New 420R owner
Discussion
Matt W said:
Lovely looking car and great to see you enjoying it so much.
Do you have lowered floors? In those track photos it looks like you'e sitting quite high up and your helmet is almost the same level as the top of the roll bar.
Thanks mate, yes I do have lowered floors, I did notice that also, bit too close for comfort with the helmet, not sure what else I could do, maybe try and lose the adjustable seat rails and solid mount the seat lower?Do you have lowered floors? In those track photos it looks like you'e sitting quite high up and your helmet is almost the same level as the top of the roll bar.
Fitted a few bits I had in the garage this week, some posh hardware for the aero screen etc
Low profile rear Center caps
High effort brake pedal and master cylinder shim (not sure I have this set up correctly, the pedal seems softer and travel longer than the standard pedal, I have a feeling the shim is causing the issue)
And fitted a GO RACING QR boss and upper column, feels much more solid than the lifeline, zero play, and the steering wheel spacer is much lighter than the old one I had, plus it looks great!
I fitted a new upper steering bush at the same time, as there was some play in the old one, all in all feels much better!
Sorted a few niggles too, removed the grill 7 and cleaned it is was filthy and re attached one of my carbon front carnards as there was one rivet that I didn’t instal correctly originally.
Unfortunately I also found that the new radiator fitted by Caterham two months ago is leaking now in the same place as the last one! This is radiator number 3. I think this time I will get Caterham to send me a new rad and fit it myself, as I think the issue is in the mounting and hardness of the top coolant hose, and needs some investigation.
Low profile rear Center caps
High effort brake pedal and master cylinder shim (not sure I have this set up correctly, the pedal seems softer and travel longer than the standard pedal, I have a feeling the shim is causing the issue)
And fitted a GO RACING QR boss and upper column, feels much more solid than the lifeline, zero play, and the steering wheel spacer is much lighter than the old one I had, plus it looks great!
I fitted a new upper steering bush at the same time, as there was some play in the old one, all in all feels much better!
Sorted a few niggles too, removed the grill 7 and cleaned it is was filthy and re attached one of my carbon front carnards as there was one rivet that I didn’t instal correctly originally.
Unfortunately I also found that the new radiator fitted by Caterham two months ago is leaking now in the same place as the last one! This is radiator number 3. I think this time I will get Caterham to send me a new rad and fit it myself, as I think the issue is in the mounting and hardness of the top coolant hose, and needs some investigation.
Does the upper coolant hose touch anything (like the frame bracket) other than the radiator itself? The radiator needs to be able to able to move around on its rubber mounts. I think some have had issue where chassis vibration caused rad failure. I noticed on my car that the end of the coolant hose was touching the bracket and potentially limiting radiator freedom to move, so I trimmed the hose a bit there and the rad is free to move better.
KnifeySpoony said:
Does the upper coolant hose touch anything (like the frame bracket) other than the radiator itself? The radiator needs to be able to able to move around on its rubber mounts. I think some have had issue where chassis vibration caused rad failure. I noticed on my car that the end of the coolant hose was touching the bracket and potentially limiting radiator freedom to move, so I trimmed the hose a bit there and the rad is free to move better.
Yes it does touch the hose slightly, I think the issue might be that top rubber hose is too stiff.When I fit the new rad I might see if I can replace part of it with silicone to reduce the vibration in that top corner. I have seen another 420r owner has done that and it seems to have cured the issue.
When I was assembling a 420R kit this Spring, I noticed the top radiator outlet was in contact with the support bracket and had to file the top of the bracket down 5+mm to give satisfactory clearance. The contact point is not that obvious because it is under the rad outlet so would be easy to miss and not helped by the relatively poor alignment between the rad outlet and the top hose. When I queried this with Caterham they said they try to use the same hoses across a number of different models. A sort of one size fits none.
Not much to report, removed Aeroscreen and changed back to windscreen and doors. Went for a good blat as I haven't driven the car in a few weeks. Miss the Aeroscreen already! Gave her a quick clean when I got back.
When the car was laid up while on holiday I had left the indicator on, and even though the ignition was off and the car was on a ctek it killed the battery, which I find odd! But got a new banner from redline and all is well again!
When the car was laid up while on holiday I had left the indicator on, and even though the ignition was off and the car was on a ctek it killed the battery, which I find odd! But got a new banner from redline and all is well again!
A few shots from Snetterton on Thursday, a great day and loads of Sevens there.
getting a lot more confidence in the car now, and learning a lot every time I go out on track with it.
the high effort brake pedal i fitted a few weeks ago made a huge difference on track, so much more progressive and a lot more feel at the bottom than the stock pedal, you can feel much better when the car is about to lock up, really impressed with the difference.
I did burn through a set of rear pads, luckily it only happened about a mile from home, the car sounded like a rusty old train coming to a stop, so I have some new pads on order and get that sorted soon!
getting a lot more confidence in the car now, and learning a lot every time I go out on track with it.
the high effort brake pedal i fitted a few weeks ago made a huge difference on track, so much more progressive and a lot more feel at the bottom than the stock pedal, you can feel much better when the car is about to lock up, really impressed with the difference.
I did burn through a set of rear pads, luckily it only happened about a mile from home, the car sounded like a rusty old train coming to a stop, so I have some new pads on order and get that sorted soon!
A few more bits off the “to do” list this week.
Fitted a quad lock wireless charging phone mount, which works nicely!
Also fitted a fire stick I bought a while ago
Finally I fitted a 255mm SPA steering wheel I had in the garage, as my Momo was almost completely bald, so I thought I would try out the SPA until I get a new Momo
And a nice shot from Bicester heritage last week
Fitted a quad lock wireless charging phone mount, which works nicely!
Also fitted a fire stick I bought a while ago
Finally I fitted a 255mm SPA steering wheel I had in the garage, as my Momo was almost completely bald, so I thought I would try out the SPA until I get a new Momo
And a nice shot from Bicester heritage last week
KnifeySpoony said:
If you like your wheel center caps, I would recommend removing them while on track. They can go missing or melt quite easily (at least on some cars). Some racing orgs require removal here in the states.
Car looking great as usual. When do the roller barrels go on?
Ah thanks for the tip! I haven’t had any problems with them so far but I will keep and eye on them! I think I’m going to go the jenvey throttle body route with an R500 style carbon air box as soon as funds allow!Car looking great as usual. When do the roller barrels go on?
Managed to fit my new windscreen today (what an absolute pig of a job that is) along with Eccles mounts and carbon mirrors.
Also all the bits have arrived for a full service, so I'm going to be carrying that out myself, doing oil, filter, plugs, diff oil and coolant. Plus replacing my 4th leaky Caterham rad with a radtec version, so hopefully that will last a bit longer!
Also all the bits have arrived for a full service, so I'm going to be carrying that out myself, doing oil, filter, plugs, diff oil and coolant. Plus replacing my 4th leaky Caterham rad with a radtec version, so hopefully that will last a bit longer!
Coolcatshaft said:
I am guessing you fitted a new bit of glass in the existing frame? otherwise surely its the same as each time to remove it for the aeroscreen or am I missing something?
You would hope so! But no, it was a whole new frame, main issues were just quality related tbh, the screws that hold the frame together were not properly countersunk from factory so the uprights wouldn’t fit tight to the frame, so I had to pretty much dismantle the frame and countersink the holes myself! Also fitting the brand new seal and getting it right was a bit of a chore!Max-Wilde said:
You would hope so! But no, it was a whole new frame, main issues were just quality related tbh, the screws that hold the frame together were not properly countersunk from factory so the uprights wouldn’t fit tight to the frame, so I had to pretty much dismantle the frame and countersink the holes myself! Also fitting the brand new seal and getting it right was a bit of a chore!
aaah, got you! Fun and games of caterham ownership I have to look forward to next year!
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