dannylt

You can definitely gain midrange power by moving the VTEC point down - the original changeover was probably for good emissions/drive-by noise/economy. You just move the VTEC to where the torque curves cross over. I've definitely heard of VTEC ECU hacks that JUST lower the VTEC point.

Lowering the VTEC point without any reprogramming or remapping is a Max Powerish idea - the engine will be running very lean otherwise. But as you say, people do it because it "sounds" batter :)

Sadly, same for *any* performance car, even from new, e.g. Elises, TVR, Ferrari. Definitely worth having it set up by someone who's actually going to do it properly.

A cat with definitely make it much quieter in my experience with a Cerbera. At least, putting in decat pipes makes it MUCH louder under loud. So maybe not that much difference on the static test, but huge difference on drive-by.

Another plug for Steve & Steve! I didn't think it was expensive either? Some pics of their new roller setup at http://www.dannylt.com/caterham/dyno/

Try both? If you do a track day with the likes of bookatrack, for a bit of money you can try them. Or borrow from a friend? I had a go with 6-inch all round and preferred it to 6 front and 8 rear (with over 250bhp).

I'd strongly recommend visiting Mike, then you can be sure the mount is modified and it all fits perfectly and without any stress. You even get a cup of tea!

Also whole heartedly recommend Steve Greenald & co. - they also have a fancier rolling road than Dave now anyway . I'm sure they'll both do a great job though - I think they know each other well!

Best to be conservative! I had a bent wheel which contributes to a couple of bhp wiggle (from the coastdown losses). Also had an extra degree or so of ignition advance up there, so possibly not *just* the exhaust - but hey, I'm not arguing . As far as the pub is concerned I have 251 bhp!

Some of that 7bhp extra came from the increase in rev limit though - but certainly no doubt about more torque everywhere important. You hardly ever use peak power anyway, so happier about the extra mid range

It's drive-by that will cause the issue with induction. It also depends a bit on which side the mike is, but sounds like you'll be ok.

I'm hoping it's not that low! Without the driver in the car, we actually mounted the exhaust so it points upwards slightly. I can always lose some weight but with CR500s at least, there isn't enough grip to roll enough to touch down. I think the primaries are custom jobbies that Mick had made up by Cheesemans.

Yes, but have you seen the Hockenheim 422 (I think) they were suggesting? Pretty ugly having that stick out! Mike E and I are hoping the old Activa DITP mould can be modified to suit - am hoping to check the fit in a couple of weeks time.

Echo what Steve Foster says. My car has the 0.25 ears, and seems fine with the CR500s on both road & track. By fine, I mean progressive and predictable - but then I don't care so much about out and out grip.

I bought my car mainly for track day fun, but it was clearly way too loud! The existing primaries and silencer were a nice snug fit so I was worried how a huge silencer would fit, what collector mods were needed and whether an angle was needed to space it out. But I needn't have worried - Mike fit the exhaust to the car without the final welds having been made, so it was easy to get it all to line up perfectly with no stresses. With the offset inlet, there is actually no angle in the pipe at all, and as you can see it fits perfectly. It must be about the largest that can fit in the space! I wanted enough clearance that it wouldn't ground out even though the car is quite low, and I didn't want it sticking out too much to catch on the trailer either. Some pictures here!. Power loss was a secondary consideration to the noise, but it actually gains torque everywhere on cam! It also filled in a 10lbft hole at 4500 to now make over 180lbft at 4500, and 190 from 5000 to 6500 😬. Many thanks to Steve Greenald & co. for the mapping check & tweak. As well as being lighter, it still sounds lovely when going for it, and unobtrusive when cruising. I also got a lesson in how to repack it . Next problem is the induction noise, which now dominates, until then restricted to Rockingham & Donington I guess... Many thanks to AMMO, Mike & co. danny Edited by - dannylt on 21 Feb 2005 09:24:53

My first 500 miles were through various thunderstorms! I have the aeroscreen and no weather kit at all, but was fine with a full helmet (just crack it open slightly if you get condensation) and, crucially, an electrically heated waistcoat. If you keep moving over 50mph, you can stay dry for almost an hour, but then finally water runs down the back of the seat and collects. See http://www.giali.co.uk/ - have used the gloves on my motorbike for years.

ST8130 in my R500. The first of the five buttons is to control the light intensity on the ACES shift lights. The other four aren't wired up in sequence, am sure the owners manual gives the mapping. Basically rightmost cycles the 5 displays, next in rests odo/marks a lap.

Also interested...

Should have charged more

Bought! Fantastic!

Sold.

I don't think the BJ trailers have a way to disable the brake. I found this very annoying going down inclined 1-way roads - it means you can't reverse! Tricky when going home to Wales. When I called BJ, they seemed surprised some trailer have this feature, but all farmer trailers I've seen have it over the hitch-lock damper.

Thanks Alan - that pic is almost perfect. The "you need to check bit" - that's what I'm trying to do ! From your pic, it looks like 6 inches could come off quite safely? The tyres on the rack protude down a few inches. Edited by - dannylt on 21 Jan 2005 08:55:55

Dunno, seems to vary. My SR3 was push/up which was standard, but I also saw quite a few the other way around - the linkage was easily adjustable. I think it only really causes difficulty if you're swapping cars a lot.

Ah! I was thinking of the "high" rack then I guess, but with shorter legs. e.g. you can see on this pic that the legs could be a fair bit shorter and clear the car - I thought the difference was more pronounced for a Caterham on a Minno? My old A-series Edited by - dannylt on 19 Jan 2005 20:18:51