First Caterham :D!!
Discussion
Hi guys,
First time post! Have just reserved my first Caterham. Its a 310r SV with a nice spec and hopefully picking it up in 10 days or so after Caterham Gatwick have finished prepping it. Very excited and very different from the other sports cars i have owned.
It comes with the 15 inch Orcus alloys in anthracite and just seeing if anyone had a set of 13 inch black Apollo alloys, 6 inch front and 8 inch rear, and fancied doing a straight swap?
Thought i'd check first before buying a set from Caterham.
Cheers
Andrew
First time post! Have just reserved my first Caterham. Its a 310r SV with a nice spec and hopefully picking it up in 10 days or so after Caterham Gatwick have finished prepping it. Very excited and very different from the other sports cars i have owned.
It comes with the 15 inch Orcus alloys in anthracite and just seeing if anyone had a set of 13 inch black Apollo alloys, 6 inch front and 8 inch rear, and fancied doing a straight swap?
Thought i'd check first before buying a set from Caterham.
Cheers
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Congratulations! That sounds like a cracking spec. I bought a car from Caterham Gatwick a couple of years ago. It also had the Orcus wheels & after a couple of months I swapped them for 13 inch wheels with the 8 inch rears.
One thing to bear in mind is you’ll need to adjust the set up to suit the new wheels. I found my car felt a little ‘flat footed’ after I’d fitted the 13s.
On the equal width Orcus wheels the car felt stable but with an engaging liveliness & the ability to push it into oversteer with a heavier right foot. When I initially fitted the 13s, it became much harder to balance the car on the throttle & when the car did finally start to slide, the transition to oversteer was quite sudden.
I had the car properly set up by DPR Motorsport earlier this year & the delicate balance the car had before is back.
Anyway, congratulations again on your purchase & try to enjoy the anticipation!
Nigel.
Congratulations! That sounds like a cracking spec. I bought a car from Caterham Gatwick a couple of years ago. It also had the Orcus wheels & after a couple of months I swapped them for 13 inch wheels with the 8 inch rears.
One thing to bear in mind is you’ll need to adjust the set up to suit the new wheels. I found my car felt a little ‘flat footed’ after I’d fitted the 13s.
On the equal width Orcus wheels the car felt stable but with an engaging liveliness & the ability to push it into oversteer with a heavier right foot. When I initially fitted the 13s, it became much harder to balance the car on the throttle & when the car did finally start to slide, the transition to oversteer was quite sudden.
I had the car properly set up by DPR Motorsport earlier this year & the delicate balance the car had before is back.
Anyway, congratulations again on your purchase & try to enjoy the anticipation!
Nigel.
Hi Nigel,
Cheers for the reply and thanks, counting down the days. Managed to find one with the 6 speed manual as well which is what I was hoping for. Such a fun gearbox especially with the lightweight flywheel!
Once you had the car re-setup did you find the handling or balance had improved vs the Orcus? Doing it mainly for aesthetics as i think the smaller alloy suits the car better, but if there is an improvement in the handling then thats a bonus?
Cheers
Andrew
Cheers for the reply and thanks, counting down the days
. Managed to find one with the 6 speed manual as well which is what I was hoping for. Such a fun gearbox especially with the lightweight flywheel!Once you had the car re-setup did you find the handling or balance had improved vs the Orcus? Doing it mainly for aesthetics as i think the smaller alloy suits the car better, but if there is an improvement in the handling then thats a bonus?
Cheers
Andrew
Mine has a six speed too. It does make for quite a frenetic experience. My last Caterham had a five speed (Ford) box which felt very different. It actually took me quite a while to get my head around the six speed’s ratios.
There was a gap of about twelve months between swapping the Orcus wheels for the 13 inch 8 spokes & actually getting round to getting it properly set up, so it’s difficult for me to make an objective comparison between the feel of the car with the original wheels & the feel with the new set up on the 13s.
On the original wheels & with the current set up, there’s a feeling of stability & a nice neutral balance when pressing on at normal speeds, but with a heavier right foot you can start to feel the car gently rotate with both set ups. I feel the wider rears do improve the traction in a straight line & make the car feel a little bit more sure footed & ‘planted’ than before, so I guess I’m getting the best of both worlds now.
The 13 inch wheels lower the gearing marginally, so it does accelerate a little bit more enthusiastically, but it’s not night & day different. It’s noticeable when you first change them. I found the speedo is now pretty much accurate too, whereas before it over read slightly.
I’m with you on the aesthetic aspect, I think Caterhams look a little bit odd on 15 inch wheels, but each to their own!
There was a gap of about twelve months between swapping the Orcus wheels for the 13 inch 8 spokes & actually getting round to getting it properly set up, so it’s difficult for me to make an objective comparison between the feel of the car with the original wheels & the feel with the new set up on the 13s.
On the original wheels & with the current set up, there’s a feeling of stability & a nice neutral balance when pressing on at normal speeds, but with a heavier right foot you can start to feel the car gently rotate with both set ups. I feel the wider rears do improve the traction in a straight line & make the car feel a little bit more sure footed & ‘planted’ than before, so I guess I’m getting the best of both worlds now.
The 13 inch wheels lower the gearing marginally, so it does accelerate a little bit more enthusiastically, but it’s not night & day different. It’s noticeable when you first change them. I found the speedo is now pretty much accurate too, whereas before it over read slightly.
I’m with you on the aesthetic aspect, I think Caterhams look a little bit odd on 15 inch wheels, but each to their own!
It's a generic term for setting up the suspension. It comes from that fact that you need a flat floor for the car to be sat on to accurately do it.
The whole things comprises:
Setting the ride heights front and rear to get the correct er, height and rake front to back
Setting up the suspension geometry to get the right camber, tracking, and caster
Setting up the corner weights to make sure the weight of the car is spread as evenly as possible on each corner
It might include other things such as getting the height of the steering rack right to remove bump steer, getting the ackermann effect right etc.
There's probably more I've not listed, but you probably get the gist!
The whole things comprises:
Setting the ride heights front and rear to get the correct er, height and rake front to back
Setting up the suspension geometry to get the right camber, tracking, and caster
Setting up the corner weights to make sure the weight of the car is spread as evenly as possible on each corner
It might include other things such as getting the height of the steering rack right to remove bump steer, getting the ackermann effect right etc.
There's probably more I've not listed, but you probably get the gist!
...and involves set up with the driver weight in the driver seat to ensure the car sits as best as possible "with" driver (given the driver can account for a significant % of the total all up weight in small cars like these....especially in SV's 
)
Welcome to the slightly crazy world of sevens ! You will love it.
)Welcome to the slightly crazy world of sevens ! You will love it.
what do we reckon is the sweetest entry point for a "1st Caterham" ?
which model?
no track work planned, I live in Cumbria, my commute is track work !!
obviously a >400bhp model is a poor choice for a first one, but what does the enlightened Caterham massive think?
My last car was a 400hp Porsche, I'm a keen amateur driver and I would do perhaps 2000 miles a year. I have a barn (storage) and I'm handy with spanners.
Yeh my thinking was the 270 would maybe be a little under powered, especially as i plan on using mine on track and i was worried a 360 would be a bit too lairy for my first one. Think the 310 is the sweetspot at least in my opinion.
Hopefully collecting mine around the 13th/14th September.
Hopefully collecting mine around the 13th/14th September.
The_Doc said:
what do we reckon is the sweetest entry point for a "1st Caterham" ?
which model?
no track work planned, I live in Cumbria, my commute is track work !!
obviously a >400bhp model is a poor choice for a first one, but what does the enlightened Caterham massive think?
My last car was a 400hp Porsche, I'm a keen amateur driver and I would do perhaps 2000 miles a year. I have a barn (storage) and I'm handy with spanners.
I live in the North Pennines so I suspect that our local roads are similar. I've a 270S SV and have never felt that I lacked the power needed for fast road blats while staying legal. A lower power car I suspect is more fun in that I'm nearer the cars limits (and absolutely at mine) than I would be in something more powerful/focussed. A good compromise route may be getting the 270, and after reflection and if wanted, pay the £1500 to get the car uprated to 310 spec. A mate has just bought his second 7, going from 140hp roadsport to Boxster and now back to 270. He says (so far) that he prefers the way the 270 delivers its power and isn't contemplating the upgrade as yet.which model?
no track work planned, I live in Cumbria, my commute is track work !!
obviously a >400bhp model is a poor choice for a first one, but what does the enlightened Caterham massive think?
My last car was a 400hp Porsche, I'm a keen amateur driver and I would do perhaps 2000 miles a year. I have a barn (storage) and I'm handy with spanners.
Hope this helps
Mine is only 100HP and i've only had it for a couple of weeks now but would say that, whilst it's nowhere near as fast as my daily drive, it is so much more fun and enjoyable to drive. From the short period i have had it, I think that as a first taste 100HP is more than enough and (for me) a great place to start.
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