Mike Bees

Superlights, Superlight-R's and R500s all ship with the big front brakes and standard master cylinder AFAIK. The JW kit uses standard disks I believe, which are much much much cheaper than the vented ones the AP kit uses. Mike Edited by - Mike Bees on 25 Apr 2001 13:13:21

You'll be travelling approx 3% faster than before for the same speedo reading. I'd be surprised if your speedo was that accurate anyway. If you're on a limited mileage insurance policy then you'll get 3% more miles... Ride height will go up by 10mm as you say. I would imagine that A032R in that size is horribly expensive, best to get some 13in wheels wink.gif Mike

It's nothing special, just an update of the A510/A520. Better than a stock Michelin or Avon I suspect, but not anywhere near the same league as A021R/A032R/ACB10. Mike

Nasty, hope it wasn't the wrong (or should that be Wong?) hand... wink.gif Mike

There a 2 different big rear brake kits available (De Dion only): Rear Big Brake Pack (including handbrake) 500 plus VAT Rear Big Brake Pack (vented discs no handbrake) 495 plus VAT Obviously the latter has far more sex appeal, but won't pass an MOT nor an over-zealous scrutineer (I've seen a scrutineer check to see whether a 7 really does have a handbrake). The one with the handbrake is a bit of a bodge apparently, and it's best to leave it disconnected or at least slackened right off. Mike Edited by - Mike Bees on 24 Apr 2001 08:48:53

I must have a particularly bad standard cylinder... It's now been swapped for an AP one and the result is a slop-free setup. I'm not the only person to have had this experience, but I do remember reading somewhere that there is a mod which can be done to the std. cylinder to take the slop out of it. Just can't remember where though... Mike

Heat-wise it'll be an 8 in the NGK range. I tried to get BCP 8ES (one colder than the K-series Supersport plugs) a couple of years ago, but after a couple of months fiasco with Merlin Motorsport they eventually told me that NGK don't make a BCP 8ES... Mike

Caterham sell a 'racing' master cylinder (it's made by AP) which has a bigger bore. This means less pedal movement, and more pedal pressure. Most of the standard (Girling I think) master cylinders have a half inch of so of pedal movement before anything starts to happen (what I've called 'slop' further up the thread), with the AP cylinder the pedal is rock hard. Mike

Arnie - Jeremy @ Hyperion once told me that if he bought an off-the-shelf Caterham the very first thing he would change would be the master cylinder. What a wonderfully diverse world we all live in. Mike

Depends on where you're starting from Simon. If you've got a map that's fairly close then a couple of hours should do it. If you're starting from scratch then it'll take a fair bit longer than that. Depends on how "quick" the operator is too. Costs per hour vary a lot from one place to the next. I have a GEMS map for a TB'ed ~200bhp 1.6K - obviously it'll be pretty rich at the mid-top end for a SS but it would be a better starting point than nothing. Question is does the Lumenition software save/load it's map files in the same format as the GEMS software (I mean the software you run on the PC). I would take great care to find someone with a good recommendation (for mapping) to do the mapping, I've heard of many botch jobs being done by operators who really don't understand what it's about. Mike

It's not a fluid-related feature though (mine had just as much slop on AP600 as on anything else). Isn't there a mod for the std master cylinder to reduce/remove the slop? Mike

AP600 doesn't mix with any other type of fluid, so you need quite a lot of it to give the whole system a good flush through (if you're changing from a different fluid type). It doesn't cure the slop that you get with the std. master cylinder. Mike

If you've got a headrest on the seat then don't bother with the contraption on the rollover bar (you don't need both). If you want to persevere with the rollover bar attachment: You should have 2 clamps, one which goes on the side of the rollover bar and one which goes on the rearward brace. You need to make up a padded pad to attach to the square bit, and adjust it so that it's very close to the back of your helmet when you're in your normal seated position. Mike

What on earth did he fiddle with? When the car is up to temperature and idling normally, try disconnecting the idle air control valve and see if that cures the problem (sticky IACV isn't uncommon). Disconnecting the IACV will stop the ECU from "bringing the engine in to land" slowly. Mike

Most modern product setups are like this, it's for emissions purposes AIUI. Mike

You'll get a bit more ground clearance and slightly higher gearing. Plenty of people running Superlights on that size of tyre, so no worries. Mike

Possibly depends on what you use the car for Nick. I changed from 8% to 22% and loved it (mixture of road/sprint/hillclimb/track use). Mike

Are they always directional? I'm sure the ones I've got from Roversport aren't - I've never considered that they were directional when fitting them... Mike

Andy - in any car with an ECU you're *always* relying on the electronics performing to give you the ability to overtake or even get moving in the first place, irrespective of whether it's got traction control. As for "And what happens when you DO need power (perhaps an overtaking emergency), and the ECU overrides you." - eerrrmmmmm, massive wheelspin doesn't help you to overtake... Cutting a bit of fuel or sparks is relatively simple compared to the rest of the ECUs work, so if you've got techno-fear then stick to good old carbs dizzy & points smile.gif Mike (no traction control) Edited by - Mike Bees on 6 Apr 2001 08:52:13

Is that for road use or race use? If Phil reckons you're halfway between the 2 for race use but you're not going to race it then... well you get the picture. Mike

No need to worry unduly, but porosity is/was a known issue with the Vx 16v head. If you're really worried get it epoxy sealed or wedge out on a Coscast version. Mike

My feeling would be that if you've got somewhere between zero and ten degrees of cranking advance then the problem probably lies elsewhere (like fuelling for example). I'm intrigued that you get 13v whilst cranking - do you have a 15v battery, or an alternator that works at very low rpm? Mike

FWIW the part number for the starter motor from Lucas is STR543. Price was actually 33ukp+VAT (exchange), from: Lucas Service UK Ltd Cambridge 442 Newmarket Rd Cambridge CB5 8JU (01223) 315931 Mike

I haven't weighed it. It's a direct pattern-fit for the Caterham supplied Magnetti Marelli unit (which is from a Sierra I believe), with the exception that the solenoid trigger connection uses a post rather than a Lucar connector. It's not a Lucas-made part, they deal in every size/shape/form of electrical components these days. Mike

How old is your starter motor Andy (is it the original one with my fingerprints on it?). I've just got an exchange one from the Lucas place in Cambridge for 44ukp inc vat - compared to the old tired one it spins the engine over with a tremendous amount of vigour, even with my little 16Ah Red Top 25 battery (a much smaller brother of Graham's battery - same technology, just smaller and with a different badge). I'd got to the point of thinking that the battery wasn't up to the job at all - it would turn with some vigour for about 2 or 3 engine revolutions, then grind slowly to a halt. Changing the starter has cured it completely, and for about 1/5th of the price of one of the fancy geared ones which I so-nearly bought. Mike