R500 - Advice please
Discussion
Just bought an R500. Yr 2000 6500 miles. It is as new, had one owner, absolutely every extra known to man and never been tracked (I know this for a fact).
I intend to use it for UK track days plus trips to Spa and the 'Ring. My question is, is there anything I should get done before using in anger. I'm thinking specifically of the engine as I had heard that it needs a refresh pretty frequently - I'd rather spend a fair amount of money now than a mind boggling amount if it explodes going through Eau Rouge!. Also any advice on who could look after the car for me - Camberley/Basingstoke area. Thoughts and advice appreciated.
I intend to use it for UK track days plus trips to Spa and the 'Ring. My question is, is there anything I should get done before using in anger. I'm thinking specifically of the engine as I had heard that it needs a refresh pretty frequently - I'd rather spend a fair amount of money now than a mind boggling amount if it explodes going through Eau Rouge!. Also any advice on who could look after the car for me - Camberley/Basingstoke area. Thoughts and advice appreciated.
Which one did you buy?
At 6500 miles, its probably had at least one refresh already. Most early cars had different big ends fitted in about 2001 or 2002, and had the rev limit lowered to 8600rpm. Caterham or Minister will be able to confirm if this has been done. If no engine work has been done for some time, I would take the car to Minister to have the ECU read (to check for over-revving, over heating, etc) and to ask their opinion if it needs a refresh. As a minimum, find out when it was refreshed last.
Bear in mind that a planned refresh will cost you from £2k to £3.5k depending on parts used. An 'unplanned' rebuild could cost several times this amount......
At 6500 miles, its probably had at least one refresh already. Most early cars had different big ends fitted in about 2001 or 2002, and had the rev limit lowered to 8600rpm. Caterham or Minister will be able to confirm if this has been done. If no engine work has been done for some time, I would take the car to Minister to have the ECU read (to check for over-revving, over heating, etc) and to ask their opinion if it needs a refresh. As a minimum, find out when it was refreshed last.
Bear in mind that a planned refresh will cost you from £2k to £3.5k depending on parts used. An 'unplanned' rebuild could cost several times this amount......
Beemer 5 said:
9200 rpm seems unbelievable for that engine though.
It's not as if it is cutting edge technology and up to the minute design!
pinned block, steel rods/crank, forged pistons and pins, lightweight valve caps, double springs, good bottom end bearings, well balanced. why not?
Dave Andrews has just got 263.4hp out of a 1.9 litre engine (almost 140hp/litre, normally aspirated)! The power was till rising, but they ran out of bottle!
clarkey said:
Which one did you buy?
At 6500 miles, its probably had at least one refresh already. Most early cars had different big ends fitted in about 2001 or 2002, and had the rev limit lowered to 8600rpm. Caterham or Minister will be able to confirm if this has been done. If no engine work has been done for some time, I would take the car to Minister to have the ECU read (to check for over-revving, over heating, etc) and to ask their opinion if it needs a refresh. As a minimum, find out when it was refreshed last.
Bear in mind that a planned refresh will cost you from £2k to £3.5k depending on parts used. An 'unplanned' rebuild could cost several times this amount......
Spot on Steve - A refresh is £2800 plus VAT by the way. They'll read the ECU for you perhaps for free if you catch Graham Fuller in a good mood. They have records of every engine and its history withh them and the ECU is also marked with a blue cross if it's had the latest software upgrades applied.
A major rebuild could add £1200 to the cost if you need a crank, over £2k if the head is junk.
sammy said:
Thanks for info. and advice guys. All much as I thought - including Minister's mildly comic prices!
Ive used Minister 3 times now - they were cheaper than anyone else for my SLR rebuild (and the top end one that followed after my car ingested a stone). Their R500 refresh costs are not unreasonable and since they built the engine in the first place I consider it to be a false economy to use someone else. Also bear in mind that DVA's big problem is the time he takes to do the work.
fergus said:
9200 rpm seems unbelievable for that engine though.
It's not as if it is cutting edge technology and up to the minute design!
pinned block, steel rods/crank, forged pistons and pins, lightweight valve caps, double springs, good bottom end bearings, well balanced. why not?
Dave Andrews has just got 263.4hp out of a 1.9 litre engine (almost 140hp/litre, normally aspirated)! The power was till rising, but they ran out of bottle!
you having a laugh??
9,000+ rpm on a K is never going to last long, no matter how well balanced/built it is.
why do you think they brough the limits down to 8,600? fun?
jackal said:74kg for the full install, my arse. And it has way less midrange torque... which is where the fun is
yep, lets face it though danny... its no 10500rpm, 74kg, RST-V8 is it !
. The revs are irrelevant, but I wouldn't say no to a go in a 350bhp Caterham obviously - on track at least (250 is pointless on the road).dannylt said:
yep, lets face it though danny... its no 10500rpm, 74kg, RST-V8 is it !
???????????????????????????????? you clearly haven't had a ride in Russell's demonstrator....I have...and you're talking out of your arse...and what's this bullshit about "midrange torque"????
Beemer - this "outdated" engine was way ahead of its time...
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