Discussion
Hi, ive read from a lot of people tha a turbo in a caterham isnt a good mod becouse caterhams are best suited to natureally aspired engines but what about a supercharger? the supercharger is always on so there is no sudden boost would this be a good mod? alos does anyone know if caterham does the full superlight kit but without the engine and how much would it cost? and would they be able to build it to fit a duratec engine? thanks, dan.
Dan,
There isn't a lot of space under a Caterham bonnet. I think clearance over the rocker covers on my 1600 K-series is about 1/4 of an inch! The consensus of opinion seems to be that around 160bhp is more than enough for a road car, especially your first, and that is easily achievable without the immense problems that developing your own supercharger installation would entail. A supercharger would also not be allowable in most classes should you decide that racing is for you.
As for your other questions, have a good trawl through the Caterham website and give them a call. Having said that, I'm sure somebody mentioned buying a starter kit already set up for a Duratec engine.
Have a good look through the archives on Blatchat, using the 'Search' function - you don't have to be a member unless you want to post a reply.
There isn't a lot of space under a Caterham bonnet. I think clearance over the rocker covers on my 1600 K-series is about 1/4 of an inch! The consensus of opinion seems to be that around 160bhp is more than enough for a road car, especially your first, and that is easily achievable without the immense problems that developing your own supercharger installation would entail. A supercharger would also not be allowable in most classes should you decide that racing is for you.
As for your other questions, have a good trawl through the Caterham website and give them a call. Having said that, I'm sure somebody mentioned buying a starter kit already set up for a Duratec engine.
Have a good look through the archives on Blatchat, using the 'Search' function - you don't have to be a member unless you want to post a reply.
if it aint broke....
Why do you need or want to fit a supercharger ? This question comes up again and again and i never get it. Unless you have some peculiar fetish for them then i dont see your line of thought ?
Aside from the fact that NA cars drive, rev, respond and just ARE infinitely better than their blown counterparts, 140bhp is MORE than enough on the road in a caterham and 200bhp easily enough on the circuit giving plenty of headroom to learn and get as quick as the proper caterham racers (although in reality you wont see anything remotely as quick at recreational trackdays, 300,350bhp,400bhp or otherwise !). 250bhp+ on the circuit is even better for power on oversteer but it isn't going to make the car much quicker over a lap in trackday terms... past 200bhp you are up against the law of dimishing returns; just a couple of indidences of slightly later braking per lap for example will see you negate any power advantage. So given that you can get any of these power outputs very easily in NA form without the install, space, development and heat issues of an SC..... why would one need to be looking at superchargers ? You only need to do that in say the Lotus Exige where you want mega power but are stuck with a crud 1.8 engine that can't be tuned properly.
As for starter kits, yes they are readily available. See the caterham website for the various packs and kits. But why buy a starter kit and then fit a duratec engine yourself when caterham cars sell a C400 where everything is already done for you ? If you are thinking that it might be cheaper getting a starter kit then sourcing/building the duratec and all ancillaries yourself then I'd take a closer look at the figures !
Why do you need or want to fit a supercharger ? This question comes up again and again and i never get it. Unless you have some peculiar fetish for them then i dont see your line of thought ?
Aside from the fact that NA cars drive, rev, respond and just ARE infinitely better than their blown counterparts, 140bhp is MORE than enough on the road in a caterham and 200bhp easily enough on the circuit giving plenty of headroom to learn and get as quick as the proper caterham racers (although in reality you wont see anything remotely as quick at recreational trackdays, 300,350bhp,400bhp or otherwise !). 250bhp+ on the circuit is even better for power on oversteer but it isn't going to make the car much quicker over a lap in trackday terms... past 200bhp you are up against the law of dimishing returns; just a couple of indidences of slightly later braking per lap for example will see you negate any power advantage. So given that you can get any of these power outputs very easily in NA form without the install, space, development and heat issues of an SC..... why would one need to be looking at superchargers ? You only need to do that in say the Lotus Exige where you want mega power but are stuck with a crud 1.8 engine that can't be tuned properly.
As for starter kits, yes they are readily available. See the caterham website for the various packs and kits. But why buy a starter kit and then fit a duratec engine yourself when caterham cars sell a C400 where everything is already done for you ? If you are thinking that it might be cheaper getting a starter kit then sourcing/building the duratec and all ancillaries yourself then I'd take a closer look at the figures !
Edited by jackal on Sunday 19th November 11:14
"if it aint broke....
Why do you need or want to fit a supercharger ? This question comes up again and again and i never get it. Unless you have some peculiar fetish for them then i dont see your line of thought ?
Aside from the fact that NA cars drive, rev, respond and just ARE infinitely better than their blown counterparts, 140bhp is MORE than enough on the road in a caterham and 200bhp easily enough on the circuit giving plenty of headroom to learn and get as quick as the proper caterham racers (although in reality you wont see anything remotely as quick at recreational trackdays, 300,350bhp,400bhp or otherwise !). 250bhp+ on the circuit is even better for power on oversteer but it isn't going to make the car much quicker over a lap in trackday terms... past 200bhp you are up against the law of dimishing returns; just a couple of indidences of slightly later braking per lap for example will see you negate any power advantage. So given that you can get any of these power outputs very easily in NA form without the install, space, development and heat issues of an SC..... why would one need to be looking at superchargers ? You only need to do that in say the Lotus Exige where you want mega power but are stuck with a crud 1.8 engine that can't be tuned properly.
As for starter kits, yes they are readily available. See the caterham website for the various packs and kits. But why buy a starter kit and then fit a duratec engine yourself when caterham cars sell a C400 where everything is already done for you ? If you are thinking that it might be cheaper getting a starter kit then sourcing/building the duratec and all ancillaries yourself then I'd take a closer look at the figures !"
Simple,it's called fun and being different....
Oh, and upsetting the pureists is entertaining too!
Why do you need or want to fit a supercharger ? This question comes up again and again and i never get it. Unless you have some peculiar fetish for them then i dont see your line of thought ?
Aside from the fact that NA cars drive, rev, respond and just ARE infinitely better than their blown counterparts, 140bhp is MORE than enough on the road in a caterham and 200bhp easily enough on the circuit giving plenty of headroom to learn and get as quick as the proper caterham racers (although in reality you wont see anything remotely as quick at recreational trackdays, 300,350bhp,400bhp or otherwise !). 250bhp+ on the circuit is even better for power on oversteer but it isn't going to make the car much quicker over a lap in trackday terms... past 200bhp you are up against the law of dimishing returns; just a couple of indidences of slightly later braking per lap for example will see you negate any power advantage. So given that you can get any of these power outputs very easily in NA form without the install, space, development and heat issues of an SC..... why would one need to be looking at superchargers ? You only need to do that in say the Lotus Exige where you want mega power but are stuck with a crud 1.8 engine that can't be tuned properly.
As for starter kits, yes they are readily available. See the caterham website for the various packs and kits. But why buy a starter kit and then fit a duratec engine yourself when caterham cars sell a C400 where everything is already done for you ? If you are thinking that it might be cheaper getting a starter kit then sourcing/building the duratec and all ancillaries yourself then I'd take a closer look at the figures !"
Simple,it's called fun and being different....
Oh, and upsetting the pureists is entertaining too!
normalbloke said:
"if it aint broke....
Simple,it's called fun and being different....
Oh, and upsetting the pureists is entertaining too!
Simple,it's called fun and being different....
Oh, and upsetting the pureists is entertaining too!
point taken, so much like my opening comment if someone has a particular fetish. Not sure what you mean by fun, do you mean fun as in the whsitling sound of forced induction or the balls out delivery ? Certainly the idea of a turbo being more fun because of greater power is now a defunct proposition with 2.5L durexes around and RST's etc.. but I take your point about going against the grain and upsetting the crowd.
but as a chosen route for someone new to caterhams (AFAIK) its a pretty circuitous line to take, not to mention costly and problematic. I could understand if the posters opening gambit was something along the lines that he wanted to definitely create a supercharged caterham whatever the cost, but his enquiry seems a more general broad-based line of questioning especially as he goes onto to mention the duratec engine.
Agree with Jackal. Pointless exercise in a 7 when there are so many better options. Sometimes in being different you also end up missing the point.
I believe that Turbo Technics do a supercharger for the K-series if you still want to look into it (or used to do - if they don't now, you have your answer). I looked at it a long while ago when it was first coming out (about 97/98 I believe) and seem to recall that it could be made to fit *just* in a std chassis (i.e. non-SV - you could probably get 4 superchargers and the Ant Hill Mob alongside a K in an SV). The idea briefly appealed on a 1400. I ended up doing my own version of an SLR type engine.
There is one benefit of a supercharger - the engine remains 1400 as far as the taxman etc are concerned. But it's a lot of effort to go to to save 40-50 quid a year on tax and may end up somewhat counterproductive.
I believe that Turbo Technics do a supercharger for the K-series if you still want to look into it (or used to do - if they don't now, you have your answer). I looked at it a long while ago when it was first coming out (about 97/98 I believe) and seem to recall that it could be made to fit *just* in a std chassis (i.e. non-SV - you could probably get 4 superchargers and the Ant Hill Mob alongside a K in an SV). The idea briefly appealed on a 1400. I ended up doing my own version of an SLR type engine.
There is one benefit of a supercharger - the engine remains 1400 as far as the taxman etc are concerned. But it's a lot of effort to go to to save 40-50 quid a year on tax and may end up somewhat counterproductive.
peter-2006 said:
Arch are only making the racecar chassis now all the road ones will be made by Caged
Well what ever is happening, Caged seems to have folded and Arch are working flatout. I saw alot of Caterham chassis (including ones with that fancy curved dash ) when I popped up there last week when I needed some black ali sheet for my racecar restoration. Caged have apparently bitten off more than they can chew and have big technical problems as well.
This was discussed at length on the L7 club forum. My understanding is, caged have split into two, the roll cage bit has moved from Westbury, but are still making cages. The chassis bit has been bought by venture capatilists, that just happen to own Caterham, so this part of the business will make the new chassis.
Arch will continue to make race car chassis and repairs, plus probably the CSR's. I don't know if caged have actually delivered a chassis yet, so Arch must be still be providing all the chassis
Arch will continue to make race car chassis and repairs, plus probably the CSR's. I don't know if caged have actually delivered a chassis yet, so Arch must be still be providing all the chassis
hi, thanks for all the information id like a supercharger because of the noise they make and its just something different but i think im going to save up for a year and buy an r300 in kit form and then after a few years then maybe think of some engine upgrades. does anybody know if theres a waiting list for caterhams and how long it will usually take. thanks, dan.
dan00001 said:
...id like a supercharger because of the noise they make and its just something different ...
I suggest, therefore, that you whistle monotonously to yourself whilst accelerating and wear a chicken suit whilst driving the car
Good luck in your search.
Consider a nearly new one also...
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