The Pikey Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 During a conversation about the general handling of my 7 with one of the Caterham guys on the stand at Autosport, I was told that my green front ARB is not the preferred one. This surprised me a little as it was supplied with a superlight spec car. Which one is the best one to get bearing in mind I want to do the odd track day and plenty of road use should the weather let me. Thanks Jason It clunks, it rattles and the wife hates it, but I love my BEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricky dicky Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 My Blade ran with the orange version- much thinner than the green one which seems to work best on a track biased K series. REgards Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie_Hki Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Green does seem a trifle hard for a BEC... TBH I've always thought of the orange one as being a bit too thin to be effective, but that's the opinion of someone with a lardy VX engine. FWIW, I would take a guess that the most common type in everyday (road) use would be the red one. IIRC the green is 18mm thick (= ~7/10), the Orange can come in two flavours 3/8 or 1/2 inch and the red is 5/8. If you were looking to change the Freestyle adjustable may be the way to go, but I am not sure where the full soft setting sits with regard to the relative stiffness compared with the above - they (Freestyle) should know. Vinnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Jason, I seem to recall your car is light, but not stupidly light. My guess would be orange or maybe blue. My own patheticly (for a car engined car)light K-series is understeering with a soft bar at the hardest setting at the rear and a red on the front. /regin There is never enough time to do it properly, but there is always time to do it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 i Pretty much run my front freestyle adjustable towards the soft end in my busa, admittedly this is mainly for hillclimbs & sprints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted January 22, 2009 Area Representative Share Posted January 22, 2009 Jason, what springs and dampers are you running? For a largely road based car, softish springs and softish ARB's will give a more compliant ride. If the car is set too stiffly, traction and braking will suffer, and its likely to want to launch you through hedges when you hit any bumps in country roads. Cars that handle well on a smooth track are often quite a hand full on country lanes! On the other hand, a car that is set up for hillclimbing is more likely to work well on the road. First look at spring rates, then consider what ARB's to run, but keep it softer for the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Richard I have Nitrons but I can't remember what springs I have but I know they are soft ones as its a BEC. Although it has not happend yet, you are right about hitting bumps in the road a getting launched through a hedge. So just to collate the suggestions given so far: Orange Free Style Blue Red What are you guys trying to do to me? I'm more confused than ever Jason It clunks, it rattles and the wife hates it, but I love my BEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Jason ISTR I am running 200 fronts and 130 rears in my busa with Nitrons , which seem to work well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 I've just ordered a Free Style ARB. Surly I can't go wrong? Jason It clunks, it rattles and the wife hates it, but I love my BEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted January 22, 2009 Area Representative Share Posted January 22, 2009 I've just ordered a Free Style ARB Are you using a rear ARB? If so, I'd take it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 ...or alternatively, just remove one drop link on the rear ARB, much quicker and easily refitted. Just remember to refit it for the MOT test Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Sorry to be thick here but whats the benefit of taking the rear ARB off and if the are no good then why does caterham supply them? thanks jason It clunks, it rattles and the wife hates it, but I love my BEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchHare2008 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Front and rear bars work in combination. Generally the stiffer the ARB, the more that end will slide. Hence a stiff front end will tend to promote understeer. This can be reduced by stiffening up the rear or softening the front. In general most people prefer a softer ride setting and it is generally quicker on track for most people. In the wet you need to keep the settings as soft as possible all round. Ideally run no ARBs at all in the wet. A generally acceptable "set and forget" combo might be a "medium" red bar on the front and softest (rearmost) setting on the rear ARB. Alternatively an orange front and no rear bar (i.e. remove one side on the rear and leave loose). You can buy extra ball joints to fix permanently on all four holes of the rear bar (8 in total, 4 per side). Once these are fitted you just flick the rear link off and clip onto your new setting. You don't even need to bother with the circlip as it won't come off and it takes literally 10 seconds to change the setting. Perfect for playing on track days. If you want the back end to move about a bit more just stiffen the back up a bit (i.e. move the drop links forward on the rear ARB). Good fun but probably slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 March Hare very good response, thanks very much. Jason It clunks, it rattles and the wife hates it, but I love my BEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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