Do New R500s still need a 3000 mile 'refresh'?
Discussion
I would suggest not. The Duratec feels massively stronger than the K-series at similar power levels. My R300 race car now has over 250 hours showing on the ECU without a rebuild. That's a full season's racing & testing and numerous track day rentals and it still feels as strong as ever. I know the R500 is tuned further than the R300 but the 500's i've driven all felt bombproof in comparison to the 230bhp+ K-series.
Having driven (and hired out!) both K-series and Duratec sevens, there's no way i'd buy another K-series one i'm afraid.
Jonny
BaT
Having driven (and hired out!) both K-series and Duratec sevens, there's no way i'd buy another K-series one i'm afraid.
Jonny
BaT
I have built quite a few Duratec engines over that last few years that have around 250-260bhp that have done quite high mileages without much work. I run a 260 bhp 2 litre in my own car that has done 7,000 miles and have no intention of pulling it out any time in the near future. It is my daily driver / trackday car. It is the only car I own at the moment so it has to be reliable.
I had a 287 bhp 2 litre race engine that had done one and a half seasons of racing in for a re-fresh recently that required minimal work. The customer, who decided to spend money on the chassis this year (wise move) rather than take the engine over 300bhp, went out and got his first two podiums. A second and a third. I changed big ends, mains, lapped in the valves and a thorough check. It all looked in pretty good condition. I would have liked to have done more but there was no budget. Next winter we will do an upgrade that will require more work and money.
The 300 bhp + engines I like to have a look at once a year and again require not that much doing to them. Preventative maintenance mainly.
I would say that the Duratec is a very reliable engine and have yet to see a N/A production engine that responds so well to tuning. I've probably built around 70 Duratec engines by now. In all the time I have been dealing with them I have not had or even heard of one with head gasket or coolant problems.
I was very pleased when Caterham decided to finally dump the K-Series and fit the Duratec. A great choice. For me there is no other engine I would even remotely consider for a Caterham at this moment in time.
Most of my customers are converting existing cars from Crossflows or K-series. If you want a factory car just buy an R500 from Caterham. I doubt you will be disappointed.
I had a 287 bhp 2 litre race engine that had done one and a half seasons of racing in for a re-fresh recently that required minimal work. The customer, who decided to spend money on the chassis this year (wise move) rather than take the engine over 300bhp, went out and got his first two podiums. A second and a third. I changed big ends, mains, lapped in the valves and a thorough check. It all looked in pretty good condition. I would have liked to have done more but there was no budget. Next winter we will do an upgrade that will require more work and money.
The 300 bhp + engines I like to have a look at once a year and again require not that much doing to them. Preventative maintenance mainly.
I would say that the Duratec is a very reliable engine and have yet to see a N/A production engine that responds so well to tuning. I've probably built around 70 Duratec engines by now. In all the time I have been dealing with them I have not had or even heard of one with head gasket or coolant problems.
I was very pleased when Caterham decided to finally dump the K-Series and fit the Duratec. A great choice. For me there is no other engine I would even remotely consider for a Caterham at this moment in time.
Most of my customers are converting existing cars from Crossflows or K-series. If you want a factory car just buy an R500 from Caterham. I doubt you will be disappointed.
Ammo 7 said:
I have built quite a few Duratec engines over that last few years that have around 250-260bhp that have done quite high mileages without much work. I run a 260 bhp 2 litre in my own car that has done 7,000 miles and have no intention of pulling it out any time in the near future. It is my daily driver / trackday car. It is the only car I own at the moment so it has to be reliable.
I had a 287 bhp 2 litre race engine that had done one and a half seasons of racing in for a re-fresh recently that required minimal work. The customer, who decided to spend money on the chassis this year (wise move) rather than take the engine over 300bhp, went out and got his first two podiums. A second and a third. I changed big ends, mains, lapped in the valves and a thorough check. It all looked in pretty good condition. I would have liked to have done more but there was no budget. Next winter we will do an upgrade that will require more work and money.
The 300 bhp + engines I like to have a look at once a year and again require not that much doing to them. Preventative maintenance mainly.
I would say that the Duratec is a very reliable engine and have yet to see a N/A production engine that responds so well to tuning. I've probably built around 70 Duratec engines by now. In all the time I have been dealing with them I have not had or even heard of one with head gasket or coolant problems.
I was very pleased when Caterham decided to finally dump the K-Series and fit the Duratec. A great choice. For me there is no other engine I would even remotely consider for a Caterham at this moment in time.
Most of my customers are converting existing cars from Crossflows or K-series. If you want a factory car just buy an R500 from Caterham. I doubt you will be disappointed.
It says it all!I had a 287 bhp 2 litre race engine that had done one and a half seasons of racing in for a re-fresh recently that required minimal work. The customer, who decided to spend money on the chassis this year (wise move) rather than take the engine over 300bhp, went out and got his first two podiums. A second and a third. I changed big ends, mains, lapped in the valves and a thorough check. It all looked in pretty good condition. I would have liked to have done more but there was no budget. Next winter we will do an upgrade that will require more work and money.
The 300 bhp + engines I like to have a look at once a year and again require not that much doing to them. Preventative maintenance mainly.
I would say that the Duratec is a very reliable engine and have yet to see a N/A production engine that responds so well to tuning. I've probably built around 70 Duratec engines by now. In all the time I have been dealing with them I have not had or even heard of one with head gasket or coolant problems.
I was very pleased when Caterham decided to finally dump the K-Series and fit the Duratec. A great choice. For me there is no other engine I would even remotely consider for a Caterham at this moment in time.
Most of my customers are converting existing cars from Crossflows or K-series. If you want a factory car just buy an R500 from Caterham. I doubt you will be disappointed.
As a precaution, I decided to rebuild my R400 engine after 4000 hard track miles (and some oil surge problems) but it had no real issues at all, and I am sure it would have gone on to 40,000 without a problem.
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