Shortshift

"For me a Titan owner, the strategy is simple, monitor the pre load and rebuild when the clutches wear out. If you monitor it regularly you should be able to predict your diffs life and which winter to rebuild it." Unless it's the Belleville's or thrust washers that fail (as they do), in which case there's no gradual loss of preload to monitor and every chance of having shrapnel doing the rounds... James

And if the splines ever do develop free play, just give a few of them a gentle tap with a die punch, to give a tiny pip on the edge of the spline, and all will be snug again. You do seem to throw money at your car somewhat unnecessarily! James

Mark - is the steering wheel fully 'on' the splines? It's a two-stage engagement. James

It is most unlikely to be a spline, Mark. Think about it; one damaged spline cannot lead to rotational movement as the remaining splines will still be in place.I’d suggest it might be the axial sliding joint at the top of the column being insufficiently tight, allowing some free rotational movement before the ‘stops’ around the clamp come into play.It’s your money and your choice but why not carry out a thorough check to properly diagnose the problem before spending on a hit-and-miss approach?PS: I’m sure you won’t need the UJ but it’s an old Triumph part, and available at many places for much less than CC charge! James

If you just stand the Tracsport (SPC) unit next to the Titan, you'll get it... James

Mark I would echo the line of thought that you should be looking to a Tracsport LSD from Steve Perks at SPC, near Redditch. In my R500D (so not so different from your 420) I had a failure of the Bellevile washers that meant I lost all LSD functionality. On stripping, to our (mine and Steve's) surprise we found that my diff was, like yours, fitted with sintered plates and not the carbon ones. They looked pretty much unused - but the point is that a failure elsewhere in the diff (the Belleviles) meant that the diff was rendered unserviceable and, also, that this failure also explained the as-new plate condition. It seems to me that whilst the Titan diff concept is fine in the physically larger Ford Sierra final drive, the design is fundamentally compromised (and inadequate for function) in the smaller BMW diff unit. Honestly, I would 110% urge you to change your order with CC and ask them to ship a bare/open diff to Steve at SPC and ask him to fit one of his Tracsport LSD's to it. You will not regret doing that! James

Hi Arun - I can confirm that I received nothing at 'trackdaysupport@lotus7.club'. We (Simon, Dave and myself) are pretty much always on top of incoming emails. Thanks for taking the photos and for making them available. James

And now sold. James

Here's a better image of the installation and a crude sketch showing how to do it: Step by step - well, something like this (I can't remember the exact detail but you get the idea): James

Yes, my pedal started with the normal tube piece. I cut through that and folded back a section either side of the cut line so as to provide two planar tabs for mounting the new plate to. I suggest not to get sidetracked with the CSR adjustable pedal; it's quite a different animal! James

Replying to #9 I think the pedal 'plate' was a Sparco part, but you can get something like it from Halfords or ebay. Back in the day the originals were 'Paddy Hopkirk' brand pedal extensions for Minis - you can still get them or similar on ebay. You will need to modify the exiting circular tube arrangement on the standard pedal to accept the plate (I opened mine out to provide two flat surfaces that the new plate could attach to) but it's all easy to do and, for me, this approach places the accelerator in the right position alongside and slightly lower than the brake pedal pad. James

It's not too difficult to add a throttle extension pad to the existing accelerator pedal: James

I have available a sintered plate (not carbon) Titan LSD that was removed from my my BMW diff at 7000 miles and completely refurbished/rebuilt/set-up by Steve Perks at SPC. The sintered plates were found to be 'like new' and the unit was rebuilt with new shims, thrust washers and Belleville washers as needed. It's in perfect condition, safely packed in a sealed bag and ready to go. These superior sintered plate LSDs retail at £1047 at Caterham Cars (who are currently out of stock) so am asking for £650 to include insured shipping. Obviously I'll adjust the price accordingly for collection if that works for the buyer. Either post here, send me a pm or call me on my mobile if interested. James 07714 693192

Replying to #3 Titanium and high density polyethylene; wow! As you say, very high-tech. Can you post a picture or two? I do think that an angled plate is the way to go, as anything under the sump would reduce an already limited clearance. The Cosworth dry sump is very deep and the alternatives from Caterham/Raceline are much better in this regard. Here's a couple of images of a Cosworth hang-low dry sump that has had the odd clunk or two (not my old car!): Anyways... I sold my CSR at the end of last year, then regretted doing so and have been on the look out for another one more or less ever since. Hey ho... Replying to #4: Maybe it was the sump guard that attracted the buyer to the car, Alan? James

Oh no! But you can't leave it there, Mike - you have to share (and show)! James

At risk of sounding as though I'm his fan boy, David Long (DCL, Duratec in Detail, etc) may be your friend here. Have a look here (link below) and then follow the leads to read his other posts on the 6-speed box. https://www.facebook.com/Duratec.in.detail/posts/back-to-the-caterham-six-gearbox-and-a-brief-post-about-how-to-get-it-to-bits-it/2107573309333953/ James

I learned a lot - and very much enjoyed doing so - when I came across David's posts a few years ago. Only nine pages, mph? You've just scratched the surface! James

I have been running 10W60 fully synthetic oil for several years now (R500D, mainly trackday use), principally on the basis of David's (DCL) clear analysis and recommendations that he posted up some while ago in his "Duratec in Detail" Facebook site. But I was always conscious of running quite high pressures at normal operating temperatures, around 70 degrees in my car, and so I have just switched to 10W50 as a finely judged compromise! James

Sounds like a good initiative, Richard. Is it anything like the 'lift and glide' arrangement I developed and covered here in TechTalk in April last year (HERE) James

Taller bars are well know about, I feel; taller cages perhaps less so? James

Hi Mandalman If I understand what you are saying correctly, it sounds as though your helmet is not sitting below the near-horizontal plane formed by the upper framework of the cage. You talk about your head being "locked between" the outer bar and the diagonal suggesting your are positioned too high in the car relative to the cage. You really need to have the top of your helmet clearly below the metalwork. Ian (above) has pointed you to a taller version of the cage (I didn't know about that) but other options include looking at your seat to see what can be done to get you sitting lower in the car. There will be a solution somewhere along the line! James

Perhaps the main benefit is aesthetics...? Followed by weight reduction, of course! James

"The Adrian Flux policy wording for example doesn't look like it would cover Castle Combe Circuit unless one of the other criteria is also met." Not sure what you're saying here, Tim. Is it not the case that Flux have agreed to provide cover (your post above) on the basis of Castle Combe being a recognised trackday organiser - in effect, a quasi ATDO member (given the uncertain status of that organisation)? Combe Circuit certainly doesn't fall into any of the other categories of being a manufacturer, a magazine or a motoring club! James

Dan Motorsport UK is now the formal body that governs UK motorsport activities, effectively superseding MSA. But trackdays do not come under Motorsport UK jurisdiction anyway, as they are non-competitive. Most insurers refer to a list of ATDO members but I have to say there are question marks about whether that organisation is still operating or not. Matters are not as clear as they should be. Turning to your specific concern, though, I think you'll find that the Williams day is being run by Castle Combe Circuit, on behalf of Williams, and they are most definitely a well known trackday operator and recognised for insurance purposes. More generally, make sure you sign-up early for Club trackdays; we are recognised (and respected) operators and you should have no problem getting insurance cover on any of our events. James (Trackday Support)

Adding to #463: Replying to Geoff's comments about modifying the Gold plug so that it fits to the early style of BMW diff rear cover plate that angles the fill-hole and places the bolt head very close (too close) to the dedion. This is indeed the case but the necessary mods are easy to carry out: Chamfered bolt head: And installed on the car (chamfered bolt head clearance to dedion etc): James