First Caterham!

[c7]

Hi, been looking at buying a Caterham and getting more confused by the day, so many model, engine and gearbox options!

I have seen the following cars advertised, all similar mileages and in the same price bracket...

1998 Superlight (no detail but 1.6k i presume?)
1998 Supersport (1.6k 135 bhp 6 speed)
2001 Roadsport (1.8k 120 bhp 5 speed)

Can anyone make any comments on the real day to day differences between them... how they drive compared to each other, living with them on the road, running costs etc? I am looking at buying a car for fast road use rather than track days.... all thoughts welcome!

Edited by C7 on Thursday 15th November 14:46

[tortoise]

Personal preference for road use would be the 5 speed box. The 6 speed is good for track use but can be a bit intrusive on the road as any kind of reasonable cruising speed requires you to rev the nuts off it. On an even more personal note I prefer the leather seats to tillets for road use but stuff like uprated brakes and widetrack suspension are nice to have if available. Limited slip dif. is expensive but of marginal benefit on the road I would think. 120 bhp Roadsport is a nice car and reasonably upgradable if you do decide to more track activity, otherwise its perfectly adequate for the road and is a great car to start the Caterham "experience" in. The Supersport is a good road/track compromise, being a Roadsport with modifications, probably with the engine, brakes and suspension "tweaked" for more performance but I would check out whether you are happy with a six speed box as some have it, some don't. Superlights are more track focused cars.

Edited by tortoise on Friday 19th January 10:49

[Shaun_E]

Log onto Blatchat and do a search. You need to join the L7OC if you want to post but there is loads of information to read. Also on the L7OC site is information on the area meetings - go to your nearest and chat with owners - they'll all have differing views though depending on what car they own . At the end of the day, you'll love any Caterham you get. Most ownners will happily take you for a spin.
My personal views are that the six speed box is brilliant in a K series car and at motorway speeds the wind noise will drown out the engine! Caterhams aren't for cruising around in, they are for thrashing mercilessly and a good close ratio gearbox is part of the fun. The 5 speed normally comes with a lower diff ratio (3.92 versus 3.62 for the 6 speed) so rpm at speed will not be massively different.
The Superlight is one of the great incarnations of the seven and includes AP 4 pot ventilated brakes, LSD, adjustable spring platforms, wide track front suspension, 1.6 supersport engine (135ish bhp), 6 speed box, some carbon bits (nosecone, front wings, dash and maybe rear wings). As std it came with GRP low back race seats but many have leather and later ones have GRP high back race seats (much sought after). My car started life as a Superlight!
The Supersport would be a great road car and the 1.8 with 5 speed might not be quite as good fun at 10/10ths but otherwise would be fine.

[canam]

C7
I bought my first Caterham a couple of months ago. It's a 1600 Supersport 6-speed with Superlight Suspension and the four pot big brakes, so pretty much a Superlight without the light bits!
It's a hoot on the road but to be honest touring would be a bit of a pain in the ears as it's so low geared. 6th is the same ratio (1:1) as 4th in a 5-speed, so you are pretty much revving the nuts off it.
If you just want to blat about the countryside then a Superlight/Supersport would be fine, but if you are thinking of touring a bit then the 1800 5-speed would be a better bet.

[rubystone]

IIRC the SL came with either tillets or S type leather seats as standard. Don't forget too that later SLs ('99 on???) could be had with the 1.8 engine - more torque I believe.

I think that the SL is a better bet for resale in the future if you're bothered about that.

If you want to just tour in the car - a 5 speed VVC might be the best bet - these have more torque than the SLs, SS, roadsport etc.

Whatever you buy you'll enjoy it, that's for sure

[Shaun_E]

The gearbox issue is somewhat misleading.
The 6 speed comes as standard with a 3.62 diff and a 1:1 6th gear
The 5 speed comes as standard with a 3.92 diff and a 1:0.82 5th gear
Using gearcalc:
6 speed box: @ 70mph in 6th rpm = 3918
5 speed box: @ 70mph in 5th rpm = 3479
6 speed box: @ 90mph in 6th rpm = 5037
5 speed box: @ 90mph in 5th rpm = 4473
I don't believe that 600rpm is going to make that much difference noise wise and as I said wind noise will drown the engine out on a motorway.
I've never driven a car with the 5 speed box but have been in several and they aren't any quieter than my car

Oh and the original SL came with low back GRP race seats as standard hence a lot of people specced them with leather seats instead. I believe that later models had Tillets (high back) as standard

Edited by Shaun_E on Friday 19th January 16:07

[murph7355]

Shaun's spot on.

I've done a *lot* of long distance miles in my 6spd car and engine/gearbox noise has never been an issue. Wind noise has at times, but not the nice noises.

And the 6spd is so well suited to the K (particularly the lower capacities) that it'd be a shame not to get one so equipped.

Then again, we could be in the minority here I guess.

[david 1664]

The Superlight will have a LSD and big brakes. so makes it a better package.

david

[mark 7]

I brought my first 7 last year and looked a long time for a Superlight but could only find fairly tatty examples.
Ended up with a very clean Supersport with 5 speed box which i thought maybe a temporary measure. But to be honest it's great and quick enough for road use and the odd trackday and think i'll keep it and spend the upgrade money on driver training!
Cheers Mark

[dkl]

I drove both 5 and 6 speed versions when buying mine. Yes you are pulling fewer revs at motorway speeds with a 5 speed but it makes bugger all difference to the volume!
Ended up with a 6 speed mainly because I quite fancied it and when driving at A road speeds you always seem to have a spare gear if you need it

[sjmmarsh]

The 6spd only normally comes with a 3.62 diff if it is the superlight version. Normal roadsports normally still have a 3.92 diff, so it needs around 4300 rpm at 70mph. Yes, it is a bit noisy if you are motorway cruising, but:

a) there are always earplugs and
b) there are backroads!

That said, I have done 600 miles (UK to Spa, then the 'Ring and back to Spa) in a day, mainly on motorways, with no problems. The nice thing about the 6spd is that there is always a nice gear for spirited driving on any road or track (2-6) whereas the 5spd has fewer choices (2-4) - you won't use 1st or 5th much unless you are pulling away or cruising.

Steve

[ewenm]

I've done over 70,000 miles in my 7 and am very happy with the 5 speed box. My advice would be to think hard about what you want from the car and try a few examples. When you test drive them, try to drive them hard (difficult in an unfamiliar car, I know). Driver skill and training is worth far more than the difference between a 5spd and a 6spd

[R300_PM]

Hey,

Just brought my first Caterham back at the tail end of November. I was tossing and turning (not literally) about what to buy and I even went on a couple of the Caterham Motorsport days to ask some advice. I put it to one of the guys (Suds - I think he was referred to) that I wanted a Superlight R300. He told me in no uncertain terms that I 'WOULD ACTUALLY KILL MYSELF' if I had one as my first Caterham (I'm 22) but I ignored the advice and followed my...err, Budget!?! Is that the right term!?! Since I brought the R300 I've not smiled so much in my life!

Girlfriend has practically resigned herself as a Caterham Widow and I've met some fantastic people to boot!

To put it bluntly... BUY THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD, AND DON'T THINK TWICE ABOUT IT!!!!

You only get one shot at this life, and quite frankly, if you haven't owned a Caterham, then you really need to re-plan your aspirations! I even put mine before the house!

What ever you decide to do, whatever Caterham you buy, you'll love it! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!!!!!

Good luck and I hope to see you at one of the meetings!

[mark 7]

Totally agree with the above 2 posts,don't waste too much time on deciding which one to get just get one now.The prices are very good at the moment due to a slow down in the market and time of year.
I tend to use mine for early morning "spirited" road use with 4 or 5 other guys in cars ranging from x-flows to a tuned Superlight R and there's not much between them!
Hope you enjoy whatever you buy as long as it's a Caterham.
Cheers Mark

[LRdriver II]

agree. I bought an ex academy car, got bitten by the upgrade bug but sensibly decided to sell it and buy an R300 which had all the bits I wanted.I should have done this fromn the start but hey..so what..

[C7]

Hi,
many thanks for all your replies, they are just what I was looking for, real life information / experiences... especially the gearbox stuff! Found alot of good info on Blatchat as well, thanks for the tip.

I had a look at four cars at the weekend, a couple of ex 1.6 graduate cars, a standard 1.6 roadsport and a 1.8 Supersport.... all good and great fun. Also visited Caterham Cars, what a selection of cars and good friendly service as well. I haven't made a final decision yet so will keep an eye on the market a little longer.

Thanks again for your help.

Edited by C7 on Thursday 15th November 14:46