New 420R owner
Discussion
Got the new rad tech radiator fitted yesterday, took quite a while as I wanted to make sure it’s fitted right and not twisted up or under any stress.
I ordered the race version of the rad tech rad, the difference with it is the bobbins mount directly to the radiator so it does away with a couple of brackets as well as having a different mounting point for the fan.
It does away with a big bag of bolts and brackets, in keeping with simplify and add lightness!
I also made an oil cooler cover to keep on over winter.
I also cut the original stiff rubber hose down and fitted a 620r silicone top coolant hose to see if the amount of vibrations transmitted to the top right corner of the rad can be reduced, as I think that is part of the reason the Caterham radiators keep failing at that point (I have gone through 3 Caterham rads in a year!)
Glad to say it seems to have worked! On tickover previously the radiator used to vibrate like a jackhammer and now it barely moves at all! So fingers crossed I have no problems with this one, I also switched to blue coolant, and used spacers to ensure the rad was under no stress or twisted when mounted.
Overall really happy with how it turned out! Next week I’m going to carry out the full service and change diff oil etc!
I ordered the race version of the rad tech rad, the difference with it is the bobbins mount directly to the radiator so it does away with a couple of brackets as well as having a different mounting point for the fan.
It does away with a big bag of bolts and brackets, in keeping with simplify and add lightness!
I also made an oil cooler cover to keep on over winter.
I also cut the original stiff rubber hose down and fitted a 620r silicone top coolant hose to see if the amount of vibrations transmitted to the top right corner of the rad can be reduced, as I think that is part of the reason the Caterham radiators keep failing at that point (I have gone through 3 Caterham rads in a year!)
Glad to say it seems to have worked! On tickover previously the radiator used to vibrate like a jackhammer and now it barely moves at all! So fingers crossed I have no problems with this one, I also switched to blue coolant, and used spacers to ensure the rad was under no stress or twisted when mounted.
Overall really happy with how it turned out! Next week I’m going to carry out the full service and change diff oil etc!
Curious to see how your new rad setup works. I just discovered a pinhole leak (just a little evidence of misting/spraying, but not enough to drip) in the same upper corner on my 420R rad. My plan is to have it welded/repaired if possible. I like your idea to change to the silicone hose - I think I may do the same thing. I can also route the hose around the oil catch bottle so that I can remove it for emptying, rather than having to suck it out. When you swapped out the rad, I assume you can just unbolt the oil cooler and leave it all hooked up?
Also curious to know how the oil cooler blocker works. Do you have an oil temp gauge? I'm curious to know how much warmer your oil runs with it on When I drive my car to the track on cold mornings I block the lower nosecone inlet with cardboard (I have the 420R "race" nosecone). It does bump up oil temps by about 10 degrees F, but it's still scary low sometimes. It looks like your cover will work much better. Can you slip it in and out without taking the fan off? How it is held on?
Also curious to know how the oil cooler blocker works. Do you have an oil temp gauge? I'm curious to know how much warmer your oil runs with it on When I drive my car to the track on cold mornings I block the lower nosecone inlet with cardboard (I have the 420R "race" nosecone). It does bump up oil temps by about 10 degrees F, but it's still scary low sometimes. It looks like your cover will work much better. Can you slip it in and out without taking the fan off? How it is held on?
Edited by KnifeySpoony on Saturday 3rd December 17:44
Edited by KnifeySpoony on Saturday 3rd December 17:45
KnifeySpoony said:
Curious to see how your new rad setup works. I just discovered a pinhole leak (just a little evidence of misting/spraying, but not enough to drip) in the same upper corner on my 420R rad. My plan is to have it welded/repaired if possible. I like your idea to change to the silicone hose - I think I may do the same thing. I can also route the hose around the oil catch bottle so that I can remove it for emptying, rather than having to suck it out.
I would go for it! Really easy to do, and literally almost no vibration now at all, I would say also if you take it off to repair, put it back on yourself and make sure it’s not twisted when it’s mounted and not over tightened.KnifeySpoony said:
I edited my post to add some additional questions - any comments there?
I have no oil temp read out at the moment, but the temp probe is already in the oil tank so I will sort one soon, I thought I would cover over winter just based on the stories of scary low oil temps!It slides under the fan just about, and held on with cable ties, so I would just cut them when it’s time to remove. Although I don’t think it would work with the standard rad, there is a small gap between the rad and oil cooler with the new rad, with the stock rad there was no gap, so wouldn’t be able to put cable ties between them, also the fan mounts on the stock rad go down over the oil cooler which might cause an issue too.
Full service done today, oil, plugs and diff oil. All went well considering it's my first time! Removing diff oil was a bit tricky. Went for the RRT LS90 diff oil to see if it smooths out the diff a little, looking forward to the next drive to try it out, but just waiting on the new gearbox oil to arrive so I can change that over next week.
Absolutely loving working on the car myself, it's a completely unexpected bonus to owning this car, all I thought about when I bought it was the driving, having never really turned a wrench before. But I'm really enjoying learning the mechanicals and being able to carry out work on the car yourself rather than shipping it off to a garage, I completely get now how "self building" must be very rewarding! definitely something to cross off the list in the future when my son is old enough to be involved!
Absolutely loving working on the car myself, it's a completely unexpected bonus to owning this car, all I thought about when I bought it was the driving, having never really turned a wrench before. But I'm really enjoying learning the mechanicals and being able to carry out work on the car yourself rather than shipping it off to a garage, I completely get now how "self building" must be very rewarding! definitely something to cross off the list in the future when my son is old enough to be involved!
Got a couple of little bits done today, switched around the front grill so the painted 7 is in front of the black grill rather than behind, not sure if I like it, but means I can keep the painted 7 clean easier!
also changed the bottom nose cone fasteners to the winged version, so much better to use! and fitted another soft bits pocked to the interior
also changed the bottom nose cone fasteners to the winged version, so much better to use! and fitted another soft bits pocked to the interior
Managed to get the car off the axle stands today to give it a shake down and make the most of the break in the weather.
the RRT LS90 diff oil is phenomenal, my cars sintered plate diff banged and clattered like an old JCB going round slow tight corners or pulling out of junctions, so I was sceptical to how much difference just oil could make. But even pulling out of my driveway the first two meters the clattering was completely gone, absolutely zero clattering from the plates now, I would say it's got rid of 90% of the diff noise, I'm blown away!
also the Redline MTL in the gearbox has made a huge difference, the gearbox before was fairly stiff and notchy. When I removed the old oil it was grim, and in need of a change, so I was expecting an improvement. But again im surprised at how much better it is, feels much much lighter and slicker to change, and no notchy feeling at all. Much more enjoyable to use. Very pleased with the results on both!
the RRT LS90 diff oil is phenomenal, my cars sintered plate diff banged and clattered like an old JCB going round slow tight corners or pulling out of junctions, so I was sceptical to how much difference just oil could make. But even pulling out of my driveway the first two meters the clattering was completely gone, absolutely zero clattering from the plates now, I would say it's got rid of 90% of the diff noise, I'm blown away!
also the Redline MTL in the gearbox has made a huge difference, the gearbox before was fairly stiff and notchy. When I removed the old oil it was grim, and in need of a change, so I was expecting an improvement. But again im surprised at how much better it is, feels much much lighter and slicker to change, and no notchy feeling at all. Much more enjoyable to use. Very pleased with the results on both!
Managed to get the car off the axle stands today to give it a shake down and make the most of the break in the weather.
the RRT LS90 diff oil is phenomenal, my cars sintered plate diff banged and clattered like an old JCB going round slow tight corners or pulling out of junctions, so I was sceptical to how much difference just oil could make. But even pulling out of my driveway the first two meters the clattering was completely gone, absolutely zero clattering from the plates now, I would say it's got rid of 90% of the diff noise, I'm blown away!
also the Redline MTL in the gearbox has made a huge difference, the gearbox before was fairly stiff and notchy. When I removed the old oil it was grim, and in need of a change, so I was expecting an improvement. But again im surprised at how much better it is, feels much much lighter and slicker to change, and no notchy feeling at all. Much more enjoyable to use. Very pleased with the results on both!
the RRT LS90 diff oil is phenomenal, my cars sintered plate diff banged and clattered like an old JCB going round slow tight corners or pulling out of junctions, so I was sceptical to how much difference just oil could make. But even pulling out of my driveway the first two meters the clattering was completely gone, absolutely zero clattering from the plates now, I would say it's got rid of 90% of the diff noise, I'm blown away!
also the Redline MTL in the gearbox has made a huge difference, the gearbox before was fairly stiff and notchy. When I removed the old oil it was grim, and in need of a change, so I was expecting an improvement. But again im surprised at how much better it is, feels much much lighter and slicker to change, and no notchy feeling at all. Much more enjoyable to use. Very pleased with the results on both!
I have moved the build thread over to the “Readers Rides” area, thought it might be a more appropriate area for this type of thread! Link bellow.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Hi Max, great thread, really useful and interesting and what a great car!
I'm spec'ing a similar car shortly (420r) and I wondered what yours and others' experiences were of the track-day exhaust.
Posting in the Caterham section to better target those who might be able to advise - and not take your new build thread off track!
- how necessary is it at tracks like Brands, Silverstone and Bedford - how close is the standard car to what look like the lowest limits of 101dB static/87.5dB drive by?
- how does it change the sound? It must reduce the dB (or what's the point?!) but how much, and does it detract from the sound itself?
I plan on road and some track, and would rather not have to worry about being allowed on or being black-flagged.
Cheers
I'm spec'ing a similar car shortly (420r) and I wondered what yours and others' experiences were of the track-day exhaust.
Posting in the Caterham section to better target those who might be able to advise - and not take your new build thread off track!
- how necessary is it at tracks like Brands, Silverstone and Bedford - how close is the standard car to what look like the lowest limits of 101dB static/87.5dB drive by?
- how does it change the sound? It must reduce the dB (or what's the point?!) but how much, and does it detract from the sound itself?
I plan on road and some track, and would rather not have to worry about being allowed on or being black-flagged.
Cheers
number2 said:
Hi Max, great thread, really useful and interesting and what a great car!
I'm spec'ing a similar car shortly (420r) and I wondered what yours and others' experiences were of the track-day exhaust.
Posting in the Caterham section to better target those who might be able to advise - and not take your new build thread off track!
- how necessary is it at tracks like Brands, Silverstone and Bedford - how close is the standard car to what look like the lowest limits of 101dB static/87.5dB drive by?
- how does it change the sound? It must reduce the dB (or what's the point?!) but how much, and does it detract from the sound itself?
I plan on road and some track, and would rather not have to worry about being allowed on or being black-flagged.
Cheers
Cheers!I'm spec'ing a similar car shortly (420r) and I wondered what yours and others' experiences were of the track-day exhaust.
Posting in the Caterham section to better target those who might be able to advise - and not take your new build thread off track!
- how necessary is it at tracks like Brands, Silverstone and Bedford - how close is the standard car to what look like the lowest limits of 101dB static/87.5dB drive by?
- how does it change the sound? It must reduce the dB (or what's the point?!) but how much, and does it detract from the sound itself?
I plan on road and some track, and would rather not have to worry about being allowed on or being black-flagged.
Cheers
Yes no worries, I personally love the exhaust, when I first saw the car for sale, the rear exhaust was something I was planning on removing, I wouldn’t have spec’d it as I thought (wrongly) that it would be too quiet.
But after I got the car I loved the exhaust, it’s loud enough! I think it sounds great, still a hard edged exhaust note, doesn’t sound muffled, and zero worries going on track (Bedford is my local track).
I also like the exhaust at the back as when the windscreen and doors are on you don’t need to wear earplugs as there is no side exhaust blaring into your right ear!
So my advice is go for it, it sounds great, good for track and in my opinion it makes the car look better having something at the rear, makes the car look a bit lower I think.
MTW said:
Cheers!
Yes no worries, I personally love the exhaust, when I first saw the car for sale, the rear exhaust was something I was planning on removing, I wouldn’t have spec’d it as I thought (wrongly) that it would be too quiet.
But after I got the car I loved the exhaust, it’s loud enough! I think it sounds great, still a hard edged exhaust note, doesn’t sound muffled, and zero worries going on track (Bedford is my local track).
I also like the exhaust at the back as when the windscreen and doors are on you don’t need to wear earplugs as there is no side exhaust blaring into your right ear!
So my advice is go for it, it sounds great, good for track and in my opinion it makes the car look better having something at the rear, makes the car look a bit lower I think.
Thanks for the response, it's appreciated. Yes no worries, I personally love the exhaust, when I first saw the car for sale, the rear exhaust was something I was planning on removing, I wouldn’t have spec’d it as I thought (wrongly) that it would be too quiet.
But after I got the car I loved the exhaust, it’s loud enough! I think it sounds great, still a hard edged exhaust note, doesn’t sound muffled, and zero worries going on track (Bedford is my local track).
I also like the exhaust at the back as when the windscreen and doors are on you don’t need to wear earplugs as there is no side exhaust blaring into your right ear!
So my advice is go for it, it sounds great, good for track and in my opinion it makes the car look better having something at the rear, makes the car look a bit lower I think.
Sounds like - excuse the pun - there's nothing to be worried about. Aesthetically, I like it too, so that's a bonus!
Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff