Quaife gearboxes.

[Davey Bee]

I'm not saying that mines been prefect, I've had a few issues. However I really do think that it is the way forward. I will be interested to see what the new Quaife box is like. If Phil is bringing a new box out then I'd be even keener to have the details of that.

 

R600 VX here

[Jason Plato]

I saw an elite box lock up the rear wheels when it selected 2 gears and very nearly throw a friends car into the barriers at 100 mph. friend later confessed that every time he drove the car and changed gear he was thinking "is it going to sieze again"

 

I couldnt have that thought in my mind every time I got in the car . I appreciate the weight benifits of an elite box but I've seen 4 or 5 instances of them going wrong and the potential downside is not worth thinking about.

 

I would have fitted one this winter if I had more confidence in the product.

 

here is C7 TOP

Taffia Area Rep

[Simon.Rogers1]

But to my knowledge non of the new boxes with the latest developments/upgrades have had a problem.

 

My box was new last March with these on and has been faultless even with the Paddle Shift which had not been done on that box b4.

 

Tony had the upgrade after Llandow and I understand he is much happier.

 

The only cables in the change mechanism are to lift the block on selecting neutral and to select reverse. It proves no problem at all.

 

My car was also the first K engined car to receive an Elite Box.

[Mickrick]

Simon. Thanks for clearing up my issue with the cable Like I've said before, I have no experience with these boxes, so I can only go on advice I can get here, and internet.

I can see now the cable isn't an issue, now you've clarified what it does.

 

Of course, when the time comes to part with some cash, there's no substitute for speaking with the people who make them. I'm not shy about making it clear I'm looking at other products, or saying "what about this problem, or that" at least it gives them a chance to explain what's been done about past issues.

 

I can also apreciate that new products will have problems, (That's why I didn't rush out and put my name down on a CSR!)

 

It's refreshing to hear of someone who hasn't had a problem, and is happy with the product

I would be interested to learn a little bit more about your paddle shift system....

Was this supplied by Elite?

 

I assume that as the Elite box is a bit shorter, a longer propshaft is needed. I guess this will cut down the weight margin between the Elite and Quaife gearbox.

 

Going slightly off thread..This leads me to carbon fibre propshafts...do these have a life expectancy??

[Simon.Rogers1]

Mick

 

The paddle shift is manufactured by PowerTec and is a separate entity. Powertec are one and the same as Radical.

 

Elite and Powertec via my introduction and my input regarding the car specifics and my prefered ideas very kindly worked together to mount the actuator. This was not a 2 min job and Elite especially were very helpful. For example my reverse selection is different to others.

 

My understanding is that the PS2 will not work with the Quaife due to the amount of force needed to engauge the gear, but check it out.

 

Yes a new prop is required but get this made locally. Diameter needs to bee the same due to clearance at the rear of the tunnel.

[EFA]

No, you can get a 2.5" dia prop in, but its very tight. This has been done on pre and post '96 chassis.

 

EFA - Ex Fat Arnie

4 Counties AO and owner of K2RUM The car of two halves with only half an engine.

[Tony Abbatiello]

EFA, just to clear a couple of things up, Dave Edmunds Elite gear box is on of the first made and did have gear change issues but Dave as moved to the new (cast case) 6 speed Elite and last I heard, he was very happy with it.

We have been running one of the early cast case 5 speed boxes and we did suffer numerous problems in many areas (fitment, gear change feel, jumping gears). The first was the lack of feel in the gear change, I made my own linkage which sorted the issue but we have also have the latest detent mods done which add a lot of feel to the change. The detent mod has also stopped the gearbox jumping gears (both going up and down the box) which was a major issue for us.

After we had the mods done we did a couple of events in the car (dual driven) and the box was perfect.

If it were my choice and I had done everything else to the car to make it quick (engine, shocks, suspension, setup, practice, weight saving) and I wanted a sequential, then I would still go for the Elite as it is a purspose designed sequential rather than a conversion but you pays your money etc!

[Mickrick]

Crikey Simon! That's nearly as much as the box!

[Simon.Rogers1]

But more than twice the fun 😬

[Alex Wong1697456877]

I had 2 problems with the Elite.

 

The first was when the input shaft came loose. The subsequent play damaged the spigot bearing in the crank and broke the splines on the two clutch plates. Elite rectified the problem and added an extra bearing to the input shaft.

 

The second was the jumping gears issue and it sounds like the detent mod is the cure for this.

 

In use, the box is very good. Much nicer than any Quaife sequential I've tried. It takes some getting used to. At first, I was a bit shift happy but after a while, I learnt to shift down in a regular rhythmical way and not just shift down for the sake of it.

 

The other failure I had was when the gearbox mount broke. This was due to me loading the car up with spares and tools, two people, and driving 5000 miles on bumpy moroccan roads. I just grounded it too many times and it finally gave. The new gearbox mount Elite made me is much more heavy duty.

 

Edited by - Alex Wong on 2 Jan 2007 12:11:16

[Mickrick]

Simon, does the PS2 system have downshift Blip? If not, what is the procedure for downshifting?

 

Tony, are you saying the Quaife box is a conversion from a normal H pattern, or type 9 box?

 

Alex, are you going back to a H pattern box becuase you find the sequential not suitable for road use?

 

My car will only be used on the road, Is it really worth the extra expense, and gadgetry on a road car.

I do think a sequential box would be heaps of fun (being an ex biker 😬)

 

Finally, and realisticly, what sort of milage/time intervals I can expect out of one of these, before I have to take it out and put my hand in my pocket?

[Alex Wong1697456877]

It's fine for road use. A bit noisy and clunky, but not a real problem. My main reason for going back is that I enjoy endurance rallys and for those, I really need something as bullet proof as possible. The Elite hasn't given me any major problems and on the track, it is brilliant. For road use, it's still good fun, But after 6000 miles in 10 days, daft as it sounds, I get wrist ache from the repeated pulling on the lever and the noise gets tiring. At the end of the day, there's only a handful of 7's with it in and I doubt anybody has put more miles on it than I have. What I want is a Quaife H pattern dog box - been around for years, pretty well bomb proof and very tried and tested.

 

I will seriously miss the Sequential though. When you're chasing someone on a track, it's just so intuitive to use and frees your mind to concentrate on other aspects of driving.

[Tony Abbatiello]

From memory the quaife is a conversion from a H pattern. I may be wrong but I think they changed the tail on the box so it houses a barrel and lever mechanism.

The Sequential is a lot of fun on the road but I can imaging that it would get tiring after a while. Our car is almost exclusively used for sprinting and I find its benefit really shows when changing down as its easier and more intuative.

[Simon.Rogers1]

Down shift is stand on the brakes and wait until the very last minute and then 75% use of clutch and pull the trigger up to 5 times in a row! 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬

 

In normal circumstances just punch the clutch and paddle at the same time. No horrible lock ups etc.

 

Yes I should heal and toe. But I don't and it aint no bother.

[captain chaos]

For those of you with the Quaife seq boxes...after what sort of time/use period have you put the box back into quaife(or Poss R&R) for servicing, what was needed and what did it cost?

 

Thanks

Gary

[Mike Biddle]

My first Quaife unit was in the car for 5 years and was still no probs when it was removed.

 

It did go back to Quaife for a look see and a free mod that they have offered on the early boxes, and to have the input shaft changed to suit the RST. There were no repairs required apart from the mod so I would say they are pretty tough.

 

It will be going back into the car soon, replacing the current helical version since I prefer the straight cut gears, and noise not being an issue that bothers me.

 

The helical unit will probably be up for sale at that point.

[Lennie]

Not sure if I should post this but as Mike Quaife now pays my wages I feel I should remind you that if you do want any information you can ring me at work at Quaife. 0173274144 Also if you look at the web site there are lots of technical drawings that might help any one unsure on how things work. This is not meant as an advert by I must say that despite only working there for a month I am very impressed with my new company there are some very clever guys there. The way the reverse box for bike engine cars work is just genius.

[captain chaos]

Good to hear from you Len.

 

I've spoken to Mick in the past who has always been very helpfull. It sounds like these boxes are very reliable, so I might just leave it in for the rest of the year. I've had it in the car for nearly 3 years, It's only done about 3k in that time with about 5 track days.

 

Gary

[metal mickey]

The way the reverse box for bike engine cars work is just genius.

Couldn't agree more Len - mine works very well. Shame the crappy oil breathers fitted as standard than spews oil out isn't hewn from the same genius 😔and the reply I got when I phone quaife - oh err yes, we can sell you one that doesn't do that

Actually no you won't - i'll make one that works ❗

 

[captain chaos]

MM,

Is the oil breather you refer to just an orange screw in cap arrangement?

[metal mickey]

Yep, little orange cap.

[c7kjt]

Hi Len , you wouldn't happen to know about the progress of a couple of Type 2 S/C 'boxes being built at the moment, there's a couple of x/flow engined cars eagerly waiting for their next upgrade 😬 😬

 

Kevin Thomas

The 7 Gallery... with added BBCi

The home of LIMEY

 

 

Edited by - c7kjt on 23 Apr 2007 22:06:23

[martinwhitcher]

blimey Kevin, a couple of straight cut boxes now , will we be seeing you on track soon

 

Martin

 

MW 51 CAT

Superlight No.171

now known as:Superlight DVA 250

[Casbar]

Yeh right

[cskip]

Rob ... I that cos' you can't keep up....... ........

 

Skip.

 

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