frankyknuckles Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I'm looking at specing a new R300 self build and I plan to do lots of track days. My previous car is a Honda S2000, so I have grabbed the basic knowledge of rear wheel drive. How essential are the following options? dry sump (this is £1200 !! ) LSD (this is very important on a 7 I would imagine?) Battery isolation switch I will also be specing the FIA roll bar winscreen and weather equipment heater side arm rests Also, one one of the cars in the showroom, there was a side wheel intrusion protection bar, (black bar covering the bodywork where the drivers sits, dissapearing under the body before rear wheel arch. This was only fitted to the drivers side, are these common? Thanks Franky Edited by - frankyknuckles on 29 Sep 2003 09:16:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 DS is very good, you are less likely to lunch your engine through oil surge with one of these, esp with LSD and sticky tyres as your skill levels increase. Apollo is a cheaper halfway house. LSDs are noisy and can make a car difficult to drive on the limit for a novice, but are very handy. Batt switch is a PITA but I dunno if some tracks require them. FIA is essential, tracks req. it and I have seen 1 7 with a flattened non-FIA bar and a TV commentator saying "the driver of this sports car was killed..." weather gear is a hotly debated subject here, essentially it depends how much winter/wet/general touring you want to do, ditto heater. Heaters are less essential, depends where you live. IIRC the side bar is ex racers only, mine has one and they are reassuring for that day when some blind tosser fails to see you on a roundabout because he is on the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted September 29, 2003 Support Team Share Posted September 29, 2003 If you're going to do loads of trackdays then get the dry sump - you will get oil surge otherwise and this could destroy your engine. Many people (myself included) who don't have a dry sump have an Apollo tank fitted which de-aerates the oil (wet sump K series in this installation gets lots of air in the oil which causes cavitation in the hydraulic tappets) and provides some excess oil capacity. It's a lot cheaper to have the dry sump included at build than it is to retro-fit at a later date. LSD is probably a good idea for track work. Battery isolation is useful but not essential. FIA bar essential for L7OC trackdays and very sensible as the standard roll bar is too low and doesn't look that strong.. Side intrusion bar is common on race Caterhams but not so much on road going ones - it won't stop a tin top on the road but provides protection against similar weight cars (i.e. other sevens). Other people will tell you to forget the heater and weather equipment (extra weight you see ) but if you're going to use it on the road throughout the year, and you're not hard as nails, then its a pretty sensible idea. You could specify the interchangeable aero screen which you could fit for track days and summer use - gives a much better top speed and is noticeable on track days. Shaun Yellow SL #32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 definatelty get the dry sump if you are going to do lots of track days it was the best 1200 quid I spent when speccing my SL a few years back , plus if you don't get it , the caterham version is 1700 quid later on , plus fitting etc bla bla bla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino ferrana Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I believe the dry sump is £1000 on an R300 as its fitted with an Anti-Cav. tank as standard and they offset this being taken off against the cost of the dry sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankyknuckles Posted September 29, 2003 Author Share Posted September 29, 2003 Quote - LSDs are noisy and can make a car difficult to drive on the limit for a novice, but are very handy. I've always thought that LSD's are essential for powerful cars, people raved after them on the new Civic Type R that does not have one as standard, the S2000 is another more appropriate example of a car that needs and LSD. Do the same principles apply to the 7 or are the dynamics of the car that different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 All the cars I've driven with LSD's have been easy to drive. The one that didn't have it (I think) handled like a pig. Of course, there were other reasons for this but I personally have not experienced a car that was tricky on the limit because of an LSD. With the cornering forces that an R300 will generate, I suspect you'll be spinning away power from the inside wheel whilst cornering without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 DS a must for proposed work and growing with the car. Do it now and save the hassle later on. My LSD helped with traction out of corners of course, made the car more predictable and calmed the rear down under trailbraking meaning I could brake later and harder. I wouldn't say the car pre LSD was tricky or handled like a pig but the LSD is a definite improvement. Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Light blocks here Racing info / pics here here Edited by - stevefoster on 29 Sep 2003 11:21:17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RESOLVIWOLF Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 DS and LSD are almost essential IMO, not only for what they do but for resale. The argument for DS on a midly tuned engine is not so cast-iron IMO (unless you are using slicks) .... K series engines can let go with or without dry sumps, luck of the draw im afraid. But there again you can never have enough peace of mind. a DS'd and LSD's car will usually get snapped up long before a used car that doesnt have those items. also on my list would be a full cag, honeycomb e and side bar .... but thats just me - you can never have enough protection stuff. Side bar is almost top of the list IMO.. if youve ever seen a crashed seven and what happens to teh rear wheel youll know what i mean. I dont see the point in teh battery master and also plumbed in fire.... well, if your engine goes up in flames you'll need more than this to stop it: best let teh whole car ignite and then get a new & better one from teh insurance payout. Weather is almost useless. Only debate is windscreen vs. aero. If its poring it with rain take the EVO6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankyknuckles Posted September 29, 2003 Author Share Posted September 29, 2003 I considered a full cage and I saw two different version in the showroom, the full race cage is my prefered choice, but means no windscreen or roof, the other cage was with a windscreen, this looked alot better and you could still put the roof up if you had to. For those moments when youi do get caught in the rain, I would like the option of putting the roof up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin H Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Have to agree with Jackal re. safety. If you intend on doing loads of trackdays (as I do), I'd advise a cage and side impact bars. In fact, I'd still have them if I was just using it on the road. A 7's pretty strong without, but you only need another 7 T-boning you to be in a lot of trouble without them. At Thruxton on Saturday last year's Grads champion could well have been in a mess, when exactly that happened. Apparently the other car's nosecone missed her helmet by inches. Without them....... Apologies for the scaremongering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil patterson Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 neil@pace here, there is a possility that we may be dry sumping the Honda S2000 engine. There's been a fair bit of interest in it, we just need to get hold of one, we can offer a deal to anyone that can help us out by supplying an engine with a view to developing a dry sump kit. Please bare in mind though that if we start from scratch it will take approx 6 weeks to develope the engine side of the kit as we will insist on doing a proper aluminium sump casting. And once again we should be able to gear the system around the Caterham as in the case of the 'K' dry sump kit. Anyone interested should contact me. Please call 01440 760 960 / neilp@paceproducts.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananaman Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Get an LSD, if only so you can do Doh!!!!!!!!nuts 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RESOLVIWOLF Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 on teh cage front, there is a new cage coming out that is going on all next years academy cars its sexier than the normal cage (more like the curvacious slr cage - but not quite as nice looking apparently) but you can fit weather, doors, detachable aero ... basically switch between any config you like. Im waiting to get a picture of it from Caterham... sounds like teh perfect solution, just hope it looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 Jackal - sounds interesting, let us know when you have more info/pictures wonder if ti si anything to do witht he new company that supplies cages Caged ❗ rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogvet Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 If not full cage then unless you are v small in back length would go for tall cage and if you want appropriate tall weather gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino ferrana Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I think the bottom line is that an R300 with a dry sump is pretty much bullet proof. Tall cage no longer exists as an option I think they are lowering the floors instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 I've probably missed it but I don't think anyone has mentioned seat belts - 4 point harness is essential for any sort of track driving, IMHO and its worth considering a 6 point harness. A good helmet is another must - get one that is a good fit and don't skimp - you only have one head. Might be worth getting one that meets with MSA regs so that you can go racing if/when track days are not enough 😬 (Note a good helmet is a good investment, a badly fitting helmet can take away alot of the pleasure of blatting round a circuit as well as being less safe. Decent gloves are also worthwhile and race boots are pretty much essential unless the car is an SV. Race overalls are nice to have but that may be a step too far, depends on the individual taste/wallet depth, etc.... I guess the bottom line is when spec'ing a car for track work, don't forget to leave enough in the kitty for decent kit for yourself - if you're comfortable and well protected, you'll probably drive better, have more fun and be safer. All IMHO of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil patterson Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Hi Franky, have you thourght of the Pace dry sump kit, please check out the tech talk ref Pace dry sump kits for the 'K' engine (feed back). If you contact me 01440 760 960 / neilp@paceproducts.co.uk and forward your postal address i can send off an info pact ref the kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino ferrana Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Hmmm commerical advertising? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Neil I believe that you should make a donation to Newk the Lewk for the above advertising post Nemesis Will She Find Out.Com, we need your stories tell us all the low and deceitful things you have done and became the WSFO pinup of the month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil patterson Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 neil@pace here. It's a brilliant idea we will sort out a donation straight away. Please note that we do not want to cause any bad feelings here on the Blat Chat site. The feed back we've had, very much of it has been positive and appreciated by you Cat guys we hope that's the general feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted October 15, 2003 Leadership Team Share Posted October 15, 2003 Nice one Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil patterson Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 neil@pace here, may seem like a daft question, but whom do we contact ref making a donation to the luke fund???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Contact details from Low flying: Email Steve on nuketheleuk@lotus7club.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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