Mole

I have the standard Banner battery that came with the car when it was delivered almost exactly 3 years ago. It is almost always left with a battery conditioner attached when I'm not using the se7en, but I've noticed in the last month that if I leave it without the battery conditioner for more than two days there isn't enough charge left to start the engine! I have the standard immobiliser with red LED and as far as I am aware, nothing else drawing power when the ignition is off. Is this normal? I had expected the conditioner to extend the life of the battery but this doesn't seem to be the case! SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Paul - I think you should stop spending money on all those other cars you seem to have and invest in some decent Piper cams and an Emerald ECU 😬. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Yes - hadn't thought of that! The list of the advantages of having an SV just grows and grows ...... 😬 SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

It may not be quite what you are thinking of, but I have a Bernard Scouse airbox. Because this places the air filter inside the nosecone, I have constructed a "partition" that protects the filter from the air flowing through the radiator and ensures that the filter draws cold air. This has the effect of reducing inlet temperatures by about 10 - 15 degrees C. According to the temp guage this is about 5 deg above OAT but since I have positioned the temp probe in the backplate of the airbox, I suspect that the probe is being affected by radiant heat from the engine and the actual inlet air temperature is probably nearer the ambient temp. I think Tony C achieved much the same effect by fitting an air filter with an angled neck that positioned the filter out of the warm air stream from the radiator. I can send you photos of my set-up if you let me have an e-mail address to send to SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Hi Mike - I know where Wembdon is, I'm not sure I've ever been there! I'm in the Comeytrowe/Galmington area of Taunton - not a million miles away! SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Hi Mike - are you building where you work or where you live? If you're building in Somerset I have various bits of kit/advice that you might find useful - feel free to get in touch - I'm in Taunton. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

About 20 years ago I had an old MG Midget. On one journey from High Wycombe to Croydon there was a clickety-rattling every time I got over 35 miles an hour - it was particularly bad on the faster stretches of road. I couldn't work out what it was - the car had plenty of rattles but this was something new ...... It turned out to be my passenger, my (now ex) mother-in-law, using her pearl necklace as rosary beads ....... SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Go for an Origin b2 - the GPS antenna and laser detector are both separate components and can be mounted wherever gives the best reception (which probably isn't on the scuttle directly behind the heated screen!) SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

I second Tony C's comments - after chatting with him at the Millwood open day and seeing his installation, I have done the same (based on the parts list in FAQ). It is easy to do and far far better than the standard Caterham set-up. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Interesting that it seems to apply under quite "normal" driving conditions as well .... SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

I can't put it down to driving conditions or enthusiastic driving - pushing hard on a warm day (e.g. today) I get lower oil temp with optimax than driving more "sedately" in the cool of the evening with normal unleaded. I'm not aware of the engine pinking - it knocks slightly between 1500 and 2000 rpm with either type of fuel - I don't go there very often and of course it's hard to hear over 40 mph ! 😬 SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

I've noticed that on the rare occasions when I fill up with normal unleaded that the oil temperature (=engine temperature?) seems to be a few degree higher than when running on Optimax. Is there any explanation for this? SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

The toggle switch is almost certainly to switch the temp guage between oil and water temps. AFAIK the oil temp sender is most commonly fitted with an apollo tank but there are other ways of doing it. If you are getting no temp reading whichever way the toggle is switched then check the connection from the switch to the guage. If you are getting a reading with the switch one way but not the other then check the wiring to one of the temp senders. If this is the case you should be able to tell which is at fault by the speed at which the temperature climbs - water temp will reach normal operating level (~80 - 85 degs) within a mile or two, oil temperature will take 5 - 10 miles to get to the same level. Temperature sender failure seems to be a fairly common fault.

Oh dear, what a pickle - I've always ironed my own shirts - even in the days of Mrs Mole 1 and Mrs Mole 2 so I have very little sympathy 😬. IME I have yet to meet a rev limiter who knows how to iron a shirt properly SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Have a look here - you'll see exactly what you have to do here SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Zoologically speaking, blackbirds have beaks not noses 😬 SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

SV or standard? I have one for an SV that is new and unused. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

If this is mainly to stop the starter slow-cooking then IMHO it's much easier to fit a heat shield between the starter and primaries. Two things put me off wraps/coatings: a. It has to be absolutely even otherwise you can get problems with uneven temperatures in the primaries - I remember reading something quite disturbing about what can happen if you get hot spots . b. Cosmetically, it looked difficult to make a really neat job of it. Heat shields for the starter and alternator are sooo much easier 😬 SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Steve Ithink some of the coolant got to the flywheel/clutch through the gap where the crank sensor is. The leak was in the joint in the hose to the heater just above here. After plenty of blatting the problem seems to have gone away [smiley for fingers crossed?]. Thanks guys. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Having just done some routine maintenance the car has developed a slight judder when taking up drive from stationary. I can't see an obvious connection with anything I have done so does anyone have any suggestions as to a possible cause? No obvious problem once the car is on the move and the juddering seems less once everything is warmed up. Did a 20 mile blat last night and it had almost gone away but it is back again this morning . Clutch seems to engage and disengage OK apart from this. The work done: 1. Draining and refilling the cooling system (because of a slight leak in one of the heater hoses). 2. Balancing throttle bodies (involves removing the air box and disconnecting the clutch cable in the pedal box). 3. Checking and topping up gearbox oil. The car is a 1.8 K series with DVA throttle body, ECU etc upgrade. 10,000 miles. It's possible that some coolant could have got into the bellhousing from the leak, but there's no obvious sign. I haven't had chance to check the archives for the symptoms of CRB failure - I'm just hoping that this isn't the first sign (like hairs on the palm of your hands 😬). Suggestions pleeeeaaaase. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Hugh's quite right about letting the engine get up to temperature - takes at least 5 miles and probably more like 10 for the oil to warm up . SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

No Paul - don't do it 😬 SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Strange - I was thinking the same yesterday when I spotted S77MAV SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Simon - Taunton seems quite good for SVA - they've done a few Caterhams and as AFAIK don't have a long waiting list. maybe your best option is to have Caterham get it SVA'd when you take it for the PBC. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here

Simon - YHM SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here