Subaru to Caterham
Discussion
Hi everyone, I've recently decided that I want to make the switch from my Widetrack Impreza STI to a Caterham. Has anyone else made a simular switch and if so is there anything you wished you'd known after buying? Good/bad points?
Have been offered an ex academy car which has been well taken care of, long history and in great condition. Even comes with a trailer for a little extra.
My plans for my Widetrack were to just use as a trackday/sprint car. I very rarely take it out on other times, only to keep the oil circulating and blow the cobwebs off. I was going to put a weld in cage in it, fit harnesses and add lightweight seats.
The big pull to me with the caterham is its fully track ready and consumables and running costs are less than half than on the Impreza.
Being an academy car it's the basic 125hp engine which equates to roughly just over 200 bhp per ton without driver I'm led to believe. People tell me even that little amount of power is enough to have fun, but having never driven one I can't say.
1 question/worry that I have is fitment. I'm 6'4, the driver of the car is 6'2 and says he has no issues. The floor has been lowered I'm told which allows a little more room, even so would this be enough? I know an SV would be the obvious choice but there are currently none in budget nor have I ever seen any in my budget come to think of it...
Any pointers or tips much appricated.
Have been offered an ex academy car which has been well taken care of, long history and in great condition. Even comes with a trailer for a little extra.
My plans for my Widetrack were to just use as a trackday/sprint car. I very rarely take it out on other times, only to keep the oil circulating and blow the cobwebs off. I was going to put a weld in cage in it, fit harnesses and add lightweight seats.
The big pull to me with the caterham is its fully track ready and consumables and running costs are less than half than on the Impreza.
Being an academy car it's the basic 125hp engine which equates to roughly just over 200 bhp per ton without driver I'm led to believe. People tell me even that little amount of power is enough to have fun, but having never driven one I can't say.
1 question/worry that I have is fitment. I'm 6'4, the driver of the car is 6'2 and says he has no issues. The floor has been lowered I'm told which allows a little more room, even so would this be enough? I know an SV would be the obvious choice but there are currently none in budget nor have I ever seen any in my budget come to think of it...
Any pointers or tips much appricated.
Hi I've raced cars and bikes nearly all my life, and used to have a 350bhp 4x4 trackday cosworth, I have found very little that compares with the Caterham, buy the car if the car & price are right, but get some proper lessons/tuition, the step down in power takes some mental adjustment I know, but the corner speeds and late braking points will amaze you if you have never been in a Caterham driven well,the higher power cars will come by you on the straights but after a few laps if they are pushing with you it's quite entertaining seeing them run out of brakes and the tyres go. Oh and fuel/maintenance/insurance tyres ETC ETC a fraction of the cost.
They really are FUN and a great 7 community is available too.
A proper drivers car!!
They really are FUN and a great 7 community is available too.
A proper drivers car!!
I have a Stage 3+ 2008 Subaru STi, and an old caterham with a cosworth YBM in it.
I have autocrossed and tracked the Subaru, but have been rebuilding the caterham since I bought it, and haven't done any track time with it - just recently getting it to the point I could drive it marginally quickly.
My first response is to say, keep them both. :-)
A slightly modded STi is such a good car, and has so much torque, that it makes a great practical, yet exciting, daily driver. You can drive it in the snow, rain, and haul family and stuff around with it, and scare a lot of much more expensive cars with how quick it is. They are also quite reliable.
The caterham's strength is its cornering - corners don't exist to it. It's quick off the line due to light weight, but there is no sense of torque compared to a turbo STi. (I'm making about 370 HP and 400 ft/lbs. with the Subie).
They are almost polar opposites, the subie drives a bit like a diesel in comparison to the caterham's 6500 rpm torque peak, yet can accelerate in any gear up anything. The Caterham doesn't need to slow down for most corners, and has to be screaming to get any instant torque from the engine.
If all you want is a choice of track toys - then the Ceterham is the real exotic. Putting on a caterham is not like getting into any other car, except perhaps for a formula race car. The total instant connection and driver/car unification of a caterham is, again, only to be had in some exotic race vehicle or supercar. I've been in a position in the caterham where I thought I was going to spin through a cement barricade and end up on top of a parked BMW; I twitched the wheel a half turn, got back onto the gas, and the car straightened up, no fish-tailing, and patted me on the head and said, "that's how you're supposed to drive me - no relaxation, indecision, or hesitation allowed." lol. Most average cars would have spun off the road, most sports cars would have fishtailed 4 times. The caterham slapped me, then took off like a scalded cat when I got it right. I was laughing uncontrollably.
The subie has carves dual ruts up gravel logging road switchbacks, taking me and my buddies mountain biking - sideways with 3 people and 3 DH bikes on the car. It's made it up and down ski hill roads past 6 cars in the ditch, and I can barely tell it's slippery. A lot of $100,000 cars get quite surprised by it on track - by braking and acceleration envelopes. Cornering loads are surprisingly high, passengers get worried. Yet I also use it to go get groceries and 2X4s and drive across the province.
It's great fun on track, and powerful out of a corner, but it is a "normal" car.
As for fit; if you have long femurs you may hit the dash with your knees - but some quite tall people fit a lowered floor. Go to a club meet and try sitting in a few, and see how it goes. :-)
If it is just track days you are concerned with, and don't need the subie as a family car, then the only thing I can say that makes it better than the caterham, is the comfort and reliability of driving to a track event, and the ability to keep dry on a wet track - and rather less likely to find yourself in the grass. Other than that, a Caterham is such a different universe it's worth having, even for a short time, or occasional use. Though as many on here, you may find excuses to take it for a run; like the classic "we need milk...". :-D
I have autocrossed and tracked the Subaru, but have been rebuilding the caterham since I bought it, and haven't done any track time with it - just recently getting it to the point I could drive it marginally quickly.
My first response is to say, keep them both. :-)
A slightly modded STi is such a good car, and has so much torque, that it makes a great practical, yet exciting, daily driver. You can drive it in the snow, rain, and haul family and stuff around with it, and scare a lot of much more expensive cars with how quick it is. They are also quite reliable.
The caterham's strength is its cornering - corners don't exist to it. It's quick off the line due to light weight, but there is no sense of torque compared to a turbo STi. (I'm making about 370 HP and 400 ft/lbs. with the Subie).
They are almost polar opposites, the subie drives a bit like a diesel in comparison to the caterham's 6500 rpm torque peak, yet can accelerate in any gear up anything. The Caterham doesn't need to slow down for most corners, and has to be screaming to get any instant torque from the engine.
If all you want is a choice of track toys - then the Ceterham is the real exotic. Putting on a caterham is not like getting into any other car, except perhaps for a formula race car. The total instant connection and driver/car unification of a caterham is, again, only to be had in some exotic race vehicle or supercar. I've been in a position in the caterham where I thought I was going to spin through a cement barricade and end up on top of a parked BMW; I twitched the wheel a half turn, got back onto the gas, and the car straightened up, no fish-tailing, and patted me on the head and said, "that's how you're supposed to drive me - no relaxation, indecision, or hesitation allowed." lol. Most average cars would have spun off the road, most sports cars would have fishtailed 4 times. The caterham slapped me, then took off like a scalded cat when I got it right. I was laughing uncontrollably.
The subie has carves dual ruts up gravel logging road switchbacks, taking me and my buddies mountain biking - sideways with 3 people and 3 DH bikes on the car. It's made it up and down ski hill roads past 6 cars in the ditch, and I can barely tell it's slippery. A lot of $100,000 cars get quite surprised by it on track - by braking and acceleration envelopes. Cornering loads are surprisingly high, passengers get worried. Yet I also use it to go get groceries and 2X4s and drive across the province.
It's great fun on track, and powerful out of a corner, but it is a "normal" car.
As for fit; if you have long femurs you may hit the dash with your knees - but some quite tall people fit a lowered floor. Go to a club meet and try sitting in a few, and see how it goes. :-)
If it is just track days you are concerned with, and don't need the subie as a family car, then the only thing I can say that makes it better than the caterham, is the comfort and reliability of driving to a track event, and the ability to keep dry on a wet track - and rather less likely to find yourself in the grass. Other than that, a Caterham is such a different universe it's worth having, even for a short time, or occasional use. Though as many on here, you may find excuses to take it for a run; like the classic "we need milk...". :-D
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