Caterham Superlight R #29
Discussion
With work, family, other commitments and the weather the Caterham spent most of December in the garage. However I took it out over the Xmas break to blow the cobwebs out. The road was damp and temperature was hovering just above freezing so it was quite hard work, but rewarding. It seems very easy to steer on the throttle, but I guess that's no revelation, it's kind of their raison d'etre.
At this time of the year, it's actually not that enjoyable and I've not really been that bothered about getting it out of the garage to freeze my c*ck off in it. I'm hoping when it's tidied up nicely and I've got the aeroscreen on in the summer I'll enjoy it more. Obviously I want to get it on track and see what that's like. As an event, it's very engaging; the noises, smells and feedback is all sensory overload. I imagine on the right road on the right day, it'll be great, I can just imagine those moments being few and far between.
It kind of doesn't feel like a car either if that makes sense. My Elises were cars. This feels more just like having a new different toy like I imagine I'd feel if it was a motorbike. I choose to take it out to do 'Caterham-ing' whereas other fun cars I've had I've taken out because I wanted a drive or wanted to go somewhere.
As an example, in the photo above I'd fitted the front numberplate as the following day was the Pistonheads Sunday Service at Goodwood and I know the police often attend the feeding roads. My alarm went off on the Sunday, but the thought of going out in the Caterham and freezing really turned me off. Instead I stuck my cycling gear on and went out for a ride, my perception being that I wouldn't be as cold.
At this time of the year, it's actually not that enjoyable and I've not really been that bothered about getting it out of the garage to freeze my c*ck off in it. I'm hoping when it's tidied up nicely and I've got the aeroscreen on in the summer I'll enjoy it more. Obviously I want to get it on track and see what that's like. As an event, it's very engaging; the noises, smells and feedback is all sensory overload. I imagine on the right road on the right day, it'll be great, I can just imagine those moments being few and far between.
It kind of doesn't feel like a car either if that makes sense. My Elises were cars. This feels more just like having a new different toy like I imagine I'd feel if it was a motorbike. I choose to take it out to do 'Caterham-ing' whereas other fun cars I've had I've taken out because I wanted a drive or wanted to go somewhere.
As an example, in the photo above I'd fitted the front numberplate as the following day was the Pistonheads Sunday Service at Goodwood and I know the police often attend the feeding roads. My alarm went off on the Sunday, but the thought of going out in the Caterham and freezing really turned me off. Instead I stuck my cycling gear on and went out for a ride, my perception being that I wouldn't be as cold.
Edited by 573 on Wednesday 11th April 18:22
Leaving December, I was feeling a bit down on the car. This was compounded, in fact, probably mainly contributed to, by me very annoyingly denting the rear panel. I was manoeuvering it on my driveway in the dark, and seconds after explaining to my eldest son, who was in the passenger seat, that I couldn't see anything behind us in the tiny mirrors and with the lights at the front of the house out of action, I reversed into one of my other cars.
I'd always intended to get the car completely repainted to bring the paintwork up to scratch. The fluoro paint has a tendency to fade in UV as evidenced by the various parts of the car that have been in shade being much brighter than the more exposed areas. I decided to turn this negative around and to bring the re-spray forwards.
So I've spoken to Arch and it's going to go into them for them to fit a new rear panel. I'm also hopefully going to get a tour of the place at the same time.
For those that don't know, the imperial chassis (like what this is) were handbuilt and brazed together for Caterham by a company called Arch. They still do work for Caterham, building some of their non-standard chassis and also do work for other interesting and niche manufacturers and bespoke high-end chassis builds and motorsport applications. Unfortunately the newer metric chassis are no longer brazed together and instead have generally quite messy welds. I guess that's progress and chasing a bigger profit margin. My chassis is stamped with an Arch build number telling me it was put together by hand on their No.2 jig. They will have also hand shaped and fitted the aluminium body panels when the car was first built.
I then started trying to get a painter organised. A Caterham is not a large car and the bits of bodywork that actually get painted are even smaller, especially on a car like mine with carbon wings. So I was quite surprised to get one quote for £6k to paint it! It turns out that bodyshop was quoting the correct Glasurit fluoro paint at £240 / litre, but even so...
Anyway after more research I phoned TSK. TSK are the bodyshop that painted the cars for Caterham. As part of its original construction it would have gone from Arch to TSK for paint. TSK were incredibly helpful and the price was much more realistic. Not only that, but I love the thought of it essentially going back to the 'factory paintshop'.
I'm happy with the fact it's going back to the factory suppliers and should be at least as good as new when done.
I'd always intended to get the car completely repainted to bring the paintwork up to scratch. The fluoro paint has a tendency to fade in UV as evidenced by the various parts of the car that have been in shade being much brighter than the more exposed areas. I decided to turn this negative around and to bring the re-spray forwards.
So I've spoken to Arch and it's going to go into them for them to fit a new rear panel. I'm also hopefully going to get a tour of the place at the same time.
For those that don't know, the imperial chassis (like what this is) were handbuilt and brazed together for Caterham by a company called Arch. They still do work for Caterham, building some of their non-standard chassis and also do work for other interesting and niche manufacturers and bespoke high-end chassis builds and motorsport applications. Unfortunately the newer metric chassis are no longer brazed together and instead have generally quite messy welds. I guess that's progress and chasing a bigger profit margin. My chassis is stamped with an Arch build number telling me it was put together by hand on their No.2 jig. They will have also hand shaped and fitted the aluminium body panels when the car was first built.
I then started trying to get a painter organised. A Caterham is not a large car and the bits of bodywork that actually get painted are even smaller, especially on a car like mine with carbon wings. So I was quite surprised to get one quote for £6k to paint it! It turns out that bodyshop was quoting the correct Glasurit fluoro paint at £240 / litre, but even so...
Anyway after more research I phoned TSK. TSK are the bodyshop that painted the cars for Caterham. As part of its original construction it would have gone from Arch to TSK for paint. TSK were incredibly helpful and the price was much more realistic. Not only that, but I love the thought of it essentially going back to the 'factory paintshop'.
I'm happy with the fact it's going back to the factory suppliers and should be at least as good as new when done.
573 said:
Leaving December, I was feeling a bit down on the car. This was compounded, in fact, probably mainly contributed to, by me very annoyingly denting the rear panel. I was manoeuvering it on my driveway in the dark, and seconds after explaining to my eldest son, who was in the passenger seat, that I couldn't see anything behind us in the tiny mirrors and with the lights at the front of the house out of action, I reversed into one of my other cars.
I'd always intended to get the car completely repainted to bring the paintwork up to scratch. The fluoro paint has a tendency to fade in UV as evidenced by the various parts of the car that have been in shade being much brighter than the more exposed areas. I decided to turn this negative around and to bring the re-spray forwards.
So I've spoken to Arch and it's going to go into them for them to fit a new rear panel. I'm also hopefully going to get a tour of the place at the same time.
For those that don't know, the imperial chassis (like what this is) were handbuilt and brazed together for Caterham by a company called Arch. They still do work for Caterham, building some of their non-standard chassis and also do work for other interesting and niche manufacturers and bespoke high-end chassis builds and motorsport applications. Unfortunately the newer metri chassis are no longer brazed together and instead have generally quite messy welds. I guess that's progress and chasing a bigger profit margin. My chassis is stamped with an Arch build number telling me it was put together by hand on their No.2 jig. They will have also hand shaped and fitted the aluminium body panels when the car was first built.
I then started trying to get a painter organised. A Caterham is not a large car and the bits of bodywork that actually get painted are even smaller, especially on a car like mine with carbon wings. So I was quite surprised to get one quote for £6k to paint it! It turns out that bodyshop was quoting the correct Glasurit fluoro paint at £240 / litre, but even so...
Anyway after more research I phoned TSK. TSK are the bodyshop that painted the cars for Caterham. As part of its original construction it would have gone from Arch to TSK for paint. TSK were incredibly helpful and the price was much more realistic. Not only that, but I love the thought of it essentially going back to the 'factory paintshop'.
I'm happy with the fact it's going back to the factory suppliers and should be at least as good as new when done.
It'll be my mate Kane who makes that new rear panel probably. I'll get him to have a look at this post.I'd always intended to get the car completely repainted to bring the paintwork up to scratch. The fluoro paint has a tendency to fade in UV as evidenced by the various parts of the car that have been in shade being much brighter than the more exposed areas. I decided to turn this negative around and to bring the re-spray forwards.
So I've spoken to Arch and it's going to go into them for them to fit a new rear panel. I'm also hopefully going to get a tour of the place at the same time.
For those that don't know, the imperial chassis (like what this is) were handbuilt and brazed together for Caterham by a company called Arch. They still do work for Caterham, building some of their non-standard chassis and also do work for other interesting and niche manufacturers and bespoke high-end chassis builds and motorsport applications. Unfortunately the newer metri chassis are no longer brazed together and instead have generally quite messy welds. I guess that's progress and chasing a bigger profit margin. My chassis is stamped with an Arch build number telling me it was put together by hand on their No.2 jig. They will have also hand shaped and fitted the aluminium body panels when the car was first built.
I then started trying to get a painter organised. A Caterham is not a large car and the bits of bodywork that actually get painted are even smaller, especially on a car like mine with carbon wings. So I was quite surprised to get one quote for £6k to paint it! It turns out that bodyshop was quoting the correct Glasurit fluoro paint at £240 / litre, but even so...
Anyway after more research I phoned TSK. TSK are the bodyshop that painted the cars for Caterham. As part of its original construction it would have gone from Arch to TSK for paint. TSK were incredibly helpful and the price was much more realistic. Not only that, but I love the thought of it essentially going back to the 'factory paintshop'.
I'm happy with the fact it's going back to the factory suppliers and should be at least as good as new when done.
Arch are proper old school, and have been doing those chassis for years, along with many other famous race cars.
Then, a few weeks ago, I finally clicked with the Superlight R. I had what was probably my first 'proper' drive in it since getting it, most other times I've been taking a passenger out to show them it. That day, I was on my own, the road was dry and had a few degrees of heat on it and I just got into the zone.
Conclusion: It. Is. Mental.
I now can't wait to get it stripped for paint, get it done, get it back and get some weekend trips and trackdays booked.
Conclusion: It. Is. Mental.
I now can't wait to get it stripped for paint, get it done, get it back and get some weekend trips and trackdays booked.
Edited by 573 on Tuesday 30th January 10:53
Edited by 573 on Wednesday 11th April 18:24
I got in from work a few nights ago and felt like I needed to unwind, so I decided to take the Caterham out for a blast.
I ended up over near Shoreham which I know from previous use has a public weighbridge. I don't think it's particularly accurate and its resolution is 10kg as it's meant for weighing HGVs, so it's use is potentially questionable. However I've weighed previous trackcars on there to get a rough figure and also have some other measurements that i can compare this one too.
So, I rolled it over the plate and it told me that it weighed:
260 Fr
280 Rr
540kg Total
My target weight is <500kg. Ideally I'll meet the weight Caterham quoted in the SLR brochure which IIRC was 490kg.
I'm relatively happy with the weight it showed though as the car had the full screen on, doors and I'd forgotten I had the full tonneau cover and some spares in the boot.
What I didn't have, unfortunately was much fuel, as I found out half way between the weighbridge and the seafront at Brighton when it spluttered and conked out. I knew the gauge was iffy, but was told by the guy I bought it off to use the trip counter and fill up after about 220 miles. The trip counter had ~110 on so, meh. I guess I didn't fill it fully last time. It's hard to judge as the filler is restrictive and cuts off easily.
I took the walk of shame down Dyke Rd, bought a can, filled it up and walked back. Annoyingly by then the battery was flat and it wouldn't start. I got a jump start and it fired to life. The kind chap that had helped me leapt back in his car, waved and drove off just as it cut out again. To cut a long story short, it didn't seem to have enough voltage to the ECU to fire again, even with a push start. A friend came out and we jumped it with his leads, but it would only drive a few miles between jumps before cutting out, pointing to the alternator being at fault. After a jump-start every few miles we finally relayed it back home and into the garage. A new alternator is now on my list of things to sort out.
I ended up over near Shoreham which I know from previous use has a public weighbridge. I don't think it's particularly accurate and its resolution is 10kg as it's meant for weighing HGVs, so it's use is potentially questionable. However I've weighed previous trackcars on there to get a rough figure and also have some other measurements that i can compare this one too.
So, I rolled it over the plate and it told me that it weighed:
260 Fr
280 Rr
540kg Total
My target weight is <500kg. Ideally I'll meet the weight Caterham quoted in the SLR brochure which IIRC was 490kg.
I'm relatively happy with the weight it showed though as the car had the full screen on, doors and I'd forgotten I had the full tonneau cover and some spares in the boot.
What I didn't have, unfortunately was much fuel, as I found out half way between the weighbridge and the seafront at Brighton when it spluttered and conked out. I knew the gauge was iffy, but was told by the guy I bought it off to use the trip counter and fill up after about 220 miles. The trip counter had ~110 on so, meh. I guess I didn't fill it fully last time. It's hard to judge as the filler is restrictive and cuts off easily.
I took the walk of shame down Dyke Rd, bought a can, filled it up and walked back. Annoyingly by then the battery was flat and it wouldn't start. I got a jump start and it fired to life. The kind chap that had helped me leapt back in his car, waved and drove off just as it cut out again. To cut a long story short, it didn't seem to have enough voltage to the ECU to fire again, even with a push start. A friend came out and we jumped it with his leads, but it would only drive a few miles between jumps before cutting out, pointing to the alternator being at fault. After a jump-start every few miles we finally relayed it back home and into the garage. A new alternator is now on my list of things to sort out.
Always had a soft spot for one of these! Any part that needs replacing is always an opportunity to upgrade and especially an opportunity to look at options to lose weight.
Initial searches led me to a Brise alternator that seemed to be ~3kg compared to the ~5kg of the original. The Brise unit was £300. More searching unearthed that the Brise unit is made by Nippon Denso and is used on numerous things including Kubota tractors and Daihatsu hatchbacks. These seem to retail for around £99. Better than that, I know Dan Webster who runs HPE http://www.hpeauto.co.uk (the people that put the K20 in the back of my Elise) and he thought he had one of the Denso units in his workshop. Sure enough he did, and he stuck it in the post for me free of charge.
I then tracked down a guy in Austria, under the name of 'Carlos Racing' who makes lightweight mounts and tensioners in order to fit the Denso unit to the K series. Buying from him couldn't have been easier; getting the parts to me proved much harder. The parts made it across Europe and as far as my local distribution centre. I then tracked them onto a van where they then reported the address was incomplete. Despite me contacting them numerous times, they held them for a week and then lost them. Amazingly, the seller, who is a man knocking these out for fun, not a large commercial enterprise, stuck me another set in the post on overnight TNT.
Weight for original bits:
Alternator: 4848g
Pulley: 192g
Mount and tensioner: 1193g
Total 6.23kg
New smaller Denso alternator and lighter pulley:
@2997g
New mount and tensioner:
@547g
Total 3.54kg, which is a loss of: 2.69kg
It's a much better design, simpler to adjust and is now further from the 4th primary too.
Initial searches led me to a Brise alternator that seemed to be ~3kg compared to the ~5kg of the original. The Brise unit was £300. More searching unearthed that the Brise unit is made by Nippon Denso and is used on numerous things including Kubota tractors and Daihatsu hatchbacks. These seem to retail for around £99. Better than that, I know Dan Webster who runs HPE http://www.hpeauto.co.uk (the people that put the K20 in the back of my Elise) and he thought he had one of the Denso units in his workshop. Sure enough he did, and he stuck it in the post for me free of charge.
I then tracked down a guy in Austria, under the name of 'Carlos Racing' who makes lightweight mounts and tensioners in order to fit the Denso unit to the K series. Buying from him couldn't have been easier; getting the parts to me proved much harder. The parts made it across Europe and as far as my local distribution centre. I then tracked them onto a van where they then reported the address was incomplete. Despite me contacting them numerous times, they held them for a week and then lost them. Amazingly, the seller, who is a man knocking these out for fun, not a large commercial enterprise, stuck me another set in the post on overnight TNT.
Weight for original bits:
Alternator: 4848g
Pulley: 192g
Mount and tensioner: 1193g
Total 6.23kg
New smaller Denso alternator and lighter pulley:
@2997g
New mount and tensioner:
@547g
Total 3.54kg, which is a loss of: 2.69kg
It's a much better design, simpler to adjust and is now further from the 4th primary too.
Edited by 573 on Monday 5th February 18:58
Great write up.
I've done the opposite to you and gone from a Westfield Megabusa to an Elise. Owned the Westie for almost ten years (including building it). Totally agree with you about adding a passenger it certainly blunts the performance
I will keep an eye out for you as you sound relatively local to me. You won't miss me as the Elise is toxic green be good to get a picture of the two together.
I've done the opposite to you and gone from a Westfield Megabusa to an Elise. Owned the Westie for almost ten years (including building it). Totally agree with you about adding a passenger it certainly blunts the performance
I will keep an eye out for you as you sound relatively local to me. You won't miss me as the Elise is toxic green
be good to get a picture of the two together.It is indeed - a Club Racer S.
My work is on the Manor Royal the next road away from Caterham Cars. In fact I have a friends R300 D(400 spec upgrade) in the workshop currently as I'm storing it as he's planning to sell it.
He lives in Worthing and another friend is in Lancing. Plus I'm trying to get out with the SKCC as I always used to with the old car. Maybe sign up there as there's always a run out out most Sundays. Means getting up early though lol. I can't always do that
My work is on the Manor Royal the next road away from Caterham Cars. In fact I have a friends R300 D(400 spec upgrade) in the workshop currently as I'm storing it as he's planning to sell it.
He lives in Worthing and another friend is in Lancing. Plus I'm trying to get out with the SKCC as I always used to with the old car. Maybe sign up there as there's always a run out out most Sundays. Means getting up early though lol. I can't always do that
Considering the weight for a second, so far I've removed the following since I rolled it over the weighbridge and got a figure of 540kg:
Alternator and mount - 2.69
Extinguisher - 3.8
...and from the boot:
Tonneau cover - 2.0
Spares (accelerator cable, clutch cable and exhaust rubber) - 0.47
For a total reduction of 8.96kg.
Based on the rough figure the weighbridge gave me this means total weight should now be ~ 531.04kg
I've started a spreadsheet
of other stuff I've already done and not documented here plus other stuff I plan to do and I can see how I can get it to ~508.5kg 'quite easily'. The <500 goal and certainly the Caterham brochure figure of 490kg are going to take some thought though.
I'll also be putting it on the scales at PGM soon to get a more accurate weight to work from.
Alternator and mount - 2.69
Extinguisher - 3.8
...and from the boot:
Tonneau cover - 2.0
Spares (accelerator cable, clutch cable and exhaust rubber) - 0.47
For a total reduction of 8.96kg.
Based on the rough figure the weighbridge gave me this means total weight should now be ~ 531.04kg
I've started a spreadsheet
of other stuff I've already done and not documented here plus other stuff I plan to do and I can see how I can get it to ~508.5kg 'quite easily'. The <500 goal and certainly the Caterham brochure figure of 490kg are going to take some thought though. I'll also be putting it on the scales at PGM soon to get a more accurate weight to work from.
Enjoyed reading this very much. Always good to hear feedback from a fellow Caterham-er!
I feel your pain about the cold. I picked my 360R up after it's post build inspection in March last year and proceeded to drive it up the M1 for 2 hours in rush-hour traffic.... It really did make me question my purchase and kick myself for not ticking the box named "heater"
You can read about it here if you're bored and laugh at my stupidity for not fitting the side screens before the PBI: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
What did you use to get the number plate tape off?
I feel your pain about the cold. I picked my 360R up after it's post build inspection in March last year and proceeded to drive it up the M1 for 2 hours in rush-hour traffic.... It really did make me question my purchase and kick myself for not ticking the box named "heater"
You can read about it here if you're bored and laugh at my stupidity for not fitting the side screens before the PBI: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
What did you use to get the number plate tape off?
I read all of your thread yesterday, it's great. I'm doing a house renovation at the moment but when I have my 'new' garage I'd like to do a full build so I've read loads of on-line build diaries and threads.
I'm not a fan of FI on track cars due to the heat management and weight penalty so would discount a 620r, plus you can't self-build one. So I'd be looking at a 420r with a long-term view being the addition of 'proper' built NA Duratec in the future. I actually really like the Donnington edition BaT are offering, but would want a H-pattern box. Sequential is great in a race environment but on trackdays where interaction and enjoyment is more important than a laptime I'd take the extra layer of interaction. Having said that, if the performance was back up to a level my Elise was on track that would be nice.
To remove the sticky pads I used acetone (nail varnish remover) and a cloth and lots of elbow grease.
I'm not a fan of FI on track cars due to the heat management and weight penalty so would discount a 620r, plus you can't self-build one. So I'd be looking at a 420r with a long-term view being the addition of 'proper' built NA Duratec in the future. I actually really like the Donnington edition BaT are offering, but would want a H-pattern box. Sequential is great in a race environment but on trackdays where interaction and enjoyment is more important than a laptime I'd take the extra layer of interaction. Having said that, if the performance was back up to a level my Elise was on track that would be nice.
To remove the sticky pads I used acetone (nail varnish remover) and a cloth and lots of elbow grease.
Really enjoyable read and great pictures OP.
I have stripped more than 25kg from mine replacing some parts for carbon (bought/made) and removing others.
I weigh everything and it's surprising how heavy some parts or brackets are.
Rear rubber light blocks swap to carbon -400g
Floor mats. -1400g
You only need one horn & bracket -300g
Centre mirror with an aeroscreen it is pointless -200g
Hoodsticks (I never use it in the rain) -1100g
Hood -3000g
Windscreen -4400
Doors -3400g
Lightweight battery...
And surprisingly 5&3/4" headlights saves drag, work better and -1100g
It's worth keeping a spread sheet if you're into that sort of thing. Mine definitely feels much more lively as a result.
Power to weight with a passenger dulls the performance on my car by around 20%!
That's the best weight saving of all.
22daz
I have stripped more than 25kg from mine replacing some parts for carbon (bought/made) and removing others.
I weigh everything and it's surprising how heavy some parts or brackets are.
Rear rubber light blocks swap to carbon -400g
Floor mats. -1400g
You only need one horn & bracket -300g
Centre mirror with an aeroscreen it is pointless -200g
Hoodsticks (I never use it in the rain) -1100g
Hood -3000g
Windscreen -4400
Doors -3400g
Lightweight battery...
And surprisingly 5&3/4" headlights saves drag, work better and -1100g
It's worth keeping a spread sheet if you're into that sort of thing. Mine definitely feels much more lively as a result.
Power to weight with a passenger dulls the performance on my car by around 20%!
That's the best weight saving of all.
22daz
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