Mike Biddle

Scuse my ignorance, who are freestyle, and are we discussing something designed to fit Caterhams?

Thanks for your posts gentlemen, I have now solved the problem by getting a local instrumentation company to make some for me. Mike.

I need to measure up to 1800 RPM on a small shaft, 40MM dia, prefferably with a small magnet + sensor arrangement, with a small digital readout. The whole thing has to be battery powered a la bike computer. Anybody know where I could source it? Thanks, Mike.

Arnie, I specialise in high pressure pumps, and both peter and Tony are correct in diagnosing the pressure regulator as the most likely problem here, i,e, it cannot handle the higher flow. It is also possibe that the return line could cause a problem if it is too small. As fuel goes through the line, fricton will reduce it's velocity unless there is enough pressure to maintain it. In any given size of line, the more flow you introduce, the more pressure you will need to maintain a given velocity, and the smaller the line the greater the pressure required for the same flow. Length of line is also important. Pressure regulators can sometimes be "confused" by too much pressure in the dump line, and while I very much doubt this is a factor here, it might pay to try a bigger return line before buying a new regulator. If you can give me the pump performance curve, estmate of injector consumption at idle, and ID + length of the feed and return lines (might as well check both) I will take a look at it for you. Did you change to a bigger capacity filter as well? Regards, Mike.

Hmmm.... 250-300 HP, more reliable than K, much lighter than VX, and best of all the exhaust is on the correct side for me... Anybody wanna buy a 225 HP VX lump???

Hi Marius, can't answer all your questions, but, A. Definetley get the overdrive sixth, your engine has bags of power, and torque over a wide range so smaller steps in the ratios does'nt make sense. My car has less power and still pulls hard in (overdrive) sixth right up to around 7,000 RPM, and will go to 7,500.Cruising at 180-200 KPH is no problem. I have the 3.92 diff and 13" wheels, but what diff you select would depend on what result you want, and even what clutch you have, did you go for a 5.5" or 7.25"? If it's a 5.5" you might be better off with the 4.11 for hillclimbing or sprinting. B. Don't know. C. I bought the indicator from Quaiffe, and it works very well, you can buy it elsewhere, and it will certianly work, but watch the size, the quaiffe item is quite big, which I find helpfull because the display is readable at a glance. D.Don't know, but it cant be that difficult to arrange a switch that senses your tug on the lever. E. Can't help here either I'm afraid, too far away from the action. Regards, Mike.

Try the switch, this is often the problem, not the relay.

I also went with Hi Spec, but with a solid 280MM disc with aluminium centres, and slimline calipers. They fit inside my 13" rims, just, are very light, very powerfull, with lots of control. Kept the satndard master cylinder and it works very well.

Robin, you don't mention your engine make/variant, so information on threads will not be forthcoming. What I can tell you is that the guages come with the senders, and if you buy from a knowledgeable supplier they will indentify them for you. I doubt demon theives come into this category at least as far as Caterhams are concerned, so go to someone who knows the cars. I have one of these on my VX car, and it's far better than the electronic variety.

I can confirm the short life of the helix plates, now have a set of QM plates in my 5.5" AP clutch, and they have already survived much longer than the helix items. Can't give you any mileage figures because I hav'nt had a speedo for the last two years, no drive on the Quaiffe box. Mike.

I've had this tank on my car for three years, and it works well. Mike.

Sound like a fairly standard set up with probably a pace external scavenge/pressure pump. The two pipes at the top are a return to the tank for oil scavenged from the sump, and pressure feed to the engine. The original internal oil pump will have been removed. The three bottom pipes consist of two scavenge lines from front/rear of sump, and one feed line from the tank to the pressure pump. This is identical to my dry sump set up, and my cam cover is not vented to the tank, nor are there any vents cam cover to tank. Hope this helps, Mike.

I bet mines the shortest!

Same problem here, i just cut the lever right down and had a new aluminium gearknob machined up. The quaiffe knob is quite tall on it's own, apart from the fact it does look very good. This has also reduced the lever travel which was a concern but it works very well, and allowed me to mount the gear indicator in front of the lever on the transmission tunnel. If anyboby wants a picture, mail me and I will send it. Mike.

Steve, you are correct, the calipers I am fitting are do not have outer dust seals, but Hi spec say that cleaning is only required when replacing worn pads, prior to pushing the pistons back into the caliper, so I think I can live with that. Fast Westie, The 280MM discs I am fitting are solid, no need for vented ones. Robster, the discs and calipers fit under my 13" rims. The weight saving over the standard 240MM discs and calipers is 1KG each side. The car is still in the shop because I have been away for acouple of weeks, so my report will follow in a week or two. Mike. Edited by - Mike Biddle on 8 Feb 2002 11:04:07

One thing I did have to modify when fitting my six speed was the rear mount, it's too high at the front and fouls the rear of the casing, which is lower than the standard box. The 9" grinder sorted it out though. Make sure you get the correct length input shaft for your engine, I had to shorten mine. The gear stick problem was solved buy cutting it down and having an aluminium Knob machined up. You should also consider the gear indicator, very usefull. The up change is fantastic, I often find myself slowing right down unnecessarily behind trucks etc, just to go up through the box again. Get it!

Just waiting for the nice man from DHL to deliver new front brake kit from Hi Spec, so will be able to post a report in 10 days or so. Specs are, 280MM grooved solid discs with aluminium bells (centres), slimline billet calipers, and Mintex 1144 pads. They should provide powerfull braking with more "feel" due to the bigger diameter discs, and be lighter than the current standard set up. I went this way because while I need better brakes, I did not want to pay the weight penalty of vented discs. Hi spec say this set up will fit inside My 13" Image rims. The standard master cylinder will be used initially. Cost was 571.00 which is OK considering you get neww discs as well. Uk residents would of course have to pay the FAT of the land on top of that.

Steve, if you can wait a while, I am going to fit a kit from this company, but maybe not quite what you have mentioned. I am going for the 4 pot slimline calipers, 280MM dia solid disc with aluminium centre. This should give powerfull braking and more "feel" than the caterham vented set up due to the bigger diameter. Very light too. I should get a quote today, and will order immediately, but it's likely to be around a month before any feedback will be available. Is your car off road for winter? Regards, Mike.

Got mine done around 18 months back at camcoat, and am very pleased with the results, looks great and no more polishing! It's lasted well too.

I am also going to upgrade my brakes soon, and was going to make a posting, but since the thread is now running, and with apologies to steve, the alcons look really good except one thing, they don't have dust seals. This may not be too much of a problem in UK but we have lots of fine sand and dust blowing around here and that worries me. Does anybody know how often the alcons require attention? Is there any way to fit dust seals?

I've got a Quaiffe unit, and while it is noisy, I've had no problems with it. I like it but it may not suit everyone. You are welcome to a drive if your'e prepared to come to Dubai!

Geoff, Assuming your car is bog standard, as was mine when I got bought it, It may be better to look at the situation in terms of overall benefit, not just weight saving. Heres my list. 1. Without doubt the first thing to look at is wheels/tyres. I had a set of split rim wheels made by image and shod them with ACB 10's. This would reduce the weight of each wheel by 5 to 6KG depending on tyre size, and assuming you carry a spare, there's 25 to 30 KG off plus it transforms the handling. cost around 1,300 2. You don't mention whether your car is on carbs or injection, mine was injection. I junked the standard cast manifold/stainlessexhaust and replaced it with a 4-2-1 manifolds/exhaust and carbon can. I have not weighed the original, but it is heavy, with cat and and two stainless silencers. I reckon around 15 KG saved, with a performance gain. Cost around 750, but can,t comment on legality in the UK. 3. Windsreen, junk it if you can do without the hood, irrelevant here, but a major factor there. I don't know how much it weighs, maybe 7 to 10 KG, but performance is better at higher speeds, and turbulence without sidscreens is improved to the point where it's bearable for long journeys. Fit a JPE screen or aero screens. Cost 250-350? 4. Heater and washer bottle can be removed virtually for free, but don't save much weight. 5. Lightweight flywheel and clutch, the standard items can weigh up to 13KG There are two types of flywheel, one is a little lighter) Mine is now 4.2 KG, plus a little extra for the central slave cylinder, say 5.2 KG. Big improvement on acceleration, plus around 9.8 KG lighter. Cost 1,250 (Needs special starter) I kept the seats because I like them, and any significantly lighter items are likely to be bone jarringly uncomfortable. After the above any weight savings are going to be progressivly smaller and more expensive per KG. A rough calculation comes out at 65 KG saved at approx 55 per KG. Mike.

Marius, yes I do still browse the forum on a regular basis but a new business is soaking up a lot of my time right now, and of course it's too hot to seven right now so my attention is wandering a bit. The sequential box is fine, still noisy but I'm used to it now, and I would say it's worth suffering the noise. On the subject of quick shifts, I could fit a "flat shift" system, my ECU supports it, but I don't think the small improvement in upshift time is worth it.

Try removing the large bolt that the roll bar adjuster is mounted on, inserting it from the other side. This gives more clearance. Mike.

Monsieur Arnee, re bellhousing to footwell, it's more of a problem on the right side, and since my car is left drive I can lose a bit of footwell if necessary. I have wide track, adjustable platforms and standard bilsteins. Which "proper" adjustable shocks do you suggest, and of course they then have to be adjusted correctly. Dave, thanks I will call him and have a chat, you're right about the exhaust, I'd forgotten that, but it won't be a big problem, I'll just shorten the can a bit and get the hole in the body extended. Thanks for the posts, MIKE.