spiderlane

Hi Phil, Ok, deal. I'll send you a BlatMail with my details. Cheers, Mark

Bump. Still available. Could also be collected from the Basingstoke area if required.

Pair of 13" Cycle Wings in McLaren Orange. I bought these last year from a fellow BlatChatter to temporarily fit to IVA my car (I didn't want to fit the repeaters to my wings). Complete with indicators, piping bulbs and wiring. Pictures here Please note the following * One wing has a some star cracking near the holes (see pictures) but is still strong (it's just on the gelcoat, the structure of the fibreglass is intact) * I had to drill new holes to fit them because the holes didn't line up with my wingstays (see pictures). Would suit racer, as temporary fit for IVA or someone who wanted them as spares or to respray. Price : £25 for collection from Coulsdon, Surrey. I could arrange delivery at additional cost if required. Cheers, Mark

Hi Paul - that's interesting. What did you manage to brace the wood against in the footwell? I couldn't seem to work out an arrangement which would allow me to bend the brake to the right Cheers Mark

Hi I'd like a can of POR-15 rust prevention paint to pick up from Epsom please. You can mail me the details at mark.lane@me.com Cheers Mark

Hi Simon Thanks for the comments. I tried to bend the brake pedal but I simply couldn't; it's pretty strong. :) Regarding the depth of the throttle pedal, yes you're right; that picture was taken before adjustment, so it's now lower than the brake pedal, which puts it in just the right spot for me to roll my foot when braking hard. Cheers Mark

Ever since I finished my R400 late last year, it has annoyed me that I can't heel and toe because the throttle pedal is too far away from the brake pedal. I've read a lot of the discussion on here, so I thought I'd write up my modifications and share the pictures in case they're of interest to others. Searching through the old threads it seemed that there were about 3 approaches to modification 1. Bending the brake/throttle pedal 2. Fixing an aluminium pedal extension 3. Make up an extension from PVC waste pipe (I think this was Roger Heeley's idea initially?) I started off with approach 1 since it's the simplest. I was pretty happy with the throttle pedal position as it was, so I first tried bending the brake pedal. Even in a decent vice I couldn't bend this easily, so I tried bending the throttle pedal (which much easier to bend). I'd already had to bend this a lot during the build to get the throttle cable to fit, so it was already a long way from it's initial shape. Bending it to the left however interfered with the whole geometry of the mechanism, and meant that the pedal could no longer rest on the pedal stop. With a bit of manipulation, it would just about work (and touch the stop) but it was so far out of square with the stop I was worried it would get trapped beneath it's whilst driving. So I bent the pedal back to it's original shape and thought again. I considered option 2, having seen some nice pictures of JetSepter's modification. But it occured to me that this was a better option for people who wanted a longer pedal. What I needed (for the way I roll my foot over from the brake to the throttle during my version of heel and toe) was a throttle pedal closer to the brake in the "left/right" plane; I was quite happy with the length as is. I'd also seen TangerineDream's similar approach with a wooden extension, but a couple of people had mentioned the waste pipe approach. Finally then, I settled on option 3 since I had some offcuts of waste pipe lying around, and one was a perfect, snug fit round the circular part of the pedal. It didn't sound like it ought to work, but since it was free to try I decided to give it a go anyway. These pictures are pretty much self explanatory, but I did the following : 1. Cut the piece of pipe initially to 2.5" long 2. Drilled a 10mm hole for the pedal stem and made it into a slot with a hacksaw 3. Filed out the slot in small increments so that the pipe was a nice snug fit on the pedal 4. Mounted the pedal in the car for a test fitting. The initial feel was actually very good, but the extension was a touch too wide and it felt like I'd be catching the accelerator when I didn't want to, so I shortened the pipe to 2" 5. Having settled on a size of extension I wanted a mechanical fixing to ensure that it wouldn't move about or even worse come loose whilst driving 6. Marked and drilled a 4mm hole in the back of the pedal (so that it the soles of my shoes wouldn't catch on it) and riveted the extension in place 7. Fitted pedal back to car and adjusted cable and pedal stops I've not driven the car yet, but just sitting in it, the whole setup feels very natural to me. The pedal operates nice and smoothly and I can roll my foot over when braking and just catch the edge of the pipe with the side of my foot when I want to. Perfect. Hope this is of help to someone Cheers Mark

Like jchasey I'd also be interested in this (and for similar reasons) After my recent trip to Track and Road I'm becoming more interested in the internals and operation of the engine (2l Duratec), so would be fascinated by an engine building course. (I love taking things to bits, working out how/why they work and putting them back together)

Hi Steve, Arrived and replied :) Cheers Mark

Hi Steve Sure no problem. No PM received though (I think they can be a bit flaky). You can mail me at. mark dot lane at me dot com Cheers Mark

Hi Pair of carbon fibre indicators cones from the recent Carbon Bits/666 Road Racing Bulk buy. I bought the whole set of light blocks, but whilst I was waiting for delivery I received a Caterham pair for Christmas, so these are surplus to requirements. They haven't been fitted. £45 delivered (to mainland UK) Cheers Mark

Hi Tony - we didn't do a power run before hand. I guess I should have requested one, but like I say I wasn't really interested in chasing the numbers, just the drivability.

My old K series (2004 1.8 140bhp) did exactly the same if the fan was running when we turned the car off. But I only remember it running on for 2 or 3 seconds. Never 15.

Here's the dyno plot. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/5669179078_14142d097e_b.jpg

FWIW - when I was at Track N Road yesterday, Steve recommended Z and F to someone for MEMS mapping. I think the guys there are ex-Rover engineers?

Hi Pat It's still on the standard plenum. Everything else is standard too. Re: MPG I'll let you know how it works out over the next tank or two.

Will do Pat - do you mean not the greatest after a remap or before? Before, I was getting about 200 miles from an (SV sized) tank. How does that compare with yours? Cheers Mark

Just back from a mapping session of my 2010 R400 Duratec with the 2 Steves at Track and Road in Rainham. One word summarises the result : Awesome. To say they've transformed the drivability is an understatement - the car is so much smoother to drive, especially when coming on an off the throttle. It pulls so cleanly through all the revs too, it's fantastic. I can now also manoeuvre in first and reverse without using the throttle at all, and the car is so much easier to drive around town and in traffic. I'll post the dyno plot when I can get to the scanner, but it made 208.1bhp (out of a CC stated 210) so I'm pretty pleased with that. However I'm not really fussed about the numbers, just how it drives and that has improved beyond all recognition. If anyone is considering a remap, I can't recommend them highly enough - best money I've spent on a car by a long way. It's not cheap but the guys spent hours getting it right until they felt it was the best it could be. Cheers, Mark Edited by - spiderlane on 28 Apr 2011 21:34:15

Thanks Andy. BlatMail sent with details. Cheers

Hi Andy. Can I have 2nd dibs on the spacer if Parsley doesnt want it? (apologies for the hijack) ;-)

All, Bit of a long shot this, but wondered whether anyone has any experience of this handheld CB unit (or similar) in a Caterham? I know it sounds daft, but we're going touring in August on (http://tripeuropa.com/ (applications welcomed :) ) and we're planning on communicating with the rest of the teams with CB radios. I know that many people opt for PMRs but a number of people already have CB equipment with Euro bands having used them on other rallies. Anyway, I have a Starcom Digital intercom and have a lead with will interface with Midland handheld units. This will work well if the reception from the handheld unit is good enough from the supplied flexible antenna (the other "proper" cars will have conventional CB antennas). Any thoughts on how well the small unit will work and what sort of range I could expect? I'm planning on putting it in a SoftBitsForSevens draft reducer pocket between the seats to get it as high as possible. All thoughts and experiences welcome. Cheers, Mark Edited by - spiderlane on 23 Apr 2011 12:13:25

I have an R400 SV with the same arrangement and find it annoying to have to take the nosecone off to check the oil level. I think the ideal situation would be some sort of sight glass/tube on the side of the tank which would allow immediate reading of oil level without the nose cone coming off. Something like this http://www.danstuff.info/furyracerb115.jpg Anyone have any ideas whether there is some sort of kit, or set of fittings that I could add to my existing tank? Perhaps a pair of compression elbows which could fit onto some sort of heat resistant transparent tubing to connect the 2. Anyone done anything like this on a 7? Cheers Mark

Hi boss, I assume LR means on the inside of the footwell but on the left, rather than attaching it to the tunnel wall. In the past (on a previous car) I've used the self tappers that came supplied with the luggage nets from James Whiting. I remember agonising about whether I'd hit a chassis rail or not with the holes, but in the end I just went for it and it was fine.

Hi Jason, The stack sensors only start reading at their bottom limit; the Owners Manual states ... NOTE: The minimum oil and water temperature for which the display gives a true reading is 12°C or 53°F. The unit displays temperatures that are less than this as 0°C or 32°F. HTH Mark

@Stationary M25 Traveller - do you have any pictures of the brake light strip installed? I'm interest to see how well it fits under the bar etc. Cheers