SK400

Mike I was thinking that could be the case unfortunately. That said, my main reason was for esthetics honestly, hiding the sausage filter that comes with the roller barrel kit. Unsure if the setup I now have will be sound restrictive at lime rock yet. I guess we will see this summer. I let you know if I'm black flagged. Mike, do you have another recommendations in place of the sausage filter? Thanks Mike.

Greetings fellow 7 fans i'm installing a set of new roller barrels on my r400 and am looking for an R500 carbon airbox as shown in this photo. Please let me know if you have one for sale or know of anyone that may have one. Thank you very much in advance Seb http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12156&stc=1

Yep.. so we need a modified tensioner Caterham number YD0159. It's currently out of stock, but I'll see if i can modify the tensioner i have myself. I don't think it should be that complicated, (hope i won't be putting my foot in my mouth soon). Before I forget, Caterham did indeed receive my ECU and they were super helpful taking care of business. They've reflashed the ECU and should be on its way back to the US. Should be plug and play .. but let's see! Next is the tensioner modification, install of the carbon airbox, adjustment of roller barrel openings & throttle cable setting and adjustment of the TPS sensor.

Niiice.. I was about to say that there are other dangers on the track, especially in NJ in July... some throw rocks at you to make sure you keep your distance, others lose parts in front of you when you least expect it to add to the suspense, and there is wayyy to much fun in the paddock

Bruce I think you are right.. the head of the bolt interferes with the carbon fiber airbox (see picture below). Interesting that they dd not provide the bolt you recommend in the roller barrel kit. I'll be reaching out to Caterham and see what they have to say. On a different note, i took the bull by the horns and decided to cut my bonnet following a template provided by Caterham. Took a few times to get a usable template but got somewhere finally after multiple requests.. . I printed on a plotter, positioned it on the hood and went at it carefully with a Dremmel tool. Overall it worked pretty well. a bit of filling and sand paper and it looks pretty good. I will be covering the newly cut edge with a rubber trim and .. voila! it will look like a million $$, no damage to the hood at all, a clean cut. The hole is a bit larger, especially longer, compared to the sausage pipercross filter but to be expected. I think the template provided is designed to accommodate the full R500 carbon airbox, which takes a bit more room. Not a big deal, it still looks sharp and i wont have to re-cut in the future when i can get my hands on the full R500 carbon airbox (in backorder). Still no news from the ECU i sent .. brrr. Let's see. One step closer to 10-20 more HP and better sound! See below (interference between bolt and carbon airbox) http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12151&stc=1 Hood before cutting with printed template http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12152&stc=1 Bonnet cut using dremmel tool http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12153&stc=1

Bruce. Thanks for your comments. Why do you say I will need a new bet tensioner? Is there something I should have done ahead of installing the roller barrels??

Mike - no worries. That's the price we pay following you and learning your quick lines. We love you just like that, rough, inconsiderate and rock thrower. Don't change. As for the incognito person who plans to surprise us with tons of HP... well bring it on!!! I can't wait. I just hope it's not Simon. I will have to work extra hard to keep up.

I think I make this assembly more of a big deal than it really is... jusst feels good to vent and share the pain and lessons learned a bit for other novices like me out there. It's therapeutic. As for what I expect to get out of it , well Caterham claims 10 hp increase but people on several blogs who have installed the kit claim more. Some observed a 20 hp increase at the flywheel comparing pre and post dyno test outputs, which sounds logical (bigger injectors, etc). I don't think the top line rpm increases (same cams) so it's all torque increase, which is really nice. Net net I expect to see about 200 hp at the wheels or 230 hp at the flywheel, or a 10 percent increase ish from a 210 hp base. Bonkers. But will see .. I intend to dyno the car this spring when all set and done. Also, look forward to flames at the exhaust and overall better sound. As for the rocks on the track, I'm unfortunately not confused Mike. I have chip or two on my nose cone, that wear your finger prints. Clearly, you deserve the award.

You guys are a riot. For starters, we all look like a bunch of clowns, idiots, and goofballs driving these cars around the track at 130mph+. can't get more comical than this. But tadahhh! success last weekend. I managed to install the roller barrels on the engine, together as a pair (pfuuuii). Had to play a bit with the throttle cable and top end of the pedal (cable was too short.. i panicked for a few seconds) and still have to set the idle opening to precisely 6 mm using the shaft of a 6 mm drill bit and adjust the left and right throttle bodies to get the same opening using the black sets crew in between the bodies. I then tried to install the TPS sensor.. and attempted to figure out what direction to install it, with the electrical connection towards the engine or towards the filter. I think i figured it out .. the electrical connection should be pointing towards the filter ( I think and not like the picture I’m including here). It looks like it works the opposite way as it is on the R400 butterfly setup, in other words, starting at high voltage (4.62 V at idle) and with decreasing voltage as one opens the throttle. I will let you know if this works when I put a voltmeter to it. Oh and by the way, i just sent my ECU to Caterham (Gatwick UK location) be reprogrammed for the throttle bodies and bigger injectors . I hope everything goes well. Wish me luck! I wrote my name on the ECU so please return to sender if you happen to see it in your new kits. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12139&stc=1

So there is nothing like a snowy weekend on the East Coast to get started with the Roller Barrel conversion. One kid was sleeping, the other one in front of a hilarious Peanut movie, the time was right to excuse myself discretely for a few hours. I love them all but you know.. I managed to put in 4 hrs of work over the weekend but unfortunately nothing much to show for but if it is for lessons learned of what NOT to do along with bloody fingers and lots of swearing in both French and English. So for the novices like me out there, here are a few tips of what to watch out for when you install the Titan Roller kit yourself: 1/ Injector / fuel rail: after changing the injectors, avoid reinstalling the rail immediately like i did. It gets in the way of installing the roller barrels and torquing some of the nuts. 2/ engine roller barrel threaded studs: beware! not all the threaded stubs that come with the kit are created equal! they all look very similar but the diameters of the unthreaded collars are slightly different. What's more, the kit comes with 5 threaded studs to mount the roller to the engine but there are 7 holes in the roller bodies.. of course. i chose not to use some of the bottom center holes. I will probably look for appropriate bolts at the hardware shop at a later stage. 3/ rubber seals: i suggest using a bit of clear RTV to keep the rubber seal where they belong in the groove on the back plate of the rollers. This will help not to lose the rubber seals in the engine bay abyss as you are trying to install the rollers 4/ roller barrel assembly install: they have to be installed simultaneously on the engine ... forget about installing one at a time, you wont have the clearance to install one and then the other. I lost a lost of time right there. 5/ make sure to use blue goo: loctite blue is advised on all threaded nuts and bolts. 6/ main cooling hose on r400: what a pain and in the middle of everything. i you are willing to make a mess, suggest you remove the hose, it will saves you several hrs of swearing trying to torque a few nuts on the assembly. Well that's it for now. I will try again next weekend if i find a few hrs. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12133&stc=1

Lol. That's so true. Perhaps we should have a few brand new Cats ready to go and for sale at the track that day. Perhaps even a 620r ? What the heck, I may just buy myself a second cat I like it so much. (But don't tell my wife and the 401k) Can't wait for The event and as always thanks Mike and Tom for being such good hosts. Now working on winter preps ... roller barrels, slick tires, a few cosmetic touch ups. Need to shine if not in lap times, at least in style! Happy holidays all.

Has anyone tried a hand nibbler or air nibbler to cut the bonnet opening? how would this compare to other techniques? thanks!

Thanks Vstryker. I will definitively ping Bruce (which i have already) about the ECU and weight the pros and cons versus a stock Caterham ECU. As for the bonnet, did you use the dremel tool with a special wheel to cut through and followed the opening lines (if so, what type of wheel?) I was thinking of drilling first to create an opening as you suggested and then using an electric reciprocating hand saw with the right blade of course and to follow the lines of the template, and finish with fine hand filing. But perhaps it will be too heavy or bulky to do a good job and not friendly with the paint at the line. What do you think? As for the TPS, we will cross the bridge when we get there! thanks for your guidance.

Santa was very nice this year. He managed to drop a set of Caterham / Titan Roller Barrel intakes (kit) and a Cat Bypass on his way back from the UK and a bit in advance. Lots of sound, a bit more HP (10,.. 20HP according to some?) and a few flames coming out of the exhaust.. just what my car needs. I can't wait to our next blat on the East Coast this spring. :drool: This will be a looooong winter. So now a few questions for the group: 1/ Santa bought the kit from Caterham directly. Part of the arrangement is for Santa to send the ECU back to Caterham to be remapped. However, Santa understands the that Caterham ECUs are locked. So should Santa consider another ECU either from SBD or from another source to have more "fine tuning and remapping" flexibility going forward? Would it be worth it? If so, who would have a base map for the R400 2.0L duratec engine equipped with the Titan roller barrels? 2/ Santa did not receive any "setup" information from Caterham yet. He could call and engage with them or ask... USA7s for tips and tricks! Has anyone already installed this set on their R400 2.0l Duratec engine? Do you know where I could find setup instructions? 3/ Finally, Santa told me that i needed to cut my bonnet to install the air filter. Caterham sent a drawing for the cut out. ok.. but any tricks and tips on how to do this properly and not brutally damage the bonnet in the process? Thanks a ton for the help in advance! http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12012&stc=1

Congrats Jay - glad it went very well for you. Lucky they did not ask you to mount bumpers, install SAE approved lights and turn signals of a minimum diameter (eg way bigger than what we have on our cars), or add a 3/16" steel plate between the fuel tank and the passenger compartment... yes. Perhaps the courtesy inspection was the key. I admit, I chickened out when I tried to register, especially living in the southern tip of Connecticut, 1.5 hrs from Wethersfield, dreading all those back and forths with a trailer... and went a different registration way (the FedEx / UPS way, plates delivered at home). Look forward to getting our cars together soon.. probably this spring.

Very cool Croc! Budapest is a great city.. but i think the Bookatrack journey is even better. That was a heck of a wet day at BRNO

Jay it makes me think.. before its too late and before your paint gets chipped or damaged, i highly recommend that you cover the car with the transparent 3M auto film or something equivalent. I had mine done here in stamford at a custom shop and you can barely see it. but saves the paint and overall look from a lot, including race day road rash.

Gorgeous car and congratulations Owen! If NJ is too much trouble, you can still go the Montana way, saves a lot of headaches and time Happy to PM if needed

Congratulations Jay! What a beautiful car. I have the same t shirt btw - very appropriate. Glad to have another CT neighbor with a Cat. Look forward to drives together or meet at LimeRock if open to it. Enjoy the end of fall!

Blake - I live in Stamford CT! so 25 mins from Westchester, NY. I have a 2013 S3 R400 .. Happy to have you come around and sit. You may even get lucky, and could go for a short ride together weather permitting. Would love to have another Caterham neighbor let me know. Happy to PM for logistics etc. Seb

Bruce agree. The good news is that my car is relatively new (2013) with little mileage on it so she is "solid" and in perfect condition all around. One thing that I don't do is take tire temperature after lapping sessions. I normally look at tire wear patttern to tell me whether parts of the tire are overheating or not building enough heat (at least that's what I use to do during my Karting championship years). Perhaps i should start experimenting with real tire temp monitoring. As for the sway bar, theee is an easy setting option I can try. Thanks for the input. Seb

Sweet! love the list. Thanks a ton for digging this up Michael. If the weather holds and time allows, i may give it one more try this season on a track. Perhaps in November and try a bit of these settings. thanks all for the advice

Ha! I too would have thought the opposite e.g. Lowering the tire pressure in front, within reason, would help the front end bite a bit more. I definitively can try that. I ran 18 in the back and 17 in the front. Does not hurt to try 18 and 20 respectively. Btw - thanks Nick for the exhaustive list of tips. Very helpful. As for wider tires, I should look into it. Perhaps I ll try myself with full slicks next season just to feel the difference (if any!)

Thanks guys. It looks like changing rear sway bar setting could be the easiest way to help the front end turn in a bit more It feels like I should stiffen the bar a bit instead of releasing it completely to have the rear follow a bit more. I have to say that when I understeer, it's normally at the entry of of curve and I'm normally able to correct it decently well with throttle until very high speeds when the front end scrubs and slightly drifts regardless of what I do (which I think is normal for the Cats )

Friends, Hope you are all doing well. I had a fun Columbus day last Monday as i had the chance to spend it at LimeRock for an HPDE event with SCDA. I even had the luxury of having my family and kids join for part of the day to cheer me up! Felt like good old racing days.. Thanks to all of your driving coaching over the last few seasons, i'm getting more and more confident with the car and i'm slowly learning what this incredible machine can really do. Although i'm pretty happy with the handling, i still think she is understeering a bit too much for my taste the way she is setup and seeking for advice on how to increase front end grip (and not at the expense of back end grip!). I'm currently running: - 13' ZZR tires, typically 18 psi rear, 17 psi front (although i tried to play with it a bit with little results) - 0 deg toe in toe out (super neutral) - 2.8 deg negative camber - 10 mm rake angle A few questions: - would increase the rake to 15 mm help a bit? - would giving the car a 1/8" toe out help or will it only increase corner entry responsiveness? - would like to avoid touching the rear sway bar setting for now please let me know what you think. With good setting, better front end grip, more clement temperatures and of course better driving, I think i can break the 1 min barrier on this track and get into the low 59 second range (missed it by 0.22 seconds..!!!) thanks all in advance for your help