So I've had my first drive in a Caterham
Discussion
So to give a little background, a friend and I decided to hire a Caterham for the weekend up in Scotland. We'd talked about heading across the border for a few years, and I really wanted to try a Caterham over something more than just a test drive with the aim to see whether one would suit me / my lifestyle etc.
So on Friday we collected 'our' Caterham from Roadsporthire in Perth. The car was a Roadsport SV with the X-power 1.8 k-series engine (140bhp). It was running on Toyo Proxy 195/45 R15s and driven through a 6-speed box (no lsd). We collected it on Friday evening, in the dark, and did about 20 miles the first night in driving to the B&B. Over the course of the weekend we did a total of 298 miles in the car (got an amazing 30.5mpg) on all roads ranging from fast open A-roads to tortuous twisting single-track through the Scottish highlands.
So what can I say about the car? Did I immediately see the light and have an epiphany? Well not quite, that came later. The first thing I found was that it was:
a) Noisy
b) Low
c) Not the easiest car to drive in the dark and wet for the first time whilst simultaneously looking for a B&B without a map.
However the next day, and literally in the light of day, it started to come together. The weather was better and with somewhat more familiarity with the car, I could start to isolate all the sensations and really enjoy the car. However with so many new sensations all hitting you square in the face at the same time, you can only really get a grasp of the differences when you go back to some form of normality. I won’t bore anyone with the details, but I had to follow the Caterham for about 8 miles in a Golf TDi 140. First thoughts: “Good grief, where’s the steering feel gone? Is the steering wheel even connected to the front wheels?!”. Also, “wow, this [diesel] engine is incredibly smooth”. This is not something I would normally say about a VW group tractor engine…
My epiphany, so to speak, was on the Sunday. I went for a blat (I believe the correct term for such an exercise) on my own over roads I’d just familiarised myself with. I pushed it hard, although I was more likely pushing myself rather than the car, and it all came together. It was incredible! I've put my feelings and experiences into some semblance below, along with a few questions that I’d appreciate any insight into:
Steering
As I never once pushed it into understeer, it’s difficult to say without having gone ‘over the limit’. But the confidence it inspires is fantastic. However where we both found it really came alive was under a reasonable amount of load. It’s difficult to quantify, however I would say that once you take the cornering speed up from ‘cruising’ to ‘enthusiastic’ then both the feel and the confidence grow tremendously. When really pushing on, it was like a slightly less weighty go-kart. Incredible.
The other point of mention has to be lock. Has anyone performed a 3-point turn in a Caterham? I’ve seen yachts with tighter turning circles. I guess that’s why you need an LSD
Gearbox
What a fantastic to use gearbox. It really suits the car being such a short and positive throw. The ratios are incredible and probably add a good 50% to the whole experience. The longer 1st is great and 3rd -> 4th -> 5th -> 6th just make you
Also the torque of the 1.8 means you could actually just drive using only 1st and 6th. A real highlight.That being said, when pressing on from lower speeds, I did find it would balk from 1st to 2nd, although my friend never had any such problem. I’ll put that one down to user error.
Brakes
Interesting one this; I felt (no pun intended) that they really need heat in them to work at an acceptable level. Without such, the pedal could feel very wooden and they also seemed far less progressive. It was very easy to lock the fronts and really didn’t inspire confidence. However with more temperature they certainly improved in feel, ability to modulate and also power (although I attribute half of this to warmer tyres / drier roads). I don’t know if the brakes were standard of the upgrades. What are others peoples’ experiences with this?
A point I’m very interested in is heal & toe. By the Sunday I could just about reach to the accelerator to blip the throttle, although it was always a bit hit and miss. The accelerator was quite a long way further forward than the brake pedal. Is this normal?
Ride
Day-to-day I drive a BMW 330i M-sport and the ride on the Caterham was more supple. In combination with the fantastic S-type seats, it made for a very comfortable place to be. The only thing was that the car can be deflected very easily over bigger bumps, and certainly can fidget on a cambered / uneven road. This is probably not helped by the immediacy of the steering, however with the car being so small you have plenty of space in which to move about / be deflected into.
Also watching the front wheels bobbing up and down can be dangerously transfixing
Handling
I will leave this section alone other that to say that the more you push it, the more it feels like a well sorted go-kart. Just fantastic and gives a massive
Engine
Not a whole lot to say other than the great torquey delivery that swells throughout the rev range (well, until about 6500rpm). Manages to shift circa. 575kg rather nicely. Couldn’t hear it that well due to exhaust noise. I imagine a trip to DVA Power for some verniers and general tinkering would improve the delivery somewhat.
Exhaust
Loud. Really loud. A big trumpety blare that sounded best between about 4500 rpm and 6500 rpm. Being a side exit exhaust, it parps away into your left ear. For the passenger especially, I think I would recommend wearing an ear plug in the left ear.
Also under full throttle when approaching a section of road that runs along a stone wall, the reverb from the exhaust off of the wall really exacerbates the noise level. Its goes from parrrrrrp to PARRRRRRP!! I imagine it’s the same sort of transition as when the VTEC kicks in (yo).
Creature comforts
Well it’s more comfortable than walking. To those that use these all year round, I salute you. You are a far tougher skinned man than I.
- The actual comfort of the ride and the seats meant that it was a fantastically comfortable place in which to be.
- I was very impressed with the heater, which really kept things cosy in the cabin.
- The wipers were laughable (does rain-x help on the upright Caterham screens?).
- The power of the headlights, especially on mainbeam, was far better than I was expecting, however the big problem is the glare from other vehicles as their lights are so much higher in relation to your seated position.
- The full hood was fitted when the car was left overnight, but never driven with it in place. The half hood was used and was a very good solution. If we’d had a wind deflector in place, I would imagine you’d be snug as a bug inside.
- I’d read bad things about driving with the doors off, so never did. This decision was wholly justified the first time I drove through a puddle. If we’d been sans doors, we’d both have had a full-on face-full of dirty puddle water!
Will post some piccies up a bit later and will link to some youtube videos taken (including my attempt at a brisk getaway whilst in neutral
).Anyway, the Caterham experience gets an A+ from me.
Thanks for reading
Good write up and pretty much why everyone who drives one wants one!
To answer your heel and toe question, the pedals are adjustable from within the engine bay inside the pedal box. It's pretty easy to do with a socket set and doesn't take long. I then took a 6 foot length of 2x4 and carefully bent/levered my accelerator pedal an inch or so to the left ie closer to the brake pedal. This makes things much easier and I can now heel and toe very easily using the outside of my right foot to roll on to the pedal to do the blip. I particularly like doing just for the noise
To answer your heel and toe question, the pedals are adjustable from within the engine bay inside the pedal box. It's pretty easy to do with a socket set and doesn't take long. I then took a 6 foot length of 2x4 and carefully bent/levered my accelerator pedal an inch or so to the left ie closer to the brake pedal. This makes things much easier and I can now heel and toe very easily using the outside of my right foot to roll on to the pedal to do the blip. I particularly like doing just for the noise
Good work fella, welcome to enlightenment.
Re your questions,
These cars are very easily tweaked to tailor to the exact type of driving experience you desire be it touring, fast road, track or race.
I'd imagine the braking issues you describe are a function of the pads fitted. Yes they'll all improve with heat but a carefully chosen pad will give good bite & feel from cold. I run Pagid which are superb if a little squeeky. Mintex are also highly recommended.
As mentioned the pedals can be adjusted to your desired position. Once you've done this & with a little practice you'll find it very difficult not to naturally heel & toe when pressing on.
Ride & handling can also be tailored to your needs & budget. Small tweeks to ride heights, toe in, camber etc can have dramatic effects & for those with deeper pockets adjustable dampers can be fitted to allow further improvement. Many seem to prefer the ride on 13" wheels as well due to the deeper sidewalls, they also give a wider & cheaper choice of tyres.
Rain-ex does help both on the outside & inside of the screen. (Inside for those times when the rain isn't quite heavy enough to warrant stopping for the roof)
So, when you putting a deposit on a car?
Re your questions,
These cars are very easily tweaked to tailor to the exact type of driving experience you desire be it touring, fast road, track or race.
I'd imagine the braking issues you describe are a function of the pads fitted. Yes they'll all improve with heat but a carefully chosen pad will give good bite & feel from cold. I run Pagid which are superb if a little squeeky. Mintex are also highly recommended.
As mentioned the pedals can be adjusted to your desired position. Once you've done this & with a little practice you'll find it very difficult not to naturally heel & toe when pressing on.
Ride & handling can also be tailored to your needs & budget. Small tweeks to ride heights, toe in, camber etc can have dramatic effects & for those with deeper pockets adjustable dampers can be fitted to allow further improvement. Many seem to prefer the ride on 13" wheels as well due to the deeper sidewalls, they also give a wider & cheaper choice of tyres.
Rain-ex does help both on the outside & inside of the screen. (Inside for those times when the rain isn't quite heavy enough to warrant stopping for the roof)
So, when you putting a deposit on a car?
Thanks for the comments and replies 
Interesting hearing your views on pedal positions. I understand there's more room in the SV footwell but is the pedal box the same as in the S3?
Oh, and rain-x inside the screen
So as to when I'm putting a deposit down, alas it's not so easy. I will not return to the UK now until March next year, so nothing will happen before then. Post my return, well it all depends on what 'we' are doing house-wise. So nothing rock solid at this stage. Sorry to disappoint, but I guess I'm still at the researching stages now
Anyway, as mentioned in my original post, I have a few videos that I've now uploaded to Youtube. They're linked below, including a private listing where I attempt a fast start whilst in neutral...
0-60mph (ish) including my reaction to the initial acceleration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28X2lpOZLxo
Quick getaway preceded by my, er, false start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJAakggL70g
Flyby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vChxQh3_Iv8
And finally, returning from a proper blat. This is where I really gelled with the car. My reaction - which was purely natural - can be heard at the end
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEH2cAlEzPs
Interesting hearing your views on pedal positions. I understand there's more room in the SV footwell but is the pedal box the same as in the S3?
Oh, and rain-x inside the screen
So as to when I'm putting a deposit down, alas it's not so easy. I will not return to the UK now until March next year, so nothing will happen before then. Post my return, well it all depends on what 'we' are doing house-wise. So nothing rock solid at this stage. Sorry to disappoint, but I guess I'm still at the researching stages now
Anyway, as mentioned in my original post, I have a few videos that I've now uploaded to Youtube. They're linked below, including a private listing where I attempt a fast start whilst in neutral...
0-60mph (ish) including my reaction to the initial acceleration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28X2lpOZLxo
Quick getaway preceded by my, er, false start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJAakggL70g
Flyby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vChxQh3_Iv8
And finally, returning from a proper blat. This is where I really gelled with the car. My reaction - which was purely natural - can be heard at the end
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEH2cAlEzPs
ghibbett said:
That being said, when pressing on from lower speeds, I did find it would balk from 1st to 2nd, alth
We hired the same blue SV back in August. It is a very nicely spec'd car. With all the carbon parts, it has to be more than a base model. Superlight??The 6-speed takes some practice to shift smoothly. 1st and 2nd are very close together. Took me about an hour to get decent 1-2 shifts.
I never did learn how to drive smoothly at low speeds in traffic. More practice or maybe a slightly lower 1st gear would help.
Openroads other two 7s cars are 5-speeds. Next time we will hire one of the 5-speed cars. Just want to try a 5 speed before we buy a Caterham of our own.
ghibbett said:
Do you know when you'll be hiring another one from Andrew?
I wish it was today. What a perfect day for a blat. I doubt we will be going to Scotland before Andrew closes for the season. Our current plan is to hire a car from Openroad during next year's Fringe Festival.
I'm hoping to be able to buy a 7 by this time next year. If we get a new one (Debbie's preference) it will be a 5-speed as I can't justify £2850 for the gearbox. One option I've been looking at is a long first 5-speed from BGH Geartech. Their improved T9 gearbox keeps 2-5 ratios but changes first to a more useful 2.83 or 2.98. Price is thousands less than the 6-speed.
Gotta get the car first. Might actually happen. Ever since we hired the 7, Debbie wants one too. I've wanted one for years.
Blimey, at least you have an other half that wants you to get one! It’s going to be a battle for me, although I will no doubt win it as it’s my money in the first place <runs and hides>.
Keep us all informed on your possible (inevitable?) purchase and any more hire experiences in the meantime.
Keep us all informed on your possible (inevitable?) purchase and any more hire experiences in the meantime.
^^^ Thank you both. Glad you enjoyed it. Nobody seems to have disagreed, therefore I must have had the 'full experience'!!
K800 RUM said:
Do you mind if I post it up on the lotus 7 club forum blatchat as I sure it would be of interest?
Not at all. I regularly lurk on blatchat anyway as it's such a great source of info. Must get myself signed up!MKnight702 said:
Pah, turning circle on a Caterham is superb compared to the Eleven, think Caterham but with half the steering lock due to enclosed front wheels!
Cripes, that is hardcore!! Maybe it's from this car that Mike Meyers got the idea for the 27-point turn in the Austin Powers movie...!Just to add a link to another video I've just put together. A small montage of bits from other footage I'd taken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffqVgp1w5h8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffqVgp1w5h8
ghibbett said:
Just to add a link to another video I've just put together. A small montage of bits from other footage I'd taken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffqVgp1w5h8
"This car's mental!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffqVgp1w5h8
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