Westfield/Caterham ground clearance
Discussion
Hi,
Me again, tried to do a search as i'm sure this has been asked before but search function is out of action.
What kind of road clearance are you guys getting from your Caterham/Westfields particularly the sump area or anything else down the centre of the car, the reason being I have looked at both CVH engined and a Zetec engined cars and whilst the main body has 13-14cm clearance the sump hangs a fair bit lower at only 7-8cm clearance.
Alot of the roads around our way have a hump down the middle due to grain lorries running along them so you end up with a raised ridge down the centre of the road that i'm guessing would need all the 13cm of clearance to be safe.
Do i need to be looking for a 'dry-sumped' engine?
Any thoughts greatly recieved
Regards
C B
Me again, tried to do a search as i'm sure this has been asked before but search function is out of action.
What kind of road clearance are you guys getting from your Caterham/Westfields particularly the sump area or anything else down the centre of the car, the reason being I have looked at both CVH engined and a Zetec engined cars and whilst the main body has 13-14cm clearance the sump hangs a fair bit lower at only 7-8cm clearance.
Alot of the roads around our way have a hump down the middle due to grain lorries running along them so you end up with a raised ridge down the centre of the road that i'm guessing would need all the 13cm of clearance to be safe.
Do i need to be looking for a 'dry-sumped' engine?
Any thoughts greatly recieved
Regards
C B
Even if the sump is made drastically less deep, the problem then will be the gearbox bellhousing. You can take a bit off the bottom of that, but the flywheel will be the limiting factor. In some cars you might be able to raise the engine/gearbox unit, a bit, that might help if a short sump won't do it.
It doesn't sound as if your local roads are ideal for this sort of car.
It doesn't sound as if your local roads are ideal for this sort of car.
70-80mm clearance? I wish. On my XI I have a huge 50mm, I can get by on most roads but those speed cushions are a no no if they couple them with a traffic island, which they love to do near me.
In my old pinto engined SE I rarely had any issues with ground clearance, don't know what height it was running though.
In my old pinto engined SE I rarely had any issues with ground clearance, don't know what height it was running though.
crazybull said:
...the main body has 13-14cm clearance the sump hangs a fair bit lower at only 7-8cm clearance.
Most 'Sevens' have adjustable spring seats, of course, but those clearances are pretty typical.The sump isn't as big an issue as you might think, because it's fairly close to the front wheels, therefore they will lift it over ramps and speed humps... ironically, it's often the higher chassis that grounds in the middle of the wheelbase as you go over the top of ramps in particular.
redmire said:
I would love to drive a Caterham (When i get one) to work occassionally but the ammount of Speed Bumps seem to make this impossible!
Does anyone else use a Caterham around London, or any other Speed bump breeding areas?
If so, how do you manage?
Mike.
I live in the London area and whilst I'll generally avoid roads that I know have the dreaded speed bumps my Westfield has not had any problems so far.Does anyone else use a Caterham around London, or any other Speed bump breeding areas?
If so, how do you manage?
Mike.
It has a non standard low level sump but the key is to take your time and go slowly, slowly.
I find I have more trouble with steep inclines like a drive for example, easy to ground out the belly.
The general opinion on the LocostBuilders forum is that 100mm is the bare minimum for speed bumps, as that's supposed to be their legal max height. I'm sure that all of us have seen higher ones though...
Mine's almost exactly 100mm from the bottom of the bellhousing to the floor.
Mine's almost exactly 100mm from the bottom of the bellhousing to the floor.
Edited by Jerkins on Thursday 17th June 13:08
i have a Tiger with a shortened sump, i live down country lanes where often bits of flint get piled down the middle of the road by tractors / lorries. I decided to fit a skid pan to protect the sump ( althoughj its dry sumped )...the good and the bad is that i now clout more stuff than i would have as that loses me another 1/2 inch. I have about 60mm max between the sump and ground, but no more than 50 with the guard.
some speed humps are fine - the raised platform type for example, but many rsult in a grounding out and then its a question of powering over them once i've gently beached the car.
since fitting the guard i hit a lump of scaffolding that i couldnt avoid ( a bracket ) it scored the tray and the car went up in the air like a speedboat finally ripping a hole under the drivers seat, have hit numerous stones that have battered it - but it was the best mod that i've done to the car, without it i'd have lost the sump a few times.
a pal of mine had a freek accident a few weeks back, was overtaking a pushbike down a main road that had a fair camber, he straddled the white line and there was a bit of uneven road surface as well at that point - he managed to hit a solid cats eye that ripped his sump. personal opinion is that i wouldnt run one of these cars without one.
some speed humps are fine - the raised platform type for example, but many rsult in a grounding out and then its a question of powering over them once i've gently beached the car.
since fitting the guard i hit a lump of scaffolding that i couldnt avoid ( a bracket ) it scored the tray and the car went up in the air like a speedboat finally ripping a hole under the drivers seat, have hit numerous stones that have battered it - but it was the best mod that i've done to the car, without it i'd have lost the sump a few times.
a pal of mine had a freek accident a few weeks back, was overtaking a pushbike down a main road that had a fair camber, he straddled the white line and there was a bit of uneven road surface as well at that point - he managed to hit a solid cats eye that ripped his sump. personal opinion is that i wouldnt run one of these cars without one.
My Caterham had 50mm at the lowest point under the bellhousing.
Sump pan and bellhoisung were cst ally, so it could (and did) scrape without doing damage.
The only time I did damage as a result of ground clearance was the day I dropped a wheel into a dip in a badly maintained road near Hever Castle.
That was 14 months ago and was the last time I drove it. Repair estimate was £37k.
K2RUM RIP.
Sump pan and bellhoisung were cst ally, so it could (and did) scrape without doing damage.
The only time I did damage as a result of ground clearance was the day I dropped a wheel into a dip in a badly maintained road near Hever Castle.
That was 14 months ago and was the last time I drove it. Repair estimate was £37k.
K2RUM RIP.
Gassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff