R500 noise

[gra001]

I now want to take my standard 500 to the track. Never had a noise issue with my previous ex race R400 at Brands, Snetterton or Silverstone but think Bedford might have been a problem (never tried it but understand they are strict). Would be grateful for your view.

[rubystone]

If you've got the standard exhaust and no airbox, I think you may be nearer to 110db than the usual 105 for "noisy" days, let alone the 98db limit at Bedford. Even with the airbox and Raceco I was 103db at Cadwell recently (fingers crossed for Brands Indy on Tuesday, but at least it's a 105 db day).

Brands GP seems to have a lower limit this year too - 103db IIRC

BTW what colour is your R500? I heard the other day that Kenny Roberts had sold his Alfa Romeo yellow car and haven't caught up with him yet to see who he sold it too....

Edited by rubystone on Sunday 13th May 15:27

[gra001]

Ruby, It`s daffodil yellow (same colour as the "AA" vans!!). Haven`t had it long and only done a few blats on the road. Recently been remapped by Steve Greenald and some other stuff by Mick Attree. Want to avoid getting to the track and being black flagged.

[mic]

Kenny Roberts car was a nice car, it took a long time to sell. Do you know how much it went for in the end.

[rubystone]

mic said:

Kenny Roberts car was a nice car, it took a long time to sell. Do you know how much it went for in the end.

No - it was overpriced initially but I believe he dropped the price. I know it had had some bodywork on the rear and the mileage was a little high for an unrefreshed car. He also didn't warm it up properly before giving it some beans. Apart from that it was a peach

[gra001]

rubystone said:

If you've got the standard exhaust and no airbox, I think you may be nearer to 110db than the usual 105 for "noisy" days, let alone the 98db limit at Bedford. Even with the airbox and Raceco I was 103db at Cadwell recently (fingers crossed for Brands Indy on Tuesday, but at least it's a 105 db day).

Brands GP seems to have a lower limit this year too - 103db IIRC

BTW what colour is your R500? I heard the other day that Kenny Roberts had sold his Alfa Romeo yellow car and haven't caught up with him yet to see who he sold it too....

Edited by rubystone on Sunday 13th May 15:27

Ruby, is Brands tomorrow all day or just PM? Many Caterhams there to your knowledge? I might come along.

[rubystone]

Brands is pm (MSV day) - track open 12.30 to 5pm open pit lane, JP has promised me that he's going to get the chopper up and dry the circuit especially for me

[gra001]

rubystone said:

Brands is pm (MSV day) - track open 12.30 to 5pm open pit lane, JP has promised me that he's going to get the chopper up and dry the circuit especially for me

Metcheck = light rain. BBC = heavy showers. Two choppers may be required!!!

[rubystone]

edited

Edited by rubystone on Monday 14th May 12:11

[rubystone]

Updated - 102 db yesterday at Brands - that's one down on Cadwell but still too high given the airbox and Raceco. Oh and it dried up nicely on the afternoon - morning was a bit tricky on slicks though

[gra001]

rubystone said:

Updated - 102 db yesterday at Brands - that's one down on Cadwell but still too high given the airbox and Raceco. Oh and it dried up nicely on the afternoon - morning was a bit tricky on slicks though

Thanks Ruby, that`s useful. It was chucking it down here (Barnet) at midday so I stayed put. Sorry I did because later the sun came out!!

[BenS1]

Ah, I didn't realise they were that loud!

I'm going to look at an R500 tommorow, which if there are no problems I planned on buying, but most trackdays I do have a strict 100db limit! Will that be a problem? i.e. is it easy to get the R500 below this level with a silencer or something?

Thanks
Ben

P.S. Any hints on what to check for when buying an R500?

[rubystone]

BenS1 said:

Ah, I didn't realise they were that loud!

I'm going to look at an R500 tommorow, which if there are no problems I planned on buying, but most trackdays I do have a strict 100db limit! Will that be a problem? i.e. is it easy to get the R500 below this level with a silencer or something?

Thanks
Ben

P.S. Any hints on what to check for when buying an R500?

In theory, a carbon airbox and large exhaust (eg Raceco) ought to be sufficient...once I've repacked my Raceco for my next trackday in June, I'll then know whether there's an improvement. I am hanging onto my rear exit exhaust though - this drops power slightly but does drop dbs to cica 96 I understand.

As to what to lookout for - engine engine and engine. When was it refreshed?...does it get hot? Any leaks. Oh and Phil Stewart was telling me the other day that revs kill the gearboxes in R500s.

Well worth pushing the telltale button on the Stack (2nd one from left IIRC) to see what max revs, temp, speed have been registered...assuming he hasn't re-set it....

Is the redline on the car 8600 or 9200? The latter was the original setting...most cars are now limited to 8600 - the factory recommended this after problems with engines on the early cars.

I'm not aware of many (if any) R500s on the market right now - where's this car advertised - it may be a "known" car - happy to post on Blatchat for you if you reveal its number plate.

I'd also highly recommend you call Graeme Fuller at Minister to see whather he has any history on the engine in the car. They keep records on all the engines they've built/rebuilt.

[BenS1]

Thanks for the advice.

I just phoned Caterham to ask for their advice and they said that even with the biggest silencer and carbon airbox you wont get it below 100Db. In fact he went as far as to say that its simply not possible to get it below 100Db.

This is the one I'm looking at:

[url]www.pistonheads.com/sales/114996.htmp[/url]

What do you think?

How often do the engines need a refresh/rebuild? And how much does that typically cost?

How expensive is an R500 to run?


Ben

[rubystone]

BenS1 said:

Thanks for the advice.

I just phoned Caterham to ask for their advice and they said that even with the biggest silencer and carbon airbox you wont get it below 100Db. In fact he went as far as to say that its simply not possible to get it below 100Db.

This is the one I'm looking at:

[url]www.pistonheads.com/sales/114996.htmp[/url]

What do you think?

How often do the engines need a refresh/rebuild? And how much does that typically cost?

How expensive is an R500 to run?

Edited to add that Nigel does have a PH handle - "FCAT" - why not e-mail him?


Ben

It's Nigel Bent's old car - IMHO not a true "factory" R500E - and Nigel would be the first to admit that he has bent that car - its primary purpose was as a racecar after all. Started off as an SV that Nigel specced to R500 from new. He then had the engine upgraded to E spec. He ran it in SEMSEC and JCC (IIRC) - more "endurance" than "sprint" races.

He sold it to a guy named "Chris" and it's been for sale for ages.

So is it a "true" R500? is it a "true" R500E?...

What I will say is that Nigel didn't spare any expense on it - always looked after by Hyperion, as is his current (yellow again) CSR.

Refresh? £2500 ish - rebuild? £6k ish. How often would it need a refresh? Depends on how the car is used...but let's say 11,000 road miles????

Lots more on www.blatchat.com - try searching for "R500E"

Edited to add that Nigel does have a PH handle - "FCAT" - why not e-mail him?

Edited by rubystone on Friday 18th May 14:15

Edited by rubystone on Friday 18th May 14:16

[1st_petrolhead]

That car is a SV with the R500 EVO engine in. The EVO engine is bored out to 2ltr and developed about 250BHP as opposed to 230 for the std R500

I think the reason the car is not sold is its a bit of a strange hybrid. Also the EVO motor is obviously more srtessed than the std and is even more hard core then the the std engine.

I have a std R500 and when I bought it I nearly got the R400 but decided to go the full hog as the extra cost was worth it. My engine is now up to 13,000 miles and has been very reliable (Its on an 02 plate). I have just bought the larger silencer from Caterham and I can tell you its a lot quieter. Ask the girlfriend who spent 2 days touring with me in it . A refesh costs £2800 + VAT. My thoughts and those confirmed by Nick at Cat Middlands is the engine should be good for 20,000 miles before needing a refresh so long as you look after it ie make sure the oil temp is up to 50deg before reving it hard. If I was honest I would say that my engine has probably lost 10BHP and is not quite as crisp as it was when I bought it (1300 miles) but its still bloody fast and fast enough for road use and track days

If I were you I would lean towards a proper, narrow bodied R500. It will keep its value as there were not many made,

Edited by 1st_petrolhead on Saturday 26th May 19:27

[Out Run]

BenS1 said:

I just phoned Caterham to ask for their advice and they said that even with the biggest silencer and carbon airbox you wont get it below 100Db. In fact he went as far as to say that its simply not possible to get it below 100Db.

Ben, I know mine was at less than 100db after just a new exhaust (i.e std airbox). This is at mid-revs, however many inches from the exhaust, at an angle etc. It gets worse as the packing goes, but this can be renewed. Mine has done plenty of track days, although I always aim for noisy days to be safe.

Will look up what exhaust mine is if you need to know. techart or something, a recommendation I took some 5 years ago.

S.