Fast road caterham
Discussion
Ok.. seeing as I have my first caterham (2002 academy/graduate spec car), I find the power adequate for now (1.6 K @ 115bhp) as I am getting used to the cars handling. I have returned the car to road use, by removing the cage, raising the sump/rideheight,fitting an FIA roll bar and getting it MOTd for the first time (SORN'd by previous owner/racer) Its a nice clean car, buildt by Hyperion with 3300 miles on the clock and had a complete strip down and rebuild by Hyperion in 2004 after some chassis work at Arch. So basically its a new car after spending 2005 in storage. Best of all, its MANGO orange coloured 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/3
Of course, upgraditis is starting to bite and the mouse finger is twitching as I peruse the fluke, DVA, and caterham sites..so thats a bad thing right??
Going thru the sites, it seems that everybody goes down an upgrade route towards a track biased setup, but considering I already have two trackday weapons, I want to ask the collective what spec people would suggest for a fast ROAD car? ie, what if any mods should I do to improve on the generic aspects of the base-race car that it is? I dont want to go nuts as I am toying with the idea of running this for a summer, and then buy a used Superlight R300 next winter as the economics fit.
I was thinking, a re-ratioed 5 speed box by BGH, DVA power to SS spec(633 cams) and a better exhaust system to improve midrange torque.. Howzat sound?
>> Edited by LRdriver II on Thursday 25th May 20:40
http://community.webshots.com/photo/3
Of course, upgraditis is starting to bite and the mouse finger is twitching as I peruse the fluke, DVA, and caterham sites..so thats a bad thing right??
Going thru the sites, it seems that everybody goes down an upgrade route towards a track biased setup, but considering I already have two trackday weapons, I want to ask the collective what spec people would suggest for a fast ROAD car? ie, what if any mods should I do to improve on the generic aspects of the base-race car that it is? I dont want to go nuts as I am toying with the idea of running this for a summer, and then buy a used Superlight R300 next winter as the economics fit.
I was thinking, a re-ratioed 5 speed box by BGH, DVA power to SS spec(633 cams) and a better exhaust system to improve midrange torque.. Howzat sound?
>> Edited by LRdriver II on Thursday 25th May 20:40
Yea, I really hadnt planned on being bitten by the Caterham bug.. I wanted a fun road car to blat around my local lanes when the suns out. So figured I'd be smart and cheapish ex-racecar to fit the job.
But dammit, after 200miles in the sun they are a real hoot to drive, more focused and sharp to drive ( prob the race geo that still is on the car
) soooo.. that leaves me in the position with which a moments lucidity made me price up the mods I would like to have and hence reasoned it made more sense to buy an R300 or SL.
Damn this Caterham lark..I'm hooked 
(anybody wanna p/x an R300 for my car?)
But dammit, after 200miles in the sun they are a real hoot to drive, more focused and sharp to drive ( prob the race geo that still is on the car
) soooo.. that leaves me in the position with which a moments lucidity made me price up the mods I would like to have and hence reasoned it made more sense to buy an R300 or SL. Damn this Caterham lark..I'm hooked
(anybody wanna p/x an R300 for my car?)
Sorry for the late replies, I just got the net access sorted here in the Hotel (in Cannes for the GP). Yep that is my honda-fied Exige that was at the garden party and is fantastic in its own right, very drivable car with twin personalities without the asthmatic wheeze below 3000rpm of the VHPD. it just keeps pulling when the 115bhp caterham starts slowing past 80 leptons But then again I miss the grumpy idle and "bag'o nails" sound of the VHPD.. personality they call it
Jackal, I've been following your saga now and unless you want to trade cars with the exige, I fear yours might be TOO track focused. But then again, I found a comment of yours interesting a while back where you said you could get a custom caterham for the same price as a CSR from CC. It would be interesting to follow the same line of thinking but a more road friendly bias car.
Jackal, I've been following your saga now and unless you want to trade cars with the exige, I fear yours might be TOO track focused. But then again, I found a comment of yours interesting a while back where you said you could get a custom caterham for the same price as a CSR from CC. It would be interesting to follow the same line of thinking but a more road friendly bias car.
LRdriver II said:
Sorry for the late replies, I just got the net access sorted here in the Hotel (in Cannes for the GP). Yep that is my honda-fied Exige that was at the garden party and is fantastic in its own right, very drivable car with twin personalities without the asthmatic wheeze below 3000rpm of the VHPD. it just keeps pulling when the 115bhp caterham starts slowing past 80 leptons But then again I miss the grumpy idle and "bag'o nails" sound of the VHPD.. personality they call it
I drove an Exige with the 190 bhp VHPD conversion and it just didn't have the same kick in the back that my SLR did - the "torque" curve was much more linear - to be truthful it just revved without seeming to go any faster and was actually a boring drive...but a great looking car - the best of the Elise shapes to my mind is the Mk1 Exige
rubystone said:Huh? Surely it's the same engine and same torque curve... so the only reason the Exige felt boring was because it was relatively lardy!
I drove an Exige with the 190 bhp VHPD conversion and it just didn't have the same kick in the back that my SLR did - the "torque" curve was much more linear - to be truthful it just revved without seeming to go any faster and was actually a boring drive...
dannylt said:
I drove an Exige with the 190 bhp VHPD conversion and it just didn't have the same kick in the back that my SLR did - the "torque" curve was much more linear - to be truthful it just revved without seeming to go any faster and was actually a boring drive...
Danny, the Exige engine is built by Lotus, the Caterham by PTP. Have you driven an Exige with the 190 conversion? In fact, have you ever driven any car powered by a VHPD engine? I'd say not, because if you had, you'd know what I was talking about.
had a exige s1 on loan to me from Hethel for 3 months
first up, they are around 177bhp, even AFTER the supposed "190" upgrade kit
and yes, they feel very slow , even compared to my old 340r (sans 190 upgrade)
the only remotely detectable kick in power was in the last 500rpm. A deeply unsatisfying car in terms of acceleration
a VHPD slr with the later phantom manifold is a ture 192bhp .... feels like lightning in comparison.
first up, they are around 177bhp, even AFTER the supposed "190" upgrade kit
and yes, they feel very slow , even compared to my old 340r (sans 190 upgrade)
the only remotely detectable kick in power was in the last 500rpm. A deeply unsatisfying car in terms of acceleration
a VHPD slr with the later phantom manifold is a ture 192bhp .... feels like lightning in comparison.
LRdriver II said:
I fear yours might be TOO track focused. But then again, I found a comment of yours interesting a while back where you said you could get a custom caterham for the same price as a CSR from CC. It would be interesting to follow the same line of thinking but a more road friendly bias car.
first up, you can change anything on a caterham in a matter of hours, FIA bar, weather, softer springs etc... its all p1ss easy. Its a kit car. When people view a caterham they should look at it in terms of a starting point as no used caterham is exacty teh spec you want it. Apart from anything else, a decent cage will make 400-500 quid secondhand so from that you can then buy whatever other stuff you want to make it more road biased.
I am not sure what you meant by that comment though that i was supposed to have said ? You could get a custom car for significantly less than the price of a CSR i'd say !
jackal said:
had a exige s1 on loan to me from Hethel for 3 months
first up, they are around 177bhp, even AFTER the supposed "190" upgrade kit
and yes, they feel very slow , even compared to my old 340r (sans 190 upgrade)
the only remotely detectable kick in power was in the last 500rpm. A deeply unsatisfying car in terms of acceleration
a VHPD slr with the later phantom manifold is a ture 192bhp .... feels like lightning in comparison.
Exactly, Rich - that's why I'm betting Danny's never driven anything with a VHPD engine
jackal said:
had a exige s1 on loan to me from Hethel for 3 months
first up, they are around 177bhp, even AFTER the supposed "190" upgrade kit
and yes, they feel very slow , even compared to my old 340r (sans 190 upgrade)
the only remotely detectable kick in power was in the last 500rpm. A deeply unsatisfying car in terms of acceleration
a VHPD slr with the later phantom manifold is a ture 192bhp .... feels like lightning in comparison.
hence the reason I have a Honda engine in the back of mine. The original engine died after 150miles when the alternator seized and bits of shredded alt belt got sucked up into the cam belt and bending all the valves. Having spent money on rebuilds with the K series, I decided to quit while ahead and throw a Honda Type-R into it and 6 speed box. The supercharger is on the shoppinglist.
The car has completely changed character in the same way a Duratec feels compared to a highly strung wild cammed K series I suppose. I had a chat with a few guys at Rat Race and come to the conclusion that building the spec of my own car up to what I want is more fun if not more expensive than to buy a fully specced SL. But I enjoy modding cars and as such will continue with the Caterham.
Jackal, I understood it as you saying that why should you go to Caterham when somebody like Mick Atree can build a better car for better money. Slight misunderstanding I think, sorry..
[quote=LRdriver II
I had a chat with a few guys at Rat Race and come to the conclusion that building the spec of my own car up to what I want is more fun if not more expensive than to buy a fully specced SL. But I enjoy modding cars and as such will continue with the Caterham.
[/quote]
Yes, Rob'll be building you a big bhp engine and Mark'll spend what's left on carbon bits (Is Vince still about too?)
I had a chat with a few guys at Rat Race and come to the conclusion that building the spec of my own car up to what I want is more fun if not more expensive than to buy a fully specced SL. But I enjoy modding cars and as such will continue with the Caterham.
[/quote]
Yes, Rob'll be building you a big bhp engine and Mark'll spend what's left on carbon bits (Is Vince still about too?)
LRdriver II said:
Jackal, I understood it as you saying that why should you go to Caterham when somebody like Mick Atree can build a better car for better money. Slight misunderstanding I think, sorry..
ahh, yes probably something like that. Remember for a few years this was the only route if you wanted a decent engine in any series 3 caterham.
Jackal,
as a big fan of duratec s3 caterhams, you might be interested to know I did a track evening with Freestyle yesterday. I didnt drive, but I passengered in one of their super-wide tracked pushrod cars, with a caterham race driver at the helm...
it was quite simply bloody awesome...
very stable under cornering, and it was quite probably the quickest thing out there...
as a big fan of duratec s3 caterhams, you might be interested to know I did a track evening with Freestyle yesterday. I didnt drive, but I passengered in one of their super-wide tracked pushrod cars, with a caterham race driver at the helm...
it was quite simply bloody awesome...
very stable under cornering, and it was quite probably the quickest thing out there...
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