ashyers

Dave, I think johncg was having understeer issues. I've likely got driver issues! You and Croc's points about managing weight transfer on entry played out Sunday. I found I can brake much more aggressively and plant the nose of the car, it'll turn in. Lots of camber huh? How was braking and tramlining at 2.5deg? I drive the car quite a bit and have not run those settings so I'm curious. Next time I have it on the pad I'll have to record the # of turns to 1.5, 2, 2.25 and 2.5 so I can play at the autoX. Hopefully it won't foul up the toe too much. The total front toe works out to a hair over 1/8" (EDIT: .032", bad notes!?!?!?) in at the tire in the front. I could dial it to 0 easily enough and give it a try. Adjusting rear toe will involve some shimming, so that's a bit of a pain. Right now it's a hair less than 1/8" in total. RARB is easy, pull off and less weight! I really appreciate the feedback. It is helpful for determining a direction to go. Ultimately I'm not out for the fast time of the day, I just enjoy improving my driving and tinkering with the car. I guess I need to be careful of tuning to the old tires...I can't buy another set! Hopefully the balance will not change radically. Andy

Dave, Here's my notes from when we set it up: Front Toe: .18deg .17deg in (EDIT: .04deg in .04deg in, bad notes!?!?) Front Camber: -1.2deg Front Caster: 5.8deg 5.9deg Rear Thrust Angle: 0deg Rear Camber: -1.5deg Essentially just factory settings with a bit less toe and more measured caster. I say "measured" because we started with factory shims and then matched it side to side. I was not terribly worried about the reading as long as it was in the ballpark and matched. I played with the toe a bit since it was pretty goofy when I purchased the car and I wanted to find how it drove at a variety of settings. This worked well for normal driving. I have not felt the need to play with toe-out for the autoX. I will say too much toe-in makes these things miserable! Corner Weights, full tank, 1303lbs. LF 313, RF 318 LR 327, RR 345 FARB 5/8" RARB std. one hole from full soft TP 16psi. The car is an '03 SV. If you have any comments or suggestions I'm all ears. Andy

Dave and Clarko, You guys going to provide me with support if I order a set? They should work in light rain, right ! https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hoosier&tireModel=A7&partnum=045ZR6A7&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes Must work on justification/rationalization strategy... Clarko says they'll last a year... Want maximum grip for safety... It doesn't really rain in N. California any more... They'll be quieter... There's more rubber to distribute the wear... Those "five-dash circumferentially oriented grooves" are tread... Andy

Wish I was at the point I could start blaming the car! Yesterday I managed to induce understeer, oversteer and at least one no-steer 4 wheel slide! I have found that the Caterham will tolerate more braking that I anticipated before it gets upset and that the speed of steering inputs is critical. When I get it right the car dances on the edge of traction well. I'm running factory alignment settings with just a hint of front toe in and equal front weights. Tires are 7 year old (I know...) 205/45-16 Toyo Proxes. Once I get consistent I'll get some new tires, seems they don't wear on the Caterham, not heavy enough... Sure is fun autocrossing these things. Andy

Dave, Is it possible the actuating rod on the new one is just a little longer? Maybe you're just at the limits of it's adjustment and not using it's full available travel from the slave. It looks like you could either play with the coupling nut, replace the current jam nut with a thin jam nut (or leave it off for test purposes) or cut additional threads on the actuating rod. Andy

David, I'm not familiar with the clutch layout on your car, but I have see similar issues if there's air in the system. You mentioned the "new" slave cylinder from your stash. Did you crack it open and inspect it? I had a battle with slave cylinders on my Midget due to substandard parts. They sort of sealed... Andy

Clarko, Check the voltage on the battery with no load. Should be 12.65v or above. Check the battery voltage while attempting to turn the engine over, should be 9.5v or above. Check the voltage drop though the power and ground to the starter. The drop should be You could try cranking it with one plug in, similar to doing a compression test, then add another and see where the tipping point of the system is. Andy

3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive is pretty good stuff. Are you willing to drill small holes in the seat and use some large headed pop rivets? A combo of adhesive and mechanical fasteners may do the trick.

Spotted this this morning on CL: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/d/san-jose-2007-wcm-ultralite-s2k/7207735795.html

I agree with John, pull the engine. Unfortunately I suspect you're going to find some ugliness once you dig in and it will be much easier to deal with it when the engine is on the bench. Have you checked the cylinder with a borescope?

Brightonuk, You have a PM. Andy

Brightonuk, You're tempting me! What's required for inputs? The only instructions I could find online were in Italian. I have an older 967 MBE ECU. Andy

You may want to take the time to see where you're at before throwing $ at it. If you do end up making changes make sure you have your ride height dialed in. I don't know how sensitive the bump steer on a Caterham is, but it's possible you'll find what works at your "road" setting is not the hot ticket for your "track" setting.

Have you measured the current curves?

papak, You mentioned that it happens when accelerating out of a turn. Not when going straight? If so I'd be inclined to look at the limited slip. Is it possible you're getting some kind of stick/slip/stick/slip going on? I seem to recall you did a diff recently. Andy

papak, I wonder if the clutch is slipping? Does it ever flare when you are at WOT and the torque peak? Is it possible the friction material has been contaminated? I'd check the d-shaft, U-joints, and d-shaft hardware just to be safe. Of course, maybe it's tire spin ! Edit: Was everything was fine prior to pulling out the gearbox? Andy

I'd be interested in his comments on the setup if he's willing to share 'em. Andy

Does she like driving it? That has worked for me :driving:. Heck, maybe you can get her to pitch in for the maintenance!!!!!!!!!

Better than a drug habit...

Check out those tires! I bet it's a big fun to drive!!!

Hills... and corners! (and potholes that will swallow a 7 whole :banghead:)

papak, I'm with you on the drives. We've been doing a bunch of them locally and not so locally. One day we took the 7 and Midget out with some friends and went up in the local hills. It was a blast! Sometimes it's just nice to get outside and play a bit. Andy

Here's another one: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Micro-600-Sprint-Racing-Battery-Box-for-Odyssey-PC680-Battery,83562.html

Turning the headrest worked pretty darn well. It's still a bit too thick, but it's a TON better than it was. Thanks for the idea! I'll test it at the next AutoX. Maybe the headrest is why I hit all those cones...

Favorite bit in the ads: "Seat three abreast or have four seats in my chassis?" "No, the frame design will allow only a small third seat - transversely in the back, suitable for a child up to about 12 years old."