Caterham 170 experience

TL;DR : a bad idea, don't do it With the recurring failure of the wideband oxygen sensor (4 killed fair and square and 1 DOA) , I was ready to try about anything to increase reliability. The change in November consisted in increasing the heating delay in the ECU, and I did add a 25mm spacer to get the sensor out of the direct exhaust flow. As a reminder it's located 8 cm from the exit of the turbo. That (already third) sensor lasted for about 6 months, only to fail at the track day in March. I had a spare on hand that didn't even last 2 kilometers. I got yet another one, that was installed straight on the pipe this time and didn't even last a full month. What I think happened is that re-starting the car when the engine was still warm-ish (~40-50°C coolant) was the scenario that led to all those failures. That was a clear thing on track where I drove 20 minutes sessions followed by equivalent pauses. It was also the case when I only used the car to commute to work and ...

TL;DR : not the best afternoon Really happy with the MFD15 installed in October , it didn't take long to imagine a next step where the fuel gauge would also be replaced by a CAN one, and a final step that would see a custom base for my mobile phone holder take the space occupied by the coolant temperature dial. Since the last failure of the oxygen sensor, I came to like having the lambda value displayed at all times. That also helped justify getting a second MFD15. With all the discounts the end of year was likely to bring, I didn't rush the purchase. But as nothing came by mid-December, I placed an order from Sandtler24 before any hypothetical price increase in January. First things first, I prepared an image for the boot screen. This time with the House of Speed and Quaife logos. The new device was powered from its USB port, the boot image loaded, the firmware upgraded to the latest version, the TRI file (CAN messages definitions) uploaded as well as a backup of ...

TL;DR "Everything is computer" Now that the dashboard minor gauges are fully calibrated , how about getting rid of them ? 🤡 The rationale is that my phone holder hides the coolant temperature gauge, and that space is better used with Waze that shows me what the road looks like ahead, rather than having the sad old needle telling me all is fine. When in doubt about any engine parameter, I use a mini ELM27 dongle to display real time data on the phone ( read all about that here ). With the current technology, nothing should prevent the build of a OBD display with a 52mm gauge form factor. I was obviously not the first to have that kind of idea. 👨‍💻  BTI gauges and  gaugeART products were identified as the most likely candidates. Both of those were not available in continental EU and required some PC software or phone app (which is even worse) of unknown lifetime and compatibility. Moreover, BTI didn't answer my e-mail about the durability in an open cockpit. Weeks lat...

TL;DR hiding in plain sight Since a visible dash cam offers no advantage over one that's hidden in the shadows, I've always tried to keep mine as low-profile as possible. Let's begin with the rear one : I covered its lateral blue LED with black tape, done. On the front, my strategy is to divert the eyes to a sticker on the centre of the windscreen, covering the foot of the rearview mirror at the same time. A 2024 Static Rally sticker did a fine job for about a year, it was briefly replaced by a Distinguished Gentlemen Drive one. Both had basically black text on a white background with red accents that didn't exactly match the car's livery. I finally went with a Superslow decal, a white-on-black parody of the Superdry logo, with the Japanese text on top. Where the original says "extremely dry", the one I got reads "extremely slow car". It also features a quirky "turbo snail" character with a yellow body. I chose t...

TL;DR "High impact nylon", they sure can take a beating You already know them as they are the de-facto standard upgrade for the Caterham. From factory, KLY mirrors are fitted to the sidescreens (in EU that is), or modified and attached to the windscreen stanchions for IVA compliance in the UK. Those are just alright, not the best looking, but they do the job and keep their setting once tightened enough. A common gripe people have with those is the blurry vision they provide because of vibrations. My experience was no different. So I let the hype get the best of me and got a pair of "SPA" mirrors like everyone else. My provider of choice for that kind of motorsport-y stuff is Demon Tweeks . A pair of convex mirrors in black nylon did cost me 106 €. You can also get them in white, and the cheapest option have a flat mirror. There is also a very unreasonably-priced carbon fiber version (300€+ a piece), that I have seen in person on a car, and they age very poorly. The...

TL;DR : adding performance and lightness   📜 Inspired by the mod seen last Summer on a Seven Sprint, a first aluminium air guide was built for my car when the engine was tuned. Over the two months I've been driving with it, OBDII data clearly showed an air intake temperature kept in check, very close to ambient. That first item did dissipate a fair share of the energy from the crash . It's bent but can be repaired, the plan is to send it to a friend that will use it on his Caterham 165. 🌡️ We have already driven over 2000km without an air guide in just the two weekends since I got the car back. Data showed intake temperatures in excess of 50°C, that's not ideal. That small experiment confirmed the added value of building a new one. With the usual goal of keeping things as light as technically possible, I decided to use carbon fiber and placed an order for three 1mm thick 200x400mm twill sheets. I copied the original build and got a pair of 500mm 20x20x2mm ...

TL;DR Keeping the intercooler clean It will soon be 4 months that I'm Caterham-less, lovelorn with the car now in need of the aluminium bonnet be properly prepared and painted in the right colour as the paint shop messed up. Anyway, I had the opportunity to look at my original intercooler one afternoon at House of Speed, and found it rather oily and disgusting inside. I was told it was nothing unusual, and I know for a fact that my engine does not consume any measurable quantity of oil. Spending zero time driving around gives me some extra time to think and go deep into that kind of matter. So I did. What happens is that the PCV system (positive crankcase ventilation) is just an small hose that goes from the top of the camshaft cover to the air intake. Wikipedia says those systems were invented during WW2 to allow deep fording with tanks. I confirm there is a small hose between the oil dipstick tube and the air intake on my WW2 Jeep too. An effective solution for a closed-circuit...

TL;DR applicable to all Caterham with electronic throttle This one is courtesy of Guillaume who shared that trick with us at the Vosges meetup last week-end - and on the Sevener forum as well  ; originally here -. Photographs are from his 165, but I confirm the mounting holes and original pedal layout are the same on my 170 ( cfr last picture here ). I find mind blowing that setting the fasteners in an ungodly manner will give us a straighter throttle pedal and a better overall even layout with an extra centimetre of spacing with the brake pedal. We all know we can use some of that. In short, the top fastener is moved to the other hole in the bracket while the bottom one is just loosened a a bit. Then re-tightened, obviously . Just like that. I'll do mine as soon as I get the car back. As I'm told it leaves about 5 mm of room before hitting the pedal box when applying gas fully, it's probably worth checking there is no interference when done.    

TL;DR mirrors are required by law for a reason EDIT : I actually already covered the subject last year . .. but I will keep both posts. Driving like Noddy in his little yellow car is certainly part of the appeal of owning such a toy. It didn't take us long to try this on the beach in winter last year. It was cold AF, and we certainly learned that driving without side screens is not very enjoyable because of the massive air turbulence. At any speed over 70 kph, the experience is close to what I imagine breathing with a CPAP must feel like. Some fear they'll lose their sunglasses; I wasn't convinced my beanie was really safe either. You certainly need earplugs. On top of the battering, the lack of side mirrors wasn't optimal. It was barely OK on empty country roads, but they are really missing when driving around town during rush hour. Looking for small "F1" style mirrors similar to the ones I had on my bike back in the day, I found those super cheap models o...

TL;DR Good enough     Those were a long time coming as I did 3D print a first prototype when I first installed the winter wheels over a year ago now.   This time I took the time to properly measure the centre hole of the Citroën C1 / Peugeot 107 steel wheels, and did modify the design with a 54.8mm diameter for the external part of the clips.   They fit quite well and securely. All that's required is to insert them very straight as any tilt won't let the 2 last clips enter the centre bore. Front ones cover the castellated nuts, and I chose to have flat caps on the back. On Caterham 160/165, the four of them are protruding. And they are not compatible with those Peugeot/Citroën wheels as far as I know.   The material of choice was black PETG, printed with 0.32mm layers.  A kit of 45mm aluminium hub cap badges was procured from Aliexpress (3.50€ for the set of 4, P&P included). They came in just after the Image Wheels were installed , so they'll wait for...

TL;DR replacing the wooden part of the boot floor with carbon fiber A little-known fact about the Caterham is that it contains wood. I would bet that only people who have built their car themselves know about it. It's discreetly hidden under the carpet in the boot, visible only from beneath the car. The panel is a 6mm, 5-ply untreated plywood board measuring 19.5 x 76.5 cm and weighing 634 grams.    Just FYI, the part on top of the fuel tank is a 12mm honeycomb aluminium panel. The plastic plug is an access hatch to fill the diff with oil. This is specific to the 160-165-170-SS600 Suzuki-based models. The hole has a diameter of 64mm. Despite 23,000 km of use—21,000 of those with me, through all kinds of weather over the past seven months—it's still in excellent condition. The only problem is that the steel screws have become rusty, which is a real shame.  Let's fix that with stainless steel screws. I've bought a pack of 4.2mm x 13mm ones, with some washers to match. A ...