Mike Biddle

Stewart, sorry, tis in fact only the front brake kit, discs, calipers and pads only. I paid 550.00 pounds for it so make a sensible offer and it's yours.

Stewart, I have a complete big brake kit new, boxed, but I live in Dubai so carriage and import duty may be a problem, but i am willing to adjust the price a bit to compensate if you are still interested. Let me know on mrjjj@emirates.net.ae

SBD have a good carbon one, I have run mine for two years now, and it is still in good condition.

I have been running the same tyres for a year now, and would agree with peter, 20 psi cold is too much. After a lot of testing / adjusting including the use of a pyrometer, I found that 18 psi cold works best for my vauxhaul engined car. You don't mention which variant you have, and a lighter car may require less. Anyway, you can have a lot of fun finding out!

John, Allan, thanks for your advice. MIKE

Pierre, Don,t know if a version to fit a 1.6K is available, but you would probably be unlucy at SBD since they specialise in the vauxhaul engine, worth a try though. I will E-mail the pictures to you.

Dave, thanks for your response, Unfortunately I did not build the car, and it was the relationship, between front and rear ride heights that interested me, since several contributors have mentioned that this is an important factor in tuning the handling of the car. As for large lumps we have an abundance of them here in the form of speed humps which have to be negotiated very carefully at an acute angle, and ruts in main roads caused by trucks which are routinly overloade by up to 100%. The only cars that are high enough to be immune are four wheel drives so we seven drivers just have to be very carefull.

I'm refering of course to ride heights which most contributors seem to emphasise as very important When setting up a seven, but nobody posts details. Are they a secret? Are those in the know merely seeking to retain the advantage at track days etc? Or is it another one of those subjects that are purely a matter of opinion? Come on folks! I can keep a secret, and I live 3,500 miles away from UK so won't be anyones competitor. my car is An HPC 2.0L XE with 13" wheels and ACB 10's..........confidential replies to... mrjjj@emirates.net.ae

Marius, my car is also LHD and the system is designed to fit around steering colum etc. I don't know if the silencer comes in stainles but of course anything should be possible. It would of course be a lot noisier, and worst of all heavier, in stainless, plus the problem of maitaining the appearance, and the carbon sounds a lot better than steel. I will send you the pictures later. MIKE

Marius, I have a system from SBD which exits thruogh the body in the same place as your current system, and although the hole would need to be enlarged, it,s not major surgery. This was the first thing I changed When searching for some exra power, and the difference was significant, I would guess around 15 HP over the standard (not side exit)system. The silencer is carbon and the sound is fantastic. The only comment I would make is that it's immpossible to keep it looking good without dismantling the entire system for polishing once a month, which is a definite no no for me, being a serial tinkerer. This summer I'm going to try having the system ceramic colour coated to match the car. Would you like me to e-mail a picture? MIKE

Stewart, Andrew, Marius, I will fax the details today, sorry for the delay, I've been away for a few days. MIKE.

Alex, the mod consists of removing the plate inside the cam cover, making two cuts to discard most of it and replacing the small piece remaining. It is VERY important to remove ALL traces of sealant during the proces. I have a drawing with instructions which will be on the fax to you forthwith. MIKE.

Gareth, I currently use castrol RS 10/60.

Marius, an oil cooler is probably a good idea, but whether you install it in front or behind the radiator it will still impede the airflow and raise water temperature. I am considering removing mine and fitting an oil/water heat exchanger instead because my engine running temp is now 95C, albeit with a high ambient of 40C. Demon tweeks sell them and some are claimed to raise water temp by a few degrees in return for significant reductions in oil temperature. assumedly, they may also help in oil warm up if placed say in the heater circuit?? Does anyone have any experience with this type of cooler? From responses to other questions along the same lines you may also benefit more from a dry sump system. Mike

Charles, where can you get a Caterham six speed box for 1,500.00 pounds? Caterham are quoting me 1,950.00. I was going to post the same question so your's was timely. The quaiffe sequential six speed has dog engagement, and the option of an overdrive sixth, which means you don't have to change the diff ratio. This makes the price of 2,950.00 reasonably competetive, particularly for me because I would have to ship my diff back to U.K. for modification. (no european ford parts or service here in Dubai.) I would be very interested to hear from anyone who fits one.

Alex, I fitted 13 x 7.5J rims with the standard 19mm offset to the rear of my HPC and had to mod as follows. Grind a little off the corners of the De-Dion tube end plate, Turn the trailing arm mounting bolts around so that the roll bar links fit on the inside, and fit dished trailing arms from the superlight. The rear tyres are 8 x 22 ACB 10. I think you should be OK with 7J rims, but to be safe I would reccomend an offset of 10mm. Re suspension I think your biggest problem is the front anti roll bar, which is probably too stiff. You don't mention which roll bar you have on the rear, but try stiffening it up a few notches before you do anything else. Trailing arms on track setting is also much better. I have 350Lb front springs, adjustable front anti roll bar, 200Lb rear springs, and 3/8" rear roll bar on one from hardest setting. This seems to work very well, but I was interested in some of the other comments about ride heights, does anybody have any figures for settings?

Alex, I don't think you have anything to worry about at 109C. When the oil gets too hot the followers don't fill properly and your engine will sound like an old tractor!! I know because it happens to my engine in the high ambient temperatures here (40C last friday on our monthly blast through the mountains). I use the same oil, and have a cooler fitted. The next thing to try is a dry sump with a high capacity tank, anybody else got any idea's?