SKC

Hi Mrp, This upgrade is only available on the 310R, Ti-VCT Sigma engine. The reason being is that the engine already has a lightweight "billet" flywheel and performance cams making the upgrade more financially attractive at entry level than the entry level Fixed Cam Sigma upgrades. We do offer the F155 upgrade for the earlier Fixed Cam Sigma which gives between 155 - 160bhp. We really wouldn't recommend going any higher than this on a standard flywheel. Our F175, F190 and F200 upgrades are only sold with a billet flywheels. The standard cast, heavy Ford flywheels have been known to crack. The best upgrade you can put on any Sigma engine is our ultralight flywheel and clutch. This is 5 - 6kgs lighter than the Ford flywheel and about 3 kgs lighter than the Caterham lightweight flywheel. If you've driven with a heavy flywheel before, fitting one of these, gives the impression you have loads more power, when in fact you don't. It really brings the car alive, making it more sensitive in corners, making it easier to steer with the throttle. It also makes for much faster gear changing and greatly improves throttle response. You could go for this as an initial upgrade and drive this for a year or so and then come back and have the F155 or F175 upgrade carried out at a later date. Regards SKC

HI TigerSuperSix, PM Sent, Regards SKC

Hi Dr Evil, The issue you're going to have is calibration. If you don't run the Piper cams that Caterham use, there is a good chance the calibration won't work. If you then want an open ECU for a Ti-VCT Sigma, a replacement MBE ECU is about £1300.00 + vat and then there's the time on a rolling road to calibrate it with someone who knows what they are doing. Regards SKC

Hi Dr Evil, Cam profile is a Piper / Caterham profile. Not available to buy direct from Piper, only Caterham. Think others might be using a Kent Cams profile that is similar but does that make a non Caterham 310....still a 310?? Let the masses decide. On another note, we're about to launch our throttle body upgrade for the 310 following rolling road testing this Monday. Results are 174bhp and 135Lbsft of torque. Should make for a great upgrade and one we can see as being very popular. Regards SKC

Hi Jonathan, Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately at the moment, I can't. The car is at the rolling road, fortunately just finished calibration work. Regards SKC

Hi All, Got an R500D in at the moment. These cars feature keyless ignition, just an immobiliser. Appear to be having an issue now to get the immobiliser to turn off, does anyone know if there is a battery in the immobiliser fob that may have gone flat? Failing this has anyone else experienced this and if so what's the fix please. Regards SKC.

Hi Adam, What is the reason from switching from MBE to Emerald? Does the Emerald offer more functionality? Regards SKC

Fitting none Caterham parts will mean the vehicle will not retain it's value...... It probably won't meet it's claimed performance figures either....... We offer a 225 performance upgrade that yes...does produce 225bhp and 15lbsft more torque than the claimed figure from the Caterham upgrade. It's the torque you will notice more than the bhp. Our installation features uprated rod bolts and an unlocked ECU so if you want to upgrade further in the future, your ECU can be reprogrammed. We also measure and adjust the valve clearance for the new cams so your engine will sound great on idle. All our upgrades are signed off on the rolling road ensuring there are no calibration issues and no driveability issues. We'll also give you a copy of the power and torque curves so you can keep it with your vehicle history and show it when you come to sell it. Do Caterham do this.... Regards SKC

Hi O.G. We had a customer mentioning exactly the same comments as you with a Supersport R (basically same car). We put it on the rollers with its locked Caterham ECU and produced an initial power and torque curve for a baseline. We then fitted an unlocked MBE ECU and remapped it. The object of the exercise wasn't to produce more power but to sort out the throttle lag and poor driveability but we did have an initail power figure of 174bhp from an engine (not very old) that was supposed to be producing 180bhp. The end result was a transformation in throttle response and driveability and an overall top end power gain of 14bhp, the engine now producing 188bhp. Caterham are not going to rolling road every car but fitting an unlocked ECU and re-mapping it can have some great results. Also having the unlocked ECU means if you want to upgrade in the future, you also have the ECU already. Whilst people are sold are horse power figures, it's generally great driveability and throttle response people notice. Regards SKC

Hi Bert, PM sent

Hi Graham, I PM'd you Wednesday evening. Regards SKC

Hi The weight difference between the standard Sigma and standard Duratec from Caterham is 15kgs. This is with the Duratec being fitted with a lightweight flywheel and the Sigma being fitted with a standard flywheel. Fit Caterhams lightweight flywheel to the Sigma and this will reduce the weight by about 2.5kgs. Fit our ultra light flywheel and clutch and this will reduce the weight by a further 2.5kgs, not only reducing overall engine weight but also reciprocating weight meaning a dramatic improvement in throttle response. In fact fitting one of these to a 125 Sigma makes the car a nicer car to drive than a 140 Sigma. Fit our lightweight alternator installation and this will bring the total weight difference down to a total 23kgs lighter than the Duratec. On the subject of dry sumps, we also offer our own very neat installation for the Sigma. This is a double scavenge system which is very efficient and which means a smaller capacity oil tank can be used, again saving more weight over a Duratec dry sump installation. For those interested in seeing this, please look at our Facebook page, Premier Power Race & Performance Engines. The car shown here is a 310R which is also fitted with an ultralight flywheel and clutch. Having driven alot of different Caterhams, I have to say that this as a standard spec car (no horse power increase) is a great car. It's not all about horse power, it's about the driving experience, the excitement and the throttle response, all we expect from a light weight sports car. Driving this and then driving a standard Duratec car, the Duratec just feels lazy, it doesn't have the response. I'm not adverse to Duratecs. If you want 200bhp + then that's the way to go but a 200bhp Sigma, being light weight is as good a match for a 220bhp Duratec in my opinion. 200bhp in a Caterham is a quick car, the thing owners need to think about is what are you using it for...and do you need 200bhp or 200bhp +?. Ok these are the views of someone that sells these products and upgrades for both Sigma and Duratec engines but also someone that is a proud Lotus 7 Club member, a Caterham owner and that's constantly aiming to improve the driving experience we all enjoy. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi All, Happy New Year. It's a calibration issue with the cold start map in the ECU. Caterham will run a basic calibration / map for all vehicles that are the same spec, ie Sigma Supersport. Small adjustment of the throttle pot and idle screw may improve cold start but as is often the case, if the cold start is improved, then when the engine is up to temperature, you'll sometimes find the idle speed is too fast. I'd look to get the idle speed right when the engine is hot and then see what it's like when it's cold. Regards SKC

Hi David, Been working on a couple of CSRs recently. We've actually removed the CSR dry sump system and fitted an alternative which gives more ground clearance, is much easier to monitor the oil level and is a nicer installation. Regarding your issue, I'd be temped to see if you can separate the engine from the bell housing and just replace the O rings. You should be able to pull the engine forward about an inch which will give you enough room to replace the O rings. To replace the tube, you'll need to remove the engine or the sump. Regards SKC

Red 7 with clamshell arches spotted in Gaydon heading towards Banbury. Nice day for it. Regards SKC

This afternoon (Saturday) about 4.45, just before Colchester, two spotted going London bound.

This afternoon (Saturday) about 4.45, just before Colchester, two spotted going London bound.

This afternoon (Saturday) about 4.45, just before Colchester, two spotted going London bound.

Testing on a dyno is one thing but when the car is moving through the air on the road or track, that airbox doesn't really work. The engine is having to work to pull the air in from air rushing down the outside of the bonnet. I'd rather fit the cone filter under the bonnet, yes warmer air engine not having to work so hard to get the air that it needs. SKC*byebye*

.......but the 150 should have more mid range torque than the 140 if correctly set up!! As Mr Chapman used say..."horse power sells engines....torque wins races". Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Justin, You have several options open to you but first of all let me explain the engines. Earlier Sigma powered Caterhams are powered by what we term as the "Fixed Cam" Sigma. Still a great lightweight engine that revs well and is a great engine that can be tuned. Performance levels from Caterham are 125bhp, 140bhp or 150bhp. Later Sigma powered Caterhams are powered by the Ti-VCT Sigma (Twin independent Variable Cam Timing). This engine features fully variable cam timing which is ECU controlled. These cars from Caterham are either 135bhp or 152bhp versions. The best upgrade you can put on any Sigma is one of our ultralight flywheel and clutches. It doesn't give you any horse power but it does improve throttle response and the driving experience dramatically. Just fitting one of the on a 125 Sigma makes it a nicer car to drive that a 140 Caterham upgrade. Whilst there are those out there that comment on the Caterham light weight flywheel, this is not the same as our ultralight version, this is a further 2.5kgs lighter than the lightweight Caterham option. We do offer an F155 (155bhp) upgrade for the fixed cam Sigma which along with the ultralight flywheel and clutch should give you a competitive package for L7C Sprint championship. Moving onto the Ti-VCT Sigma and potential upgrades. The 310R is probably the best car I've driven from Caterham. We have fitted an ultralight flywheel and clutch to one of these and it was a pleasure to drive. Everything a Caterham should be, responsive and exciting. This should give you 152bhp which as I understand it would fit in the "under 157bhp" class structure for the championship. However, this engine is fitted with a single throttle body. What we can offer is an upgrade on this with direct to head throttle bodies, our cams and engine management system. As I mentioned earlier this engine features Ti-VCT which is ECU controlled and we fit a better engine management system that allows us to control the cams better, giving you further improvements in low and mid range torque which is more of what you'll be looking for in competition and general road driving. Whilst we have produced one of these engines to our F155 Ti-VCT spec, this is limited to 155bhp for the L7C sprint championship. However the engine is capable of producing well over 160bhp if we allow it. Yes these upgrades aren't cheap but once you have the engine management system most of the parts carry over onto the next performance level should you wish to upgrade in the future. We are planning to develop another upgrade for 310R customers to improve low down and mid range torque and more top end power. I'm guessing this will be about 165 -170bhp. We're looking for a car at the moment to do this on. Can a "fixed cam" engine be converted to "Ti-VCT" engine? Yes but if your in the process of looking for a car, try and find the right car with the right engine in it to start with. Regarding the comments about standard Caterham spec having higher re sale values, I think you need to decide do you want to win at racing....or drive a standard car. If you want references from any of our customers please let me know and I can put you in touch or alternatively visit our workshop and sample a modified car for your self and discuss your options further. Regards SKC

Spotted going away from Bournemouth Saturday morning about 11.00am.....the beach was the other way. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Tom, Drop me an email at stuart@premierpowerengines.com and I'll send you one at some point over the weekend. Regards SKC

.....Or another option, keep you current engine and just fit one of our ultralight flywheel and clutches. Makes the engine feel more responsive that a 140 upgrade. And about half the price. Regards SKC

Hi Andy, This is exactly what we have done on our car. The car is a 2012 Supersport that we have fitted a Ti-VCT Sigma into. We can supply an installation kit (which we would prefer to install) that would allow you to run this engine in a fixed cam Sigma car. Our installation includes a Life Racing ECU which gives fantastic cam control and has built in controls to protect again engine failures (oil pressure / fuel pressure and water temp trips). We feel this is a better option than the MBE ECU. The MBE ECU used on the Ti-VCT Sigma is not the same as used on the fixed cam engines and is twice the price. As part of this job, we do have a base ECU calibration, but as with all our upgrades we would want to sign off the calibration on your car before releasing it. I'm not at work at he moment so I can't give you exact prices but if your interested, email me and I'll send you some details. Andy has mentioned our F155 upgrade but I'd be interested in pricing up this conversion as I doubt there wold be much difference in the price. I have seen the engine that is for sale. We could also do an upgrade on this in the future to put a set of our throttle bodies on it that would take it upto 160bhp +. Buying this engine and the installation kit would give you a great platform for future upgrades as you will have already purchased the expensive bit that will carry over on our other upgrades. Regards SKC