Shaun_E

The eternal problem for those of us who are vertically challenged ☹️. I run my pedals on that setting and the brake pedal does sit a bit high but with a lot of fiddling around, it doesn't actually foul on anything. When I first moved it I had major problems with the front brakes rubbing but I eventually resolved it. Someone recommended sawing a little off the end of the master cylinder threaded bar but I didn't try that - it would almost certainly work but may have issues later if trying to move the pedals back to another setting. I believe some people have left the pedals in the centre position and added blocks to them as an extension - I've never seen an example of this though. Another possible adjustment is to use washers under the master cylinder mountings to alter the angle of the rod - that might stop the fouling. If you find a solution then I would love to hear it as my setup is still a bit compromised. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Matthew, YHM regarding Jon's whereabouts. Shaun Yellow SL #32

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

I think that 30 is the diameter of the tyre in inches, 9.5 is the width in inches and 15 is the rim size in inches. To compare the metric size: 245 is the width in mm (=9.65inches) therefore the section of the tyre is 245*0.7 (as 70 is the aspect ratio in percent) giving 171.5mm. This is 6.75 inches. There are 2 sections plus the wheel to make up the diameter giving (6.75*2)+16 = 29.5 inches. Therefore the main dimensions are pretty similar. However the rim size of the 2 tyres appears to be different as the current ones are 16" but you say the cheap ones are 15". The cheap tyres could also be crossplies as they are measured differently to radials. Check your owners manual to see if they are suitable but they may not be as good on the road as the radials are. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Oh - and make sure you use decent sized washers to spread the load when you bolt through the floor. Yellow SL #32

Fitted mine in front of the passenger seat and have seen many others there. I fitted mine across the width of the car but have also see people moun them lengthways. Widthways they sit nicely under the passengers legs so long as it is reasonably close to the seat. Lengthways the passenger has to sit with their legs apart . Shaun p.s. did you get your ride height sorted out in the end? Yellow SL #32

Heater - pulling it opens the heater vents and pushing it back in closes them. If you haven't got a heater then I guess the car did at one time. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Pierre, I understand your reluctance to discuss things on the phone because of the language barrier but if you speak to Matthew at Think and tell him you want the Laminova kit for a K-series then he will send you all the correct parts as he sends this kit out regularly. When I called him I did not have to describe any parts at all. From memory the parts were: 1x Laminova 1x oil hose approximately 0.5m with straight fitting one end and right angle fitting at the other 1x right angle connector 2x jubilee clips (for water hose) If you want the full list with measurements, I will see if I can find it tonight although I probably won't be able to post here until Monday. Does the LHD have any impact on the fitting of the Laminova or the Apollo? On the RHD cars the Apollo is on the right at the front as you look at the car from the front, and the Laminova should be sited very near to it. Have a look here under "modifications" for a picture - if yours looks like that then you should be OK with the standard kit. Shaun Yellow SL #32 Edited by - Shaun_E on 19 Sep 2003 08:58:52

Where are you based? I have a standard (NOT Ali) one in the garage having recently replaced it with a Radtec. It looks a bit tatty but has no holes in it. You will need a fan switch for it. I am at Brands Hatch on Tuesday or I can post if you pay postage. Yours for a donation to NTL. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Pat - Cheers, I won't take it personally. Upgrading to Bolly on the other hand sounds like a great idea 😬 although not sure if I could manage 5 pints of the stuff . As for the tools, I really think that putting expensive tools in the car is asking for trouble. I had my Seven "broken into" a couple of weeks ago - they left my £20 tools and just nicked the house keys that I had foolishly left in there. I'm pretty sure a set of Snap-On would have disappeared. Cost me a new set of locks for the house though ☹️. Shaun Yellow SL #32

I did not suggest the Halfords kit as a starting point for a toolkit - it is definitely NOT that. It is however a very useful thing to keep in the car if you don't want to keep a bag of your usual tools in there. Given the good chance of it being nicked you don't want any of your good/expensive tools in there. If you want a good complete tool kit for the garage then that is an entirely different issue and I'm sorry for getting the wrong end of the stick. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Brian, People will probably laugh, but i bought a kit from Halfords which comes in a zip up case the size of a large File-O-Fax. It cost £20 and contains the following: - Screwdriver with every bit imaginable - 3/8" sockets set - not massively useful but handy for some stuff - pliers - large adjustable spanner - zip ties - insulating tape - electrical screwdriver - feeler gauges and some other stuff I can't remember. The only thing I would add is a second adjustable spanner (you always need 2 ❗) and maybe a stubby screwdriver for the Dzus fasteners on the nosecone. I strap this to the rollbar inside the boot using a velcro strap (also from Halfords) so it doesn't slide around. Hope this helps, Shaun Yellow SL #32

Ah but does the manual say 20psi cold or 20psi hot - I'm guessing it doesn't specify. For optimum grip you probably want between 20 and 22 psi HOT. That's why trackday users start with lower pressures so that once the tyres heat up then they are the right pressure - this should be checked immediately after a session and adjusted. On the road it's unlikely that you'll often get your tyres up to track temperatures so the starting pressures could be a little higher to reach 20-22 psi hot. I tend to start with 17-18psi cold and that gets to 20-22psi hot depending on track and conditions. I'm not very experienced at track days so haven't really experimented that much. I haven't changed the pressures for road use either so I could be running a little low - never run out of grip yet though 😬. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Edited as I'm asking the question on ChitChat Edited by - Shaun_E on 3 Sep 2003 11:43:25

Anders, The VVC head has larger valves so makes a good base for tuning. For any serious power gains on the VVC (150-160 BHP as standard) you will need to junk the VVC stuff and fit a Piper blanking kit. Also the cam shafts have a different diameter so it won't be as easy (or cheap!) to source them. All the information is on Dave's website - follow the link to his K-series tuning page for more information. I haven't done any of this myself (yet 😬) but have read as much as I can on the subject. When I can afford it my plan is to have the K05 kit plus verniers and airbox fitted to my 1.6 engine. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Anders, Look here. Shaun Yellow SL #32

The fan switch is not particularly reliable and is less than £10 from Caterham so I would suggest replacing that first. If you want you can also wire the fan to a dashboard switch for manual override. The fan switch simply makes the circuit so you can wire a dash switch to the two fan switch connections. High water temperatures are not uncommon when the ambient temperature is high, especially when stuck in traffic. The standard Caterham gauge is also not that accurate. If you do a lot of driving in traffic or do trackdays then you may eventually want to uprate the cooling system, usually with a higher capacity radiator. Caterham do an aluminium road radiator and a triple pass race radiator. There are alternatives and I use a Radtec radiator which has proved very effective. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Kipper, I would recommend fitting a Laminova - look at Roy Booth's site (WILLFLY) for instructions and pictures. If you do this at the same time as fitting the Apollo then you will avoid the problem I had where the Laminova would not sit flat because of the positioning of the Apollo tank. If you fit a Laminova then make sure that your radiator is up to the job of dissipating the extra heat. If you have a Caterham aluminium road or triple by-pass race radiator then you should be OK - the standard (black) radiator is probably not sufficient. I can recommend the Radtec radiator as an alternative. The Laminova plus Radtec did an excellent job at Snetterton in keeping the temperatures down to reasonable levels - previously at Llandow without them I had seen water temp of 105+ and oil temps of 120+. I'll be at Penn this weekend if you want to take a look - can't make the next Seven Stars unfortunately. Shaun Yellow SL #32

You might need to raise the rear to match - this should reduce understeer. You can do a search on this topic as it was covered recently but I believe that the rear should run about 15mm higher than the front. Ideally you need to get it flat floored - Caterham do this for a fixed price and it includes the camber/toe in checks. There are plenty of other companies that do it as well and they may give a more personalised service to make the car handle how you want it too. Good choice of car by the way 😬 Shaun Yellow SL #32

Oh - and if you want the Caterham option then get Avon CR500's either from Caterham or direct from Avon. These are very good but are expensive and also very low profile (175/55R15) so you may end up with ride height issues. Shaun Yellow SL #32

If you want normal road tyres then everyone seems to use either Yokohama A539 or Bridgestone RE720. If you want something a bit stickier then try Yokohama A021R's from George Polley here for about £45 a corner for the same size as you have now. These are race tyres that you cannot get from your average Yoko dealer but they are DOT approved and road legal - they are also excellent in the wet so make a good all round tyre. I am on my second set. You will obviously need to replace all 4 tyres. Shaun Yellow SL #32

GPR do a Bell motorbike helmet which has BS6658 type A rating as well - my wife has one and it was about £150. This British Standard will get you onto any Octagon circuit (the only ones who seem to stipulate a standard) for a trackday but you would have to check the regulations of the sprints you wanted to do as they may want BS6658 type A/FR which is fire resistant. Hope this helps, Shaun Yellow SL #32

Steve, If you've got laquered arches then you probably won't have a problem. I have laquered carbon front arches and these have not faded in colour at all. I do use Autoglym wax polish though so maybe that has a UV protection agent in it. I guess most decent polishes will have some sort of UV protector. I think the real problem is with natural finish carbon - I have seen many cars with a somewhat faded grey look to their bare carbon bits! Shaun Yellow SL #32

If that's the usual 3/4 max rpm, 0.5m at 45 degree's then I think I can safely relax 😬. 100db would be too close to call. Had a great day at Snetterton yesterday so really looking forward to Brands. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Is there a definitive answer to this? So far I have had no problems (Llandow and Snetterton) but if Brands is going to be stricter then I may need a new silencer. Shaun Yellow SL #32