Discussion
Hi all
Having decided aginst going down the rallying route as, although my prefered option, i realised that the 5 weekends a year i would really 'use' the car it didnt justify the expenditure or the commitment at this stage in my life - maybe in 10 years time.
This decision led me to thinking how else i could better use my money to buy a car that i could use more often that would blow me away every time I leave the garage.
Having been on taken out by a local hillclimber at 11 to attack the North Devon B roads in an original 7 Ive always held them in high regard. However, until about 2 months ago I never seriously considered owning a 7 style car.
My main questions at present focus around a few areas:
1. Im 6ft3, pretty wide framed and 17st - will i be able to fit in one comfortably?
2. There are a number of other manufacturers (ie MK, Tiger, Robin Hood etc) to caterham which are cheaper than caterham - what are the major build quality/drivability/performance/reliability differences between the caterham and 7 replica companies. I'm definitely not against buying a caterham if the extra money is justified - the last thing i want is a car i cant wake up on a sunny sunday and not be able to go for a drive because my 7 is off the road.
Apologies if this has been covered hundreds of time before but I'm just trying to get my head around all these (on the face of it) similar marques.
Any objective advice would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Simon
Having decided aginst going down the rallying route as, although my prefered option, i realised that the 5 weekends a year i would really 'use' the car it didnt justify the expenditure or the commitment at this stage in my life - maybe in 10 years time.
This decision led me to thinking how else i could better use my money to buy a car that i could use more often that would blow me away every time I leave the garage.
Having been on taken out by a local hillclimber at 11 to attack the North Devon B roads in an original 7 Ive always held them in high regard. However, until about 2 months ago I never seriously considered owning a 7 style car.
My main questions at present focus around a few areas:
1. Im 6ft3, pretty wide framed and 17st - will i be able to fit in one comfortably?
2. There are a number of other manufacturers (ie MK, Tiger, Robin Hood etc) to caterham which are cheaper than caterham - what are the major build quality/drivability/performance/reliability differences between the caterham and 7 replica companies. I'm definitely not against buying a caterham if the extra money is justified - the last thing i want is a car i cant wake up on a sunny sunday and not be able to go for a drive because my 7 is off the road.
Apologies if this has been covered hundreds of time before but I'm just trying to get my head around all these (on the face of it) similar marques.
Any objective advice would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Simon
I can't comment on your second question but as to whether you'll fit in one? Almost certainly. I'm 6'1'' and a bit lighter than you but having sat in lots of variants I found a 7 SV with lowered floors was ideal and had planty of room to spare (certainly an extra 2'' in height wouldn't have made it a problem). Get along to Caterham and sit in various models. It's the only way to know which one best suits you.
Good advice above. Get over to Caterham and try a few.
You also have to decide on what type of seat you like. There's loads of variations to try in the showroom. it's the only way you'll know for sure.
As for your size, I would say go for SV. yes you will fit in a S3, but you'll have more elbow room and foot space in the limo version. And more luggage space. And more fuel.
As for the other Sevenesque cars....well, there's only realy one real Seven.
Happy shopping!
You also have to decide on what type of seat you like. There's loads of variations to try in the showroom. it's the only way you'll know for sure.
As for your size, I would say go for SV. yes you will fit in a S3, but you'll have more elbow room and foot space in the limo version. And more luggage space. And more fuel.
As for the other Sevenesque cars....well, there's only realy one real Seven.
Happy shopping!
I'm six foot and fit in a standard S3, so you'll be fine in an SV. If you go along to one of the Caterham showrooms they'll let you try loads of cars for size
As far as other kit cars like the Seven are concerned, some of them are very good if built well. I've owned a Westfield and the chassis was very well engineered, but at that time (20 years ago!) they left the owner to sort out brake balance, damper settings etc, so the car was only as good as the test driving skills of the owner.
Having just built a new Caterham, I was very impressed with how it went together and the standard of engineering. You also have the peace of mind that Caterham check the car thoroughly and road test it before stamping the handbook, so even a kit built car will drive as well as the factory ones.
As far as other kit cars like the Seven are concerned, some of them are very good if built well. I've owned a Westfield and the chassis was very well engineered, but at that time (20 years ago!) they left the owner to sort out brake balance, damper settings etc, so the car was only as good as the test driving skills of the owner.
Having just built a new Caterham, I was very impressed with how it went together and the standard of engineering. You also have the peace of mind that Caterham check the car thoroughly and road test it before stamping the handbook, so even a kit built car will drive as well as the factory ones.
Many thanks for the response.
It seems that the size issue shouldnt come into it which is good.
Its good to know that caterham sign the vehicle off once built as ive never undertaken any sort of build before. Ditto their build support having read Redmax's R300 build thread, which i'm sure is a factor in the extra expense and definitely worth it as I'm sure I'll use it!
Going back to the other manufacturers, if setup correctly (which i would enlist the help of a local motorsport garage for) can anyone compare the Caterham's performance with any of the alternatives out there? I appreciate that straight line speed wise there'll all be eye opening but can anyone compare how they compare in areas such as turn in, mid corner, exit, braking, ride etc (this will predominantly be a road car).
Once again thanks for your help.
Simon
It seems that the size issue shouldnt come into it which is good.
Its good to know that caterham sign the vehicle off once built as ive never undertaken any sort of build before. Ditto their build support having read Redmax's R300 build thread, which i'm sure is a factor in the extra expense and definitely worth it as I'm sure I'll use it!
Going back to the other manufacturers, if setup correctly (which i would enlist the help of a local motorsport garage for) can anyone compare the Caterham's performance with any of the alternatives out there? I appreciate that straight line speed wise there'll all be eye opening but can anyone compare how they compare in areas such as turn in, mid corner, exit, braking, ride etc (this will predominantly be a road car).
Once again thanks for your help.
Simon
The topic of Caterham vs the alternatives has been gone over at great depth in the last few months on here so have a look at those threads. The conclusion I came to was that perhaps (treading very carefully here) the Caterham has a more inherently 'right' design than many of the alternatives so is more likely to handle well out of the box. That isn't to say that the alternatives can't be made to handle very well by the right suspension tweaking by someone who knows their stuff. If you're sourcing all the parts from Caterham, you can be confident that it will drive extremely well. Even here though, you may wish to configure it to your tastes.
It also appears that designs by Jeremy Phillips, under the name Sylva Autokits, are universally acclaimed. He usually designs and produces a car and then sells the rights on to other companies. See Raw Striker, Fisher Fury, Raw Phoenix. I've driven one of these and have to say it was absolutely spot on. Looks wise you'll either like them a lot or not at all, but that's not the focus here. I've driven Caterhams and Strikers and found nothing between them. The only major difference is that the Caterham S3 is usually a de Dion rear end where the Striker is now predominantly IRS.
It also appears that designs by Jeremy Phillips, under the name Sylva Autokits, are universally acclaimed. He usually designs and produces a car and then sells the rights on to other companies. See Raw Striker, Fisher Fury, Raw Phoenix. I've driven one of these and have to say it was absolutely spot on. Looks wise you'll either like them a lot or not at all, but that's not the focus here. I've driven Caterhams and Strikers and found nothing between them. The only major difference is that the Caterham S3 is usually a de Dion rear end where the Striker is now predominantly IRS.
I have looked at Furys and as a car they look pretty well sorted, however I would regret getting one over a 7 style which aestetically I prefer.
I did think that if setup correctly they would all be pretty similar handling wise as they all follow pretty similar principles. Thanks for confirming this.
Can anyone specifically comment on the quality of the MNR and MK finishes?
I did think that if setup correctly they would all be pretty similar handling wise as they all follow pretty similar principles. Thanks for confirming this.
Can anyone specifically comment on the quality of the MNR and MK finishes?
Sibo1210 said:
I have looked at Furys and as a car they look pretty well sorted, however I would regret getting one over a 7 style which aestetically I prefer.
I did think that if setup correctly they would all be pretty similar handling wise as they all follow pretty similar principles. Thanks for confirming this.
Can anyone specifically comment on the quality of the MNR and MK finishes?
You're probably best asking this one on the kit car forum. I'm lead to believe that MK cars have some inherent handling issues, but that's not to say they still wouldn't be quick, and my comment is by no means definitive. I did think that if setup correctly they would all be pretty similar handling wise as they all follow pretty similar principles. Thanks for confirming this.
Can anyone specifically comment on the quality of the MNR and MK finishes?
The Fisher Fury is based on the chassis of the Striker which is a Seven type car. It's very small and narrow in Striker form - as small or smaller than an S3 Caterham.
I am 6ft 5 and 16St and I found that I only fitted into a Caterham SV or an MNR Vortx. I went to Stoneleigh (Flew down from Aberdeen) to try all the makes out.
Westfields offerings where a no-go.. and most others were too skinny.
I have an SV with a lowered floor and there is heaps of room with the leather seats. Ample headroom to the FIA rollover bar as well.
Carbon seats are no good as I cant get my hips/ar$e into them!
Westfields offerings where a no-go.. and most others were too skinny.
I have an SV with a lowered floor and there is heaps of room with the leather seats. Ample headroom to the FIA rollover bar as well.
Carbon seats are no good as I cant get my hips/ar$e into them!
Thanks guys, that pretty much narrows my search down to the SV and Vortx.
Although im down from 22st to 17, genetics were never good to me in the ar$e so i'll need room in the seat.
I like the idea of a bike engined car for the noise/revs but am a bit concerned with longevity and to be honest I think a 180 bhp caterham will easily do the job.
To be honest the more I look at it the more it makes sense to spend the extra money and get the Caterham SV and lowered floor plan.
Are there differences with residuals between the different models? From what I can gather the SVs always sell very quickly on PH if i did ever have to sell.
Although im down from 22st to 17, genetics were never good to me in the ar$e so i'll need room in the seat.
I like the idea of a bike engined car for the noise/revs but am a bit concerned with longevity and to be honest I think a 180 bhp caterham will easily do the job.
To be honest the more I look at it the more it makes sense to spend the extra money and get the Caterham SV and lowered floor plan.
Are there differences with residuals between the different models? From what I can gather the SVs always sell very quickly on PH if i did ever have to sell.
Thanks guys, that pretty much narrows my search down to the SV and Vortx.
Although im down from 22st to 17, genetics were never good to me in the ar$e so i'll need room in the seat.
I like the idea of a bike engined car for the noise/revs but am a bit concerned with longevity and to be honest I think a 180 bhp caterham will easily do the job.
To be honest the more I look at it the more it makes sense to spend the extra money and get the Caterham SV and lowered floor plan.
Are there differences with residuals between the different models? From what I can gather the SVs always sell very quickly on PH if i did ever have to sell.
Although im down from 22st to 17, genetics were never good to me in the ar$e so i'll need room in the seat.
I like the idea of a bike engined car for the noise/revs but am a bit concerned with longevity and to be honest I think a 180 bhp caterham will easily do the job.
To be honest the more I look at it the more it makes sense to spend the extra money and get the Caterham SV and lowered floor plan.
Are there differences with residuals between the different models? From what I can gather the SVs always sell very quickly on PH if i did ever have to sell.
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