Supersport R comes fitted with the Quaife Quick Shift, may be take your tunnel top off and have a look. What i do know is my 2010 Academy Car with Ford type 9 5 speed gearbox has one. The black steel bearing carrier which bolts to the gearbox has four keyways. The snap rings and bearing on mine were fitted such that the bearing was in the lower position, with a tube spacer on top of the bearing. I moved the snap rings and bearing so that the bearing was in the upper position and put the spacer tube below the bearing as Mankee descibes. I have been for a drive tonight and the gear change has a lot shorter throw and also feels a lot more positive and less loose. There are not many upgrades on a Caterham which are free, but this is one of them! Hope this helps. Chris Perry

Dear All, Does anyone know the grade of aluminium caterham use for the exterior body panels on seven is? Thanks in advance, Chris Perry

Dear All, I have added a post in the bulk buy section if anyone is interested. Thanks, Chris Perry

Dear All, If anyone is interested in a coil cover made from titanium to fit the Ford 1.6 Sigma engine please add you name below. My car is 2010 and uses the non Ti-VCT engine. I do not know if it fits a Ti-VCT engine which Caterham now uses. The price would probably be about £40 including p&p but this is only preliminary until i have checked with my suppliers. This is only for the titanium cover and an aluminium spacer, the titanium bolts shown in this photo are not included. The titanium cover and aluminium spacer weigh 122g, in comparison the standard plastic caterham one weighs 252g. A whopping 130g saving for all you weight weenies! The cover also does away with the plastic clip which retains the throttle cable. If there are a minimum of 10 people interested i will work out a price Thanks, Chris Perry /sites/default/files/images/users/1932/IMG_1294.JPG

Hello, It would not really be worth me making just one coil cover. I could do a bulk buy if there is enough interest, say 10 people. They might be about £40 without the bolts each. £5 cheaper than the naff plastic caterham one! Its not rocket science, there is no reason why you cant buy a bit of aluminum sheet off ebay and drill some holes in it and bend the sheet to suit. Thanks, Chris Perry

I made a replacement in titanium which does away with the clip altogether. Want one?! /sites/default/files/images/users/1932/IMG_1294.JPG

Why dont you phone up Tillett and ask them if they can fix it. May be they can drill it out then epoxy a threaded insert or rivnut in place?

Hello, I fitted the caterham goodridge braided hoses to my S3 de dion in 2012. I read on blatchat that there had been a failure of a braided hose due to abrasion where the hose had rubbed against part of the axle. Goodridge sell a spiral protection sleeve which i have used over the whole length of the hoses and i have routed the hoses around the back of the radius arm brackets to make sure they do not rub on any corners. You could try contacting caterham midlands and asking them as i believe a lot of racers have them fitted. Regards, Chris Perry /sites/default/files/images/users/1932/IMG_0397.JPG

LesG, Yes, i am in the process of swapping the Sierra calipers for VW Golf Mk 4. The VW Golf are about 1 kg lighter for the pair over the standard Sierra. Regards, Chris Perry

Ivaan and Grubbster, Thats ace! Thank you both for taking the time to weigh the calipers for me. Regards, Chris Perry

Dear All, As the titile says. Does anyone know the weight of the standard caterham Ford Sierra rear handbrake caliper and carrier, with or without pads? Thanks, Chris Perry

Dear All, I am looking to replace the standard de dion Ford Sierra rear handbrake calipers with VW Golk Mk 4 items. I believe i need Golf MK4 estate calipers as these had a 41mm diameter piston, rather than the saloons 38mm diameter piston. This is for the 232 solid disc. VW fitted two different rear calipers to the Golf MK4 which bolt look the same. Does anyone know what part numbers or year of caliper i need? Thanks, Chris Perry