skydragon

I agree Simon, it would make an ideal (cheap) 2nd point of view camera to compliment a decent video camera setup. I used the wrist-mount strap and wound it round the upper front bar of my rollcage, so that the camera was suspended underneath the front of the rollcage and looking through the windscreen. I used a 2Gb card which gives about 55 mins of video (the camera as standard has only a very smal internal memory).

OK, had the trackday today 😬 *smile* I used the Hero 3 video camera but found an issue with the audio. The camera comes with a neat little waterproof box, for general mounting and underwater usage. When sealed in the waterproof box the camera picks up little/no audio... So... Following the trackday I've drilled a hole in the mounting box near to where the camera mic is and hey presto, all is ok - we have sound. Since I don't intend to take my Caterham swimming, drilling the waterproof mounting ain't an issue for me 😬 Having reviewed today's trackday footage the camera worked well, but is no where near as good as a mini-DV recorder or decent bullet cam setup (as predicted). It claims 30fps but appears to miss frames and some of the footage, although acceptable is a little jerky as a result. However for £75 I can't complain, it is very good value and gives reasonable results. Here's a video I've posted on Youtube (the quality is not as good as the original video file on the camera but gives a reasonable idea of quality). .... note about 36 secs in, the butt clenching moment when the Integra, in front of the BMW M3 CSL I'm following decides to take a spin 😬

For anyone who is looking for a low-cost video camera for trackday / event use I'd recommend you look at a Hero 3. They can be bought on ebay from around £75 for the basic wristcam and give fairly decent quality video (512x384 @ 30fps). The actual camera is tiny. There are several optional camera packs with different mounts for wrist, on-car or helmet mounting The key thing is It seems to give far better video quality than some of the other sub £100 helmet cam type cameras, with pretty good video compression with low artifacts. All in all it gives pretty impressive results. This is obviously not as good as an expensive bullet cam and recorder setup, but at the price it is, that wouldn't be comparing apples with apples would it... You can see an example video (not as good quality video as the original file from the camera) The manufacturers (slow/poor) website is at Hero 3 camera website I've got a trackday on Saturday and i'll try and post some video afterwards.

My 12 year old daughter jamming a RAF 18" bush clearance tool ( ) down behind the seat and into the gap between the rail and the bolt head, whilst i used a socket on the bolt under the car did the trick... but not without a lot of hassle and bruised knuckles. The good news is the tillet seat is now out the car. The bad news is, even with the seat rails removed and trying the Tilelt again, there is no way I'll get the required 5cm MSA clearance AND get a decent seating position. To get the 5cm clearance, with the seat reclined, my knees are pushed up near/under the dashboard edge... not a great driving position and not really what I want. So, with no seat in the car at all, I fit in fine, with a decent seating position and with a good 5cm+ of clearance. I now need to either make up a foam seat, or use some 'camping mat' type foam sheet to pad out the cockpit and floor. Looking on the bright side, my car is now lighter 😬

Ok, I'll try that... but I can forsee a major issue before I even start The Tillet is on adjustable rails and held in by four bolts going through the lowered floor. The four bolt heads are inaccessible with the seat in position. I've tried sliding the seat backwards to 'reveal' the front bolt heads, but it will only go back a few mm and will only slide forward a short way too. How on earth do you undo the nuts on the Tillet seat bolts (nuts under the car) when you can't get to the bolt heads to stop them rotating??

I'd suggest you consider fitting a DRE shift light (or equivalent). It'll be far more usefull than a tiny LED in your tacho, which is awkward to keep looking at when you are giving it some... Great bit of kit at a sensible price. DRE shift light

Many thanks for the rapid info guys, much appreciated, tube of Sikaflex 221 now ordered *smile*

Can anyone please tell me what the brand name is, of the black sealant-type material that is used to fix front mudguards on a seven in place? (my front mnumberplate is also held on with the same stuff) Also, where is the best place to buy? Thanks,

That's a nice car at a great price. Someone is going to be happy. ... wish you'd been selling a month ago!

Found out the answer - they always use 10w40 semi-synth in their engines/cars and not a Synth oil. Was advised that I could change over to a decent synth oil if I wanted, but was not necessary, in their opinion/experience.

Good idea I'm keen to change to a 5W50 synth oil, as with the current oil I get 70psi on cold start idle, but after a hard Blat I'm getting 45PSI, with 20-25PSI on idle. (reading via a Mechanical oil gauge). I'll let you know what they recommend.

Cancelled my order for the submarine. Thanks for feedback.

Under a previous owner, my 1.6 K-series car (wet sump with Apollo) had forged pistons and a head refresh done by McMillan motorsport approx 800 miles ago (car has approx 6800 miles total on it). I called McMillan to ask what oil to top it up with and was told 10w40 semi-synth (I presume because there was some 'running' in to do, hence the semi-synth oil?). Question - After 800 miles or so since the engine work, is it time now to drain the oil and change to a 5w50 synth oil ? (I plan to remove the foam sump filter and do the sump gasket mods and pickup mod as well at the same time).

The previous owner had put approx 50mm of spacers under the front of the seat, to recline it (and therefore give more headroom). I'd say the seat is in a good position for me, I just need to find another 10-20mm of height. I don't think reclining the seat yet further by adding more spacers under the front wiould achieve this.

Damn... just placed my online order. I'll let you know whether my experience backs yours up.

Excellent! Many thanks.

I find that my car (1.6 K-series, with no heater) displays a water temp of around 80 when fully warmed up. However, I've noticed a few times, that when I've stopped in heavy traffic that the displayed water temp can climb to near 100. Reading a few threads on Blatchat, I think what is actually happening is that the water temp senders are getting heatsoak from the exhaust manifold when the car is hot and stationary and therefore causing a false water temp to be displayed (??). I've read that re-locating the water temp senders (ECU sender and gauge sender) away from the exhaust manifold will cure this. (Of course I may actually have a overheating problem with my car... but I'm fairly sure it's false temp reading). I presume I fit the following Caterham part into the water hose that is fed around the back of the engine and links the existing water rail above the exhaust manifold to the thermsostat housing, this will enable me to fit two new senders out of the way of the heat from the exhaust maifold ?? Is this part designed to fit in that hose - or somewhere else ?? water submarine Any advice welcome.

Good point Steve, I certainly don't want to have to do a temp refit of the Tillet each year, if I can help it. There are enough road-legal race cars out there with foam seats or foam packed shell seats, so it hopefully isn't a problem. Perhaps someone with knowledge of MOT rules/proceedures can chip in here?

I like it.... So, in other words, take the Tillet out, remove all the seat rails and then place the seat back in the car on top of a bag of foam (whilst wet), so that the Tillet's base will be touching the ally floor, but all other aspects of the seat will be supported on a bed of foam. I guess this way the load of the seat base and sides are spread accross the wole cockpit floor skin... even better than rails! Apart from getting the angle/rake of the seat right (using small blocks of wood under the front edge of the seat ?) whilst the foam hardened, it should be fairly easy to do. It would also fill the void between the seat back and the rear bulkhead with a foam block, giving better impact protection and something I notice some race classes insist on anyway.

>>Blimey - struggling even *with* a lowered-floor!<< I know... and I'm only 6ft... it's so frustrating. I wonder if I could get some 'custom' rails made up which the seat bolted to, but were so low or thin, that they allowed the Tillet seat bottom to touch the ally floor skin?

Sat in my ideal driving position, I've only approx 3.5cm or so between the top of my helmet and the top of the rollcage (S3, ex supergrad car with low rollcage, lowered floor and Tillet seat on adjustable rails, with approx 50mm of spacer under the front of the Tillet rails, to tilt the seat back). If I move my bum forward in the seat I find that I can get the required 5cm MA clearance, but would find driving difficult in that position. Rather than try and 'trick' my way through scrutineering, or put up with a naff driving position, I'd far rather get a proper solution to the issue. I notice that there is approx 15mm air gap under the tillet seat at it's lowest point. With this in mind is it possible to remove the Tillet seat from it's adjustable rails and mount it directly to the lowered ally floor, so that the base of the seat is then touching (or almost touching) the ally floor? (with the 50mm spacers still under the front seat bolt mounts to still give the tilted back position). If so how and any tips or issues to be aware of? I'm guessing the only issue with doing this, is that the seat base will be resting on the harness crotch strap, although mayby that isn't an issue at all. Even if it only gives me an extra 1cm or so of headroom it will be worth it (I really like the Tillet seat and don't want to have to make a foam bag seat).

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Looking at Caterham's online store, they appear to only supply the Quafe ATB LSD and there is no mention of the ZF LSD unit (perhaps they don't sell it via the online store?). How much did you pay for the TransX unit? I'll make a few phone calls and see what more I can find out.

I've recently aquired an ex-SuperGrad car (2003, 1.6 K-series, De Dion, 5 speed) and would like to fit a LSD over the winter. - what are the best LSD types to fit ( FWIW I hope to get the engine tuned to approx 150bhp at some point in future)? - best places/ways to buy ? Thanks.