driving a caterham in winter
Discussion
i'm picking up a superlight R at the weekend from london and have to make a mammoth journey back to aberdeen (580miles). Any advice on what to take based on the fact i havent driven this car before. I have driven caterhams before but that was in milder times and they had a heater.
It has a full windscreen and weather gear. Since its forecast to be about 2degrees following to below zero in the early evening, any hints? I'm going to take a skiing jacket, gloves, hat, my RAC card!, some duct tape, maybe buy a jerry can. I'll check all the fluids tyre pressures etc before i set off (prob about 12-1pm) not much daylight left by then. How are these things in the dark.
oh yes and some ear plugs.
any other suggestions? there is a slight chance of snow too i heard earlier in the week....
It has a full windscreen and weather gear. Since its forecast to be about 2degrees following to below zero in the early evening, any hints? I'm going to take a skiing jacket, gloves, hat, my RAC card!, some duct tape, maybe buy a jerry can. I'll check all the fluids tyre pressures etc before i set off (prob about 12-1pm) not much daylight left by then. How are these things in the dark.
oh yes and some ear plugs.
any other suggestions? there is a slight chance of snow too i heard earlier in the week....
Some thermal underware and more than one pair of socks. Your right leg will be frozen in one position as you need to keep the throttle pressed. A Hat would be good, and maybe put on the roof, its a pain to get in and out of but a bit quiter and dryer.
May be worther getting some water to spray on the windscreen as well
I use an IPOD rather than ear plugs as it has a similar, but nicer, effect.
Good luck!
Richard
May be worther getting some water to spray on the windscreen as well
I use an IPOD rather than ear plugs as it has a similar, but nicer, effect.
Good luck!
Richard
I find motorway miles at night, especially in bad weather very tiring in the 7 as other car headlights are just in the wrong place to dazzle you (as the 7 is so low), so my advice is to be prepared to take lots of breaks.
If you put the roof up, definitely use some ear protection or headphones.
If you put the roof up, definitely use some ear protection or headphones.
Thanks everyone, I am in no doubt it will be an epic and memorable journey. new car syndrome will probably keep me going for a while.
Does anyone know what mpg i might expect (1.8k series VHPD 190bhp, 6 speed). the caterham manual says the fuel tank is 36litres, but its a manual for the modern cars, has it remained the same since the SLR?
Does anyone know what mpg i might expect (1.8k series VHPD 190bhp, 6 speed). the caterham manual says the fuel tank is 36litres, but its a manual for the modern cars, has it remained the same since the SLR?
has the car got tillets or the original bench type seats? You may want to take some padding to help keep you warm! Take ski gloves and wear inner gloves. A balaclava under a helmet may also help. good luck.
A smallish tank on a journey like that isn't a bad thing as you can get out and stretch your legs and warm up when you fill up.
Joking aside, take some jump leads, as on a long run, you *may* get a very hot starter, which may lead to 'K-click'....
Good luck. let us know how you got on!
A smallish tank on a journey like that isn't a bad thing as you can get out and stretch your legs and warm up when you fill up.
Joking aside, take some jump leads, as on a long run, you *may* get a very hot starter, which may lead to 'K-click'....
Good luck. let us know how you got on!
The fuel tank size is still 36 litre, although it is likely that it will show empty well before you have used anywhere near that much much - brim it and then see how much fuel you have to put in on your next stop and where the gauge read. This will help better (mentally) calibrate the fuel gauge.
I have taken my seven (with my wife) on a similar length trip - Suffolk to Fort William.
We set off early int he morning and arrived late afternoon. This was in May, so more daylight and a little warmer.
As it will be cold and probably wet, I would very much recommend going roof up.This will leave you much less tired and wind swept than without it - realistically this will make you a safer driver.
If you do go roof up, take some ear plugs, or an ipod, if you use an ipod, I would seriously look at getting the headphones that go right in the ear and block out other noise. It can be noisy with the roof up.
Take plenty of breaks and wear comfortable shoes that will not hurn your feet if they are int he same position for many hours - I found that I got a sore heel from it being rested on for many hours.
Oh and one last thing, enjoy and be safe.
I have taken my seven (with my wife) on a similar length trip - Suffolk to Fort William.
We set off early int he morning and arrived late afternoon. This was in May, so more daylight and a little warmer.
As it will be cold and probably wet, I would very much recommend going roof up.This will leave you much less tired and wind swept than without it - realistically this will make you a safer driver.
If you do go roof up, take some ear plugs, or an ipod, if you use an ipod, I would seriously look at getting the headphones that go right in the ear and block out other noise. It can be noisy with the roof up.
Take plenty of breaks and wear comfortable shoes that will not hurn your feet if they are int he same position for many hours - I found that I got a sore heel from it being rested on for many hours.
Oh and one last thing, enjoy and be safe.
Hi,
I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the journey. I've just got my hands on an R300 for a trip to the Nurburgring / Alps / Monaco in May. Any tips you come up with would be great. I guess it won't be as cold all the time but previous years in other cars have seen temperature changes of 30+ degrees C to snow over the high passes and back to 30+ within the day.
I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the journey. I've just got my hands on an R300 for a trip to the Nurburgring / Alps / Monaco in May. Any tips you come up with would be great. I guess it won't be as cold all the time but previous years in other cars have seen temperature changes of 30+ degrees C to snow over the high passes and back to 30+ within the day.
Edited by Ca11um on Friday 29th January 09:29
I would recommend that you carry a tow rope, a triangle and a rather medium -> large-ish torch.
Were something very bad, like ice in the dark, could be incredibly helpful and don't weigh too much.
having done Stelvio in snow/ice just appreciate that the right foot should be used accordingly ;-)
you'll have a great, albeit slightly cool trip you'll certainly never forget!
Were something very bad, like ice in the dark, could be incredibly helpful and don't weigh too much.
having done Stelvio in snow/ice just appreciate that the right foot should be used accordingly ;-)
you'll have a great, albeit slightly cool trip you'll certainly never forget!
Hope you had a good trip back. With a full screen and weathergear, the only thing i'd be equipped with to cope with the trip is my Ipod and some decent headphones as its a long boring trip by the sounds of it. We have come back from the 'Ring in summer and its a similar distance and can be a bit of a challenge in pouring rain with an aero and Wileys.
WRT fuel, our SLR will do 31-32 mpg on a reasonable run at normal motorway speeds
T
WRT fuel, our SLR will do 31-32 mpg on a reasonable run at normal motorway speeds
T
well thats the SLR up safe in Aberdeen. I drove it up last Sunday. The owner had suggested since i had dressed like I was going skiing I would be safe without the hood. So I set off at 6am with the temperature in london being -4 degrees.
The arguments for going without the hood were: massively reduced visibility, still noisy anyway, complete pain to get in and out of (I am 6'2). So I set off and the first 5 minutes were brilliant, new car feeling etc. ten minutes it was still great but a bit nippy in the air. ten minutes after that i was wondering when this fabled heat soak was going to appear. With the ambient temp and the seperate radiator for coolant / oil it was hard to actually identify any heat soak. (the coolant was measuring about 50 degrees, oil was maybe 60 degrees max recorded during journey).
Not long after getting on the M40 I had to abort and swing a left into a services (my plan was to get to the last quarter of the tank before stopping but I needed a thaw stop!) I found I was trapped in my car as my fingers were so numb I found it hard to open the popper restraint on the door! I managed to thaw myself out and then transferred to full blown goretex skiing gloves (from wooly gloves) and salopettes.
Once it got to zero degrees with the sun on you it was ok. I could hold out for each fuel stop before thawing again indoors. The wind noise was louder than the engine when on a constant throttle and the cold air seemed to attach from behind. I must of got a few strange looks as I past people with the bottom of my face obscured by a full face scarf and my eyes exposed through a small letterbox between the scarf and hat. I also developed different techniques to get around the numbness onsetting in one or both of my butt cheeks.
The journey although tiring when finished was never tiresome in the car. Entertainment was only a flex of the right foot away so the journey was never boring. The only tricky bit was coming into aberdeen. The last 5miles of the journey were on freshly fallen snow. There was maybe an inch or two and you could not distinguish the road between the armco on one side and the embankment on the otherside, it was just a blanket of white. the car infront had slowed to 25-30mph and was laying the tracks, unfortunately two wide for the SLR haha. Verh hard to keep it in a straight line. low weight wide tyres compared to that weight.
I have driven an E39 M5 in the snow over the last 3 weeks and can confirm the SLR is even worse in the snow (thats saying something!). The throttle opening to required to make it go sideways was ridiculous. Imagine sitting in your car while its idleing in neutral at say 700rpm, and applying enough throttle to bring the revs up to say 900rpm, literally just resting your foot on the accelerator, thats what it felt like to me and it was spinning up and going sideways in fifth gear (sixth saw the car chuntering at these low speeds). anyway certainly interesting.
Oh, i have since driven the car at night with the hood on and it was fine, kind of wish i had done that from the start!
The arguments for going without the hood were: massively reduced visibility, still noisy anyway, complete pain to get in and out of (I am 6'2). So I set off and the first 5 minutes were brilliant, new car feeling etc. ten minutes it was still great but a bit nippy in the air. ten minutes after that i was wondering when this fabled heat soak was going to appear. With the ambient temp and the seperate radiator for coolant / oil it was hard to actually identify any heat soak. (the coolant was measuring about 50 degrees, oil was maybe 60 degrees max recorded during journey).
Not long after getting on the M40 I had to abort and swing a left into a services (my plan was to get to the last quarter of the tank before stopping but I needed a thaw stop!) I found I was trapped in my car as my fingers were so numb I found it hard to open the popper restraint on the door! I managed to thaw myself out and then transferred to full blown goretex skiing gloves (from wooly gloves) and salopettes.
Once it got to zero degrees with the sun on you it was ok. I could hold out for each fuel stop before thawing again indoors. The wind noise was louder than the engine when on a constant throttle and the cold air seemed to attach from behind. I must of got a few strange looks as I past people with the bottom of my face obscured by a full face scarf and my eyes exposed through a small letterbox between the scarf and hat. I also developed different techniques to get around the numbness onsetting in one or both of my butt cheeks.
The journey although tiring when finished was never tiresome in the car. Entertainment was only a flex of the right foot away so the journey was never boring. The only tricky bit was coming into aberdeen. The last 5miles of the journey were on freshly fallen snow. There was maybe an inch or two and you could not distinguish the road between the armco on one side and the embankment on the otherside, it was just a blanket of white. the car infront had slowed to 25-30mph and was laying the tracks, unfortunately two wide for the SLR haha. Verh hard to keep it in a straight line. low weight wide tyres compared to that weight.
I have driven an E39 M5 in the snow over the last 3 weeks and can confirm the SLR is even worse in the snow (thats saying something!). The throttle opening to required to make it go sideways was ridiculous. Imagine sitting in your car while its idleing in neutral at say 700rpm, and applying enough throttle to bring the revs up to say 900rpm, literally just resting your foot on the accelerator, thats what it felt like to me and it was spinning up and going sideways in fifth gear (sixth saw the car chuntering at these low speeds). anyway certainly interesting.
Oh, i have since driven the car at night with the hood on and it was fine, kind of wish i had done that from the start!
mcerbm said:
Oh, i have since driven the car at night with the hood on and it was fine, kind of wish i had done that from the start!
Just read your post and I wondered when I was going to get to the bit about putting the hood on.... Well done though for travelling so far in those conditions and at least when the bad weather came down near Aberdeen, you had better visibility for the surroundings which was a lot safer I expect
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