Caterham transmission and brake options

[Al N.]

Welcome to the Forum Al!

 

Are you a dealer, owner, enthusiast?

 

In terms of retaining value, based on the black SLR that Jeff Sloan (BritAuto) sold recently, I can assure you my Superlight has depreciated quite a bit from the price I paid for it and what I've put into it so far. I don't think anyone thinks of our cars as "investments".

[Kitcat]

Speaking of retained value, an orange 2005 superlight w/under 1K miles, Zetec, 200 hp, 5sp, long 1st gear, full weather package, sold for $32K on the Lotus Elise talk forum a few weeks ago. What a deal! I get the shakes every time I think about it.

[Alaskossie]

I have a new Caterham Classic (narrow-body) kit en route from England to Colorado right now. I bought it without engine or transmission, through Rocky Mountain Sports Cars in Denver (Caterham dealer).

 

To avoid import duties, EPA questions, etc., I bought a tuned 2.3 Duratec direct from Cosworth in California (drool over their website!). They finished building the engine earlier this week, and the initial dyno run shows 244 hp at 7250 rpm and about 185 lb/ft. of torque at 6200 rpm.

 

I still have engine mounts, headers, etc. to buy from Raceline, and other bits and pieces I'm sure I will find I need when I get down to assembling the car.

 

i am using the Caterham 6-speed (even though everyone says the 2.3 Duratec's torque will make shifting obsolete). But I like to shift gears, and I know the Caterham transmission has a heck of a lot better "feel" to it than the 5-speed Ford transmission. i have ordered a 3.38:1 rear end, which is quite uncommon I guess, but it should give me a bit better highway cruising than even the normal 3.63 "touring" ratio that Caterham provides. We'll just have to see if 1st gear is too high...

 

i just wish that Caterham offered a different ratio package for their transmission, with an o/d 6th gear. Why don't they, now that the Duratec is becoming the engine of the future?

 

I considered the Quaife 6-speed sequential box with helical gears and an o/d 6th gear, but the expense is about double the Caterham box, and the "on/off" nature and the gear play of a sequential shift action makes it ideal for the track but not so pleasant for the road, I've heard.

 

Anyway, we'll see how much I have yet to learn.....

 

Tom Meacham

[yellowss7]

Tom, any issues withfitting a 2.3L duratec in the standard Caterham? From what I've read, the 2.3 is a little taller so clearance under the bonnet can be tight. How about side to side? Since the exhaust is now on the right, that solves the header/starter/steering issue as on my Rover K series. 185 ftpounds of Torque

 

You're going to be breaking it loose at every gear change :hurray: What bell housing mates the duratec to the 6 speed? Enjoy. Tom

[11Budlite]

Hi Tom,

 

Check out this 6-speed gear calculator. Just put in your gear ratio's, tire size, and rear end ratio, and it will do the rest. I used the 5-speed one when I was building my T9 with BGH close ratio gearset.

 

http://www.our-nest.co.uk/Caterham/Files/Various%20Revs%20Calculator_KPH.xls

 

Bruce

[Alaskossie]

Tom,

 

A couple of California guys (Tom Jones and others) have installed the Duratec in a narrow-body classic chassis already. Caterham is apparently gearing up to do it with the new Caged-built chassis, but I couldn't wait.

 

Tom's Website is http:www.pierats.com/gallery/sevenbuild

 

A couple of Brit websites on the narrow-chassis Duratec are :

 

http:www.caterhamduratec.com

http:www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/durnail.html

 

The 2.3 is slightly taller than the 2.0. I will be using a Raceline valve cover with recessed oil filler cap. Side to side clearance is fine. Where to put the dry sump tank is a question. I may have a friend design a custom tank to go in front of the passenger footbox. He is building one for his VX Evo (it will fit on the other side of his engine, since the VX intake/exhaust is reversed from the Duratec, and he has right-hand steering).

 

Titan makes a long bell housing for the Caterham 6-speed, which has a longer input shaft than the Ford 5-speed. I believe that Raceline makes an extension unit for their bell housing to accommodate the Caterham 6-speed, but it would be neater to have a one-piece bell housing.

 

I'm planning to buy a new digital camera to document the build, and hope to post somewhat of a build diary as work progresses.

 

Bruce, I've done the gearcalc numbers on the Caterham 6-speed and the 3:23 rear end, and the numbers look acceptable, i think, though for a track car, a lower rear ratio might be desirable.

 

Tom Meacham

[Alaskossie]

One of my links in the message above was in error. It should be:

 

http:www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/duranail.html

 

It shows a really nice Duratec/classic Seven.

 

Tom Meacham

 

 

[Al N.]

That's got to be one of the more "famous" Se7ens on the internet...did you see that Richard has put it up for sale. I emailed him to see what might be taking its place and he said that he's taking a short break from cars for a while. He did add that "I'll come back to it all in a few years".

[Al Carbonio]

Ammo's THE MAN:

 

http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?Id=128491