First trackday
Discussion
Did my first trackday in the R300 yesterday. Superb day. The car was just as I'd hoped, quick from the off, very driveable, not so quick as to be intimidating, or to make slower traffic a nuisance, and nice not to be having to concentrate too much on the mirrors (not that can see much anyway!) cos nothing much coming up from behind. Very easy to handle over the limit when I over cooked it.
Still struggling with the pedal box, but on track it sort of works by forcing you to heel and toe (if you've got your foot on the throttle as well as the brake you might as well use it), and at times the gearbox feels very stiff.
On the down side I had to go home after lunch as it was pointed out to me that my car was spewing petrol from the filler cap - apparently a combination of the cap being not a brilliant fit, having a full tank, and Bedford being an anticlockwise track with a couple tight left hand hairpins. Also the water temp sender failed and when I got home I dicovered an oil leak. I noticed that the transmission tunnel was getting pretty hot - is this normal? Another trip to Caterham Midlands on the cards. I guess taking it on track is a pretty good shakedown test but I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a pattern, I'm wanting a reliable car that I can take on track but doesn't need much beyond routine services - I'm into it for the driving not at all for getting hands dirty.
Still struggling with the pedal box, but on track it sort of works by forcing you to heel and toe (if you've got your foot on the throttle as well as the brake you might as well use it), and at times the gearbox feels very stiff.
On the down side I had to go home after lunch as it was pointed out to me that my car was spewing petrol from the filler cap - apparently a combination of the cap being not a brilliant fit, having a full tank, and Bedford being an anticlockwise track with a couple tight left hand hairpins. Also the water temp sender failed and when I got home I dicovered an oil leak. I noticed that the transmission tunnel was getting pretty hot - is this normal? Another trip to Caterham Midlands on the cards. I guess taking it on track is a pretty good shakedown test but I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a pattern, I'm wanting a reliable car that I can take on track but doesn't need much beyond routine services - I'm into it for the driving not at all for getting hands dirty.
Hi Mike, glad you enjoyed it for the most part. You certainly seemed to be be going nice and quick.
On our first outing at Bedford we had petrol sloshing out gently. Managed to adjust the aero filler cap no problem. Which filler cap do you have? As for the hot transmission tunnel, it could be worse, you could have a duratec S3, where the whole pedal box gets toasty. The SV luckily has so much radiator bypass that the heat gets blown away more effectively.
On our first outing at Bedford we had petrol sloshing out gently. Managed to adjust the aero filler cap no problem. Which filler cap do you have? As for the hot transmission tunnel, it could be worse, you could have a duratec S3, where the whole pedal box gets toasty. The SV luckily has so much radiator bypass that the heat gets blown away more effectively.
Nicodema said:
Hi Mike, glad you enjoyed it for the most part. You certainly seemed to be be going nice and quick.
On our first outing at Bedford we had petrol sloshing out gently. Managed to adjust the aero filler cap no problem. Which filler cap do you have? As for the hot transmission tunnel, it could be worse, you could have a duratec S3, where the whole pedal box gets toasty. The SV luckily has so much radiator bypass that the heat gets blown away more effectively.
Yes - I think you have the posh silver filler cap which (so I was advised by Caterham yesterday afternoon) doesn't leak but is expensive to fit (which I think was code for "we won't do it under warranty for you"). I did notice the soles of my feet (particularly clutch) getting a bit hot!On our first outing at Bedford we had petrol sloshing out gently. Managed to adjust the aero filler cap no problem. Which filler cap do you have? As for the hot transmission tunnel, it could be worse, you could have a duratec S3, where the whole pedal box gets toasty. The SV luckily has so much radiator bypass that the heat gets blown away more effectively.
Mike,
Best bite the bullet and get the aeor cap if you do a lot of track days - the "normal" rover one is a bit leaky for trcak work - and the cost of fuel at the track / farce of excess jerrycans soon adds up to the difference!
On our R300, we also had a leak between the filler nck and the (aero) filler - a jubilee clip had worked loose.
Glad to hear of 7 owners enjoying their cars, looks like I won't be at any track days this year, but fond memories every time =)
Best bite the bullet and get the aeor cap if you do a lot of track days - the "normal" rover one is a bit leaky for trcak work - and the cost of fuel at the track / farce of excess jerrycans soon adds up to the difference!
On our R300, we also had a leak between the filler nck and the (aero) filler - a jubilee clip had worked loose.
Glad to hear of 7 owners enjoying their cars, looks like I won't be at any track days this year, but fond memories every time =)
Are you sure the petrol is coming out of the filler cap? There is a breather pipe which is often the cause for leaks on left hand bends. The racers have a loop of pipe and a one way valve fitted in it but the cheap thing to do is pull the breather pipe up and zip tie it to the roll bar.
The pedals can all be adjusted. If the brake is too near the throttle then either adjust the brake peadl towards you or bend the throttle pedal to the right slightly.
As above - a hot tunnel is normal.
The pedals can all be adjusted. If the brake is too near the throttle then either adjust the brake peadl towards you or bend the throttle pedal to the right slightly.
As above - a hot tunnel is normal.
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