upgrading to a duratec R500?
Discussion
I currently have a caterham superlight R which has been fettled by DVA to produce 215bhp which I use for a little bit of touring but mostly track days and competitive events (hill climbs / sprints & super laps scotland).
The k-series has been taken as far as it can and I have a spec which should be in the region of 230bhp but possibly running a cat has robbed the last 15bhp. I have entered the super laps scotland championship this year and its based on classes divided by wheel bhp per tonne. All cars have to be weighed and dyno'd at the same place and that determines your class.
Has anyone weighed their DR500? and does anyone have a dyno plot showing wheel horsepower when the car is running a CAT? I would need some confidence its a worthy upgrade.
I would imagine the 263bhp and 506kg weight are optimistic. I think the added torque will be useful and the sequential could also gain some tenths to the potential time.
Has anyone upgraded from a quick k-series to a duratec R500 and could share their thoughts?
Have any owners found the sequential a pain on the road, I would still intend on using it for touring.
The k-series has been taken as far as it can and I have a spec which should be in the region of 230bhp but possibly running a cat has robbed the last 15bhp. I have entered the super laps scotland championship this year and its based on classes divided by wheel bhp per tonne. All cars have to be weighed and dyno'd at the same place and that determines your class.
Has anyone weighed their DR500? and does anyone have a dyno plot showing wheel horsepower when the car is running a CAT? I would need some confidence its a worthy upgrade.
I would imagine the 263bhp and 506kg weight are optimistic. I think the added torque will be useful and the sequential could also gain some tenths to the potential time.
Has anyone upgraded from a quick k-series to a duratec R500 and could share their thoughts?
Have any owners found the sequential a pain on the road, I would still intend on using it for touring.
I'm sure those who may have gone from K to D will be along soon, and I've done to death much of this on my thread, but here's a few pointers.
My CAT from BTB exhaust actually increases power mid range. The reason seems to be that it adds a third step after the second collector and the CAT is free flowing competition type.
If you build, or buy a Duratec, then 265 is realistic if it's done properly, but the last 40 BHP is expensive.
The Metric Duratec cars are heavier and mine comes in around the 530KG (SLS weight 618KG) after quite a lot of weight saving, but with a SLR cage.
The gains of a sequential are there, but maybe not as big as you might think they would be.
EDIT: Just to add there's the 2.3L and 2.5L option too which could potentially produce more power and cheaper, but they are a very different beast to a K series.
My CAT from BTB exhaust actually increases power mid range. The reason seems to be that it adds a third step after the second collector and the CAT is free flowing competition type.
If you build, or buy a Duratec, then 265 is realistic if it's done properly, but the last 40 BHP is expensive.
The Metric Duratec cars are heavier and mine comes in around the 530KG (SLS weight 618KG) after quite a lot of weight saving, but with a SLR cage.
The gains of a sequential are there, but maybe not as big as you might think they would be.
EDIT: Just to add there's the 2.3L and 2.5L option too which could potentially produce more power and cheaper, but they are a very different beast to a K series.
Edited by DCL on Wednesday 11th May 23:30
thanks david, lots of good info. You have put a lot of time and effort into your engine build and development. I was wondering what the truths were surrounding the R500 i.e. did it make the claimed numbers and if it did was it with a bypass pipe?
I will probably stick k-series the season, and maybe even indefinitely but i'll need to try and arrange a test drive of a R500 to see if its a good fit for me.
I will probably stick k-series the season, and maybe even indefinitely but i'll need to try and arrange a test drive of a R500 to see if its a good fit for me.
The research I did tends to suggest the factory R500 struggle to make their claimed BHP, and their power graph is not that great. I think it was a case of Caterham maximising the power for minimum cost and the package lacked refinement. It is possible to do much better, particularly if you can spend a bit more money on the head and exhaust. But their CAT is not bad as it is a motor sport spec. An interesting graph in a blog here http://www.caterhamr500.co.uk/2015/09/r500-not-wid...
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