jordway

Sounds like @vovchandr has this figured out. @thedreamer educated me a while back regarding the different varieties of these very similar caps. I have the plastic variety that I'm not using, just in case @werthie or anyone else needs one of those instead. No charge. They are the ones that came on the stock 2002 Roadsport 16" wheels. They look identical to the photo werthie posted, but I now realize the different varieties are really hard to distinguish in photos. If you also need the 3-hole securing bolt, I have those also.

What are the correct torques for the engine mounts? I've seen 41 Nm for the hex bolt to the rubbers and 20 Nm for the 13mm bolts to the chassis. Does that sound right?

Yesterday, I had my first drive since changing from 16" rims with 45 Firehawk tires to 13" Apollos with 60 R888Rs. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but WOW what a difference!!! No more spine compressions on bumps. Handling is excellent. I expected improvement, but I was surprised by how much. Why the heck didn't I do this three years ago?!

That is just heartbreaking. Glad you're both okay. Good luck with the repairs. It doesn't look like you have any wheel damage. But, if you do, I will have one of the same 16" Roadsport style wheels I could send you. They are in good condition, I'm just switching to 13" Apollos in a week or so. If you'd like it, it's yours for the cost of shipping.

Thanks, @Slonie. I got feedback from Josh at Rocky Mountain Caterham, and he recommended exactly your set up. So, that's what I'm planning to do. You're probably right about the ride height. But, I got under it and measured a couple nights ago. I'm at 3" front with 1" additional rake in the back. Thankfully I've never bottomed out, but that's getting really close!

@Vovchandr, here is the sound... I don't recall about the pully, but I'll check.

Oops... Sorry. The Zetec SVT is 170hp (not 185). So, 200hp is probably about right.

I haven't dyno'ed it, but the PO/builder said 200hp at the rear wheels. It's a Zetec SVT (185hp), so with the SC (and based on feel), I suspect that is a conservative number.

Yep. An SC setup fits into my Zetec SV.

I've read (and appreciate!) the wealth of information on wheels/tires in this forum. At the risk of beating a dead horse, I decided to check and see if anyone has any feedback on my specific plans. I have a 2002 Roadsport SV with the 16" wheels that came on this model. The Firestone Firehawk Indo 500 205/45R16 tires were brand new in spring 2022 when I started driving the car (I'm 2nd owner), and I've put only ~4K miles on them. My intention was to wait until I needed to replace the tires that came on the car, then change to 13" wheels. However, given the deteriorating condition of St. Louis streets, I've decided I need to make the change now. I'm a twisty backroads driver but I still have to drive on city streets for a bit in order to get out to the good county roads. I'm sure both the car and my back will appreciate the change. My wife is not happy because she likes the look of the 16" rims. But, I've assured her that she will be a fan of 13" as soon as she experiences the ride improvement! I'm switching to 13" Apollos (6" front and rear). I'm leaning toward Toyo RA1 rather than R888R. I've seen that a couple of folks have made comments that the RA1s are a bit better on wet roads than the R888Rs. That, and possibly a bit longer tread life, are the main reasons for choosing the RA1s. Do any RA1 users have any additional feedback on these tires that's not already been mentioned? Anyone have any reasons they would definitely opt for something other than RA1s for street driving? Finally, if anyone has advice on adjusting ride height to accommodate this change, that would be greatly appreciated.

a My second attempt at 3D printing a model Seven... Improvement over the first attempt, but my finishing, painting and gluing jobs are horrible. The key is to print the parts individually and then assemble. Someone with steadier hands and more patience than me can find the files here. It's actually a model of the Prisoner car. I'm sure my colors are considered blasphemy! https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6597452 I scaled it up to 150%. I'd recommend scaling it up even more. There is no file for the roll bar. But, if you scale this one down to 30%, it works: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5199444

Ha! Believe it or not, I had to talk my wife down from the edge on that one. She wanted it real bad.

I tried to 3D print a model Seven. I broke the roll bar and the headlights while pulling away the supports. The 3D printer belongs to my 10 year old daughter. She can probably teach me how to use it..

Not a problem at all. No fees involved. What color(s) would you like? Each will be one solid color, but the two can be different colors, if you like. DM me your address, and I'll get it out to you. I printed this larger one over the weekend. Using it as a coaster for my desk.

Not as cool as a steel one, but if you don't mind plastic, I'd be happy to print a couple and mail them to you.

If you have access to a 3D printer, the .stl file can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:885858

Yep. Same thing happened to me recently. Easy enough fix. But, it came loose yet again on a long spirited drive over the weekend. I intend to heat shrink it this time.

Good question. That's the before photo. Here's the after, although not the best angle for your point. But, if you zoom in you can see that the two halves of the clamp now meet. The before photo was intended to show how loose it was. I loosened the grub screw/nut first, then torgued the clamp, then retightened the grub screw/nut. Let me know if you see anything suspicious in the after photo. Happy to take better ones. Thanks for your feedback.

Reporting back on this topic... Many thanks to @CarlB, @jbcollier and @theDreamer for the feedback and to @JohnCh for the helpful build link. Indeed, the issue was the clamp connecting the upper and lower columns. The securing bolts were still tight enough to turn the column and wheels, but loose enough to cause the play I was feeling. They were loose enough that it took some time alternating between the two to get them to 14 Nm. I made sure the grub screw and securing bolt were also tight. This totally resolved the play and it's back to the feel I'm used to after test driving. I was surprised that the two securing bolts don't have nuts (although there is not much thread coming out of the clamp to put a nut on anyway). I checked the assembly manual and photos, and this is as it should be. Someone outside this forum suggested that I disassemble it and use blue loctite on the entire length of the securing bolts. I'm not sure that's a good idea for a clamp that might need regular tweaking. Alternatively, I considered getting two longer blots and use nuts. But, I sure don't want to end up with a cross threading issue. I plan to just keep a close eye on it, and if it gets loose again in a short amount of time, I'll consider how to make it more stable. Anyone here had an issue with that clamp frequently getting loose? Of course, correcting my bad habits of yanking on the steering wheel will likely help! To be safe, I got under it and checked the entire steering mechanism using the assembly manual and torque tables as a guide. Splines are all good. The only other thing I found was that the rack clamps needed to be torqued ever so slightly. So slightly that I really doubt that was causing any steering issue, but they are to spec now. Thank you very much!

My Caterham is a 2004 SV Roadsport. I remove the Momo every time I get in and out. I've had the car 2.5 years and put 3K+ miles on it since then. I've gotten into the habit of giving the steering wheel a pretty good jerk when I put it on, to make sure it's seated. A couple days ago, I did this and the post pulled out maybe a half inch or so. The car was parked, of course. I pushed it back in. It feels secure and only pulls out if I jerk it pretty hard (which, of course, I will stop doing!). I've driven it a couple times since then, and it steers fine and it keeps a straight line if I let go of the wheel on a level straight stretch. The only thing I notice is that there now seems to be more play in the steering. Granted, this could be totally in my head following a bit of an "Oh crap!" moment. Now, there is maybe about a 15 degree give in the steering wheel before the wheels respond. I don't recall that being the case before this happened. Other than that, it seems to steer normally on 90 degree turns. Should I be worried? What all should I be checking? Perhaps a bit of guidance from @slngsht to find the lock screw mentioned in the Sep 7, 2007 post below or any insights from @lowflyer regarding the Sep 10, 2007 street rod story might point me in the right direction. Thanks again for any feedback!

By the way, to add to the BaT discussion about wheels... My 2004 SV has the exact same 15" wheels. I've put ~2500 backroad miles on them in the 2 yrs I've had the car. I have no complaints at all. My plan is to enjoy it as-is until it's time for new tires (tires were brand new when I received it). At that point, I'll probably switch to 13". If the handling and feel is even better than the joy I already get on the 15"s, then that's great!

Congrats on the HPC purchase! You're going to love it! I hope you enjoy talking to strangers because this thing is going to draw LOTS of attention.

Closing the loop on the Pinewood Derby... The troop had the fastest 14 cars of the day (~150 cars total) and won 1st and 2nd place overall (only 2 cars per troop could advance to finals). But the slowest car in her troop was faster than the other 18 cars in the finals. Perhaps we over did it a bit. Not sure we'll be invited back again next year.

Nice! The Fire Streaming Wedge is my other daughter's car (1st grade). Different troop, and I only had to help with hers in that troop. Left that out to keep the post from getting too long. I struggle with excessive wordiness.

Ha! Yes, clearly that one leaned more toward aesthetics than functionality. Your comment about a Shelby hits home. I remember when I was looking at the Seven that I ended up purchasing, I thought to myself "I need to factor in a paint job so that it looks like a Seven instead of a Cobra". But, you know, I've grown to love it.