Gavinsmithartist Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Any advise appreciated. I finally got my 7 (after many years of talking about it), June this year. A 2000 Roadsport 1.6 K series. Totally standard spec. one owner, 3k miles. The car has never been upgraded or molested in any way. Having driven and enjoyed it through the summer, I am now looking at what I should do to upgrade. Would I be better to do the wide track front end and suspension thing before doing anything to get more power? Or any other combinations of up grades in what order. Obviously, budget dictates, so it will be in stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racingshoe Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 No need to do wide track first as it doesn't deliver heaps of extra grip or anything. You'd be better off flat-flooring what you've got. Go for a 6-speed box if you haven't already got one, or if you have head over to the DVA Power website and see what power upgrade is within budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'm sure your get plenty of advice, but you've only had the car three months so do some track days and get some professional tuition and your be surprised in what you and the car can do, with experience comes confidence, with confidence comes experience ....enjoy it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I would concentrate on optimising the setup of the existing car first, and getting the driver up to speed. Any Caterham is a SERIOUS performance machine and if you are any less than an expert driver you won't be exploring its limits. It may be good to have bragging rights down at the pub with your 200 BHP monster but a 120bhp car driven well will murder 300 BHP 911s on track, so bear that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted October 9, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted October 9, 2011 Tyres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Machine Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Would support what all that is said above but as Richard says tyres can make a great difference to a car. When I first had my car it was fitted with ZV1's and the change to A021's made it into a different car ( for the better). Would suggest that on a light car such as a Caterham changing tyres has a greater impact on handling than on a heavier car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prangerman Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Performance driving lessons. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivaan Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 2nd hand Supersport ECU and a set of Verniers. Decent tyres, but fit an Apollo too. ( I damaged my 1.6K engine, when I fitted R888's, by oil starvation.) Get rid of the Foam and do Oily's sump gasket mod. Clive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted October 10, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted October 10, 2011 2nd hand Supersport ECU and a set of Verniers. You'll need either a pair of Supersport or Piper 633 cams to make use of an SS ECU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Depending on how good you are, you soon get use to the performance. If you’ve got the money, time and effort then start with the easy stuff first to the complicated engine, gearbox later. Suspension, tyres, brakes and then engine in that order. Any idiot can hurtle into a hair pin at a ton. It’s what the car does when it travels through it. I noticed a lot by ditching weight like the spare tyre, fitting an aeroscreen, tillet seat, etc it all adds up. It’s all about power to weight ratio. The lighter the car, the better it handles, accelerates and stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dignity Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Definitely Tyres I went from ZV3 to A048 and the difference was outstanding. Lots of sensible and sound advice from the chaps above but remember that you own a 7 so you don't have to be sensible dvapower.com is a great place to visit if you want more power. Upgading isn't cheap but Dave is a genuine bloke who won't tuck you up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titanium7 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 It's a slippery slope 😬 As above, tyres then the rest is directly proportional to how deep your pocket is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative skeetsy Posted October 10, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted October 10, 2011 Hi Gavin, Welcome to 7 ownership, I finally got mine last year after 21 years of hankering 😬 I have been enjoying personalising my car in the first instance (but power upgrades are looming....) like yours my seven was a standard un-molested Roadsport which I've had fun molesting I've kept a bit of an online diary of it's evolution here and by and large I think my modifications have improved the way it looks and goes. The most significant performance changes were the four branch exhaust (seemed to make it rev much better) and the Toyo R888's. But most people think the stripes were the best visual change (I had them made by a local vehicle graphics company - who also did most of the other stickers too) So far my modifications have been relatively inexpensive (something of a necessity to keep the wife happy - afterall I had just spent a small fortune on a toy and then I keep spending money on it ) Non visible changes I have made include removing the sump foam baffle and modifying the sump gasket, al la Oilyhands recommendations, and replacing the weedy horns with triple airhorns. Whatever you do, make sure it's what you fancy doing and do some research on the web - there are plenty of good blogs out there. All the best Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyb Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 What is the sump gasket mod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Pearce Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 What is the sump gasket mod? Try this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavinsmithartist Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 *smile*Thank to all, for the advice and pointers. Lots to think about. So, change the Avons and get the car set up to max as it is to start with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Best mod I ever did was fitting Nitron shocks and then taking it to Neil Garner at Kemble for a corner weighting, camber, toe etc etc. It was a totally different car driving back. Now fitting Jenvey throttle bodies with OMEX 600. I just get bored quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavinsmithartist Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 So, if I look to change the tyres, what should I look at to fit the existing 13" minilites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winthrop Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Hi Gavin, Mowerman, Prangerman and BOSS have given you advise on by far the biggest upgrade. The biggest single improvement is to learn to drive the car in its current guise to as close to its optimum as possible. Get a pro to take you round a track in your car and you'll soon see how much improvement gain is already there to be had!! 😳 Even though I am a driving god I have been shown the light on many occassions! 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dignity Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Yokohama A048 or Toyo R888 work great for me but do wear quickly and are not so good if you plan to drive in the wet. Yokohama A021 gives you more tread to start off and are designed to be better in the wet (I've not tried these yet) "The biggest single improvement is to learn to drive the car in its current guise to as close to its optimum as possible." You may have already achieved this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 The best upgrade is to make the car handle and get rid of the understeer. So really good shocks plus propper setting up. A decent set of tyres will then add to this and make the car much faster around a track. The car will also be faster in a straight line as you will be braking later and exiting corners with greater speed. Tyres alone will make the car considerably quicker but wont really change the driving characteristics. They will expose the weaknesses in the standard chasiss set up and the car may not be that rewarding to drive. The next problem will be the seat as with lots of grip you need to be held in place. After that power improvements etc etc will add to the package but get the handling sorted first. Also think about future uprades so you dont have to do things twice. Driver training all depends upon your experience etc and you are the best person to judge this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Machine Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Use my car for touring rather than track use. For normal road use the AO21's are almost as good in the wet as the ZV1's in the dry. The only good thing about the ZV1's is that they developed my skills in opp lock comming off wet/damp roundabouts! Definitly expore the tyre avanue it will transorm your driving experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted October 12, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted October 12, 2011 Don't rush into replacing the springs and dampers. Standard springs and dampers work perfectly well. I'd echo that optimising what you have can often improve handling significantly. However, If the car is a truly standard Roadsport, then it will have the weedy 10mm front antiroll bar. Simply swapping to a 5/8" red bushed ARB will transform the handling. Convension says that stiffening the front antiroll bar will increase understeer, but with the standard ARB, body roll will induce understeer due to camber change, Adding a stiffer ARB reduces body roll, and reduces understeer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavinsmithartist Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks again to all. I will add that, although I have not taken this car on a track, I have done track days with tuition in Caterhams, VX220, Race Clio. Proper timed laps, 360 spins, and not just 'drive a car for the day'. I'm not a profficient driver but I am reasonably conifdent, (yes I know, it can be dangerous!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeman Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Even though I am a driving god I have been shown the light on many occassions! 'Driving god' and 'Light' are three words that don't spring to mind when I think of you Bob. What do they say about glasshouses and stones 😬 Gavin there's all sorts of advice here, what I'd probably do if I were you is spend this winter learning as much about the car as I can and spend next year driving it and formulating an upgrade plan for the following winter. Be lucky!! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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