Midas

My car is fitted with the longer cycle wings as the car originally sat on 16 inch HPC rims. I moved to a 13 inch wheel with higher profile tyres 185/70/13 - apart from whether you like the look (high sidewall), there is no problem with the wings with the change in combination. I chose Uniroyal RainExpert 3 tyres - I previously ran Yokohamas A021s. Overall I have been happy with the ride and the grip from the Uniroyals. They do not give the same ultimate confidence as the stickier Avons or my original Yokohamas, but they are very capable across all the weather conditions. Here's a picture of my car with the combination - just so you can see what it looks like compared to your own car. I went out yesterday for a spirited drive and they coped with the wet/cold/icy conditions on the Fosse Way.

My Powervamp battery recently gave up after a number of year's of faithful service. It expired at the most inconvenient time, so I was scratching my head what to do. I then remembered that buried somewhere in the garage was another Powervamp battery - I bought it some years ago, and didn't fit it (another story). In desperation I put it on charge and then fitted it to the car - that was 4 months ago and it is going strong. I found the invoice the other day - 2011*yikes* So sat on a shelf neglected for nearly 9 years, and yet still serviceable. I'm impressed.

I have one Saturday entrance ticket for the Goodwood Revival. I understand Saturday is sold out. It is collect on the day. Looking for the face value only - £80. Blatmail if you want to purchase

Now sold

yes, and I thought I responded.

This is a specialised vehicle, but for the right person this would be a perfect buy... This was my uncle's car. Bought from a Honda Main Dealer and has FSH, and has been garaged all its life. The colour is black. Mileage is less than 15000, he used it sparingly because he was ill when he bought it. The car is currently fitted with an electric hoist that allows the driver to easily store and remove an electric wheel chair which sits in the boot. Total cost would be around £25000 for a similar vehicle brand new. Webuyanycar will give us £16700 without hassle. However, if it can go to a deserving family I would rather they save the cash, rather than extra profit for a dealer. This would suit any family with a member that has mobility problems. It is an easy car to drive with plenty of space and had very little use.

Due to work commitments I now have a spare 3 day ticket for the Goodwood Revival - Fri/Sat/Sun. It is a members ticket and comes with a paddock entry, so I recommend it is bought by a GRRC member. It is collection on the day at Goodwood. Looking to recoup my investment - £188. I am told by the GRRC these tickets are no longer available.

Final update - the problem turned out to be the cable. Although the original cable looked good closer inspection showed some advanced signs of wear. new cable fitted and probelm fixed.

For future reference, I spoke to Caterham this morning. The gear lever assembly shown above is a standard Ford component which was used before Caterham moved to using a quaife-sourced item. The Ford item cannot be disassembled.

I seem to have a gear lever which is different to those mentioned above and in the Caterham website. I have posted two images below. There are no visible circlips and everything is tightly sealed. Anyone know how you dismantle one of these levers?

Update and further request for advice - I've replaced the clutch cable - the old one seemed OK, and moved freely but the wire had worn a groove in the brass threaded area in the pedal box so the new one is now on. No difference in feel. I have taken out the gear lever assembly, but a question for Sean B - I cannot see any way it strips down. Mine looks like a sealed unit. Everything at the gear lever end of the gearbox is 'dry'. There is no sign anything like grease has been near to any of the parts at any time. The black plastic bridge is also in good condition. Anything I might have missed before I contemplate the clutch being taken out*banghead*

Thanks for the advice - back from a windy and wet Silverstone so will look at this today!

The cable is still the original - so i will have a look at that - all things to do before the dreaded engine out job!

As it says in the title. I have a cable operated clutch (yr 2000 K series) and a six speed box. I can select all forward gears with ease, however when the engine is running I cannot get reverse cleanly without graunching the gear - even though the clutch pedal is to the floor. It has got worse. over the past few months. The gearlever spring action is quite stiff, so I will look at that, but even with the spring fully compressed I cannot get reverse cleanly. I have read that the clutch is not adjustable so I am fearing it is clutch drag and time for a new clutch. However thought I would get other opinions before I go to the effort of pulling out the engine and box. The car has covered 38 000 miles and I assume the clutch is original.

James, you might want to check whether you have the right front springs on the Nitrons. Mine came with 18cm front spring lengths which left the car riding dangerously low on the road. I enquired with Nitron and they sent me longer correct front springs. Just a thought.

Spotted by one of my managers - assumed I was part of the convoy!

Over the last week I've driven about 750 miles in the Caterham - Belgium, France and East Anglia. Weather has been anything from drizzle and cold, to sunny and warm. In all this time I had the tyre pressures at 21 PSI. Tyres are 185/70 on 13 inch rims, so high sidewalls. In East Anglia I was in the company of a group of friends with Sevens, and they were running Toyos R888s or Avon ZZSs, so I feel I have a good basis for how these tyres are working for me. Compared to the A021s, they are a good alternative. They gripped really well in the dry, and were as good as the AO21s in the wet. I suspect that my friends with the Toyos and Avons have a bit more grip in the dry, as witnessed by a spirited afternoon of following them on a drive on twisty roads through the countryside. I also noticed that the Avons and Toyos provide a wider contact patch - the tyres are 'squarer' than the Uniroyals, so this might also have an effect on grip levels. After nearly 1000 miles there is little wear, and I would be surprised if these tyres don't outlast the A021s by some margin (I used to get around 4000 -5000 miles out of a set of the AO21s). On tyre pressures 21 psi feels good with none of the squirm I first experienced. A well-regarded race engineer did tell me he thought that was too low - they have the Uniroyal as a control tyre on a number of their race series and he suggested 25 PSI. Anyway, if you are after a good touring tyre at around £50 a corner, then the Uniroyals should be worth a look.

Went out today with the pressures at 20 PSI and already a difference. I'll keep experimenting. On a positive side the grip is good, although I am comparing them to worn AO21s.

Thanks for the replies Guys - very helpful. I recognise all the symptoms above, so I will start raising the pressure.

I was running 13 inch rims and 185/70 A021s, on 18 psi. The ride height is set at 80mm under the sump. I loved this set up and have waited until the last safe moment to change the tyres from the A021s. In their place are Rain Expert 3 Uniroyals, initially at 18 psi. My problem is that after doing now about 200 miles on the new tyres I am not impressed. I can 'sense' a lot of tyre wall movement, as if the car is squirming - indeed the turn-in is much poorer. You get the feeling the car is sliding before it does grip. I know a lot of people are very happy with this tyre, so am I doing something wrong? Am I running them too soft? Otherwise it is more money on Toyo R888s instead.

Yes, they suggested 32 psi

Thanks for the comments. I haven’t tried them yet, but my previous tyres were AO21s , which I was very happy with and ran them at 18 psi which seemed the best compromise. I bought the uniroyals after all the positive reviews on here and other forums. I’ll experiment around the 20 psi mark unless told otherwise!

I’ve just fitted Uniroyal Rainexperts - 185/70 on 13 inch rims. Can anyone advise best tyre pressures for road use. Car is 1.8 K series road sport Many thanks

My brother is on the lookout for a medium/large estate car - something cheap and reliable. if you are about to part-ex or advertise anything similar let me know by blatmail and i can put you in touch. He lives on the South Coast Thank you!