several questions from a newbie R300 driver

[sjr-997]

i've been enoying my new toy this weekend in the sunshine up here in north yorkshire ! absolutely love the car and have done 150 miles this weekend just blatting around ! I now have a couple of questions for everyone :-)

1. the oil level is fine on the dipstick - but i don't understand the oil pressure level on the gauge. its about a third of the way off the red level and doesn't seem to vary much regardless of the load on the engine. which maybe is a good sign ? at least its not wavering around much. where on the gauge should it be if the engine is under normal load ?

2. i fancy changing to a suede steering wheel from a leather momo quick release one as i prefer the grippability of suede (the standard one i have is with the flat steel front with three set screws) can I just order the wheel from the caterham website, or do i need a new boss ? or do i need to drill new holes in the new wheel for the mounting to the boss ?

3. Which graphics should the R300 have on it ? just the ones on the bonnett or one on the rear as well near the fuel filler ? mine has none on it as I think the original owner elected not to fit them, and i'd like to add them, again just be ordering from the caterham website I think ?

4. front number plate is a bit precarious...the sticky pads are coming loose. what is the legal situation of changing to a much smaller plate legally ? is it a waste of time as i'll only get stopped by plod ?

still staggered by the noise, power and acceleration....and i'm a 911 owner ! just relentless acceleration and great fun. you don't even need to be going very quickly to appreciate what a great piece of engineering it is !

[casbar]

Oil pressure sender is a know problem, they are carp. A lot of owners changed to a mechanical guage and fit a pressure warning lamp as well. Lots of info on the L7 club site on the bits to buy to carry out this conversion.

Number plate wise, if you have an illegal sized plate you take your chances with plod. I have a stick on plate on the nose cone, never been stopped.

R300 graphics, can't help much there, mine is used mostly on the track, hardly ever gets washed, so I couldn't give a stuff about what the stickers say, I'm not a pollisher

[gedG]

1, As Casbar said, the senders are renowned for failing, I changed mine for a SPA digital set up.
2, I would drill the new wheel to match your existing boss.

I see you're from North Yorks, there's a Teesside area meet at the Blackwell Ox, Carlton in Cleveland, near Stokesley, on Monday night (03/03/08). Good food and good banter if you can make it.

Edited by gedG on Sunday 2nd March 21:36

[Risky]

Oil pressure senders are a problem as they tend to fail and they're about £26 each. It seems to be caused by water entering them and casuing corrosion. Buy a new one and seal around the spade terminal with some silicone to prevent water ingress.

[James.S]

Forget the wheel unless your going to wear gloves, the sweat form your palms causes the die to run, instead look at a larger diameter wheel with a removable boss.

[FEATHERFOOT]

I was out on the NY moors yesterday afternoon - trying to out run the rain shower that was chasing me, gave the guy in his red 430 Ferrari a bit of a suprise, but better than getting soaked!

Hello from another N Yorks owner (yellow CSR)