Advice on my first caterham new R300
Discussion
Hi all ,about 2 months ago i fullfilled a life long dream of experiencing a caterham!!
I hired a roadsport 125 sigma sw , what a weekend had so much fun ,could not believe the handling and how good the quality of a caterham was.
Took the car back and spoke to the sales guy and said i was intrested in one now ,but would like a litte more power , he said he would take me out in an r300 ,omg he scared the hell out of me ,we went that fast towards the bends i though we would not slow down,but instead he hepted the power down and drifted it around,wow what a driver.
Now im hooked big time ,ive ordered an R300 S3 with leather seats ,lowered floors ,lsd,13" wheels,track roll bar,master cut off switch ,weather kit and heater of course,the colour is grey but feel like it should be a bright colour do like atomic grass but grey will win in the end ,as i love the colour grey.
Any advice and help would be great !! Thanks David
Feel happy with my choice ,and have maxed out on budget ,but hope the R300 is the right one,and don't think i should have gone for the R400 !!!
I hired a roadsport 125 sigma sw , what a weekend had so much fun ,could not believe the handling and how good the quality of a caterham was.
Took the car back and spoke to the sales guy and said i was intrested in one now ,but would like a litte more power , he said he would take me out in an r300 ,omg he scared the hell out of me ,we went that fast towards the bends i though we would not slow down,but instead he hepted the power down and drifted it around,wow what a driver.
Now im hooked big time ,ive ordered an R300 S3 with leather seats ,lowered floors ,lsd,13" wheels,track roll bar,master cut off switch ,weather kit and heater of course,the colour is grey but feel like it should be a bright colour do like atomic grass but grey will win in the end ,as i love the colour grey.
Any advice and help would be great !! Thanks David
Feel happy with my choice ,and have maxed out on budget ,but hope the R300 is the right one,and don't think i should have gone for the R400 !!!
Yes, titanium with leather seats. I looked at loads of colour options before deciding. Although one of Caterhams std colours it isn't that common and it saves a couple of hundred quid on a custom shade. Some people refer to it as resale grey because it's p/ex friendly. I couldn't care less about that though, I bought it because I like it. You'll enjoy your car, it is worth the wait 
Congratulations on your choice. I like titanium silver too and think it goes well with the shape of the car (my profile pic gives this away!
) . As for whether you should have gone for R300 - nah....you want to leave room for upgradeitus to set in. I drove an R300 at Silverstone in June and loved it on what is really a power circuit and not well suited for a Caterham. I think you will find it has plenty to challenge you. I have had an R300 (K) for a year now, which replaced a Super Sprint that I had for 25 years. Best thing I ever did was getting the R300. It is Green, with a Yellow stripe on the bonnet and nose and when I first saw the car, I intended to remove the yellow, but ended up keeping it due to good visability for others.
It can be an absolute hooligan of a car (as can any 7), if you drive it so and huge fun. Only advice I would give is that you need to be seen coming, as your fast approch takes many drivers unaware. They just don't see you as well, in darker colours. A Hi-Vis Nose colour band or stripe is a good idea and will make your more visable.
Metalic Grey and all colours such are very nice, but you need to be seen at T Junctions and at dusk and in fact any other times. My last Caterham (C225 RPM) was Dark Blue and I had a number of very close calls.
It can be an absolute hooligan of a car (as can any 7), if you drive it so and huge fun. Only advice I would give is that you need to be seen coming, as your fast approch takes many drivers unaware. They just don't see you as well, in darker colours. A Hi-Vis Nose colour band or stripe is a good idea and will make your more visable.
Metalic Grey and all colours such are very nice, but you need to be seen at T Junctions and at dusk and in fact any other times. My last Caterham (C225 RPM) was Dark Blue and I had a number of very close calls.
Yes, grey is a good colour! Mine is also Titanium with as much carbon as I could afford - it looks good, but it does look better if you pick out a few highlights in a bright colour. The R300 is a good choice particularly if you are going to be road orientated but may be a little short of power if you become hooked on track work. My experience was the leather seats didn't work for me but Caterhams are very personal things and go with what excites you - you can always change things, and probably will.
Sorry to make this a gallery but this shows the colour well
Edited by DCL on Saturday 3rd December 14:22
2slo said:
Have you tried a half hood for wet days David? I get virtually no misting up with mine and very little water gets in.
Yes, I bought one after that trackday. I had the back window rolled down which worked OK from a visibility point-of-view, but the car really felt a bit light at 100+ mph. I like the design of the half hood but it doesn't stop the spray being sucked back in as much as I hoped.DCL said:
2slo said:
Have you tried a half hood for wet days David? I get virtually no misting up with mine and very little water gets in.
Yes, I bought one after that trackday. I had the back window rolled down which worked OK from a visibility point-of-view, but the car really felt a bit light at 100+ mph. I like the design of the half hood but it doesn't stop the spray being sucked back in as much as I hoped.
DR300 is a great car - perfect car to keep too - much more torque than a KR300, broad torque curve yet still likes revs ands set up properly (even on race suspension) still supple enough for road and track. Simon Lambert had to prise me out of the press car when we tested it at Brands against my KR500 for TrackDriver mag several years ago.
Only mistake you may have made was not speccing it with Tillets. Very comfortable (I toured Switzerland in my Tillet-equipped HPC 7 years ago) and they support you perfectly.
The guy who said he enjoyed in at Snett hit the nail on the head - unlike a Supersport or even a KR300, you never feel it's too slow for the long straights of such a circuit.
I've said it before, but I think the DR300 is the best Caterham I have ever driven.
Only mistake you may have made was not speccing it with Tillets. Very comfortable (I toured Switzerland in my Tillet-equipped HPC 7 years ago) and they support you perfectly.
The guy who said he enjoyed in at Snett hit the nail on the head - unlike a Supersport or even a KR300, you never feel it's too slow for the long straights of such a circuit.
I've said it before, but I think the DR300 is the best Caterham I have ever driven.
This is all very poitive feedback which is good,I can not wait until march now !
I've not even got the car yet and im looking for finishing touches
1 indoor car cover (fitted )
2 side mount tax disk holder
3 clear indicator lenses
Where is the best places to look for these ?
Also and experience on fitted car cover/semi fitted ?
I've not even got the car yet and im looking for finishing touches
1 indoor car cover (fitted )
2 side mount tax disk holder
3 clear indicator lenses
Where is the best places to look for these ?
Also and experience on fitted car cover/semi fitted ?
Next step - Join Lotus 7 club and you can get onto Blatchat and attend your local meetings to get answers to all your questions.
See ttp://www.lotussevenclub.com/ and http://www.blatchat.com/
See ttp://www.lotussevenclub.com/ and http://www.blatchat.com/
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