ian balson Posted June 26, 2000 Share Posted June 26, 2000 Hello All, Has anyone fitted a quickshift to an HPC? If so, was it worth it, and is it reliable. I called Caterham this morning, they said that they would not recommend one as it may damage the synchros. Thanks Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Morris Posted June 27, 2000 Share Posted June 27, 2000 Try Alex Wong as he's fitted one to his HPC. However, both Alex and myself can speak for the potential weakness of the five speed box (third gear drive dogs shatter) and the engine out repair! Mine cost £1,200 without labour, don't be too quick between 2nd & 3rd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted June 27, 2000 Share Posted June 27, 2000 I have a Quaiffe quickshift fitted to my SPC 5 speed box. It hasn't caused any trouble yet and the shift is definitely improved. I don't think it causes any undue stress to the box but time will tell.... I personally am very pleased with the diference it made. Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartG Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 I've done the Dave Andrews quickshift mod, it reduces gear lever travel by 25% and costs nothing Also contact Mark at Ratrace for special gearbox oil, allows quicker changes and gives better feel to it. Edited by - stewartg on 9 Jul 2000 12:10:01 Edited by - stewartg on 9 Jul 2000 12:11:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Morris Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 Go on then, what is the Dave Andrews quick shift mod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bees Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 http://hometown.aol.com/DVAndrews/quick.htm The issues with the synchros is that the quickshift allows you to change gear quicker, thus giving the synchros a harder time - it's as simple at that. Synchros are a weak point on the type 9 box anyway. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartG Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 but a quickshift gives you less leverage to hammer the synchros with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bees Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 It's surprising how strong people can be when their teeth are gritted and the red mist is coming down... You don't need to be particularly strong to mash the synchros, it's as much to do with speed as it is strength. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted July 4, 2000 Leadership Team Share Posted July 4, 2000 I can definately recommend checking out Dave Andrews mod. I went slightly further and made up spacer plates 2.5mm thick, so I could stack any number to vary the degree of "quickness". This also took care of "sealing" the box. Oddly enough the shift is now more positive and the gears mesh easier, although the relative spring weight is definately higher. I think this is due to the accuracy of the gear stick pivot point / gearbox casing combination. Using the Dave Andrews type mod you can adjust this to give the best shift. You can't when you've spent your £100 on a commercial one. Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 Stu F, I've had a look at the site & the mod. appears to make sense. What did you form the spacers from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted July 5, 2000 Leadership Team Share Posted July 5, 2000 Chris, I used a bit of paper to trace the shape, then transferred it to some aluminium plate, cut from a box section (that's all we had lying around at work). My spacers were 2.5mm thick only because that's what I had! But it then gave me the idea that with a few stacked together I could tailor the shift to my own needs. Mine's now a "customised personallised quickshift". Gotta be worth all of the couple of quid it cost! Stu. I think any firm material would do - eg. bacolite, mdf, etc??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartG Posted July 6, 2000 Share Posted July 6, 2000 StuF, have you still got the template? Do you fancy making up a few more spacers? Proceeds to Neuk the Leuk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted July 6, 2000 Share Posted July 6, 2000 Stuart F, Sounds good to me! Did you end up with a '3' stack or what? Stewart G's idea sounds like a good fund raiser or maybe the template shape sent to 'Low Flying'. PS. Have you '1600ed' your machine yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted July 10, 2000 Leadership Team Share Posted July 10, 2000 Hi Guys, I'll look into having some made up. Still 1400 Chris, but on the Le Mans trip I had no trouble keeping up whatsoever. Oddly enough my 5 speed box came into its own for high speed cruising where the 1800 6 speeders were revving there balls off, causing some frustration after a few hours. We're from sunny up north remember - bloody good run to La Sarthe. Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted July 10, 2000 Share Posted July 10, 2000 I've heard this quite often, and believe it is a common misconception that the Caterham 6 speeder application gives rise to much higher revs when cruising. In all incidences where the 6 speeder was specified at initial purchase, the diff ratio is different to those specified with the 5 speeder which goes some way to compensate for the fact that the 6 speeder's 6th gear is a 1:1 ratio. For example, cruising at 100mph in a 5 speeder with outside diameter wheels of 22.5 inches (which I think translates to 14 inch wheels) will be at 4800rpm, whereas in a 6 speeder this will will be at 5400rpm. Granted, it is higher, but not massively so. Truth is, I worried a lot about moving from a Caterham with a 5 speeder, to my current 6 speeder SLR, but that was before I took on board the diff ratio differences. Granted, my SLR has 13 inch wheels, so it does tend towards quite high revs at high speeds, but it has the ability to rev to 7800rpm and the power to exploit that. I would guess a 1400cc K wouldn't have the power to pull max revs in top gear which is why I believe the 6 speeder box was specified with a 1:1 top. The 6 speeder was designed for the 1400 originally. In fact Brian Hill, who helped design it, believes the ratios aren't as perfect for the larger K series engines. He may be right, but they're bloody good in mine..! wink.gif There's an excellent gearing program on Dave Andrews' site. Plug in diff ratios of 3.62 for the 6 speeder and 3.92 for the 5 speeder, and you can determine your theoretical top speed, given enough power or lack of windscreen. smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 Stu F, Glad to know the 1400 SS Club of GB is still alive & kicking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted July 11, 2000 Leadership Team Share Posted July 11, 2000 Chris - Archangel eh, well..... Nigel, granted the 6 speeder would be wondferful in my 1400, particularly with the 1400s sweet ability to rev freely, and ultimately the driving situations the 7 loves would really make use of the ratios. The Le Mans trip probably showed up the only true benefit of the 5 speed, being effectively the overdrive gear, coming into its own on the motorway at 90+ mph. Not achieving 90+ (the revs not that high at 90), but sitting there hour after hour. Even with the change of diff ratio the 6 is not ideally suited to high speed cruising conditions. But lets be honest, neither is the 7 in general! The 5 speeder just makes things marginally more sane!!! I checked out the ratios available from SPC ie. the semi helical 5 speed, and these compare favourably as a better alternative. After I'd plotted the ratios on a graph (sad!) the question immediately arises why not higher ratios in general for the 6 speed, including a higher 1st & 2nd? SPCs 1st is a tall gear giving 4 more usable gears for general driving, which correct me if I'm wrong but the 6 speed really only has 4 driving gears also. Maybe its time Caterham offered a couple of different gearing options for the 6 speed, not just a diff change? Stu. Nig, BTW, mine was the BEAUTIFUL red 7 parked next to V7SLR at Indianappolis on the Friday (or is that nuttersday?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted July 11, 2000 Share Posted July 11, 2000 Gotta disagree with you on this one.... partly... The 6 speeder's 1st is already high enough to achieve somewhere around 50mph if you take it to the redline (with the 3.62:1 diff of course). Any higher and it would become a liability on the road, where you were advocating its use... I mean the bloody traffic jams on the way up from Le Mans saw me in 1st for mile after mile. I found myself having to slip the clutch or knock it out of gear often, although this was partly to do with the way the SLR idles (short bursts and not continuous) which makes off-throttle traffic jam crawling impossible... If you see what I mean... As a track-box, I too wonder whether all 6 gears are strictly necessary. Having only used V7 SLR on one track day so far I can say that 1st isn't used at all apart from pulling out of the pits... That said, it's be damn hard to that in 2nd. smile.gif All the others were used though, and to superb effect. On the less traffic-inhibited parts of the run up from Le Mans, I found myself really enjoying the fact that I could really let the engine stretch itself in 6th, and was glad that it wasn't overdriven, or even slightly longer. I think perhaps we may be approaching the requirement of a gearbox from slightly different angles. I like seeing the shift light come on, and love revving the knackers of my VHPD... but again, in my previous Caterham, a crossflow powered one, I found myself not revving it, and drove it more lazily. Perhaps different engines bring out different requirements in their drivers? The SPC gearsets for the 5 speed are great. Alex Wong has them in his and they're great. We'll find out how great on Sunday at Santa Pod (which is looking like it could turn into a serious turn-out). I remember your red 7. I may have a piccy somewhere. If I find one I'll email it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted July 12, 2000 Share Posted July 12, 2000 Well, My experience with the '6' is limited to 2nd hand knowledge but here goes.One new member has just had his 6 go bang at 28,ooo miles. Not sure if this is that relevant as it depends on previuos owner etc. But, a chance meeting in a supermarket car park (yes, any chance to go out) with a SLR owner and he complained that for the inevitable motorway runs that had to be carried out at times he definitely wanted 7 speeds ie overdrive. Was that to keep the engine revs at sane levels, noise to acceptable levels, or fuel consumption to reasonable levels? Apparently all of the above!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 Maybe it all boils down to the owner then. I personally like high revving engines and whenever I'm in the Se7en I'm in it to enjoy the journey. If I'm simply travelling, I take the other car... with an overdriven 5th. Anyway... motorways..? In a Se7en? As for the 6 speeder going bang... A few of the first off the original production run had problems, but since then they've been quite good. Mine felt notchy when it was new, but it's loosened up quite nicely now. It suffers my clumsy changes when all I seem to find is a bag of loose teeth, and it suffers tortuous standing starts with no problems so far... That said, it's only done 5500 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted July 13, 2000 Leadership Team Share Posted July 13, 2000 Motorways NIg, I love em. Brilliant concept. Fill them with tin tops & leave the A-roads to us nutters!!! You're spot on with your summary - Relativety being the answer. I'm just jealous of you 6 speeders. Now, where's SPCs telephone numb..... Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now