SKC

Orange 310r with no hood spotted on boxing day turning into Cawston near Rugby. Nice to see a car out being used during the winter.

Just wanted to say a big thank you to James, Roger, Simon and the club for organizing a great day yesterday at Hethel. The circuit was great as were the driving standards and I think everyone enjoyed the day. It may not be a race track but the track layout gives everyone a great opportunity to explore the limits of our great cars. Hope this makes it on the calender next year. Hope everyone had a good trip home and look forward to seeing you at Donington. SKC

Hi Simon, I'd recommend blanking off the oil cooler with tape, fit a oil to water heat exchanger and possibly a dual oil pressure / oil temperature gauge and run 10w60 oil. When on track, keep an eye on oil temperature. If oil gets above 110 degrees, remove one strip of tape. If it's still getting this hot, remove both strips. But when back on the road, cover the cooler again. We've seen these cars struggle to get much above 65 degrees oil temp on the road. The oil is not in it's operating window at this temperature and will be causing premature engine wear. All proven, all works just fine Regards SKC*byebye*

It's likely it'll still be in the sump. Same sump design as the CSR, no actual drain on the lowest part of the sump to drain the oil. So what most owners are doing is similar to you and then refilling with new oil. So basically draining about 2/3 of the oil and then refilling with fresh oil and quickly contaminating it. We've just had a 60,000 mile, 200 CSR in due to crankshaft bearing failure. This is likely to have been caused by contaminated oil over a period of time. As a result of this and other CSRs we've seen, we've written a process for carrying out an oil change on such an installation. Please see the link below. https://premierpowerengines.com/csr-oil-change-process/ Please be aware, this is a two person process. Regards SKC

Hi Doc007, A good question and one I've thought about myself. Having worked on several of these cars now and replaced the dry sump system, generally due to engine failures caused by lack of oil, I've written a process and put it on our website. https://premierpowerengines.com/csr-oil-change-process/ The issue with this oil system is that carrying out an oil change, doesn't drain all of the old oil. Because there isn't a proper drain on the sump, a quantity of oil is left in the sump. The only way to try and drain this oil, is to use the engine, to pump it back to the tank and drain it from there. But you need to ensure there is adequate lubrication to the crankshaft bearing shells to do this. Please read the process carefully and take your time doing this. This really is a two person job, one on the ignition key and the other watching the oil coming out of the drain plug at the base of the tank. Good luck. SKC.

I'm not sure this is the case. I think Caterham supplied the Sigma and Duratec cars, fitted with type 9 gearboxes, with different size fist motion shafts. I have heard from customers who have had long 1st gear ratios fitted to their type 9s in Sigma powered cars and had to run the larger bore clutch slave cylinder. We've modified a couple of bellhousing before, for these customers, but not lately. It's going to be the only way round this issue for now. At least if this customer should have an issue with the slave cylinder in the future, it will be a straight swap for the Duratec one instead of having to source something which doesn't appear to be available anymore. Thank you for your comments on this thread. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Guys, Just to update you on this, ordered one from the link above earlier today, the part number was correct on the box, the assembly inside had the smaller bore in the bearing to suit the Sigma first motion shaft, not the Duratec one. Looks like modifying the bellhousing and fitting the Duratec slave is the way to go....... Regards SKC

Morning All, Just spotted RX15 ??? heading north (just before 7.00am) on the Fosse Way between Hunningham and Princethorpe. Regards SKC

Thank you for this. I'll see if it's possible to order one of these on Monday. Will let you know how I get on. Regards SKC

Hi All, Hope you are all well and looking forward to the new "Blatting" season just round the corner. Wonder if anyone else has had experience of this and maybe able to help us. Had a 150 Sigma powered Caterham come in last week for an Ultralight Flywheel and Clutch and slave cylinder replacement. When the engine was removed, we found the gearbox had a Duratec size (spine detail and dimensions) input shaft. This is larger than the standard Sigma input shaft and hence the slave cylinder from a Sigma won't fit. Not sure exactly the specification of the gearbox, I believe the input shaft size changes if running a longer first gear. Anyway the slave cylinder fitted is made by FTE DE. The local motor factors have been great and we tried loads of different units but can't find the right one. Even ordering direct from the supplier, quoting the part number on the unit we have, doesn't give us the right part. The FTE unit is plastic like the Sigma one but the unit internal bore for the input shaft is larger. Has anyone else had experience with this? We have in the past, modified bellhousings and made an adaptor to accept the Duratec clutch slave cylinder, but I'm trying to avoid this if possible. Happy blatting. Regards SKC

We camped last year, got a good nights sleep. The cafe is open till about 9.30 - 10.00pm and the locals are very welcoming. Facilities are great, clean hot showers. Would definitely consider camping again here. Regards SKC

Hi Rich, Personally I'd leave the foam air filter on, the cold air airbox doesn't work in my eyes. Yes sticking with the foam filter means the engine is pulling warm air in, but this air is static under the bonnet. Air rushing over your car at whatever speed, isn't doing to want to turn, sharp left into your airbox. The problem gets worse here as the vehicle speed increases. On our F160 Sigma Ti-VCT upgrades, we remove the airbox on the 270s and 310s and fit our own induction kit. This comprises of a silicone hose and a much larger foam filter which includes as aluminium trumpet that helps airflow into the engine. Good luck Regards SKC

Hi Roger, If you're still looking for one of these, I have one upstairs, very low mileage and in good condition. Regards SKC

Hi All, Had another great L7C trackday at Donington Park today. This unfortunately is the last event on their calender this year. Today was the fifth L7C trackday I've entered this year. I have to say these events are extremely well run and I want to use this opportunity to say a big thank you to Simon, James and David and the team behind the scenes for organizing these events. What you have created is a fantastic opportunity for us to test our cars and our own abilities in a very safe and friendly atmosphere. The free instructors are always very helpful, offering advice and tips on how to improve our pace and driving style around the circuits. Anyone new to Caterham ownership should defiantly consider trying this next year. You won't find a more friendly and helpful group of people to enjoy your 7 with. Merry Christmas everyone and I look forward to seeing you all....and some newbies next year Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi, I saw a dark coloured Caterham, think it was black, early Friday morning, about 7.00am, heading north on the Fosse Way, towards Princethorpe. It was a bit foggy but fully respect, no hood. Then on the way home later the same day, I saw you again coming into Pricethorpe on the Fosse. Didn't recognise the car, looks fairly new 18 or 19 plate I think. If you're local to the area, drop me a PM. We could meet up for a blat with a few of the other locals. Regards SKC