Caterham Superlight R #29
Discussion
I've continued to really enjoy the Superlight R over the summer in the fantastic weather that we've had this year. My parents came down to visit and I got to take my Dad out in it which was cool. We stopped for fuel and then drove to the local brewery to collect beer.
When we got back the alternator belt had a slight squeak, so I put my Dad to work to earn his beer...
He's a time-served mechanic on all sorts of stuff and has helped me to build race cars in the past. He adjusted the belt easily but afterwards we found the oil pressure gauge was no longer working. I investigated and isolated it to probably being a broken wire but couldn't find the problem, so I took it down to PGM where they diagnosed that the oil-pressure take off hose had damaged braid which had chewed through the signal wire. It turned out to be a lucky catch as the hose internal was bulging and failure would have obviously meant oil evacuating quickly with potential engine damage occurring.
Collecting the car from PGM gave me another chance to use the bike carrier. I've since changed the way the rear wheel attaches by using a Seasucker and I have to say the bike is held absolutely rock-solidly even up to ahem, high speeds...
I thought I'd also stick some recent pics up of some of the carbon details on the car. It's easy to take these for granted when I saw the car everyday but they really do look great.
And so onto the next chapter.
I'd fancied something daft after the Elise went and a fluorescent yellow car with no windscreen seemed to fit that bill. I enjoyed the journey of buying it and researching its history but quickly realised that the plans I had for it made no sense. Caterhams are really sensitive to spec and history and this being an SLR with provenance had a value that was really closely tied to being the spec it was. So the cage I'd bought and other fancy carbon bits didn't get fitted. Instead I essentially did a restoration and the car now is as it left the factory, but just with the spec polished to improve it and make it better to drive. Caterhams are also sensitive to seasons and weather, so If I was going to sell I had to do it now or wait until next summer. So I but out a tentative 'I might sell this' on Instagram and as luck would have it someone who'd been following this PH thread got in touch and was keen to buy.
So I took my last trip in the car to go and collect him.
That view is one I'll certainly miss. As is the incredible good will that the car garners from other road users; something that's incredibly rare nowadays.
I didn't really enjoy the Superlight R at first, it seemed quite slow and cumbersome after my Elise that I'd really honed to be a GT3 killer. However over the months I grew to really enjoy it. The weather's obviously been perfect for a car like this and taking it out in convoy with some v. quick cars made me realise that the performance it had when you really pushed it was actually very impressive. This particular SLR is set up and mapped really, really well; It feels at least as quick as R500s (K) that I've driven but is also incredibly flexible. It'll pull 6th gear from tickover with no fuss or histrionics. The Caterham itch may have been scratched but it's certainly one I'll revisit. I'd buy a race car next time though; they're cheaper to start with for a given spec and less sensitive to modifications in terms of value. I really wanted one with a cage so that box would get ticked too.
Everyone should have a fast Caterham at some point. Now it's gone, I really do miss it and so will my kids which is an absolute first for any of my cars as they usually show no interest whatsoever.
So it's gone. Yet it genuinely couldn't have gone to a nicer bloke. From the very first contact through the entire process and transaction it was a pleasure to deal with him and to sell him a car. So although the SLR will be missed I was pleased that it was going to someone cool and that obviously was going to enjoy the car to its best. He said he'll take over the thread so I'll sign out and hand over to him. I'll stick a new thread up soon for my next car, although most of the cash will be going into house renovations.
Thank you F1URO, you were a blast.
When we got back the alternator belt had a slight squeak, so I put my Dad to work to earn his beer...
He's a time-served mechanic on all sorts of stuff and has helped me to build race cars in the past. He adjusted the belt easily but afterwards we found the oil pressure gauge was no longer working. I investigated and isolated it to probably being a broken wire but couldn't find the problem, so I took it down to PGM where they diagnosed that the oil-pressure take off hose had damaged braid which had chewed through the signal wire. It turned out to be a lucky catch as the hose internal was bulging and failure would have obviously meant oil evacuating quickly with potential engine damage occurring.
Collecting the car from PGM gave me another chance to use the bike carrier. I've since changed the way the rear wheel attaches by using a Seasucker and I have to say the bike is held absolutely rock-solidly even up to ahem, high speeds...
I thought I'd also stick some recent pics up of some of the carbon details on the car. It's easy to take these for granted when I saw the car everyday but they really do look great.
And so onto the next chapter.
I'd fancied something daft after the Elise went and a fluorescent yellow car with no windscreen seemed to fit that bill. I enjoyed the journey of buying it and researching its history but quickly realised that the plans I had for it made no sense. Caterhams are really sensitive to spec and history and this being an SLR with provenance had a value that was really closely tied to being the spec it was. So the cage I'd bought and other fancy carbon bits didn't get fitted. Instead I essentially did a restoration and the car now is as it left the factory, but just with the spec polished to improve it and make it better to drive. Caterhams are also sensitive to seasons and weather, so If I was going to sell I had to do it now or wait until next summer. So I but out a tentative 'I might sell this' on Instagram and as luck would have it someone who'd been following this PH thread got in touch and was keen to buy.
So I took my last trip in the car to go and collect him.
That view is one I'll certainly miss. As is the incredible good will that the car garners from other road users; something that's incredibly rare nowadays.
I didn't really enjoy the Superlight R at first, it seemed quite slow and cumbersome after my Elise that I'd really honed to be a GT3 killer. However over the months I grew to really enjoy it. The weather's obviously been perfect for a car like this and taking it out in convoy with some v. quick cars made me realise that the performance it had when you really pushed it was actually very impressive. This particular SLR is set up and mapped really, really well; It feels at least as quick as R500s (K) that I've driven but is also incredibly flexible. It'll pull 6th gear from tickover with no fuss or histrionics. The Caterham itch may have been scratched but it's certainly one I'll revisit. I'd buy a race car next time though; they're cheaper to start with for a given spec and less sensitive to modifications in terms of value. I really wanted one with a cage so that box would get ticked too.
Everyone should have a fast Caterham at some point. Now it's gone, I really do miss it and so will my kids which is an absolute first for any of my cars as they usually show no interest whatsoever.
So it's gone. Yet it genuinely couldn't have gone to a nicer bloke. From the very first contact through the entire process and transaction it was a pleasure to deal with him and to sell him a car. So although the SLR will be missed I was pleased that it was going to someone cool and that obviously was going to enjoy the car to its best. He said he'll take over the thread so I'll sign out and hand over to him. I'll stick a new thread up soon for my next car, although most of the cash will be going into house renovations.
Thank you F1URO, you were a blast.
Great work! Looking forward to the next thread already. Great updates on this one all along, and I love the work you did on the car. I know it from when a previous owner had it, and it's a wonderful thing, even more so for the work you've done. Good job, Sir!
Come on, new owner. Fess up!
Come on, new owner. Fess up!
573 said:
They're very different. The Elise chassis is much more competent than the Caterham one, but then you'd expect it to be as it's 50 years newer. The Lotus chassis is significantly stiffer and has much better architecture.
The Caterham is essentially limited by a very primitive rear axle. Where an Elise will flow down a road in a lovely, oiled, light-footed way, the Caterham rear end is limited in its ability to deal with imperfections. The front end of the Caterham is great, you point it and it goes, the back may skip, step out or grip but you often don't know which until you've committed. So, you drive with an additional margin or you get used to grabbing some opposite lock. I'm fine with this and don't mind a high-speed drift but it means you need to be absolutely on top of things when pushing on, but then I guess you should be anyway. At 7 or 8/10ths it's all sorts of fun. Through slower stuff you can choose to overdrive the rears with a flex of the foot and either leave a corner with a subtle over-rotation tucking the nose in, or with them lit up, leaving black lines and nicely crossed up. The LSD locks quickly and progressively. The quick rack and tiny steering wheel means you drive with your wrists whereas the Elise you use your elbows too.
I'm yet to get it on track. I imagine the Caterham will come into its own on a smoother surface where the rear axle limitations will impact overall capability less.
I'm having to remember what a more standard Elise is like as my last one had almost every component uprated, but as standard the Caterham has a vastly superior gearchange, the 6-speed box is very sweet and obviously the lever interacts directly and mechanically without any additional linkages or bloody cables.
Brakes on both cars are similar. My SLR has the uprated AP brakes and master cylinder with the proportioning valve. Both have great unservo-ed pedal feel and give lots of feedback. I'm not overly keen on the Pagids the Caterham currently wears, before track use I'll probably swap to my default favourite pads, CL RC6 as I love the feel of them and they're practically infallible.
Ergonomics the Lotus wins hands down. The Caterham pedal box is really limited. I don't like the lack of clutch stop. I don't like that my clutch foot has nowhere to brace. I don't like that it's compromised for heel and toe, I often catch my heel on the right-hand internal wall when heel and toeing and must keep my foot less twisted sideways than I'd prefer. The S1 Elise pedal box is practically perfect though, so it's stiff competition. With the lowered floors I find the handbrake in the way of my left arm too. I can see why race chassis don't have one there. I have to tuck my arm over the tunnel which is difficult with a passenger.
However, you asked about fun.
The Caterham, especially with the aeroscreen on is an absolute riot. It feels like it should be very illegal and it's completely and utterly attention consuming. It removes another layer that isolates you from the environment and immerses you into your surroundings and gives you a wide-screen HD version of the analogue act of driving. As pure fun, it beats the Elise hands down.
So, it's an old-fashioned car and good old-fashioned fun. You just need to be aware of and drive around it's idiosyncrasies.
I disconnected the rear linkage on my SLR and it made the rear much better over bumps, easy thing to try. Nitrons were ok, but on the craggy roads around Bucks and Oxfordshire it was severely limited by its lack of mass. They are very sensitive to which ARB I found. We got the front absolutely great, very low levels of understeer, the trade off was it made it feel a bit nervous in a straight line. 48’s never worked for me, Khumos transformered it. I made the expensive mistake of chasing power with the K series, ended up north of 220HP but it was a nicer power delivery with just verniers on the standard engine, 200HP and very linear. The Caterham is essentially limited by a very primitive rear axle. Where an Elise will flow down a road in a lovely, oiled, light-footed way, the Caterham rear end is limited in its ability to deal with imperfections. The front end of the Caterham is great, you point it and it goes, the back may skip, step out or grip but you often don't know which until you've committed. So, you drive with an additional margin or you get used to grabbing some opposite lock. I'm fine with this and don't mind a high-speed drift but it means you need to be absolutely on top of things when pushing on, but then I guess you should be anyway. At 7 or 8/10ths it's all sorts of fun. Through slower stuff you can choose to overdrive the rears with a flex of the foot and either leave a corner with a subtle over-rotation tucking the nose in, or with them lit up, leaving black lines and nicely crossed up. The LSD locks quickly and progressively. The quick rack and tiny steering wheel means you drive with your wrists whereas the Elise you use your elbows too.
I'm yet to get it on track. I imagine the Caterham will come into its own on a smoother surface where the rear axle limitations will impact overall capability less.
I'm having to remember what a more standard Elise is like as my last one had almost every component uprated, but as standard the Caterham has a vastly superior gearchange, the 6-speed box is very sweet and obviously the lever interacts directly and mechanically without any additional linkages or bloody cables.
Brakes on both cars are similar. My SLR has the uprated AP brakes and master cylinder with the proportioning valve. Both have great unservo-ed pedal feel and give lots of feedback. I'm not overly keen on the Pagids the Caterham currently wears, before track use I'll probably swap to my default favourite pads, CL RC6 as I love the feel of them and they're practically infallible.
Ergonomics the Lotus wins hands down. The Caterham pedal box is really limited. I don't like the lack of clutch stop. I don't like that my clutch foot has nowhere to brace. I don't like that it's compromised for heel and toe, I often catch my heel on the right-hand internal wall when heel and toeing and must keep my foot less twisted sideways than I'd prefer. The S1 Elise pedal box is practically perfect though, so it's stiff competition. With the lowered floors I find the handbrake in the way of my left arm too. I can see why race chassis don't have one there. I have to tuck my arm over the tunnel which is difficult with a passenger.
However, you asked about fun.
The Caterham, especially with the aeroscreen on is an absolute riot. It feels like it should be very illegal and it's completely and utterly attention consuming. It removes another layer that isolates you from the environment and immerses you into your surroundings and gives you a wide-screen HD version of the analogue act of driving. As pure fun, it beats the Elise hands down.
So, it's an old-fashioned car and good old-fashioned fun. You just need to be aware of and drive around it's idiosyncrasies.
Hello everyone, I'm delighted to announce that I'm the new owner of F1URO 
I've also had a long history of lightweight cars,a couple of Mk1 MR2 track cars, a Fisher Fury with a 180bhp Zetec and an aeroscreen, and most recently a 3.5yr stint in an S2 Exige S. The Exige was wonderful, but that's about as long as I ever keep any car ever, and I wanted something a bit more exciting and a bit less planted.
I'd actually test driven a few Caterhams before I bought the Lotus, including an R500K which just wasn't quick enough to put up with the (perceived?) fragility of that Minister engine and impractical nature of the car. However, reading this thread and going on a few recent trackdays with my mate's Sigma-powered Roadsport convinced me that I needed a Caterham in my life! I tried half a dozen cars at the biggest second hand specialists, including an R300K which had wonderful steering feel and character but was a bit pedestrian in a straight line, and an R400D which was very polished, a bit less feelsome, but had tons of grunt. I couldn't really decide between them, but while I was waiting for the sale of my Lotus to go through, the R300K sold, and I decided that the R400D was a bit more money than I really wanted to spend if I could help it.
I had joined a couple of Caterham clubs on Facebook, and put out a "Wanted" ad asking if anyone had a fast K or D for sale in a wild colour. I got offered three cars in Scotland (too far!), some really extreme trackday specials, and a lovely orange Superlight R that was so great the owner decided he couldn't bear to sell it. Nothing really grabbed me until I got this message saying "My mate has spent a fortune on his Superlight R and he is thinking of selling it, it's fluorescent green" . . . I guessed correctly that it was #29, and got straight on the phone!
A week later, I turned up at Ste's house on the only rainy day for the last 3 months. We agreed there was no point trying to test drive the car (on extreme tyres with no windscreen) in the torrential downpour, so I had to satisfy myself with a good poke around it instead. In the flesh, it's every bit as good as this thread would lead you to believe. The quality of workmanship and attention to detail is really impressive, and the car has ended up with the perfect spec (Tillets, 6-speed, lowered floor, dry sump, LSD, Emerald) that I would have chosen myself. The colour is stunning, and after having to compromise on grey for my Lotus (I really wanted Toxic Green but couldn't find one!) there was no way I was not buying it! I normally buy cars for their potential, spend loads of time and money doing them up and getting them perfect, and then sell them because I see something else I want. It made a really nice
change to buy something that had just been through that process and was basically finished!
We agreed that I would pay enough cash on the day to take away the extensive spares package that came with the car, including wheels with wet tyres, all the original ECU/intake gubbins and a windscreen setup, plus all the various weather gear options and bags and boxes of bits. This all packed into my Cupra, and a week after that, I got the train down (thankfully on a hot dry day) to bring the car itself home.
Driving it for the first time definitely didn't disappoint, the steering feel is fantastic, the car feels alive beneath you and the engine is a gem, pulling really well from tickover and screaming round the rev range in any of the 6 gears! Sadly, once I got on the motorway network there was no opportunity to enjoy any of that, with 2 hrs of stationary traffic for the Dartford crossing. I struggle to think of a worse car for that particular job, at least I had my helmet on so I couldn't hear everyone laughing at me!
After trickling along for ages, I managed to stall it on an uphill approach road to the only open part of the crossing. Having owned highly strung cars before, I knew there was no way a boiling hot engine would start after being stuck in traffic for an hour on a 30 degree day. I would have to sit there until it either cooled down enough to restart or until the local news crew sent a chopper to discover which idiot had blocked the crossing. Heart sinking, I pressed the starter button . . . and it fired right up and continued idling happily with no sign of overheating or any other misbehaviour.
Hats off to Dave Andrews, the guy knows his way around a K-series engine map!
So anyway, I eventually escaped M25 hell and got it home. The kids love it, my ageing in-laws love it, my neighbours love it, the wife is slowly coming round to it and has even agreed to travel in it (which never happened with the Lotus!) . And after doing some proper driving on proper roads, I can safely say that I love it too! It is quick enough that it will take me a while to get the best from it, which is perfect, and also fantastic fun to cruise around at low speed knowing that it will pull from any revs in any gear whenever you feel like it.
Apart from making time to drive it whenever possible, I have a few plans for it so should be able to keep adding to this thread. It sounds fabulous right now, rather too fabulous for my local track (Bedford) so I am planning to get a Raceco exhaust to quieten it down a bit. It will probably be a bit much for Bedford's super-strict noise policy even with a Raceco, but I am hoping it will be OK at Snetterton and Cadwell. I think it has a change-up light (which one is it again?) but it's so frenzied at the top of the rev range I keep missing it, so I plan to get a fancy shift light to sit on top of the dash. And once the winter comes it will be off the road for a while to keep it away from the salt, so i will take a look at the wiring as I keep catching my knee on a ball of cables under the dashboard. Once I've had it on track and got used to it I may consider a suspension upgrade, it's got 250lb/in springs at the front, I guess something similar at the rear, and the fun roads are so bumpy at speed that I get double vision! Perhaps a progressive setup would be a good compromise? The biggest job for now is redecorating the garage so I have somewhere fitting for it to live, I've put up with one power point, breezeblock walls and concrete floor for long enough so I am halfway through re-wiring and boarding it out before skimming and tiling it.
So anyway, most Caterhams are great, Superlight Rs are particularly intoxicating, and everyone should buy one. But not this one, I'll be keeping it for a while
I've also had a long history of lightweight cars,a couple of Mk1 MR2 track cars, a Fisher Fury with a 180bhp Zetec and an aeroscreen, and most recently a 3.5yr stint in an S2 Exige S. The Exige was wonderful, but that's about as long as I ever keep any car ever, and I wanted something a bit more exciting and a bit less planted.
I'd actually test driven a few Caterhams before I bought the Lotus, including an R500K which just wasn't quick enough to put up with the (perceived?) fragility of that Minister engine and impractical nature of the car. However, reading this thread and going on a few recent trackdays with my mate's Sigma-powered Roadsport convinced me that I needed a Caterham in my life! I tried half a dozen cars at the biggest second hand specialists, including an R300K which had wonderful steering feel and character but was a bit pedestrian in a straight line, and an R400D which was very polished, a bit less feelsome, but had tons of grunt. I couldn't really decide between them, but while I was waiting for the sale of my Lotus to go through, the R300K sold, and I decided that the R400D was a bit more money than I really wanted to spend if I could help it.
I had joined a couple of Caterham clubs on Facebook, and put out a "Wanted" ad asking if anyone had a fast K or D for sale in a wild colour. I got offered three cars in Scotland (too far!), some really extreme trackday specials, and a lovely orange Superlight R that was so great the owner decided he couldn't bear to sell it. Nothing really grabbed me until I got this message saying "My mate has spent a fortune on his Superlight R and he is thinking of selling it, it's fluorescent green" . . . I guessed correctly that it was #29, and got straight on the phone!
A week later, I turned up at Ste's house on the only rainy day for the last 3 months. We agreed there was no point trying to test drive the car (on extreme tyres with no windscreen) in the torrential downpour, so I had to satisfy myself with a good poke around it instead. In the flesh, it's every bit as good as this thread would lead you to believe. The quality of workmanship and attention to detail is really impressive, and the car has ended up with the perfect spec (Tillets, 6-speed, lowered floor, dry sump, LSD, Emerald) that I would have chosen myself. The colour is stunning, and after having to compromise on grey for my Lotus (I really wanted Toxic Green but couldn't find one!) there was no way I was not buying it! I normally buy cars for their potential, spend loads of time and money doing them up and getting them perfect, and then sell them because I see something else I want. It made a really nice
change to buy something that had just been through that process and was basically finished!
We agreed that I would pay enough cash on the day to take away the extensive spares package that came with the car, including wheels with wet tyres, all the original ECU/intake gubbins and a windscreen setup, plus all the various weather gear options and bags and boxes of bits. This all packed into my Cupra, and a week after that, I got the train down (thankfully on a hot dry day) to bring the car itself home.
Driving it for the first time definitely didn't disappoint, the steering feel is fantastic, the car feels alive beneath you and the engine is a gem, pulling really well from tickover and screaming round the rev range in any of the 6 gears! Sadly, once I got on the motorway network there was no opportunity to enjoy any of that, with 2 hrs of stationary traffic for the Dartford crossing. I struggle to think of a worse car for that particular job, at least I had my helmet on so I couldn't hear everyone laughing at me!
After trickling along for ages, I managed to stall it on an uphill approach road to the only open part of the crossing. Having owned highly strung cars before, I knew there was no way a boiling hot engine would start after being stuck in traffic for an hour on a 30 degree day. I would have to sit there until it either cooled down enough to restart or until the local news crew sent a chopper to discover which idiot had blocked the crossing. Heart sinking, I pressed the starter button . . . and it fired right up and continued idling happily with no sign of overheating or any other misbehaviour.
Hats off to Dave Andrews, the guy knows his way around a K-series engine map!So anyway, I eventually escaped M25 hell and got it home. The kids love it, my ageing in-laws love it, my neighbours love it, the wife is slowly coming round to it and has even agreed to travel in it (which never happened with the Lotus!) . And after doing some proper driving on proper roads, I can safely say that I love it too! It is quick enough that it will take me a while to get the best from it, which is perfect, and also fantastic fun to cruise around at low speed knowing that it will pull from any revs in any gear whenever you feel like it.
Apart from making time to drive it whenever possible, I have a few plans for it so should be able to keep adding to this thread. It sounds fabulous right now, rather too fabulous for my local track (Bedford) so I am planning to get a Raceco exhaust to quieten it down a bit. It will probably be a bit much for Bedford's super-strict noise policy even with a Raceco, but I am hoping it will be OK at Snetterton and Cadwell. I think it has a change-up light (which one is it again?) but it's so frenzied at the top of the rev range I keep missing it, so I plan to get a fancy shift light to sit on top of the dash. And once the winter comes it will be off the road for a while to keep it away from the salt, so i will take a look at the wiring as I keep catching my knee on a ball of cables under the dashboard. Once I've had it on track and got used to it I may consider a suspension upgrade, it's got 250lb/in springs at the front, I guess something similar at the rear, and the fun roads are so bumpy at speed that I get double vision! Perhaps a progressive setup would be a good compromise? The biggest job for now is redecorating the garage so I have somewhere fitting for it to live, I've put up with one power point, breezeblock walls and concrete floor for long enough so I am halfway through re-wiring and boarding it out before skimming and tiling it.
So anyway, most Caterhams are great, Superlight Rs are particularly intoxicating, and everyone should buy one. But not this one, I'll be keeping it for a while
I tend to keep toy cars for 2 or 3 years, which should give you plenty of time to build a garage! You officially have first dibs.
Now I know which light is the shift light, I can confirm that I'm getting nowhere near the rev limit, probably changing up at 6500, I would it round to 7500 last night and still no shift light! I will keep trying as I get more used to it
I chose to go out in (ballistic) shades rather than a helmet last night, which was fun up to about 30mph but beyond that the windblast was completely deafening (must buy earplugs) and messed my hair up (must buy floral Audrey Hepburn headscarf). I'm too tall to slump down in the seat and get any benefit from the aeroscreen, so it's basically like sticking your head out of the sunroof on the motorway once you get into the NSL roads. My ears are still ringing now!
I will probably stick the windscreen back on it next month, it will be easier to give passenger rides then and I will be able to get a bit more use out of it.
Now I know which light is the shift light, I can confirm that I'm getting nowhere near the rev limit, probably changing up at 6500, I would it round to 7500 last night and still no shift light! I will keep trying as I get more used to it
I chose to go out in (ballistic) shades rather than a helmet last night, which was fun up to about 30mph but beyond that the windblast was completely deafening (must buy earplugs) and messed my hair up (must buy floral Audrey Hepburn headscarf). I'm too tall to slump down in the seat and get any benefit from the aeroscreen, so it's basically like sticking your head out of the sunroof on the motorway once you get into the NSL roads. My ears are still ringing now!
I will probably stick the windscreen back on it next month, it will be easier to give passenger rides then and I will be able to get a bit more use out of it.
Congratulations! Enjoy. Lots of pics and updates please!
You definitely need earplugs or good-fitting headphone earbuds. Don't risk it without, not even once. The pressure drop caused by the wind rushing past can be physically painful at speed, and the risk of permanent hearing damage is very real.
I got one of these for the 2-11, and it makes a huge difference for non-helmet driving. Might work on the Caterham too?
https://shop.touratech.co.uk/spoiler-for-windscree...
You definitely need earplugs or good-fitting headphone earbuds. Don't risk it without, not even once. The pressure drop caused by the wind rushing past can be physically painful at speed, and the risk of permanent hearing damage is very real.
I got one of these for the 2-11, and it makes a huge difference for non-helmet driving. Might work on the Caterham too?
https://shop.touratech.co.uk/spoiler-for-windscree...
aww999 said:
I tend to keep toy cars for 2 or 3 years, which should give you plenty of time to build a garage! You officially have first dibs.
Now I know which light is the shift light, I can confirm that I'm getting nowhere near the rev limit, probably changing up at 6500, I would it round to 7500 last night and still no shift light! I will keep trying as I get more used to it
I chose to go out in (ballistic) shades rather than a helmet last night, which was fun up to about 30mph but beyond that the windblast was completely deafening (must buy earplugs) and messed my hair up (must buy floral Audrey Hepburn headscarf). I'm too tall to slump down in the seat and get any benefit from the aeroscreen, so it's basically like sticking your head out of the sunroof on the motorway once you get into the NSL roads. My ears are still ringing now!
I will probably stick the windscreen back on it next month, it will be easier to give passenger rides then and I will be able to get a bit more use out of it.
How tall are you out of interest? Is this one an SV chassis?Now I know which light is the shift light, I can confirm that I'm getting nowhere near the rev limit, probably changing up at 6500, I would it round to 7500 last night and still no shift light! I will keep trying as I get more used to it
I chose to go out in (ballistic) shades rather than a helmet last night, which was fun up to about 30mph but beyond that the windblast was completely deafening (must buy earplugs) and messed my hair up (must buy floral Audrey Hepburn headscarf). I'm too tall to slump down in the seat and get any benefit from the aeroscreen, so it's basically like sticking your head out of the sunroof on the motorway once you get into the NSL roads. My ears are still ringing now!
I will probably stick the windscreen back on it next month, it will be easier to give passenger rides then and I will be able to get a bit more use out of it.
Do you intend to create a new build thread?
Track_Cit said:
How tall are you out of interest? Is this one an SV chassis?
Do you intend to create a new build thread?
Hi, I am about 6'3" / 6'4" and the car is a standard S3 chassis. I did try an sv (well, a csr260 which is near enough the same dimensions inside I think) and was a lot more comfortable, but I always think they look a little ungainly next to an S3, and it just didn't feel like a Caterham. Do you intend to create a new build thread?
I can actually get pretty comfortable in the SLR, the width is perfect (as long as I take my phone and wallet out of my hip pockets) and I can successfully press one pedal at a time (as long as I have my special Caterhaming shoes on).
I will just keep adding bits to this thread rather than starting a new one, no build required just a few minor changes to suit my requirements.
Hi everyone. No recent updates as I haven't had much to talk about, just trying to use the car whenever I get half a chance. However, I found that it was getting harder to start, to the point where it needed jump leads if it had been standing more than a day or so after a run. The final straw was last weekend, when I attended a local 7 meet, stood around chatting for an hour, and then the car wouldn't restart so my new friends had to push start me
There's no electrical load when the car's parked up as it has a kill switch, I tried rewiring the ground leads, so that left the tiny Lithium motorcycle battery as the most likely culprit. I know the previous owner had no trouble with it, but it's only about half the size of a typical Caterham lithium battery (3aH rather than 6ish).
So, my first upgrade is a downgrade, as I have gone for a more traditional Odyssey battery. Still half the size of a normal lead acid lump, but a lot heavier than the lithium unit! I have lost a few pounds myself recently so I am hoping to have achieved trouble-free starting and no net weight change. I couldn't stomach £250ish for a fancy battery, plus another £100ish for a fancy lithium compatible charger, so this was a decent compromise.
There's no electrical load when the car's parked up as it has a kill switch, I tried rewiring the ground leads, so that left the tiny Lithium motorcycle battery as the most likely culprit. I know the previous owner had no trouble with it, but it's only about half the size of a typical Caterham lithium battery (3aH rather than 6ish).
So, my first upgrade is a downgrade, as I have gone for a more traditional Odyssey battery. Still half the size of a normal lead acid lump, but a lot heavier than the lithium unit! I have lost a few pounds myself recently so I am hoping to have achieved trouble-free starting and no net weight change
. I couldn't stomach £250ish for a fancy battery, plus another £100ish for a fancy lithium compatible charger, so this was a decent compromise.Just a heads up for the future or for anyone else with a small lithium. They sometimes like a bit of load to warm them up before starting. It sounds counter-intuative, but if you pop the sidelights on for 60s or so before you want to start, the load will prep the battery ready to start the car.
Glad you're out enjoying it any taking it to meets. Not jealous much!
Glad you're out enjoying it any taking it to meets. Not jealous much!
what a great thread and fantastic to see the new owner starting where the OP and re-builder finished.
You can't beat a luridly coloured SLR - here's me in No83 on a trip to Picos De Europa earlier in the month....never knowingly standard screened
I loved the rebuild thread and as I last undertook the same journey back in 2010 (first to Arch then on to TSK), I am contemplating a repeat. The green I chose back then followed a weekend trip to Matlock Bath - a bikers haven. I noticed a vivid metallic green bike and asked the owner if he had paint code. All he could tell me was it was Candy Lime Green, an option on the larger Kawasaki bikes. This colour became a personal fixation and having made numerous enquiries I purchased the right colour from a bike paint supply shop in Herts.
By this time, I also understood that the sparkle comes from a silver metallic base coat on top of the etch primer. Tony was great and could see the effect I was trying to achieve, however a week or so into the process, I received a call - all was not well.
To cut a long story short bike paint is in effect closer to ink in its chemical make up -so Tony's normal application techniques were not working to his own high standards. His local paint mixer came to the rescue and on seeing what I was trying to achieve, mixed the paint to the correct shade. Two coats of green later and I was blown away with the results - still am on a bright sunny day.
In his usual affable manner Tony did make it clear that I was never to darken his doorstep again if I ever had a bump or wanted a respray
Thankfully vivid coloured metallics have become more in vogue with the larger OEMs, so I may just opt for one of those......or I may yet find another unsuspecting paint shop on which to unleash my fiendish green.
Hope to see F1URO on track or on blast some day
all the best
Rog
You can't beat a luridly coloured SLR - here's me in No83 on a trip to Picos De Europa earlier in the month....never knowingly standard screened
I loved the rebuild thread and as I last undertook the same journey back in 2010 (first to Arch then on to TSK), I am contemplating a repeat. The green I chose back then followed a weekend trip to Matlock Bath - a bikers haven. I noticed a vivid metallic green bike and asked the owner if he had paint code. All he could tell me was it was Candy Lime Green, an option on the larger Kawasaki bikes. This colour became a personal fixation and having made numerous enquiries I purchased the right colour from a bike paint supply shop in Herts.
By this time, I also understood that the sparkle comes from a silver metallic base coat on top of the etch primer. Tony was great and could see the effect I was trying to achieve, however a week or so into the process, I received a call - all was not well.
To cut a long story short bike paint is in effect closer to ink in its chemical make up -so Tony's normal application techniques were not working to his own high standards. His local paint mixer came to the rescue and on seeing what I was trying to achieve, mixed the paint to the correct shade. Two coats of green later and I was blown away with the results - still am on a bright sunny day.
In his usual affable manner Tony did make it clear that I was never to darken his doorstep again if I ever had a bump or wanted a respray
Thankfully vivid coloured metallics have become more in vogue with the larger OEMs, so I may just opt for one of those......or I may yet find another unsuspecting paint shop on which to unleash my fiendish green.
Hope to see F1URO on track or on blast some day
all the best
Rog
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