620s and 620r owners

[Waitey]

Evening all,

After a few Westfield's (last one being a 300bhp n/a 9000rpm Duratec one) I feel its time to experiment a Caterham.

Can any current and past owners give me some insight into what to expect form a 620R/S? Any quirks I should know?

They've had a few years on track and road now so I assume most problems have come to the surface?

[jimhcat]

For the 620R I would highlight the following:
Standard suspension very hard (300lb springs all round)
Rear link exhaust pipe can ground out
Very noisy with side exhaust so problems getting on track days unless you have the extra rear can.
ECU poorly implemented by Caterham and issues with fuel pump control
Some cars run very rich and there have been reports of bore wash
Some cars prone to overcooling due to poor thermostat system
Plenty appear to be for sale at reduced prices so probably the biggest depreciating Caterham
Some don't like the sequential gearbox but others find it one of the best things about the car.

And before someone else mentions it, way too powerful and beyond the power "sweetspot" of a Caterham which I believe is currently deemed to be <200bhp
And they don't accelerate like a superbike either even though I have one of those too and they feel quite similar IMHO

Personally I love mine and find it absolutely brilliant but I have addressed most of the issues mentioned above on mine.
Mine now puts out 346bhp

[Waitey]

jimhcat said:

For the 620R I would highlight the following:
Standard suspension very hard (300lb springs all round)
Rear link exhaust pipe can ground out
Very noisy with side exhaust so problems getting on track days unless you have the extra rear can.
ECU poorly implemented by Caterham and issues with fuel pump control
Some cars run very rich and there have been reports of bore wash
Some cars prone to overcooling due to poor thermostat system
Plenty appear to be for sale at reduced prices so probably the biggest depreciating Caterham
Some don't like the sequential gearbox but others find it one of the best things about the car.

And before someone else mentions it, way too powerful and beyond the power "sweetspot" of a Caterham which I believe is currently deemed to be <200bhp
And they don't accelerate like a superbike either even though I have one of those too and they feel quite similar IMHO

Personally I love mine and find it absolutely brilliant but I have addressed most of the issues mentioned above on mine.
Mine now puts out 346bhp

Thanks for the input.

What ECU does it run?

My Duratec Westie mentioned above suffered with overcooling too, on a chilly track day it’d get low enough to go back into the cold start fuelling!

I’ve seen a few run an aftermarket side exit silencer to try to keep the noise below 98dB.

I’ve seen most have very very poor cold starts too, which seems a bit unforgivable for a £50k car.

[HSV_V8]

I've recently bought a 620R and yet to drive it properly due to lockdown however mine has had further mapping to iron out some of the running issues, cold start and running is spot on.

The sequential is a must have for me (I've come from bike powered Westfields) and I've found it straight forward to use, it has more weighting than a bike gearbox so it feels more substantial although reverse engagement is a little easier.

Mine is setup for track so feels too stiff for the road although I may look at this at a later date to compromise a little.

I'm looking forward to getting on track as i think it will come alive but at the moment I'm reserving judgement until i can get out properly.

[Waitey]

HSV_V8 said:

I've recently bought a 620R and yet to drive it properly due to lockdown however mine has had further mapping to iron out some of the running issues, cold start and running is spot on.

The sequential is a must have for me (I've come from bike powered Westfields) and I've found it straight forward to use, it has more weighting than a bike gearbox so it feels more substantial although reverse engagement is a little easier.

Mine is setup for track so feels too stiff for the road although I may look at this at a later date to compromise a little.

I'm looking forward to getting on track as i think it will come alive but at the moment I'm reserving judgement until i can get out properly.

Great info. Who did the mapping?

[HSV_V8]

It went to Track 'n' Road and mapped on the stock ECU. Not a massive increase in power (~320bhp) but driveability and fuelling was improved significantly from the stock setup by all accounts.

[mike150]

I had a 620S for a year and a bit.............

Good car but they aren't that fast or a least don't feel it which is what its all about imo, a NA Duratec with 300hp and 9000 limiter will feel far more exciting.

The 620S uses a Mazda 5 speed box and the ratios are too long and too few, the 620R uses the 6 speed Sadav sequential box and while the gearbox is great they have been known to need an expensive rebuild.

They do run cool on the road and ok on track, they are bad on fuel (like that matters) and the rear exit exhaust is ugly, crude and too low............I bent my link pipe 3 miles into ownership! I removed the monstrosity, took a grinder to the exit of the silencer and welded a stainless bend on so it looked like a normal Caterham exhaust. Alternatively buy a Raceco silencer which is a bit longer and so quieter. Just so you know the catalyst is at the back of the standard can.