6 Speed Box

[murph7355]

On the one hand I agree with you (strongly) that when paying a premium for a "premium" product you should be able to expect to cap your costs in this respect...

 

On the other hand, by being part of an "exclusive club" I think we implicitly accept that we're going to be open to situations like this from time to time.

 

It'd be really nice if Caterham developed a recall policy etc. etc. but one way or another this would drive costs up (either by spending more on design and testing so problems don't happen or in replacing broken bits afterwards).

 

It'd also be worth comparing the fix costs of our beloved motors against those of more mundane cars. I'm fairly certain most things mechanical on a 7 are much cheaper to fix than on, say, a Nissan (OK so I'm casually ignoring that Nissan would possibly have had a recall etc., and that I'm not comparing apples with apples).

 

And as PC noted, I'm not sure the alternative boxes available would necessarily be any better. Production numbers and annual mileages are typically so low (anyone know how many 6spd boxes are in use? Can't be any more than 5k and I'd guess at much less) that problems don't come out of the woodwork for ages...though I would expect all new boxes to have the upgraded bits from the off and anyone who's still in warranty to be able to get it sorted out gratis.

 

Incidentally, whilst I stand by not having had problems with mine to date, it did have the nosepiece changed recently for one with a steel insert. Allegedly the old ones weren't strong enough (the old one looked a bit worn) - cost me about 35 quid +VAT :)

 

C7 AJM

[Anthony Micallef]

Hurdsey, i very much doubt that your ZX is faster than mine. Mine is the top of the rang 2.0i 16v, 155bhp,0-60 in 7.5 and a top end of 137mph.I do however have no doubt whatsoever that your W*******d is faster than my Caterham simply for the fact that i dont own one.You might want to try www.wscc.co.uk as this site might be of more relevance.

[Paul Ranson]

Double-declutching is a necessary techinque with the (very) old style gearboxes that actually moved cogs into and out of mesh (and were therefore necessarily 'straight cut'!), or with the not quite so old but cheapskate gearboxes fitted to Minis, Midgets and Triumph Heralds where first gear was a sliding cog.

 

But synchromesh is there for a purpose, why not use it?

 

With gearboxes which have no synchromesh nobody ever double declutches.... And with a sequential double-declutching is impossible.

 

(The idea of treating a Caterham like the vintage car it isn't tickles the irony gland!)

 

Paul

[Hurdsey]

Anthony

 

bet you dont get 50 mpg though!smile.gif

 

Q63 GBA

[Anthony Micallef]

Hurdsey, I certainly dont get 50mpg. Nor have i ever seen the quoted best of 46mpg.I have no idea how that figure was obtained!Running costs are quite high and for this reason the car is now going to be sold asap.

[Fast Westie]

CMS239

You don't really want to know how many bugs Micro$oft ships. In Windows 2000 Pro there were 60,000 [:o(]

 

Fullharness/Paul

Few people actually double-declutch, but quite a few heel and toe to increse engine revs when changing down while braking (save locking the rears)

 

 

[Paul Ranson]

Few people actually double-declutch, but quite a few heel and toe to increse engine revs when changing down while braking (save locking the rears)

 

Which has nothing to do with saving the synchromesh (for what?) or reducing dog wear....

 

I do wonder how many happy blippers are simultaneously braking optimally.

 

Paul

 

Edited by - Paul Ranson on 11 Jan 2001 10:31:35

[ISmall]

I have the same issue with 3rd. DDC is the only answer really. Each car will have it's own idiosyncracies I suppose, but 3rd does require special care in my 6-speed. A bit of finesse required!

[TorAtle]

> I do wonder how many happy blippers are simultaneously

> braking optimally

 

I've been thinking about this too, because I find it very hard. Would it be possible to foul the ECU to open the IACV a bit maybe? Could be operated by a button on the gearknob.

[Paul Ranson]

Would it be possible to foul the ECU to open the IACV a bit maybe? Could be operated by a button on the gearknob.

 

It would certainly be a foul....

 

I doubt the IACV will be fast enough to act as a blipper.

 

An intelligent ECU with a drive by wire throttle could be intelligent enough to get the engine revs right when the clutch is down and the car is in motion moving.

 

OTOH it would be a little outside the spirit of things. Invest in a sequential and forget using the clutch altogether.

 

Paul

[Simon Dart]

Just to stick my oar in, my 1996 1400K SS has 47 000 miles on the clock, only 3000 of them mine so far. As it was originally Len Green's (Caterham customer services manager)car any early teething problems with the 6 speed box would have been sorted by the factory, but I believe the box is original. It is getting a bit noisy now, especially in 3rd & 4th but is in basically good health, no snchro trouble. Is this a record, I wonder?(I'm a downshift blipper only!)