MikeE

Thanks for the help/advice guys. So far I've got build details from Richard in France and DoBuy and am due the figures from CC today for a starter kit route to an R400 spec without engine, bellhousing, gearbox, exhaust so I'll post this cost when I get it. Steve Gilbert and/or Ammo, any chance you could send me the info. Steve refers to above as this is a similar spec. to the car I want (and I'd like to stay below the psychological £30K barrier ). cheers, Mike. BTW Jackal, I've done a similar calculation but starting with an R300 and get a significantly different answers (see below). Can anyone explain where I've gone wrong? R300 (self build) £22,250 - engine (CC brochure, K series from £3500, SV upgrade to R300 engine £3,000) so engine - £6,500 bellhousing - £240 exhaust - £663 radiator - £61 full carbon upgrade + £900 Stack upgrade + £1,000 LSD upgrade + £675 Total R300 minus engine, belhousing, exhaust, radiator then upgraded to R400 spec. £17,361 So why is this route £1,300 cheaper than starting with an R400?!?!?! Edited by - MikeE on 2 Mar 2004 12:31:01

Just thinking out load, I think my ideal Caterham would be a Duratech R (220 bhp should be enough ) in an R500 (comes with all the carbon, Stck instruments, Tillets etc) and with a few extras such as an SLR roll cage. In fact come to think of it something very like Jackals new 7. So question is does anyone have any idea what this would cost if I buildt it myself 🤔 I thinking I'd source a new R500 kit minus engine (&gearbox 🤔), ancillaries, exhaust from CC, build this up myself and then get a Duratech from Raceline. Anyone got any idea of the cost breakdown for this project 🤔 Alternatively if Jackals got a breakdown of the original build costs that'd be great. cheers, Mike

I hear a rumour that a few came up for sale recently 🤔 Does anyone know if they are still available and what the deal was 🤔

after my spongy pedal experience at Bedford 2 weeks back I think it's definitely time to change the brake fluid. I've asked Caterham and they reckon it's 1 hour labour plus fluid so £66 which seems a bit steep. Can anyone give me an idea how long it will take me to do, any tips and also how easy is it to change the rear pads at the same time? thanks, Mike

Pinkey, is it a superlight or roadsport cage? Edited by - MikeE on 19 Feb 2004 09:35:49

ah, it must be different on a superlight then as my SL was build with an aero scuttle with no wipper motor mounting. When I bourght it I got caterham to fit weather gear which entailed fitting a new scuttle (they gave me the old one which I foolishly gave away when I (under)sold the carbon aero for £100 ☹️). Within 3 months I decided I prefferred the aero so removed all the weather gear and bought another JPE aero

if the car was supplied new with an aero then you've got to change to a scuttle with wiper holes and more importantly wiper motor mounting bracket on the underside........

Thanks for the replies - so assuming it's one of the above (and given I've done 10 or so trackdays it's probably the fluid) how do I: 1) check the wheel bearings? 2) change the brake fluid (and rear pads at the same time)? Or should I pay Caterham to do it at the next service? How much do CC charge? cheers, Mike

Dave - thanks, so now for the inevitable question, how do I check the wheel bearings? (come to think of it I was sometimes getting a bit of shudder through the steering under braking).

Had a great day at Bedford autodrome on Saturday. However during the morning session I seemed to be having trouble with my heel and toeing. After a while I realised that it 'seemed' that the throttle pedal was higher than normal and therefore it was difficult to roll my foot from brake to throttle. Apart from that everything else seemed to be fine (i.e brakes were working OK although they didn't seem to have as much 'feel' as usual but I put this down to it being one of the few wet trackdays I'd run). Later in the day I noticed there was something odd with the brakes, I had one of those moments where you brake too early for a corner so lift and then brake again. The 2nd time I braked I realised the pedal didn't move down anywhere near as much (although the brakes effectiveness was the same). This meant the relative position of the brake and throttle pedals was where you'd want them and heel and toeing was much easier again (as it has been in the past). Thinking about it now it's as if a quick dab and lift was pumping the system up and if I then re-applied the brakes then they worked fine. Then by the next corner I'd get too much brake pedal travel again (unless I dabbed them beforehand). So now I'm wondering if I have a problem and what I need to cure it. Does it sound like a brake fluid issue as I imagine it's 3 years old by now (unless Caterham service change it, it had a 24K service last April). Any ideas? cheers, Mike Edited by - MikeE on 16 Feb 2004 09:36:19

If you're interested in top quality autoclaved CF then there's a place in Shalford near Guildford that do wings and nosecones I believe. I'll look out the number and post later.

Harry YHM

Steve YHM

and the rims aren't anadised either, as I know to my cost, winter salt corrodes them within minutes

I'm being thick here but, you say 2 sets then £150 the pair? Do you mean £150 for all 8 tyres?

Paul, Where are you based?

thanks - anyone else got any advice for me?

Guys, I already have the adjustable platforms and have seen the Caterham guide but thanks anyway ❗ This all started when I thought I should get the thing setup for the track. So I think right I'll pay CC £175 to flat floor it but....if I then change something I'll need to get them to do it again so I should get the mods done first then flat floor it 😳 So does anyone have any experience of the freestyle package?

is anyone there Peter C. I'm hoping you're around as I'm sure you have a wealth of knowledge in this area . Edited by - MikeE on 5 Nov 2003 09:53:00

I've got a standard road spec. 1.6 Superlight built in Oct 2000 and complete with the adjustable rear ARB. I've been using it almost exclusively on trackdays this year and have got to the point where I've decided to try and make it faster by improving the suspension (in preference to the usual approach of increasing power). So at the moment it's running on either R500 rims with CR500s or Minators with 6" ACB10s (I also have an appollo tank to try and alleviate the usual oil starvation problems). Whilst I was at BH yesterday I got talking to the guys from Freestyle and was interested by their 'Track Spec' spring/damper package and adjustable front ARB (an d corner weighting). Can anyone advise me what's the best approach to take, what needs upgrading, who best to do this (Freestyle, Caterham or others) and what the approximate costs are? Also what rim/tyre combination would best suit these modifications (I love the ACB10s but they're so narrow). thanks, Mike

I should have said my Oct 2000 SL came with the R500 split rims but without an ARB

Johnny, Sounds good, but can't you switch one of those Superlights to an R500 (for hire to trustworthly customers of course 😬) Actually thinking about it are you ordering R300's or R400's? cheers, Mike

my Oct 2000 SL was upgraded to WL in Jan 2001, so they didn't come as standard at that time. Bertie, don't start arguments on PH, that's my priviledge (but on the TVR threads usually 😬) cheers, Mike

*confused*but how am I going to get my 7 to Folembrey next year? Johnny, are you still selling all your worldly goods to buy that Ferrari? Edited by - MikeE on 23 Oct 2003 17:36:14

I've got a 2000 Superlight (1.6SS) with the usual LSD fitted (standard on a SL). I've looked in the handbook and it suggests 90W oil for the diff but doesn't say more than that. I bought some COMMA 80-90w GL4 oil to top up the (6 speed) gearbox some time ago. Will this be appropriate for the diff? If not what do I need? cheers, Mike