SKC

Hi Garth, Sounds like either the wires to the crank sensor have got damaged or an earth has been left off. If the ECU doesn't see a crank signal then the ECU won't know when to spark or fuel. If there is a rubber boot on the back of the connector, pull it back with a small screw driver and check the condition of the wires going into the rear of the plug. Also look in the opposite side of the plug and make sure you can see metal contacts right near the edge of the plastic plug. Alternator only runs one pin not two in that connector. Put some grease on the pin in the alternator to try and reduce any further corrosion. This won't stop the engine starting. Good luck. Regards SKC

Hi All, We rebuilt an R500D engine a couple of years ago that swallowed one of the air intake trumpet screws.The cylinder head was salvaged and we did do some work on this. The engine was fitted with the Caterham trackday airbox and a cone airfilter. I have no idea what the noise levels were with this but the car gave 259bhp and 175ftlbs of torque which I believe is good for an R500D, especially with one of these airboxes. I would expect the airbox to give a bit of a reduction in performance as it's drawing warm air in from above the bellhousing and gearbox. Also if feeds air from the cylinder four end of the box which means cylinder one my be starved a bit of air but if it gets you through a noise test then this is a solution. If any of you are concerned about reduced performance with fitting the airbox, back to back them on a good rolling road first, you might be surprised to fine what you haven't got to start with. Regards SKC

Hi Jig, I think you'll find the engine was fitted in the C-Max. Regarding ordering belts, the code is on the belt. Any motor factors should be able to reference this. Regards SKC

Hi All, Just wanted to say a big thanks to the team for organizing a great day yesterday at Silverstone. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as me. Excellent driving standards as well. Shame more members don't take part in these kind of events, I'm sure they would enjoy it. Does anyone have the contact details for the photographer yesterday taking pictures during the event? Forgot to go and see him afterwards. Regards SKC

Hi O.G. I've driven two Supersport Rs with exactly the same symptoms. The first one we converted to our F225 spec (225 bhp / 170lbs ft of torque), the second one, we fitted a new programmable MBE ECU and remapped it. This transformed the throttle response and overall drivability of the car. Power also went from 174 bhp upto 188 bhp. Customer very happy with the result. We've also now got an ultralight flywheel and clutch option for the Duratecs which should help promote throttle response even more. Regards SKC

Hi, There's lightweight flywheels and then there's our ultralight flywheel and clutch....a further 2.5kgs lighter than the lightweight. Even just putting one of these on a 125 Sigma gives a nicer driving experience that 140 Sigma. As an upgrade on a 125 as well, it's under half the price of the 140 upgrade as well!! And should you decide to go this route, someone will be interested in your lightweight one. Whatever throttle bodies you decide to fit, it won't just be the throttle bodies you need. Injectors, air filter, programmable ECU and bear in mind the ECU alone for the Ti-VCT (MBE) to run the VCT is going to cost you about £1500.00. Then a session on the rollers to map it and this will take longer than a normal fixed cam Sigma to map....it all starts to mount up. I bet, buying a second hand set of throttle bodies, a new ECU and rolling road session, you won't get much change out of £4000.00 Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi K7 VCT, Yes this can be done and we offer upgrades using these. Drop me an email and I'll send you over a brochure. There are better value upgrades than going the throttle body route. It's not all about bhp but more about improving drivability and the driving experience. Come and have a run out in our F200 Ti-VCT Caterham and see what's possible (weather permitting). Regards SKC.

Is the engine running hydraulic cam followers? To measure this accurately you need to run virtually zero valve clearance if running hydraulic followers, or have your valve clearance set if running solid followers. Alternatively you could remove the cam follower and valve spring and just put a small or O ring round the valve stem or use the stem seal. How much have you removed from the block face? Basically with a degree wheel mounted on the crankshaft and a TDC mark accurately set, leave the cam belt off for now. Starting at 12 degrees BTDC turn the crank in 1 degree increments, measuring the valve drop (light valve contact with the piston). Write these down in a column. Then measure the valve lifts, starting at 12 degrees BTDC, up to TDC for the exhaust valve and then from TDC round to 12 degrees ATDC. If you record these values in a column next to the drops, you then take the lifts away from the drops at the same crank angles. This then give you the clearances for piston to valve. The closest clearance is the smallest number. It's worth taking a bit of time to do this right, getting it wrong can be quite expensive, not that I have of course. Regards SKC

Morning All, Anyone out there reading this with a Sigma 140 Supersport, would you mind having a quick look at your fuel injectors for me please. If you look at the body of the injectors, they have a coloured plastic band round them, it's either blue of green. 125 Sigmas tend to have the green ones, 150s have a blue. I thiught the 140 also had the blue. Please can someone confirm. Engoy the weekend*byebye* Regards SKC

Hi Chris, Very interesting comments regarding your 360R...which is basically a Super Sport R spec engine. We will very shortly be offering a new upgrade for these cars following testing on the rolling road last week. The results on the car we tested saw peak horsepower increased by some 14 bhp, with a massive increase in throttle response, low end torque and all round driveability. Our entry level 2.0 Duratec upgrade was our F225 upgrade which features 170ftlbs of torque and 225 bhp, but this new entry level upgrade will really transform what you currently have. If the F225 upgrade is something you might be interested in, in the future, this new entry level upgrade features parts that can be credited off the price of the F225 upgrade at that time. The customer we've done this for hasn't stopped raving about it all week. Please drop me an email if you would like further details. Regards SKC

Seen in Bishops Itchingdon near Gaydon late Sunday afternoon.....bet I know where you had been.....with me and the rest of them. :-)

Hi Dave, Thanks for the great pictures once again. You could do your own end of year calendar with your album. Guys tell me...where can you take part in such friendly trackdays who have their own personal photographer? Can't recommend Lotus7club trackdays enough. Anyone thinking about it......do it!!! You won't be disappointed. Regards SKC*byebye*

I'll second that What a great day and a great atmosphere. Can't thank the team for all their hard work organizing these days. It's very much appreciated. These have to be the best track days I've been on with safety and everyone enjoying themselves the main objective of the day. Also like to mention the very high driving standards again yesterday. I think the group structures worked really well and the idea of the lunchtime briefing was great. I think sticking with the 20 minute sessions in the afternoon for a couple of hours was the right thing to do. Anymore than 20 minutes in an hour is too much....we're not doing Le Mans.....yet!!!.....but that could be an idea.... Look forward to seeing you all again soon. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Does anyone know the pin outs from the three chassis connectors to the engine harness connectors? Not sure if it's in the manual but I don't have mine to hand. Be very grateful if someone could either post them on here or email me. Regards SKC.

We've converted several of these tanks by putting a sight tube on the rear of the tank that allows you to see the level without the need to remove the nose or the filler cap. What's really interesting is the difference in oil level between hot and cold oil. With the engine idling, there can be as much a 1.5" to 2" in the oil level. We should hopefully have one of these converted cars on display on our stand at Donington at the 60th. Please come and have a look. Regards SKC*byebye*

Above, seen travelling south. Nice day for it. SKC*byebye*

Two tickets to see Guns N' Roses this Saturday at London Stadium. Tickets are for seats. Tickets currently in Coventry / Banbury area. If interested please email me and we can make arrangements for collection / payment. Regards SKC*byebye*

Very nice looking car in great shade of blue, heading north, just past Shell petrol station roundabout near Southam. Hood down, spitting with rain.....respect!! SKC

Hi Spotted what looked like Caterham chassis on a trailer heading southbound on M40, just north of Warwick services. Passed you in mine. Hope you soon get it built......sun's out!! Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi DRH, On the later ones, yes but this is an early one. No bleed nipple. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi John, Thanks for this, I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Jonathan, Thanks for this. Looks like it may be an autobleed system. Think I'll refit and engine and try the clutch first before I connect up anything else. Just seems a bit strange that the later assemblies have a bleed facility....the early ones don't. If anyone else has any experience of this, please let me know. Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi All, Removed a Sigma engine from a Caterham yesterday to find an unusual looking clutch release bearing assembly. On all the ones I've seen before, you have the feed pipe from the master cylinder entering the top of the bell housing and then the bleed with the half turn bleed tap exiting the top of the bell housing, next to this. The one I saw yesterday doesn't have a bleed. I've had to replace the master cylinder so how do i now bleed the system to remove the air? Anyone seen one of these before? Any help gratefully received Regards SKC*byebye*

*rofl*After reading this, this morning I remember that police car going very slowly round the roundabout, looking at me. Having read this I didn't know if that was you.....and yes I did back off for obvious reasons :-))) Regards SKC*byebye*

Hi Mossy7 My first spot is five years!!! Thank you*clap* Nearly 300 miles yesterday, Norfolk and back. Took over four hours to get home last night, the "shunt monkey's" were out!! Two on the A14 near Cambridge and then another on the M1 at Northampton. Decided to go and have some fun on the roundabouts at Milton Keynes.....much better!! Regards SKC*byebye*