Caterham Superlight R #29
Discussion
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.
I'd always disliked that despite the correct Caterham blanking panel being used when the heater was removed, the panel was raw aluminium in an otherwise black engine bay. So I carefully masked everything up and painted it satin black to match.
I then turned my attention back to fat fighting. An easy way to chop weight on a car is always the battery. I've used the cheap invalid scooter batteries in the past but over the past few years now that Lithium batteries have become cheaper I've used those. This is the weight of the original Caterham supplied Banner battery:
7.97kg
...and this is the small lithium one I've bought to replace it:
791g.
That's a huge percentage and another 7.18kg saved towards the target.
To fit the new smaller battery I needed to devise a way to fit it or fabricate a new battery tray. The original battery tray is 301g
I cracked out a biro and sketched a few ideas and then made this, which weighs 68g
...saving another 0.23kg. I can probably cut down the power and earth cables about 300mm too which will save a bit more.
Lastly I took the hoodsticks off to save another 1.15kg.
Based on the 540kg weighbridge start point total weight should now be 522.48kg
I then turned my attention back to fat fighting. An easy way to chop weight on a car is always the battery. I've used the cheap invalid scooter batteries in the past but over the past few years now that Lithium batteries have become cheaper I've used those. This is the weight of the original Caterham supplied Banner battery:
7.97kg
...and this is the small lithium one I've bought to replace it:
791g.
That's a huge percentage and another 7.18kg saved towards the target.
To fit the new smaller battery I needed to devise a way to fit it or fabricate a new battery tray. The original battery tray is 301g
I cracked out a biro and sketched a few ideas and then made this, which weighs 68g
...saving another 0.23kg. I can probably cut down the power and earth cables about 300mm too which will save a bit more.
Lastly I took the hoodsticks off to save another 1.15kg.
Based on the 540kg weighbridge start point total weight should now be 522.48kg
Annoying that Carbon Mods are no longer making their stuff, assume this is the place: https://carboncaterham.myshopify.com/collections/a...
I bought it as a bit of a gamble, I'd read somebody else say he used one on a Caterham with no issues, but it seems just too small and light to run a road car. For the price I thought it was worth a try and amazingly, it seems to work fine.
In the past have used the Shorai lithiums. Even those are only about 1.1kg, the price of them has crept up though and they're approaching the cost of the 'proper' motorsport batteries now.
In the past have used the Shorai lithiums. Even those are only about 1.1kg, the price of them has crept up though and they're approaching the cost of the 'proper' motorsport batteries now.
I decided the 68g battery mount was too porky, so I rethought it and made a 53g one.
I could chop it down more using alu or ti bolts but that's getting into the land of the daft when there's still loads of big things to do to chop 10s of kgs.
Today I drove it over to PGM (Partridge Green Motorsport) for them to fit the lowered floors. Was cool that they had a fluoro orange car in the workshop too. 8)
Whilst there I had a good look at a few of the other cars that were in. I managed to get some inspiration for changes I can make from some of the race cars, in particular a sprint car that was sat in there. I also spotted the leader board from their last weigh-in. Something they do each summer when they have an open day and BBQ. So I have something to aim for now...
I could chop it down more using alu or ti bolts but that's getting into the land of the daft when there's still loads of big things to do to chop 10s of kgs.
Today I drove it over to PGM (Partridge Green Motorsport) for them to fit the lowered floors. Was cool that they had a fluoro orange car in the workshop too. 8)
Whilst there I had a good look at a few of the other cars that were in. I managed to get some inspiration for changes I can make from some of the race cars, in particular a sprint car that was sat in there. I also spotted the leader board from their last weigh-in. Something they do each summer when they have an open day and BBQ. So I have something to aim for now...
I just went to PGM to collect the SLR with its new lowered floors fitted. It's such a big improvement. I now feel more connected to the car and can get comfortable in the seat. Before it felt like I was perched up high and felt quite exposed. I'm now hunkered down inside the cockpit more and feel more connected, very pleased.
To celebrate I took it for a thrash over the hills.
To celebrate I took it for a thrash over the hills.
Yep, as per the description higher up. It goes to Arch for a new rear panel on Wednesday and then straight into TSK for a respray. It'll be taken back to bare metal first and the thinnest of coats applied. The flouro paint has faded over its 20 years though and needs bringing back to full levels of offensiveness. Plus, obviously the new rear panel will need painting anyway.
stew-STR160 said:
My friend told me your car is in the workshop now. He's drooling over it.
Yeah I saw him yesterday and had a chat. I'll update on that shortly, have a few things to bring this up to date first though...I thought I'd put up a picture of the lowered floors. Before I got them I was concerned as to how they would work as I couldn't picture the increased gap between the footwell and the pedals being workable. Turns out the floors slope from the seat area back to the pedal box, so I had no need to worry. Turns out whoever designed them wasn't an imbecile after all.
With Saturday being sunny I took middle child out for a quick run. We ended up getting carried away and were out driving for about for an hour and a half. He loved it though.
When we got back I started the strip down ready for paint.
The challenge will be not spending too much and changing everything when I build it back up. Those naff blue silicone hoses have driven me mad since I first set eyes on them though so they'll be getting replaced for black ones in the rebuild.
The garage soon started to look like a jumblesale.
Around about this point, I realised that the rollbar was also held in place by a bolt from underneath which meant the dampers had to be dropped too.
...and by this point with the tank dropped I started to realise that to do this properly wasn't going to be the work of a moment.
The strip gave me a great opportunity to get to know the car better and to understand how it works and where it can be improved. I was impressed by the AP 4-pots on the front, they're quite serious callipers for such a small car. At some point in the future I'll rebuild them and probably add some 2-pots to the rear. I think they'd look good colour-coded in fluoro yellow too.
The magnesium MB Racing wheels blew me away with how light they are. I'll get these back to Mike at some point for crack-testing and a refurb, although they're actually in fairly good condition. I'm glad they're the anodised dishes rather than the polished too, they look really purposeful.
I fitted the Caterham 8 spokes to take it to paint on and will get these old 888s removed and some ZZRs put on ready for when the car comes back. I've never been a fan of 888s anyway, but the medium compound seem unnecessary on such a light car. They're also the wrong sizes. Added to all that, they've aged and gone hard too.
The challenge will be not spending too much and changing everything when I build it back up. Those naff blue silicone hoses have driven me mad since I first set eyes on them though so they'll be getting replaced for black ones in the rebuild.
The garage soon started to look like a jumblesale.
Around about this point, I realised that the rollbar was also held in place by a bolt from underneath which meant the dampers had to be dropped too.
...and by this point with the tank dropped I started to realise that to do this properly wasn't going to be the work of a moment.
The strip gave me a great opportunity to get to know the car better and to understand how it works and where it can be improved. I was impressed by the AP 4-pots on the front, they're quite serious callipers for such a small car. At some point in the future I'll rebuild them and probably add some 2-pots to the rear. I think they'd look good colour-coded in fluoro yellow too.
The magnesium MB Racing wheels blew me away with how light they are. I'll get these back to Mike at some point for crack-testing and a refurb, although they're actually in fairly good condition. I'm glad they're the anodised dishes rather than the polished too, they look really purposeful.
I fitted the Caterham 8 spokes to take it to paint on and will get these old 888s removed and some ZZRs put on ready for when the car comes back. I've never been a fan of 888s anyway, but the medium compound seem unnecessary on such a light car. They're also the wrong sizes. Added to all that, they've aged and gone hard too.
Stripped as far as possible but still leaving it easy to roll, I loaded it on the trailer and headed North up to Cambridgeshire.
I'd heard lots about Arch and was really intrigued to see the place for myself. I arrived, unloaded the trailer and even before going inside, could see loads of interesting stuff just outside in and around the scrap bins.
The staff really couldn't have been nicer. They have a real pride in their history, their craftmanship and some of the fantastic projects that they've worked on. In the foyer is a list of some of them, but it looks to stop about 20 years ago. It contained a few surprises though, I hadn't realised that they'd built the RS200 for instance or that they'd done so much F1 stuff back in the '50s and '60s.
I was given 'the tour' which was fascinating. Main Caterham chassis construction ended years ago, when Caterham was bought out by investors that looked to increase margin. A few companies including Caged tried to make the new metric chassis for the price Caterham demanded and they went bust trying, before it passed to the current manufacturer.
This is a CSR chassis, which are still made by Arch:
This is a rack of dies and jigs for Caterham panels:
...and this is Caterham imperial chassis jig no. 2. The exact place where my car's chassis would have been made over 20 years ago.
Things are still done the same way, often by exactly the same people that have been at the company since its inception. I was told that at least 2 of the employees are well into their mid-80s.
The quality of the craftsmanship is world-class. There were a few things that i was asked not to photograph and I imagine there are so many projects here that are done for other suppliers to reap the glory from. For instance, I was told Guy Martin's TT frames are made here.
This room had a Jaguar D-Type and a Mclaren chassis in mid-production.
Just look at the quality of the bronze welding.
An Aeriel Atom chassis on the jig, mid-production.
They still do lots of repairs to Caterhams, including metric chassis cars as well as imperial. This R400 racer had been fitted with a new rear skin...
...which conveniently leads back into the reason I was here in the first place.
I'd heard lots about Arch and was really intrigued to see the place for myself. I arrived, unloaded the trailer and even before going inside, could see loads of interesting stuff just outside in and around the scrap bins.
The staff really couldn't have been nicer. They have a real pride in their history, their craftmanship and some of the fantastic projects that they've worked on. In the foyer is a list of some of them, but it looks to stop about 20 years ago. It contained a few surprises though, I hadn't realised that they'd built the RS200 for instance or that they'd done so much F1 stuff back in the '50s and '60s.
I was given 'the tour' which was fascinating. Main Caterham chassis construction ended years ago, when Caterham was bought out by investors that looked to increase margin. A few companies including Caged tried to make the new metric chassis for the price Caterham demanded and they went bust trying, before it passed to the current manufacturer.
This is a CSR chassis, which are still made by Arch:
This is a rack of dies and jigs for Caterham panels:
...and this is Caterham imperial chassis jig no. 2. The exact place where my car's chassis would have been made over 20 years ago.
Things are still done the same way, often by exactly the same people that have been at the company since its inception. I was told that at least 2 of the employees are well into their mid-80s.
The quality of the craftsmanship is world-class. There were a few things that i was asked not to photograph and I imagine there are so many projects here that are done for other suppliers to reap the glory from. For instance, I was told Guy Martin's TT frames are made here.
This room had a Jaguar D-Type and a Mclaren chassis in mid-production.
Just look at the quality of the bronze welding.
An Aeriel Atom chassis on the jig, mid-production.
They still do lots of repairs to Caterhams, including metric chassis cars as well as imperial. This R400 racer had been fitted with a new rear skin...
...which conveniently leads back into the reason I was here in the first place.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff