Klasik-69

I can't tell...............Is she putting them on or taking them off ?:driving:

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I've been happy with the company but since I haven't had any claims, can't venture too much on their service. Good luck on the superlight. Mine is an 04 superlight R300 with the Zetec 202 HP engine and a real hoot. Top end is a bit disappointing but I'm working on the aerodynamics a little to help that along. The Seven has a Cd of 0.65 or about as good as a UPS delivery van.

SFI/FIA approved belts will have a date on the label which indicates the expiration of the belt. SCCA events will check occasionally for compliance. If they don't, or if the group you run with doesn't, you should. Its your neck out there. There are no Mulligans on the track.

Keep in mind the rates depend also on the coverage you choose. In my case, I have very high liability and underinsurance coverage limits, some of which is mandated by my umbrella liability policy. As someone pointed out earlier, the VIN on these cars don't pop up on insurance co. computers so they're at a loss as to what they are. This may be true of other kit cars as well, like the A/C cobras. Mine requested pictures of the car. Its also a stated value policy. In some states, any understatement of values can limit your coverage during a claim. In Florida, if you understate the value of insured property by more than 10%, any eventual claim will only be paid to the level of proper insurance coverage. In other words, if you claim a value of $30K and its really $40K, then you underinsured by 25%. Any damage or loss claim will be reduced by the same amount. They do that to prevent from low balling their values in hopes of reducing their premiums.

If its not a primary means of transportation, the insurance is cheaper and likely easier to get. I insured by 04 Caterham R300 superlight with American Southern Home (Cincinnati, Ohio) as a collector car along with my 69 Vette and 67 GTO. The total premium for the Caterham is around $553 a year. It's stored in a locked garage and only driven occasionally. I have a clean driving record and 60, so my rates are low. I tried to get it insured with Geico but they declined even though I have 3 other vehicles with them. They considered it a race car. I had two other quotes, one from Hagerty and the other from American Collectors and both were more expensive. Insurance rates can vary according to where you live as well as your age and driving record.

I hate to ask a stupid question but ..................what is the advantage of a sequential shift tranny vs. the H pattern shift trannies ? I can understand the speed of shift thing if you're drag racing or driving a short track, maybe even autoX, but sometimes I like to shift from 4th down to 2nd without going to 3rd (Sebring turn 7). These cost anywhere from $6K to $9K and make a lot of noise.................are they bullet proof ? Maybe less HP losses ? Educate me.

For track use I recommend the Carbotech brake pads. The company is in the Carolinas and I'm pretty sure they're made there as well. I started using their pads on my C6Z06 to improve both braking and brake modulation. I was surprised how good they were, and even more surprised how long they lasted in the Z06. I then bought some for my spec Miata car and again was very pleased with both performance and durability. My 04 Caterham has the AP racing pads as installed by the previous owner. They're good but I like using made in the USA products whenever I can..................Yeah, I know, I'm driving a British car :willy_nilly:

My car had the 3M film on the rear wings as installed by the previous owner. I can tell you it DID NOT protect the paint from chipping. I recommend installing the stainless steel protectors, using masking tape on the exposed edges, and installing lower wings on the front with partial mud flaps to keep the stone throwing to a minimum. I did. Even the sticky Hoosiers haven't been able to damage the rear wings. Also, I recommend not using the pop rivets on the stainless steel protectors but machine screws on the top and lock nuts on the back so you can remove them at will without butchering up the stainless steel or the wings.

I have a 2004 Superlight R300 with the carbon fiber package, Zetec 2.0L engine built by Caterham with 202 HP and 5 speed transmission. The car is fitted with carbon fiber race seats with a 6 point driver's race harness and a 4 point passenger race harness. I just bought the car about 4 months ago and its had very little use, around 2,100 miles. I've modified it slightly from when I purchased it to include wheel adapters which allows me to run my Spec Miata race wheels on the track. Car is very fast off the line but will top out around 125 mph due to the stand up windscreen acting like a drag chute. If I sell it, price would be around $37K with the stock 13" Caterham magnesium wheels fitted with Avon CR500 tires. If interested, let me know.

OHC engines have a higher center of gravity and increased complexity from the very nature of their design. The OHV engines of GM have been able to match OHC engine output without the problems associated. Yes, its low-tech in many ways but if it works, why change it. Also, as the engines change to OHC, the cost goes up. Direct injection increases power and efficiency but also raises the cost. For a drop in engine in a 7 type chassis, we're going to be coming close to the cost of the Cosworth engines. Last quote I got was around $19K for a 2.3L and 290 HP, which is $5K more than an LS7. By the way, the Cosworth is without any tranny or ECU, as is the cost of the LS7. If the argument is one of "cost is no object", then I would go with a supercharged LS9 motor which is around the same price as the Cosworth 290 HP and weighs in at almost the same weight. How we could keep the rubber on the pavement is another question. However, the acceleration coming out of a sweeper and heading into a long straight, as with Roebling Road would be breathless. Going into turn 1 at around 180 mph would force one to wear depends.:driving:

I run Carbotechs in my C6Z06 (XP12's & XP8's) while on the track in conjunction with DBA4000 rotors. They are absolutely fantastic in wear, brake modulation and consistent fade free performance lap after lap. At Daytona, coming off the straight and going into turn 1 of the infield course, we were hitting almost 175 mph and having to come down to 75 for the turn-in and never missed a controlled braking action. I also run the Carbotechs in my Miata but that thing has so little power standard AutoZone pads would work as well. My Caterham is fitted with AP pads now as set up by the prior owner and they seem to work well although the modulation doesn't seem as precise as the Carbotechs. When these wear out, the Carbotechs are going in.

Yes, I looked at doing that as well. However, the way the muffler bracket and tail pipe support bracket are attached, its doubtful any "tweeking" would allow them to still line up. In other words, you fix one thing and screw up another. I also thought of the old tried and proven technology, take a ball pein hammer and reshape the area of concern on the tail pipe. In the old days when intakes and exhausts weren't "tuned" and we didn't have EFI and ECU's, the ball pein hammer never got too far away........in fact, it was one of my favorite tools...........realign hoods, fix sticky starters, etc. My main concern is not rubbing on the pipe as it is the transfer of heat onto the sidewall of the tire and possibly creating separation on a race tire as we wait idling in the false grid at the track. My clearance is also about 3/16" to 1/4", depending on which wheel/tire I mount.

I never saw how your old exhaust was and since we both have similar powerplants, I was wondering if your prior exhaust ran with the tail pipe out the back prior to you installing this one. Also, it doesn't look like you have any kind of catalytic converter on this, strictly a muffler. Mine has what I think is a catalytic converter/muffler and has the front oxygen sensor but none at the back. I'm asking about this because my tail pipe is dangerously close to the sidewall of the tire where it turns in to go to the back, and gets even closer with the Hoosier race tires. I was thinking of having the exhaust modified at a muffler shop but it looks like you avoid any of these issues with the muffler exiting in front of the rear wheel. I'd appreciate any input you may have.

One other thing you can try. Cut off a piece of 10 mm allen wrench to be about 5/8" to 3/4". Using a 10 mm ratcheting box end wrench, insert the cut off allen into it and while using a long flat screwdriver blade to backup the allen, run it up into the plug. Once in, you should be able to loosen the plug. However, I think this approach can be frustrating and may lead to heavy drinking :party:. Let me know if I can help. Mike

If you can't get it done, let me know and I'll make you one and send it to you. I agree with you, trying to fit a cut-off 10 mm wrench in the plug makes you think it must be a different size. The flat bar tool went right in with no slop or hesitation. I TIG welded mine in because I have the machines in my shop but you could do the same thing by brazing it with a torch. Mike

Yes, I agree. However, I checked and saw that cross brace runs right smack in the middle of the plug and I didn't feel comfortable cutting the frame.

Thanks for the photo. That is a great way of showing me where I can drill the hole. For the life of me I can't understand how anything that holds a liquid can be without a drain plug. If I had been installing the engine/tranny in the car, I would have made sure everything had a bottom drain. On removing the side sight plug, the factory book talks of taking a 10 mm allen wrench and cutting off on the short side a piece of it to accomodate the limited access on the plug. I tried that and didn't feel secure about puting force on the plug to remove it. Instead, I took a piece of 1/4" x 1" flat bar about 7" long and drilled a 0.430" hole in the end then slipped a short piece of 10 mm allen wrench into the hole after a little bit of grinding. I then welded the back end so it would be flush on the back side and have about 12 mm of allen protruding. It works like a charm and feels very secure. Getting two of my fat fingers up there to re-install the plug is another story.

I'm well familiar with Winter Haven. I've been to Cypress Gardens many times which is just around the corner from you. And yes you're right, there are no direct roads between you and Melbourne. I think Route 60 is the best route other than the trip to Orlando up I-4 and over to the Beach Line (Route 528). If you want to look at a Caterham Superlight R300, you are welcome to come over. Personally, I think the Stalker is a better deal but I'm not sure how the two compare in terms of quality. I bought the R300 because I got a very good deal on it. Otherwise, I would have gotten the Stalker. My choice would have been with the 3.8L supercharged. I think the LS2 or LS7 is a bit too much. I have a Z06 with the LS7.............can't even imagine a 1400 or 1500 lb car with that kind of power....not sure you could even use it. If you want to come over, send me an email and I'll give you my address and set up a time convenient to meet. Mike

Lucas jokes aside, I agree with turboeric regarding the ground. Make sure your car has a heavy gauge ground cable that runs from the engine block to the frame, and from the battery ground to the frame or engine. My ground cables are from the battery ground to the engine and from the engine to the frame, each being a heavy gauge cable. If all the grounds are good, and the connectors on each end are good, make sure your battery is also good. A weak or marginal battery may be causing the alternator to work hard enough to put an additional load on the engine and slightly lower the rpm. 40 amps @ 12 VDC equals 480 watts, or 0.64 horsepower. I don't think a drop of voltage is reducing the ignition capacity in any way, more of a load being applied to the engine. One more thing to check is for a short inside the headlight. On my 04 Caterham, one of the wires inside the right headlight had become chaffed and was grounding out intermittently on the attaching mount. Hit a bump, blow a fuse. Also had no ground on the front turn signal lights. Fixed that and now all my electrical functions work. But if this is a Lucas system..............how long will it work ? Mike

Mine is a 2004 R300 but not sure if they use a late model gear box or just any T9 they have in stock. However, filling it to the bottom of the fill hole is likely close to the 1.2 L amount. I kept adding oil until it ran out the hole. Getting that plug in and out is not exactly a walk in the park. I made a special wrench by cutting a piece of a 10 mm allen wrench and welding it to a piece of flat bar. The plug is also right where one of the frame bars runs in the tunnel or I'd have cut a plug access hole in the footwell. I've never had a gearbox that held so little oil. I bought 8 quarts of the Redline MTL 70-80W................. now about 6 1/2 quarts left over. I thought it might hold 3 or 4 quarts........wrong !