What would you buy? Details below Order now placed

[coppice]

My R400 has the 6 speed Caterham box obviously ; does it need 6 gears - no, especially as it is comically under geared anyway and the engine is so torquey. I like the long 1stgear though. Do I spend a lot of time changing gear for the sake of it ? Yes. Would I go back to a 5 speed - I think the answer is possibly yes but only if it had far better ratios than the standard 5 speed in my last car. Intergalactic cruise 5th and climb a cliff whilst towing a caravan 1st. But the 6 speed is lovely to use and you get used to the under gearing(and being overtaken on m-ways by Transits ) quite quickly. And yes of course it will cruise at normal m-way speed but 5000rpm , wind bluster and fuel guzzling so what's the point? I save the proper go for proper roads.

[Toaster]

Made me smile looking at the results, as I own a very sweet R400K on a personal note I think its one of the best 7's made

[thequietone]

tomwoodis said:

That's interesting to hear. Maybe I will just upgrade mine when the time comes in that case.

I must admit, I do like the 5 speed on the road. I've no doubt it's better to have the 6 on the track but if road use is the predominant thing then it really does work well with the torque the Duratec has.

What was the 220hp package that you refer to if you don't mind me asking? Have you driven a standard SuperSport R without the upgrade? If so, how much of a difference does it make?

Tom

I have to admit to being a bit of a 'you must have the 6 speed' man in the past so I'm surprised how much I liked the car I drove. Having chased my mate in his R400D (and then driving the R400) I actually preferred the 5 speed, admittedly with 220bhp upgrade. I felt like the 6 speed was 'between' ideal ratios some of the time on circuit but this could be track/corner specific.
The 40bhp make a whopping difference over the already great standard car, it's £4k directly from Caterham - on balance, if I was thinking of ordering new I'd take the power hike instead of the 6 speed option.

[anniesdad]

I know not enough of all the different flavours of Caterhams having only limited experience of the more powerful cars and this sometime ago. What I would say though is that with 30K in my pocket I would more than likely buy a small spec. new one.

Enjoy the buying process.

[LawrenceR]

I have made a decision.

Strangely having asked for a poll I have chosen the lowest option.

Today I have ordered a SuperSport R with following spec:

Additional 220bhp upgrade.
5 speed box
Dry sump
Lowered floors
Trackday roll bar
carbon dash
QR Wheel
Wide rears
Weather gear
Tonneau cover
Painted Caterham Blue (I am assuming Caterham blue is the launch colour of the 620r not the launch colour of the 160)
noseband

I am happy but have a couple of days to change my mind on the spec.

Thanks for all the comments.

Edited by LawrenceR on Wednesday 23 July 20:47

[mike150]

What's the financial damage on that order if you don't mind me asking?

[scz4]

Congratulations! Sounds almost R400 spec with the power increase and dry sump, but with the 5 speed. Perhaps the perfect fast road spec Caterham! :-)

The only think I would have different to your spec is, removal of dry sump, but adding full cage and Quad Calipers.

Unsure about the ACES shift light. I believe you should get a single shift light as part of the supersport pack. Also, perhaps it's worth fitting a 12v power socket for Sat Nav, charging your phone or more importantly for a 12v type pump.

Please keep us updated with the build.

Oh and I've just sent you a private mail

Edited by scz4 on Wednesday 23 July 21:46

[scz4]

Also, if you have a look at this brochure from the Scotland Caterham dealer (not available on the main Caterham site for some reason), the boot cover should be included, but not sure if that's a tonneau cover, or a solid cover. Worth asking though. You should also get side doors too which you don't get with the R400.

http://www.revolutions.uk.com/documents/revolution...

[LawrenceR]

scz4 YHM

Mike 150 Honest answer, not 100% sure yet still a few little bits to spec.

[LawrenceR]

scz4 said:

Also, perhaps it's worth fitting a 12v power socket for Sat Nav, charging your phone or more importantly for a 12v type pump.

Unfortunately, it is only an option on a factory built car.

[uremaw]

LawrenceR said:

Unfortunately, it is only an option on a factory built car.

Not true. It says that on the price list, but when i spoke to them the added it to my SSR kit last year no problem. Pretty sure it was only about 20 quid - silly money for what it is, but an essential option to go for.

Great choice by the way. I plan to go for the 220bhp upgrade in a year or so - once i stop scaring myself with 180hp!

[mike150]

Reason I ask is just that I am looking for a car with that sort of spec now al be it a second hand one so I was wondering what the new cost was.

[Chrisp5782]

I might be wrong but I thought the 620R launch colour was Porsche (Riviera?) blue?

[JD PH]

Chrisp5782 said:

I might be wrong but I thought the 620R launch colour was Porsche (Riviera?) blue?

Correct!

[tomwoodis]

Great choice. You'll be very happy with it I'm sure.

I shouldn't worry too much about the 12v
Socket. Just buy one from ebay whilst you do the build and fit your own. I've just done it to mine, probably £15
In parts if that.

Just to make you aware. The half doors that they offer in the basic spec are taken away from you (as is the aero screen) if you opt for the full weather gear. I think this is a complete con personally but there you go. Something for you to be aware of as they don't make it obvious when you start adding the options.

Tom

[tomwoodis]

thequietone said:

tomwoodis said:

That's interesting to hear. Maybe I will just upgrade mine when the time comes in that case.

I must admit, I do like the 5 speed on the road. I've no doubt it's better to have the 6 on the track but if road use is the predominant thing then it really does work well with the torque the Duratec has.

What was the 220hp package that you refer to if you don't mind me asking? Have you driven a standard SuperSport R without the upgrade? If so, how much of a difference does it make?

Tom

I have to admit to being a bit of a 'you must have the 6 speed' man in the past so I'm surprised how much I liked the car I drove. Having chased my mate in his R400D (and then driving the R400) I actually preferred the 5 speed, admittedly with 220bhp upgrade. I felt like the 6 speed was 'between' ideal ratios some of the time on circuit but this could be track/corner specific.
The 40bhp make a whopping difference over the already great standard car, it's £4k directly from Caterham - on balance, if I was thinking of ordering new I'd take the power hike instead of the 6 speed option.

Thanks for the additional info, much appreciated.
Sounds like I need to start saving then.....

[framerateuk]

thequietone said:

I felt like the 6 speed was 'between' ideal ratios some of the time on circuit but this could be track/corner specific.

I think it's definitely corner specific. I find sometimes I have to shift from 2nd to third too quickly, while on other corners it's perfect.

I found the section on Anglesey before the corkscrew quite annoying as I wanted to be in 2nd for the corners but 3rd on the straight seconds, but that involved a lot of quick changes in a short time and felt a little OTT. Solution is probably to go a bit quicker and stick to 3rd

[scz4]

How did you get on today Lawrence? Look forward to hearing your final decision after a few test drives.

G

[LawrenceR]

I had a great day yesterday and thanks to Dom at Caterham south.

My spec has stayed the same as I posted before, a couple of minor changes, but nothing major. It still is going to be a SSR with the 220 upgrade and 5 speed box.

Final choice is what colour???

Thanks for all the input on this thread. Now I just have to hurry up and wait. Roll on Feb.

Watch this space for a build thread.

[knight]

Something bright and lairy so you can be seen easier on the road.