SK400

Friends, In the continued pursuit of trying to correct high speed understeer, I decided to try to a pair of those nose cone carbon fiber aero whiskers (normally installed on R500's / 620's and CSR's from factory). Any guidance on where to install on the nose cone and at what angle of attack? Haven't found much on the web in terms of instructions etc.. thank you very much in advance.

Ha! I guess the best defense is an offense. 3 against one.. will take more than that... !!:driving:

Tom. This was a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away (Canada). Weight advantage helps but it's mostly about momentum!

Count me in as well! Including Friday go kart event. My mission this year: keep up with Kitcat, and continue to learn what this little red car can really do. Working on a set of sticky 13" and a carbon aeroscreen to help with top end. Lots to do to get ready. I can't wait. Thanks for organizing and setting things up again Croc.

Oops I mean yellowss7 Orange monster. Not Croc.

I agree, not sure how effective these canards will be but wonder if others have experienced a change in car handling by installing these nose cone canards. For more drastic aero effects, I think Mog Racing offers aero deflectors that snap on the front A arms to help with downforce and aerodynamics. I think croc has them on his 300 hp orange monster but could be completely wrong.

Guys Since we are talking about tyre choice, I'm having Santa deliver a set of 8x13 rear and 6x13 front Apollo wheels. I had the intention of mounting ZZRs and now wondering about setup. What front camber and toe in or toe out should I shoot for to maximize the handling of the car and optimize wear of these types? Also, Ive been running cr500s (195x45x15) on the 4 corners and although I liked how balanced the car felt , I remember significant understeer in the bowl at njmp. After reading this thread, I'm now wondering if going for wider types in the back and slightly narrower types in the front will exacerbate the issue. What do you think? Will additional front camber with Zzr correct the understeer? Would adding nose cone aero fins (like the r500 or the CSRs) help with downforce? Thanks a bunch for your advice

My bad, I found it in my email! Super thanks Mike and Tom. Much appreciated.

Guys, maybe I missed it but does anyone have a high resolution copy of the group photo the track photographer took of us? Where can I download it? Thanks a bunch. Seb

That would be a great option Tom Any interest in trying another track closer to north Jersey, NY or CT? not sure where everyone is located and if there is any appeal since it is hard to beat NJMP especially with the membership welcome

Guys I'm itching.. just can't wait until next summer for some Caterham fun again. Would any one of you be interested in a one day track event at the end of August, September or in October somewhere in the NY / CT areas? I'm thinking of Lime rock, Thompson speedway, and maybe Montecillo (if we can find a way).. Any one interested or already with plans? Any other track suggestions? I can help coordinate if we are a few . .. let me know. I may end up going on a track somewhere in September anyway.. the more the merrier.. thanks and talk soon Seb

Thanks for the awesome photos! Great action shots. As for the advice on what to do next, thanks guys, makes absolute sense. I think I got slightly better Saturday late afternoon but still a lot, a lot to learn about the track and what our se7ens can really do. Kitkat, I agree, I can do a lot better coming and getting out of the bowl.. Question: does a se7ven perform better in turns with 2 people on board or is it simply tied to how we setup the suspension? I ask because I thought Croc mentioned that it might have been the case for him last weekend.. and thinking about it, I remember my car performing really well on turn 1 at Limerock when I drove it with an instructor sitting next to me .. just curious As for the rims.. Tom, perhaps we could PM on your 13 inch rim and tire option. May not be able to pull the trigger over the next two to three months but happy to look at a few options. Debating between Caterham R500, BBS, Caterham diamond cut wheels or other rim options and tire choice thanks!

Alright, alright, alright... Time to get ready for next year....after reflecting on the weekend's car performance, watching the a few (eye opening) GoPro videos , here's my to do list to try to keep up with the gang and the big boys! 1. Secure a set of 13 inches equipped with ZZRs or other good slicks (any recommendations?) 2. Swap the windscreen for the carbon aero deflector kit - should help get 5 mph at the end of the straight 3. if possible, extract another 10 hp or more from the 210 hp Duractec somehow.. not sure how yet. Will need your advice guys.. any thoughts? 4. learn how to push the limits and drive better! a) turn 1: brake later / harder, keep same line but ~5 mph faster b) turn 2,3,4: good lines, but can load the car more c) turn 5: not sure what to do yet.. need to reflect d) turn 7: keep it floored until passed the bridge, brake later, enter 7 faster e) turn 8: the bowl, can easily enter the curve with 500 rpms higher and accelerate towards apex sooner 5. Build some muscle .. I was sore for a day! Karl.. you were right. Let the Caterham performance upgrade journey begin! :willy_nilly:

Mike, Tom Kelli and I can't thank you enough for organizing this event, for the genuine camaraderie and for the welcoming feel. We truly had a great time getting to know everyone and a blast sharing our passion on the track. I tried to keep a mental list of all the help and advice we received...From Karl's early driving tips and car cover for the night, to Mike's race ramps, Jeff bungee cords, Tom's torque wrench, Steve's special window cleaner, Peter's (track instructor) bug and tar remover (to keep the car looking spanking new), the Alderman's pressure gauge, and the countless tire discussions, thank you everyone .. we will be better prepared next year! Finally, I leave this weekend with very fond memories of our driving sessions.. trying to keep up with Jeff, Scott, Tom, Mike (KitKat), and Mike (who I would call "Le Professeur" in his maroon Cat) and getting obliterated by Tom's and his new ride at the very end of the day... Thanks again for the fun times guys. Look forward to our next get together. Seb

Thanks Wolleybac Have you contacted Caterham Customer Service about this? I ask because it would be great to bring this to their attention.. and you might still be eligible for warrantee (although a pain to send the box back to England, I see my whole summer going by before resolution..). You are now the third person with new 6 speed transmission problems specifically with 4th gear (unless you are the person from South Africa with the Birkin on blatchat with the same issues). All but 4th gear for me work well, regardless of temperature. I'd love to find out the root cause for this. A few hypotheses: - Alignment teeth on the collar or brass ring are prematurely worn and it leads to a "point to point" synchro teeth situation, . Some people call it "shift blockout" - Premature wear or wrong tolerance between the synchro ring and the key (between collar, shaft hub and synchro), allows the synchro to over-index and leads to blockout again - synchro ring touching gear on side face (not on cone angle), the synchro will turn with the gear and not allow to engage . Any other thoughts? thanks a ton

Croc Makes sense. Thanks a bunch for the details. Truly looking forward to the July event and meeting all of you. :driving:

Well I meant Kitcat.. sorry Croc!

Thanks guys. Obviously lots to learn and figure out. Croc, I hope you have a bumper sticker somewhere on the back of your car to remind people that you'd rather be off-roading or that you are ready to use dubious methods (like throwing stones) at new shinny cars to keep competition away

Hey guys, just curious, if one has a standard Caterham 6 speed transmission, what are the typical gears used on the NJMP tracks? I ask because I think I'll still be out of a 4th gear by then. Also, can you please remind me which tracks we are scheduled to drive on, Friday? Saturday? Thanks!

JKerrigan I sent you a PM on the topic. An idea / option that may help you. Seb

Thanks Tom Quick question.. do you know who is the supplier of the standard H pattern 6 speed CSR caterham gearbox? The Cateham guys told me it was not Quaife.. thanks!

I did , thanks. The guys are on the road this week, I should know more about my options with them early next week Seb

Tom Thanks a ton for asking the Blatchat person about this issue. On my end, I contacted the Caterham UK guys but with no real concrete progress or answers on next steps so far. I've also connected with Taylor Race Engineering in the US who are Quaife gearbox distributors. Had a good chat with them but should have a better sense of my options next week. In the meantime, do you of anyone in the US who might have a 6 speed gearbox available (for buy, rent, barter etc).. for the next few weeks while I sort this thing out? just curious, just checking options I'll keep you guys posted on investigation progress. thanks again for the help ! Sebastien

Yup.. That's exactly it Tom.. Thanks for the reference link... when I shortshift or drive at low RPMs, no real issue but when I rev up, I can't engage the 4th (up or downshift) properly. Any hypotheses of what can be the root cause of this issue? thanks Tom Seb