SteveP

Going purely on the temperature gauge in my R300, the fan kicks in at around 83-84C I'd say and clicks off again when the reading is a fraction under 80 - even in the hottest weather, it remains constant at a fraction over 80C Like I say, only going by the gauge, but it's never hit 90C or even come close SteveP

My 6 x 13 Minators are definitely ET23 offset SteveP

Forgot to add, Think can also supply the 5/16" to 1/2" connector if you want to go that route instead. Dunno what Burton were on about, I've got one and again, not expensive SteveP Edited by - SteveP on 14 Jul 2003 09:35:00

Talk to Think Automotive as they can supply the 5/16" connector you need that will replace the standard 1/2" one. They are not much money. You might also want to consider getting a 1/2" blanking plug for the other inlet and let the breathable cap do it's job, or get a sealed cap, and run another hose from the second inlet to under the car somewhere. Breathable cap works, but has a habit of depositing small amounts of oil outside of the tank under normal use, in my experience Think are on 020 8568 1172 SteveP Edited by - SteveP on 14 Jul 2003 09:33:40

Marc, Sure are - see here: http://www.bridgestone-eu.com/upload/album/AP_207.pdf SteveP

Yep, that's what I thought when I bought the 185/60 13" RE720's (on Minators), but I just don't like them much - sidewall is too squashy and the car 'squirms' underneath you when pressing on, and I have tried a variety of tyre pressures to try and combat this. I've done over 2000 miles on them now and performance hasn't really improved, people say that they should be shaved down and they are probably right - I'd do that to the 15" versions. Car seems better on the lower profile rubber, ok it's sticky CR500 rubber, but it's the sidewall deflection (or lack of it) that makes the car 'feel' more secure. SteveP

Is anyone out there running these at 195 / 45 profile on R300 rims, and do they fit underneath 13" wingstays as fitted to the R300? I'm toying with the idea of ditching my 13" rims (also running RE720's) and moving to 15" in the same profile as the supplied CR500s, which are fantastic, but I need list 1A for sprints. Clearly I don't want to sell my wheels and cough up for new ones if they wont fit. I only ask, since the CR500's are a very close fit and the RE720's will be a slightly different shape Thanks SteveP

As it says in the title SteveP

Don't worry about it Gareth - it will be fine, mine is exactly the same. SteveP

I'm going. My very first trackday ever let alone in my R300 - start to get that nervous-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach kind of feeling everytime I think about it SteveP

Just take the bonnet off and wash it separately from the car. SteveP

My old xflow did this. It was finally fixed by taking the exhaust off completely and linishing the primaries so that they were completely flat to the head. It was all reassembled without gasket and just a smear of Hermatite exhaust paste on each primary. Work was done by Sebah in Fiskerton (near Nottingham) but I'm sure that there are several places who can do this for you. Never blew again. SteveP

My R300 has recently developed an unnerving brake vibration, presumably on the fronts, when you gently apply the brake leading to steering wheel wobble. This sensation disappears if you brake harder. In my experience on other cars, this has usually meant warped disks, but can't believe that after just 1600 road miles and two sprints, the disks are shot - AP big brake setup should be able to withstand that. Anything I can easily check to verify this? Or is there something else that might be wrong / caused this. Thanks SteveP

Just to add my experience in here. Not a hijack, just related. I have a dry sumped R300 and following advice on here made up a dipstick from ally bar and put marks on it at 9.5, 10 and 10.5 inches from the bottom. Measuring cold, the level is normally around the 10" mark but when hot is more like 12 - 14" up the bar. Nothing gets pumped to the catch tank, although I do get a fair bit of vapour and a trace of oil on the outside of the tank (it's the Mocal tank with breathable cap and one input sealed up) I presume all Caterham dry sump setups are the same, so why the huge discrepancy here in other people's oil levels? Not tried measuring the oil level using the Caterham supplied 'dipstick' at all as I can't see the oil on the brown end of the stick as it's still relatively clean. SteveP

Presumably a noise considerably different to and not to be confused with the lay shaft gears rattling about when the clutch is dis-engaged? I find this noise rather disconcerting even though I know about it, it has been there since new and the car has only 1300 miles on the clock SteveP

Darren, I'm sure that you've checked it all over a thousand times, but are the connectors into the ECU / MFU all seated properly and tight and free from any water ingress? No experience to back these thoughts up, but might be worth a look. Sorry to hear that you are still having issues as normally these cars are an absolute joy and very flexible in their driving characteristics. FWIW, my Lambda sensor is just before the cat. My car will bunny hop in any of the first 3 gears too at anything up to 40mph, but it is caused simply by rough roads and my foot bouncing up and down on the trigger like throttle and not an engine issue - 993RS, does yours bunny hop when cruising at reasonable speed or when giving it some welly? SteveP

FWIW, I kept it below 4000 for the first 500 miles (and service), then upto 5 - 5.5K for the next 2 -300 miles. I then progessively went higher and higher up the revs and having now completed just over 1300 miles now, have finally used all the revs. Not that I'm saying any of this is correct, but I like to at least give the engine a fighting chance at the start of it's life Soft cut limiter kicks in very soon after all the shift lights start flashing in case anyone is interested! SteveP Edited by - SteveP on 2 May 2003 11:17:54

Probably an idiotic question, but I'm new to dry sumps (it's on an R300 so standard in-bellhousing dry sump setup) and having come from a wet sump xflow I'm used to seeing a drain plug of some description. I've had a look around and can't see an obvious drain plug - there is a blue plate under the dry sump tank but that seems quite well sealed up with silicone or something. What am I missing and what's the accepted procedure for such oil changes. Does the new oil filter need priming with oil for example? You can probably tell I'm quite nervous about messing around with my new car, but as it will go on track this year, I need to know how to do an oil change. Thanks SteveP Edited by - SteveP on 29 Apr 2003 11:36:36

Darren, After reading your first post, I tried this experiment in my R300 - stuck it in 6th running at 2000 revs and pressed the loud pedal - car pulled smoothly right through the revs, no hesitation, misfire or anything. Not astonishing performance but smooth nonetheless. As others have suggested maybe it's just a simple case of balancing (but have no idea what this involves, how to go about it, etc) but suggest you just ask Caterham to check it over - it is under warranty after all. SteveP

Just to throw some balance in here. I have an R300, completely standard including the catalyst still in place and have none of the issues you describe. OK, it does start to really fly above 4k revs but you would expect that, but it also pulls fine from around 2k as far as I can tell. It's certainly happy crawling through 30 zones in 3rd for example. As for planting it, no hestitation whatsoever and you just zip forward. Suggest that you get it checked over SteveP

Rupe, I ran my RE720's at 18psi for the road and they felt quite squishy when pushing on. Recently upped that to 19psi (yes, just a single point) and they appear better - still don't inspire much confidence though, but hoping they get better as they get scrubbed in (600 miles on them so far) SteveP

Darren, Why not just run on the standard R300 15" CR500's? They should be up to the job. That's what I intend to do at Oulton Park (assuming I've got in that is) SteveP

The owner's manual (on a 2003 car) suggests that the jacking point for the front if you are just wanting to change tyres is under the lower wishbone, about half way acrosss. This has the effect of just compressing the spring and damper and gives enough clearance to get the wheel off. SteveP

Errrm, that's a bit worrying for all us new(ish) owners isn't it? SteveP

Going by the MSA Blue Book, it specifies a maximum of 108DB at 2/3 max revs measured at 0.5m - I would assume that we would be tested to that requirement at any sprint / hillclimb meeting. SteveP