Kitcat

Here are a couple of photos. It’s in storage at the moment so pics are dark. I didn’t see any specific information, or model # on it, beyond Recaro Hans. I also have a fire suppression system (the red bottle in the passenger area is linked to nozzles in the engine bay and activated by a pull-out knob on the dash), and a Fuelsafe tank, so it is a big step up, relative to the protection offered by a standard se7en, on the track, or off.

Bartman: What are your roll cage plans, if any? Here are a coupla shots of the custom cage on my track-only Caterham. As you can see, the driver’s side cage extends out about 9” from the side of the car. So it provides lots of crush space. I am not a fan of the stock Caterham cage as it has minimal crush space on the driver’s side. The downside of such a stout cage is it adds a lot of weight.

Thx Steve, I knew that(duh)!

Top, Tom,(Yellow SS), Croc and Steve M, AKA,BBall, Next, Croc and Dave (S1 driver, par excellence). Next, Croc and Tom Carlin, USA distributer of Birkin. I think Tom was offering to “lay hands” on all the malfunctioning Caterhams in this shot...., Next Ultralight owner who I know well, but whose name I am blanking on, and Tom, Next, Tom again, in his customary pose, Next, WentMD ((Birkin) flaunting fashion conventions, in true Se7er style, Last, Dan(Westfield) obviously overwhelmed at getting one of Croc and Tom’s coveted awards.

The annual gathering of the clans at NJMP.

Since mine was set up for SCCA racing, he had to comply with their (arbitrary) rules. The Caterham wheels were limited to 13x6” in the rear, 13x5.5 in the front. So clever tire mfgs came up with huge, cantilevered tires that fit on the tiny rims. Unfortunately, they stopped making those tires. So I switched to 15x7 wheels with 225/45-15 tires. This approximated the dimensions of the cantilevered tire. But the replacements were still not as wide as the cantilevered tires. And the new set up added 10lbs, per corner (24lbs. v. 34 lbs). Here is a side by side shot, with the Goodyear cantilevered slicks on the right, the 15” R7’s on the left. And a shot of the muffin-top style of the Goodyear’s.

In fairness to Croc and his Mustang, he was trying to get it to do something it was never designed to do (turn....:)).

My Caterham has a brake balance/bias adjustment mechanism. So I can dial in more front or rear grip. I have never had a problem locking them up. In fact Croc has posted a video of my car engulfed in tire smoke after locking all 4 wheels up in order to avoid his careening, ill-handling ‘65 Mustang at NJMP:). Something is amiss with your Cat as it should be easy to lock the front brakes. I agree with CarlB’s assessment. I’d be nervous driving it in its current condition. Hope you get it resolved, keep us posted.

Just to mix things up: I run 15” wheels in back, (225/45/15) and 13” up front(185/65/13), with Hoosier R7s(in the dry only). Pure track car. It came with the staggered set up from Beachman Racing, which prepped it for the track. When I bought it in 2012, Goodyear cantilevered slicks were the race tire of choice. My front tire AND wheel combo weighed in around 19lbs. Unfortunately, Goodyear stopped making those tires. The Hoosiers R7s are not as good, but very close. As I recall, the bias ply Hoosiers provided the best grip and were the most forgiving (no sudden break-aways at the limit). And are lighter. But didn’t last as long. But this was back “ in the day” and radial tires have kept getting better, so?

Croc posted this shot of NYC elsewhere and, when I saw it, my first thought was: This must be the latest symptom of Vlad’s Zetec engine:)!

As noted elsewhere here, I am a big fan of the Evora 400. I will be following your trials and tribulations here, and on LotusTalk, with interest. You seem to be under warranty and I assume the AC can be fixed by a Lotus dealer? Hopefully, once this initial fettling is completed, you will be able to enjoy the car more.

Adjustable cams may not be available. I waited for weeks and finally gave up as I had track days looming. So check that out.

I think the race-gas-only compression ratio helps it get to 250 too? I don’t recall it’s what it’s RPM limits are. Typically Duratecs can spin faster. I think the Zetec is limited by the relatively modest capacity of its oil pump. The Raceline Zetec has its own proprietary ECU, or tune too-all this from my faded memory, so??? Clearly it’s freer flowing head helps. I assume there is an adjustable cam, or a more aggressive cam? As advertised, it come close to higher end Duratecs. I will be fascinated to see what rear wheel hp is. If it can break 200 hp, I will be very impressed.

Bartman: I have been fantasizing about chosing your Raceline options since I got my Zetec Caterham:). They have the highest spec Zetecs going. Adding the sequential transmission will make you extremely competitive on track. But race gas only, no?

Looking great!

I test drove a Evora GT 3 months ago at Gator Motorsport, 100 miles from me. Loved it, but it's a lotta $ for track work. (And no faster than my Caterham, per Gator, at Putnam Park racetrack, not far from Indy, where we both do trackdays).

Cem: What a great Caterham track:all turns almost no straight. It reminds me of the Waterford Hills track in MI. I'd love to see how a well driven XFlow did in comparison, given all the slow turns and 100 mph straight stretch. Croc: I am looking forward to the video of you and Cong playing with this 620R (which I suddenly feel I need-or at least its transmission:)).

The hidden message here is that your BAT sale is now finalized, so congratulations! Hope you and your desired Evora 400 soon meet. And that you post here and tell us if its really all that great. Back on message: great price for such a lightweight, usable se7ens trailer.

This topic pops up here periodically. It never ends well.

I think the Duratec also is 30 lbs lighter than the Zetec.

I will email it, if you give me your email address. I’m at mjmooney@fuse.net. Cost doesn’t include shipping.

As far as I know, it’s in great shape. I’d replace the oil pump as that’s a weak link as well as a wear item($250 for an upgraded one), but that’s it.

I didn’t realize you had access to the camera on my computer Vlad! Back on topic (hopefully), a full rebuild of the Zetec to achieve 200-220 hp can approach $10K. When I approached Quicksilver about doing CarlB’s build for my Zetec SVT engine 2-3 years ago, they said they were no longer doing them. They would rebuild to stock spec only. Maybe that is no longer true? I owned a mildly tuned Duratec Birkin for a couple of years. It didn’t feel any faster than my current SVT Caterham, tho the dyno figures said it made about 10 more hp. The Zetec is very tractable, it has a nice fat torque curve and makes great power over 4500 RPM’s. FWIW, I have a spare SVT engine core(block/head). The head was reworked to optimize flow. Happy to sell if interested.

Thx, Vlad. My comments were actually meant as a response to the original post....I didn’t realize this new forum was a bit more complex than the old and that I had misdirected my post.

If you want a Duratec, it likely would be easier to sell your Cat and buy one with that engine. You need a new every thing: ECU, wiring harness, engine mounts, exhaust,etc. You can make all the power you need to hang on the track with your Zetec. Quicksilver is great. I’d say spend your $ on safety stuff: harness, halo seat, Fuelsafe tank, FIA bar or full cage. if you are going to run super sticky tires, maybe add an Accusump or dry sump.