athens7

40 years old and behind the wheel of an F1 car-a Ferrari, no less (of course)! Michael is the standard bearer for us middle aged men and our passions. What a burden, to have to fill in and race at the pinnacle of the sport. I've got the age, all I'm missing is the eyesight, talent, conditioning, reflexes,...

Yup. That's why the F1 engineers make upwards of $700,000 per year. If one has a proficiency for such things, great. I'm simply stating a belief that the average performance car driver could easily do more harm than good with this much influence over set up. After all, it could be easily argued that one of the big differences between McLaren last year and this year is the lack of Alonso's ability to set up the car (not to mention Schumacher vs. Raikonnen at Ferrari).

This sounds like a great way to hopelessly f%#k up a car carefully set up by people who know much more about such things than the ultimate owner. Most who aspire to fiddle with set up should stick to Gran Tourismo, IMO.

:drool:

The listing shows a sale pending. The color scheme on the 40th anniversary car has always been one of my favorites.

I'm not crazy about the color, but the car looks immaculate. It sure would be nice to have too much money...

52 mm is the correct size.

"The only 911 call I need is chambering a round." Now that's a great line! Whether you agree with the dealers slogan of "God, guns, guts, and American trucks" or not, the reporter's questioning the validity of it because "some people might be uncomfortable" with it is beyond ludicrous. Somebody get the stupid bimbo a copy of Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, for God's sake. :rant:

I have read many threads on a variety of forums about footwell heat, more about S3s than SVs. The general feeling seems to be that the SV has more room for air to flow around the engine, helping to dissipate the heat. Some of the folks on Blatchat have installed a vented shift boot to evacuate heat from the transmission tunnel. Some insulate the footwells, others wrap exhaust headers. I still hear tales of burned legs and oppressive heat. I live in Georgia, where it is routinely 90+ degrees in the summer, and I can run my car at autocrosses, as well as 200 mile blats, without any discomfort. I wear shorts and Piloti Monacos when driving. My car has the following "anti-heat" equipment: -insulated footwell floors and tunnel (both sides) from British Auto Specialists -Jet Hot coated exhaust -heater cut off valve in the heater coolant line -insulation blocking the heater air intake during the summer (keeps hot air from flowing through the heater ducts) -180 degree thermostat and reprogrammed radiator fan I know it's hot under the bonnet, as I can see the heat waves coming out of the louvers, the heat just doesn't transfer into the footwells. Maybe it's just dumb luck (I certainly have the requisite level of stupidity!). I've also heard the Duratec cars are throwing off a lot of heat...

Damn, that's pretty! Between this car and the $6?,??? CSR at Sevens & Elans, that's a couple of mouth watering options.

Hmmmm...

:cooldude:

Mike, the Caterham oil pressure gauge, and likely the sender, is made by Caerbont Automotive, not Mocal, according to the label on the gauge housing. I would assume all the other gauges are similarly sourced.

Stack makes some very nice speedometers and tachometers that would fit, as well as all the necessary other gauges, including the oil pressure gauge (electrical and mechanical). The mechanical oil pressure gauge was about $10 more than the Mocal unit, but the fellas on Blatchat overwhelmingly use the Mocal gauge, so that was my choice. I did look at Stack's Pro-control electrical oil pressure gauge with peak display and high and low pressure alarms with built in warning lights, but at $240 plus an unknown amount of wire harness splicing to access power... I suppose it would be nice to have a matched set of gauges if I had to replace more of the ones I have, so I would probably go with Stack and use their OPG instead of the Mocal unit. What about having a good gauge service shop like Palo Alto Speedometer rebuild the existing speedo or tach with better components?

I haven't had much time to drive the car since the install, but so far: Cold start 75 PSI 4000 RPM at 60 degrees Celsius 80-82 PSI Warm idle 40 PSI 4000 RPM at 80 degrees Celsius 75-78 PSI I have a 180 degree thermostat in the car, not the stock 195 degree unit, so oil pressure/temperature might be a bit different in a car with the stock thermostat in harder driving environments. I will be interested to see my readings during my next autocross. I would expect them to be a bit lower at the higher temperatures generated during that type of use. I also haven't gone for a long (50 miles plus) drive on a Georgia summer day (90 plus degrees), so we'll see what the readings are then. My motor was a crate (not used) engine and has 7900 miles on it now.

Ken- Thanks for the input. Actually, the picture where the stainless line is zip tied to the ground strap is from the original electrical set up, with the line going forward to the sending unit. This was done by the assembling dealer. Another good reason for the change! I will re-check the line routing to make sure there are no problems-in-waiting.

A couple more pictures (before and after). The last picture is of the place where the sender used to be, at the frame where the right front suspension comes in.

Replaced the Caterham unit with a Mocal gauge and line from BAT Inc. in Florida. I didn't include a low pressure switch and light because I wanted a minimum number of connections between the block and the gauge (fewer leakage possibilities) and, since I didn't have one before, I didn't feel the loss. The biggest challenge was figuring out the thread on the connections. I didn't know anything about the various types of connections (1/8 BSP, M10 X 1, 1/8 NPT, -3 AN, 3/8 X 24-all basically the same!); I guess I should have asked here first! Any way, the connections on my car are 1/8 BSP (concave inner flange on male thread, nipple on inside of female thread). Total parts cost $96.xx including shipping, plus any labor if you pay someone to do it. The gauge is of much higher quality than the stock (garbage) Caterham gauge, and the oil pressure sender (much worse than garbage) is gone. I tested the Mocal gauge before installation and found it to be accurate. It sure is nice to know what my oil pressure REALLY is.

Welcome! That's a pretty car-I hope it provides you with many miles of enjoyment.

I understand the front track on an S3 is not as wide as the rear, and the wide track kit widens the front track to match the rear. I'm told the benefit is increased turn in response, and less tendency to push. I believe the only possible front fender for this set up is the cycle wing; it is too wide for the clams (or so I've been told).

Condolences.

OMG Mike!:ack:

Actually, I don't think it is a Caterham part. It's an assembly I got from Ben Wofford when he was with Rocky Mountain Sports Cars. I have had no further issues with the exhaust cracking since it was installed, and I think a recurrence of the weld failure is almost inevitable without some type of support due to the length of the unsupported section of exhaust and the vibration it undergoes.

One possibility is the heat shield; it is attached to the muffler/cat by several straps. The welds on the heat shield strap retainers are small and will break easily. I had mine re-welded when I had the 4-1 crack fixed, and have had no problems since. I also highly recommend getting a front exhaust mount from Ben at Caterham USA. it mounts to the frame and the flange at the collector, providing much needed support to a very long exhaust assembly. Lastly, check the exhaust mount rubber bobbins at the rear- they are shite quality and fail frequently. My fix for these was a combination of shock absorber bushings and circle cut pieces of old Z rated tire side walls with a bolt, 2 fender washers, and a nut.

I had a similar problem with one of my wheels/tires (I have the 16" 5 spoke Caterham wagon wheels). There was a small flaw in the casting of the wheel such that it was porous; we finally noticed a very small stream of bubbles from the wheel itself, rather than the tire. Jeff Sloan at British Auto was kind enough to swap it out for me.