Shaun_E

Nick, Peter Griffiths used a mobile fitter from somewhere around Buckingham who he rated (cheap and was careful) and subsequently JaseB used him too. Peter's Bordeaux Blatting but Jason should know the name and number of the fitter. If you go to a normal tyre place with the wheels on the car then watch them like a hawk - make sure they don't over torque your wheel nuts (55 lb/ft) and watch where they jack the car up. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Bookatrack run a couple of Caterhams here. Caterham themselves do their "Circuit experience" - here Alternatively Bedford Autodrome has Caterhams as part of their package day where you drive several different cars - not sure if you can hire them on a normal track day. Hope this helps. Shaun Yellow SL #32

4 people still needed - anyone want one of these so that we can proceed. Word is that they are better than the Caterham Ali Road radiator and possibly more efficient even than the race radiator. All at a cost of less than the caterham ali road radiator. Put your hands up please. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Also second (or is that third) the opinion that pre 98 cars don't need a CAT - to prove it I have an MOT for my 1997 Superlight fitted with 4 into 1 and no CAT. As you say Angus, it depends on the MOT testers understanding and knowledge of the regulations. I think the best thing to do is find the relevant section in the MOT testers manual and show it to the test station. I also have no side repeaters on my car so these are also not necessary (cycle wings fitted). I had my car MOT'd by Caterham (they use a local garage) and they seem to have no problems with CATS or side repeaters. I am 99% certain that if you have a post 98 (can't remember the exact month but August rings a bell) you will need a CAT even if the car was kit built. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Some more questions: 1. What size Laminova have people selected (and why)? I'm guessing from the pictures that it is the 180mm one. 2. Have Caterham given any reasons why they don't recommend a Laminova and are there any disadvantages? I just want to understand as much as possible about these devices. 3. Given that I have an Apollo tank, which has made the oil pressure drop slightly, will the Laminova cause more of a pressure drop and what are acceptable limits to this? At the moment I get hot running oil pressure as low as 53 PSI - before the Apollo was fitted it was 58-60. Thanks for all your comments so far and hope I haven't hijacked this thread too badly 😬 Shaun Yellow SL #32

Does anyone have a list of the right parts to order from Think Automotive? I will be buying a Radtec radiator soon (hoping the bulk buy goes through) and thought that would be a good time to fit a Laminova so I only have to bleed the cooling system once. I have a wet sump K with Apollo tank fitted. Edited to say "I have a heater". Shaun Yellow SL #32 Edited by - Shaun_E on 1 Jul 2003 17:28:08

Count me in for one. Shaun Yellow SL #32

OK - have now got them off the Stack Website. Thanks, Shaun Yellow SL #32

Count - YHM. Cheers. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Has anyone got a soft copy of the manual? I am not even sure which version of the Stack I have but it has lap timing facilities on it as well as all the usual measurements if that helps. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Bear in mind that AFAIK you need a slight chassis modification to fit a Stack dash to a Caterham. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong but I think that one of the rails in the dash area needs to be moved slightly in order for the Stack to fit. Of course you will also need a new dash panel. All the sensors will need replacing (water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, etc.) as the Stack ones are different to the standard Caterham ones - I think you might get some of these with the Stack. Having said all that, I really like the Stack and it provides accurate measurements. Down side is of course that you will then know exactly how hot your engine has got! (see some other threads on engine temperatures). All I need to do now is read the manual and work out what the other 3 buttons are for (button 3 of 4 cycles between functions and is the only one I have used so far) 😳 Shaun Yellow SL #32

Mr Toad I wouldn't worry about those temperatures - they seem fairly normal. I have had 115-120 degree oil temperatures on track which I don't want to maintain for any period of time hence the desire to fit an oil/water heat exchanger (Laminova). I frequently get oil temperatures over a 100 on a long blat. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Hoopy, What radiator are you using? I am thinking of fitting a Laminova but I also need to address the high water temperatures so need a recommendation for a new radiator. Shaun Yellow SL #32

If you fit a Laminova oil/water heat exchanger then you are obviously dumping more heat into the cooling system. If you then get a more efficient radiator then it should cope with that extra heat. The question is - what are the options for a new radiator. I have a Superlight but it is fitted with a standard (black) radiator which has seen better days (some of the fins are a bit crumbly now!). Which is the best choice of radiator to increase heat dissipation? Caterham sell an ali road radiator and a triple pass race radiator - which of these would be best for road and track driving? Is the Radtec radiator better (more efficient) and how much is it? I have experienced water temperatures of 107 (on road and track) and oil temperatures of 120 on track and would like to reduce these just for peace of mind. Shaun Yellow SL #32

On this theme - can you get replacement "plippers" from Rover? Whilst digging out the spare keys to take to Le Mans, I realised I only have one plipper and if that got lost or broken I would be stuffed. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Michael, If you don't get any other replies for a C-spanner then try Jeff from Penn Sevens as he offered to lend me one a while back. A couple of people suggested that you can move the adjusters using a suitable drift and a hammer - might be worth a go if you can't borrow a spanner. Guess who wasn't using the rear view mirrors yesterday? Didn't see you turn off! Anyway see you Wednesday - hope you get your ride height sorted by then. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Mark, Yes the Apollo tank is so called because it looks like an Apollo space rocket (for those with an imagination) or a silver fairy liquid bottle for those who don't. It will have a braided pipe coming out the top. It sits in front of the engine on the nearside of the car just under the nosecone - you will see it more easily if you take the nosecone off. I haven't looked too closely on mine to see where the temperature sender is but I think it will be fairly obvious as it will be the only bit with a wire attached. Your oil pressures sound fine - mine are around 60psi when revving cold dropping to high 50's once hot. At idle you will see just over 30 cold and high 20's hot. Looks like your only problem is the oil temperature sender now so locate that on the Apollo, check the connection and you shold have it sorted - as I said a reading of 999 indicates no sensor attached. For information, the Apollo tank is actually an air/oil separator - it removes air introduced by the crankshaft "whipping up" the oil in the sump. That air can cause cavitation in the hydraulic tappets - not good. The apollo also means there is more oil in the system and can help to reduce the effects of oil surge in long fast corners, although only a dry sump will prevent this. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Mark, Is there a loose connection somewhere? Off the top of my head, the 999 reading would occur if there was no sensor connected (check your "air temp" for example). Maybe as the temperature rises it is enough to increase the connection resistance so that the Stack does not see the sensor. It is a bit odd that both the oil temperature and pressure are affected though. The temperature sensor could be on the Apollo tank or if you haven't got an Apollo then the sensor could be located in the sump plug. Hope this helps but I'm no expert on this stuff - just lucky to have a Stack on my Superlight! I only had an oil temperature sensor added when the Apollo was installed - it wasn't part of the original set-up. Shaun Yellow SL #32

If they are Yoko "R" tyres (A021R, A032R or A048R) then 17-18psi cold which should give around 20-21 hot seems to be the standard. I start with 17 in my A021R's. You should check the pressures after the first session to see that the hot pressure is OK. Don't know about the A539's. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Do you have a heater? If so I believe you will be able to get some air out of the top heater hose as this is the highest point of the cooling system. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Both times I have been to Llandow (1 club day, 1 organised by the circuit) we were able to take passengers - they just had to sign an indemnity form - so you should be OK to scare your friends. Shaun Yellow SL #32

I would definitely recommend A021R's - I've just got my second set. You can get 185/60 or 185/70 in 13". The 60's are about £60 each and the 70's are significatnly cheaper (I have 60's so don't know the exact cost of the 70's). On road and wet track they are superb but they will overheat fairly quickly on a dry track. Just so you know they will wear out a lot quicker than normal road tyres so expect maximum of 5-6000 miles and less if you do track days. Otherwise just go for it. There are lots of alternatives and you could do worse than read this from the Caterham website. Caterham will recommend Avon CR500's but they are nearer £100 each. George Polley are the best source of Yokohama's and will deliver for about £15. You'll need to find a friendly local tyre fitter which may be harder than you would think. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Try around 17 psi cold which should get to around 20 hot. 21R's are great on road and on wet tracks but they overheat quickly on a dry track as I found out at Llandow a few weeks ago. Shaun Yellow SL #32

I drove the SSR demo car in January and made some comments on this site then - do a search and you should find it. Main differences from my 1600 Supersport were: 1. More difficult to start. 2. Lumpier idle - especially while cold. 3. Popping and banging on the overrun 😬 and flames occasionally. 4. Noticably more torque - i.e. will pull from lower revs. 5. I didn't think the throttle response was that good but that could be that I was not using the revs as I would on my own car. 6. Topend power noticeably higher. 7. Louder 8. On salty roads (it was the week of the snow) it was impossible to give it full power in first or second even in a straight line! 9. Check the immobiliser situation - I seem to remember that the upgrade eliminates the Rover "plipper" and your insurance may require you to fit another immobiliser. I think many people will suggest that you try a different upgrade route as for that money you can get more power and better driveability with say an Emerald ECU and Jenvey throttle bodies. However if you want to stay factory standard (and be able to sell your car back to Caterham) then the SSR route is probably the best open to you and effectively gives you an R300 engine. Shaun Yellow SL #32

OK I've spoken to Autocom and they say they haven't had any complaints about this before. I've done some investigation into the ear defenders used and Autocom use a Peltor ear defender called the H6 which is the lightest (and therefore slimmest) one that Peltor do. Peltor themselves use the H7 deluxe model as the basis for their intercom headsets - the H7 is heavier but offers more noise attenuation and has deeper cups and thicker pads. I suspect that Alex's point about straightening the wires will have the most impact on comfort but I do think that the speakers are not mounted very well in the cups. Autocom have agreed to recess the speakers a bit more so if I can't improve the fit myself I'll send them back for Autocom to try. Thanks for your input (and yes I have a windscreen ) Shaun Yellow SL #32