R500 opinion

[J DAVIES]

Now that my Westfield has been sold, I am in the market for a Caterham. I am considering buying an R500 duratec.

I would like to know the opinion of R500 owners.

I intend to use the car on the road with the occasional track day. 6 speed manual box instead of the sequential. Although the sequential seems to be the ultimate I think the whine would get on my nerves when driving on road.

Has the car got to much power to be road friendly. Seen youtube videos where the R500 will wheel spin at every opportunity.

What are your thoughts ?

Jeremy

[MadHatter7]

Too much !

[MadHatter7]

R500 is still the thin end of the wedge in Duratec form
Why not get a R400 with a good spec and upgrade to suit you
And get along to a local meet and speak to the owners

[J DAVIES]

Hi madhatter. I have driven an R300 and R400. I was not impressed with the throttle response with Caterham's plenum. Having been use to Jenveys on my Westy, I thought my car was much better.

Am I right to think you have a silver possibly Freestyle Caterham. What is the spec of yours ?

J

[MadHatter7]

Hi J
Its almost finished
The chassis is a 2003 vintage R300 with all the right options ticked
It did have a 2.3 Duratec with 256 bhp and a 5 speed box

But now its an all steel 2.4 Duratec with a stage 4+ Ultimate Performance cylinder head and cams, dry sumped, SBD high spec throttle bodies and a Sadev sequential 6 speed box with a Geartronics flat shift
Oh and Nitrons plus aero wishbones, big AP brakes etc etc etc

Rolling road session with Steve Greenald is at the end of Feb

Edited by MadHatter7 on Thursday 3rd February 21:52

[MadHatter7]

[MadHatter7]

[JeffC]

MadHatter7 said:

Hi J
Its almost finished
The chassis is a 2003 vintage R300 with all the right options ticked
It did have a 2.3 Duratec with 256 bhp and a 5 speed box

But now its an all steel 2.4 Duratec with a stage 4+ Ultimate Performance cylinder head and cams, dry sumped, SBD high spec throttle bodies and a Sadev sequential 6 speed box with a Geartronics flat shift
Oh and Nitrons plus areo wishbones, big AP brakes etc etc etc

Rolling road session with Steve Greenald is at the end of Feb

Jeez what sort of power do you anticiapte that be putting out

to the op Ive previously owned a 300 duratec and a Csr 260, this will sound like ive lost my marbles but the best all round fun car ive owned was a 200bhp duratec, it was quick enough for the road and good fun to battle with most things on track , the big hp cars are ballistic but imho no good on trackdays as you are significantly faster than most things on track, I did a day at cadwell and in a full day didnt manage a clear lap witout getting held up and to be quite honest It was bordering on dangerous the rate you catch things down the straights, I lost count how many cars didnt see me and pulled out I never got bored of the power though

oh and on race day in the car I run on road tyres kumho v70 (245/13) and could put the power down even in 1st gear sidestepping the clutch from a standing start the traction was fantastic very easy to drive, I had a 5 speed Spc box and although a bit noisy cruising it coped just fine

Edited by JeffC on Thursday 3rd February 21:51

Edited by JeffC on Thursday 3rd February 21:56

[MadHatter7]

We are not sure as Cosworth sent the wrong valves (bigger) so we fitted them
Lets say as long as its over 299.99 bhp i will be happy
The torque figure is going to be interesting too
And the gearbox is a work of art (and quiet too according to Russell at RS Performance)
Add in the flat shifter and it should shift
Booked in for a trip to the Isle Of Man in May, no speed limits and lets play

[J DAVIES]

......and you the one who said the R500 had too much power. Nice car.

Hi Jeff, see that the CSR finally went. What toy you got now ?.

JEM

[MadHatter7]

Who said that ?
For the money the Duratec R500 motor is over priced
Getting 250 bhp out of a 2.3 Duratec is easy
And a great balance if you have the right gearbox

[JeffC]

J DAVIES said:

......and you the one who said the R500 had too much power. Nice car.

Hi Jeff, see that the CSR finally went. What toy you got now ?.

JEM

nothing exciting Jem, Ive took up hairdressing and bought a Porsche! balance of sale from caterham is financing the little uns kart racing this year !

If I was buying another caterham personally I would prob get a R400d

[J DAVIES]

Yes I know what you are saying, but is a Factory car worth more in the long run

[MadHatter7]

Its all a very personal thing
I built the current YOB to the spec i required for the Isle Of Man and Spa
Its geared for 167mph
I got bored last year hitting the limiter on the mountain section of the TT Course
Thats one thing i love about Caterham 7's, no two are the same

[J DAVIES]

Tut tut Jeff. Maybe you will see the light again someday. I will probally be expelled from the Westy site if I buy a CAT

JeffC said:

nothing exciting Jem, Ive took up hairdressing and bought a Porsche! balance of sale from caterham is financing the little uns kart racing this year !

If I was buying another caterham personally I would prob get a R400d

[JeffC]

J DAVIES said:

Yes I know what you are saying, but is a Factory car worth more in the long run

I couldnt bring myself to part with the money for a new R500, I had just over £20k in my old car, all steel atalantic 2.3 duratec full race spec but road registered, I still think that sounds good value now 2 years on !

you not fancy a Csr260 ? I really rated mine as an all round car, would say its the best 7 ive owned great road manners, felt a bit lardy on track but was still pretty good.

[J DAVIES]

CSR is a good allround car, but I like the size of the S3

[J DAVIES]

Thanks for the comments Madhatter, hope to see the car someday. J

[JeffC]

J DAVIES said:

CSR is a good allround car, but I like the size of the S3

yeh although more roomy, I never got away with the width of the Csr either.



get a 400d and throw a few quid at it

[MadHatter7]

As i said
Keep us posted as to your decision