Tim Smith

Spotted a very tidy looking blue one (SV?) on the A20 outside Brands at about 16.30 today.

Nice to see a reassuringly relaxed view on car washing!

Ah, the lurkers are revealed!

Green 21 at the VSCC Goodwood sprint in the car park. Also spotted 3 more Sevens lurking in the paddock. First time I've been, seemed like a fine low key event.

Spotted at about 6.30, heading down A329 towards Twin Bridges roundabout.

Green and ali at about 7.15 this morning. Beautiful morning for it, not sure about the joy of driving a 7 in that traffic though?

Mine aren't too bad, there's no rattling of the primaries in the collector, they just aren't gas tight. I'm concerned that if I get an expander I won't be able to get the collector on again as it's a bit of a struggle to get all 4 lined up at once.

I have a leak from the exhaust where the primaries go into the 4 - 1. Gas is leaking around the edges of the primaries as this is just an interference fit. This creates noise, currently I'm at 101dB and want to get below 100dB if possible, but more significantly appears to be causing a misfire as well as the usual pops and bangs I've had several goes at sealing it without luck so far. After reading that high temperature silicone was the way forward I bought some high temperature instant gasket stuff but this doesn't seem to work for long. Anyone got any bright ideas? Is there a better type of silicone I could try? Is there a secret to getting the stuff to stay in the small gap between the collector and the primaries? Any advice or cunning plans much appreciated.

This afternoon at about 5.30 on the M25. Cross flow powered? Sounded good anyway. Tim

Red with white stripes and aeroscreen, I was in the silver one going the other way. I guess you were enjoying the sunshine too!

Only just spotted this, BM sent. You can never have too much Lego! Tim

BTTT - surely someone is thinking of going dry sumped? It's from the Pace system originally fitted to k series R500. £200?? Tim

K Series Gold Dry Sump Pump - £250 It's off the car and having inspected it as much as possible without dismantling looks in good condition with no wear to the rotor tips. Blatmail me for more info/pictures. Tim

Glad you had fun, I'd had enough by Chertsey too and went over Chobham Common to Bracknell and home in Wokingham.

Blue on a trailer towed by an X5 and yellow on aero screens. Both stuck in the carp traffic between junction 9 and 12. I assume you were both on your way back from Brands, hope it wasn't a total wash out.

Spotted this afternoon I think you went off down the M3. Looked excellent in that green with the white? stripes. Forgot to say I was in the silver grey 7 that passed you. Edited by - Tim Smith on 11 Aug 2013 19:31:01

Warren - I put a wanted ad up earlier in the week for an R500 and along came your for sale - You have Blatmail! Tim

I've sold my Supersport R and now have the cash for a K Series R500. Anyone selling or know anyone who might be selling in the near future? I've looked at a couple but they haven't quite been what I'm after. Any thoughts on where to source a good one much appreciated too. Tim

BTTT

Mark, YHBM back. Tim

Price reduced! Someone must want to buy my car? It's only done 16k since having a new engine and it's essentially R300 specification but a lot cheaper. I've decided it's time to do something silly and buy an R500 so the current Seven has to go. It started life as a 1.6 Supersport and has evolved over the 10 years I've had it: Titanium Silver with black pack and FIA rollbar, 28860 miles, purchased in August 2002 from Caterham. Factory Conversion to Supersport R spec 1.8 (160hp) Dec 05 (12,651 miles) Caterham roller barrel throttle bodies Limited Slip Differential 6 speed gearbox Apollo oil/air separator system Lightweight flywheel Alcon big brake kit (by James Whiting) Wide track suspension Black Pack Clear indicators Black 5 ¾“ headlights 13” Minilites with CR500 tyres Q/R steering wheel Starter button Full weather gear Carbon Aeroscreen and mirrors Harnesses Leather S Type seats Spare exhaust with cat for MOTs Full Service history by Factory/James Whiting Last Serviced Oct 2012 including cam belt change Taxed until March 2014 MOT until March 2014 £13,500 Edited by - Tim Smith on 22 Apr 2013 21:13:38 Edited by - Tim Smith on 22 Apr 2013 21:32:41

Thanks again for your comments, my 10k between rebuilds was really just for budgeting, if I do 2k a year then 5 years between rebuilds seems entirely reasonable. Looking at the Reverie website it appears that the air box is fed by hoses from a scoop on the side of the nose cone. Is this the same as the under nose intake referred to? Are we saying that the hose and scoop can be dispensed with and not suffer power loss? Could someone send me a few pictures of their Reverie/Caterham airbox setup?

A10ROX and Slipperman - Thanks for your comments most useful, it sounds as thought the great R400 vs R500 dilemma has been had before. I was thinking of rebuilds every 10,000 miles based on doing about 2k/yr including 2-3 trackdays which seems to tie up with your thinking. Any thoughts on specific airboxes that work well at noise reduction? I had a cheap one on the Supersport R which reduced noise slightly but cracked and fell apart. I've heard that the Caterham carbon one reduces power as it draws hot air? Is the Reverie carbon one worth it? I definitely won't go down the route of rear exhaust as I think it ruins the look of the car, I think something like a Raceco silencer should be ok.

Mark, thanks for that, I suspect the standard silencer on the R500 is the same as the R400 so it isn't going to be much good for trackdays. Will need to budget for a Raceco or similar. Does anyone know if the R500 induction noise is worse, different cam timing from R400? Is a carbon induction system necessary? I have looked for a K series R400 but there don't seem to be very many for sale, strangely there are far more R500s. I think it may come down to what's available when I've sold my car but I still rather fancy the idea of an R500 ❗ I already have a suitable MOT station so emissions shouldn't be a problem.

I did think about it and costed it up but when I looked at the engine cost, a dry sump, ecu, rolling road session and possibly diff change it didn't seem worth it. I am open to the idea of a non factory car with similar power though and have been looking out for something suitable, it's just that R500s seem very good value at the moment.