Croc

you mean this reference in FAQ? What is the highest power that can be obtained from the 2.0K engine? - The highest power is determined by many factors, but you can get up to 260/265 HP under 8200 rpm. In fairness it is not a well designed website. It reads as if a marketing flunkey wrote it - no substance. Edited by - Croc on 26 Apr 2014 20:29:35

Pendennis and 6speedmanual - thank you for your superb advice as always! Peter - it was your posts on past threads with the detail on how the bushes differ in operation that gave me pause over the type of lubricant that should be used. To clarify my comment on rear bushes should not be poly - when you search blatchat there were a 5 posts than categorically said that poly should not be used on rear suspension bushes (of all Caterhams) but did not clarify why not. I suspect it is the change in spring rate reason but it was not clear. Thank you Gentlemen Mike Edited by - Croc on 20 Apr 2014 18:44:46

Ok that got your attention! 😬 Replacing my CSR front suspension bushes with polyflex ones. I have been a good boy and searched this forum for past posts on how they work and what it may do to my handling. However, there was no clear consensus view on lubricant that should be used? I assume you should lube a poly bush? Was thinking either silicone or copper grease? I assume I need to go and re do this periodically to prevent excessive wear on the bush - how frequent? Last thing - I get the impression from past searches that polly is not recommended on rear bushes? Is that still true?

I definitely had another image in mind when I read "baby oil catch tank"...... 😳

There was a long thread here I think the result was inconclusive from that debate. I ran Evans in my previous Zetec and it did seem to smooth out some temp spikes that the installation was prone to until I reworked the cooling system and fixed the problem at its source rather than use a bandaid. It definitely did not provide any extra hp from my seat of the pants. However, I have seen it used in vintage cars and the owners swear it is better for corrosion resistance and preventing overheating and there are enough of them I personally know with reputations to respect that maybe there is something there for much older cars. I doubt your relatively recent Caterham will notice any difference if your cooling system is working properly as designed. Edited by - Croc on 2 Mar 2014 09:41:11

Top videos. Nice crisp video. Great engine sound. Really interesting circuits well suited to the car. And wonderfully warm sunny weather to take my mind off the snow I am getting today. Thank you for posting! One day I can hope to drive there!

Thank you Rob - it was crap driving and I think I described it accurately as such. 😬 But I do have good medical reasons for not heel and toeing. The various bits of metal in my body, in this case my right leg, gets in the way. The real classroom lesson is not to drive when you are vaguely hungover... 😳 😬 Anyway...back to our scheduled program of helping Tom sort out a Duratec engine so he can come out and play in 2014! Edited by - Croc on 12 Jan 2014 12:15:51

Quoting Pendennis: ....especially if you visit the gravel No chance of that - he drives like Miss Daisy!

Hi Paul - Another solution to check out is the Racechrono Touchscreen pro. I have had one for 3 years and like it a lot. Like a GPS screen unit but it live times either through its internal GPS or an external Qstarz one bluetoothed. Touchscreen works with race gloves on or can use attached stylus and is useful for its graphical displays in the pits after racing. Data exports as a CSV file and can be synced with any video through RaceRender/ Dashware.

Quoting TomGaval: As the head has never been off, what are the steps to changing the Head gasket? Tom 1) Go to local supermarket 2) Buy a pack of sliced swiss cheese 3) Remove head 4) Lay cheese evenly all over block 5) poke holes in cheese with screwdriver for pistons, oil and water galleys 6) put it all back together and hope it runs for another year or buy a Duratec engine that is reliable See you this weekend Tom - hope my car is finished in time to run with you!

Its less weight I suppose! 😬 I would do it again for free if given the option as cats and I never get along!

Sean - you may want to put a post like this on the CSR forum. Some of the European guys on there have gone a some ways down the road you are trying to travel with their CSRs using the same engine. I think you also know that Karl near me ended up tuning a new unlocked MBE ECU with his local mechanics using SBD as phone consultants - hellishly expensive but may be an option. A last suggestion - what does Cosworth USA say? They sell these engines and ECU but offer zero support? Cheers Mike

Do you know if your car has the extra diff struts installed? Easiest way to tell is that your boot area is divided by two extra tubes running vertically out of the floor in a V shape. If not then you probably only had the standard mounting points for the diff (up to around second half 2010 cars) and the torque effects does a number on weakening these 2 mounting points to the point of failure. Late 2010 the kits started to come standard with the race diff struts to give more mounting points. The extra diff struts were developed for racing to give extra bracing and seem to solve the problem. I have not seen an incident reported once the extra diff struts are installed. As for repair I defer to someone else more knowledgeable as I have not to had to make that repair on my CSR. Mike Edited by - Croc on 22 Jul 2013 09:21:21

Will the 2.5D fit in our sevens? I thought it was too tall? Would be very happy to be corrected though!

I have the lowered floor (both sides) You can use the standard SV mats and just trim down the edge to make it fit a slightly narrower floor. There were no CSR floor mats available when I was looking at rubber mats to put over my carpet. The carpet I got in my CSR kit was for an SV with a couple of extra pieces which then we trimmed to fit the CSR. The extra CSR chassis bracing does not get in the way as you can fit the mats/carpet underneath. Edited by - Croc on 20 Jun 2013 13:02:12

Quoting myothercarsa2cv: Still waiting for a dog leg gearbox... Oh no you don't. Blasted things. First time I had one in a touring car race, I went backwards off the start line. Don't know how I did not hit someone behind me 😳

Rusty water in the plug holes? Was it coolant or regular water? On a zetec, coolant there is usually because a freeze plug failed/corroded. If it is water then was it because you washed it?

The two best locations for me are: - under the tonneau in the boot area. Fishy Dave gets credit for tipping me off to this location. Sample - under the bonnet next to the throttle bodies Sample Other locations I have tried and discarded: - up under the dash on the passenger side - I get electrical interference on the recording (static crackles and pops), most likely from the ECU or the relays that are mounted there. - Under the seat or on the rear bulkhead - too much wind noise even with a dead furry cat mic shield and a very good mic. - top of dash under the aeroscreen - still too much wind noise. For a GoPro mic the best budget one I have found is Audio Technica ATR-3350. while the GoPro can provide power to a mic the recording sensitivity/gain in a car environment is not as good. A powered mic improves results noticeably. Edited by - Croc on 4 May 2013 19:54:33

Quoting tbird: edited to remove references to the Welsh national vegetable 😔 I thought you were Scottish?

Quoting CaterBram Jnr: Later runs with little interval between initial water temp - 80, initial oil temp 100 final water temp - 90, final water temp 110 normally at Curborough I would have expected to have gradually built the temp until peaking at 120 after a number of runs with only short intervals. This is a really interesting thread - To help me interpret the results I just want to confirm on a before (regular coolant) and after (Evans) basis that water temp seems to be about where you were before but oil temp peak seems to have come down 5 degrees on the later runs? What engine spec are you running to give me a guide here? My experience in a non-competition environment on my prior seven (2004 SV St170 zetec which ran at 90 deg water and 115 deg oil at its normal operating temperature with high speed runs spiking the oil up to 120 deg) was not to see any pronounced change in water/oil temps from using Evans other than slowing the intervals that the water thermostat/fan kicked in (so more efficient cooling there). Like you I was hoping to avoid installing an oil cooler on the zetec but Evans did not deliver the result I wanted. It was for this reason I have not bothered to use Evans in my current CSR Duratec which runs oil at 120deg on track despite having an oil cooler. I am intrigued to see it impact your oil temp so much. Edited by - Croc on 4 Apr 2013 09:45:17

Quoting CaterBram Jnr: i'm hoping for a more efficient heater transfer within the engine, giving an increase coolant exit temperature out of the engine and hopefully a reduction in oil temperature. Please report back on your observations on Tuesday. I ran Evans in my previous Zetec engine Caterham and would be interested to hear your results.

Quoting Roger Ford: ..... fitting a full cage? Exactly, I have always thought Tom should be put inside a cage and locked up!

My duratec cam cover, rear hubs and brake discs off a CSR came out nicely from a session in the dishwasher. 😬 Then again there may be a reason why I am currently single... 😔 Edited by - Croc on 10 Feb 2013 11:56:36

Quoting nigel blandin: I've asked the engine guru- Rob at Ratrace to look into these Nigel - Could you please update this post when you hear back from Rob? This may work on my latest track car project when I need to tone it down. I have 3 inch straight side pipes on my 65 FIA Mustang and I am almost regretting this given how epically loud it is... 😳 😬 I am still not sure how I managed to get it road registered Edited by - Croc on 6 Jan 2013 11:59:36

I use Evans Coolant and run it in my older cars. My specialist mechanic (who is not a sales agent) prefers it on older cars (25+ years) and race cars and he looks after some very expensive machinery. He has no financial incentive to recommend it but prefers it on professional grounds. It is run by quite a few Indy and Nascar teams for their race cars and I see it regularly in use at US vintage race meets. For me I liked the idea of no pressurization and the rust prevention aspects. It was helpful solving some cooling flow issues on two V8 touring race cars that I own. I used it in my previous Caterham but have not used it in my current one to date - have not seen the need given it is so new. I am not sure what prices you get in the UK but in the US and Australia, Evans is comparable with high end brand regular coolants if you shop around. So call me gullible for buying snake oil but I am comfortable with my decision Quoting weeman: is this fluid essentially aimed at race vehicles. Is it possible to top up with water or does the system have to totally drained and replaced. I'm wondering how viable it would be in a touring car that develops a leak? It is more aimed at race cars and older cars susceptible to corrosion. If you leak some then you should top off with more Evans. That is what they insist on in the literature. At a pinch I suspect you could use water as a emergency measure to get you to help but I have not tried it personally. When I ran it in my previous Caterham I kept a small top off bottle in my spares kit should I need it. However, I never had any leaks with it unlike my previous pressurised system in that seven. I have not bothered on my current seven or even my daily driver Audi for the exact reasons you raise. One thing worth mentioning is when you change over, you need to use a special cooling system flush before you fill up with the Evans Coolant. If you ever switch back you need to use the same flush. Edited by - Croc on 28 Dec 2012 19:53:36