Another new member of the Caterham fraternity

[TheHoof]

After renting a Caterham for a weekend earlier in the year, inevitably thoughts turned to ownership which in turn lead to collecting this:



Thanks to Doug & the workshop team at Caterham for their time, effort and patience - particularly while we messed around with pedal positioning and drank their tea - and to all of you for the 230 pages of collective wisdom which helped me decipher the spec I was after.

We've already got our place booked for the PH / 1st Tickets @ Le Mans 2015 - please do come and say hello if you see the bright orange beastie

Roll on Summer!!

[grenpayne]

Very nice, congrats on your purchase

[ghibbett]

Very nice indeed and welcome to the Supersport with Peashooter exhaust club Don't forget your ear protection!

[lawtoma]

[Eugene7]

Indeed - welcome!
And what exhaust is that - very 'small'...

[TheHoof]

Eugene7 said:

Indeed - welcome!
And what exhaust is that - very 'small'...

The 4" 'peashooter'. It's pretty loud compared to the standard exhaust on the rental.

[TheHoof]

Just got back from the first proper outing - forgot just how much attention 7's get even more so in Ballistic Orange

A valuable lesson was learnt however; the support bars for the FIA roll bar make the entry into the 'boot' quite tight. Shame we learnt this lesson after stopping at John Lewis meaning it was an awkward drive home for the long suffering girlfriend of TheHoof with a large cardboard box wedged between her and the dash. Will have to keep this in mind when packing for LeMans!

As for hearing protection, is there a consensus as to what works best? Considering getting some custom made plugs made up, justifying the price in that I can also use them under my helmet when karting. Any idea what level of noise attenuation I should be looking for?

[HurryUpAndWait]

TheHoof said:

Just got back from the first proper outing - forgot just how much attention 7's get even more so in Ballistic Orange

A valuable lesson was learnt however; the support bars for the FIA roll bar make the entry into the 'boot' quite tight. Shame we learnt this lesson after stopping at John Lewis meaning it was an awkward drive home for the long suffering girlfriend of TheHoof with a large cardboard box wedged between her and the dash. Will have to keep this in mind when packing for LeMans!

As for hearing protection, is there a consensus as to what works best? Considering getting some custom made plugs made up, justifying the price in that I can also use them under my helmet when karting. Any idea what level of noise attenuation I should be looking for?

Congrats on your purchase! Re ear protection, I had some custom ones made by Ultimate Ear - not sure what level of attenuation you get, but for in ear, I suspect it's about as much as you're going to get, though happy to be corrected. I wear them on every journey and I got yellow ones to match the 7

[ghibbett]

I use these and find them very good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000UJ8RHE?psc=...

[huwp]

ghibbett said:

I use these and find them very good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000UJ8RHE?psc=...

+1

[HurryUpAndWait]

ghibbett said:

I use these and find them very good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000UJ8RHE?psc=...

Question - do they fit under a helmet easily? I ask because they appear to protrude slightly. Always good to carry some spare ones.

[Powdernick1]

So, I am also very happy to say that i am also the very proud owner of a beautiful new (in 1996) Caterham. It's a classic SE, and i love it, so please no negative comments about it please, but there is one thing that i have noticed about it that i'm not sure about. Perhaps this isn't the place to ask ( i'll probably start another thread in regards to it ) but i thought i'd start here. So i've noticed that the exhaust exits out the back of the car and not at the side just after the "cat". i understand that this is marginally quieter, but thats precisely what i don't like about it. i love the sound. How easy is it to convert back to a side exit exhaust and does it affect the performance.

[Dr Slotter]

I use these ACS Pacato earplugs because they have flexible tabs that don't protrude out of your ears. I use them regularly underneath headphones (for DJing) and a helmet.

[anthonysjb]

This the £29995 supersport r in they've had for a few months? been looking at it over and over again, extremely jealous!!!!

[g7jhp]

TheHoof said:

After renting a Caterham for a weekend earlier in the year, inevitably thoughts turned to ownership which in turn lead to collecting this:



Thanks to Doug & the workshop team at Caterham for their time, effort and patience - particularly while we messed around with pedal positioning and drank their tea - and to all of you for the 230 pages of collective wisdom which helped me decipher the spec I was after.

We've already got our place booked for the PH / 1st Tickets @ Le Mans 2015 - please do come and say hello if you see the bright orange beastie

Roll on Summer!!

Congratulations.

Is the rear suspension set to 4x4 mode (might just be the smaller wheels don't fill out the arches as well)?

[TheHoof]

g7jhp said:

Congratulations.

Is the rear suspension set to 4x4 mode (might just be the smaller wheels don't fill out the arches as well)?

Thank you!

The rear is quite high so perhaps the previous owner was slightly heavier than I

I think it's a combination of the 13" wheels which certainly don't fill the arches compared to the 14" on the one we rented and that it's parked on a slight slope adding to the effect. I caught a reflect in a window of it with myself and my better half strapped in it and the ride height was a little more sensible. Perhaps a flat-floor setup is in order?

Adding to my earlier comment about positive reactions, we had it parked outside our house briefly yesterday. This evening a chap who lives over the road (and up a hill) popped round to introduce himself and gave us a memory stick with some photographs looking down on the car from his place. It would appear the way to make friends in deepest darkest Surrey is to either own a Vizsla or a Caterham!

[TheHoof]

anthonysjb said:

This the £29995 supersport r in they've had for a few months? been looking at it over and over again, extremely jealous!!!!

Not me! It's the Roadsport with the 140 BHP Supersport engine upgrade that Caterham Midlands had in. I seem to recall seeing an Orange Supersport still in the showroom when we collected it.

[ghibbett]

My Sigma Supersport also had a very nose-down stance when I got it. Great turn-in and very mobile rear end, but it skipped over bumps terribly. The collars for the rear dampers were in the wrong position (or something like this), elevating the rear and reducing wheel travel. With this reset it did make a difference, however I've subsequently had the car flat-floored and it's really brought balance to the car.

So yes, definitely get it flat-floored. I think PGM ( http://www.pgmsussex.com/contact.html) are probably closest to you and are reputed to be excellent.

[Toaster]

HurryUpAndWait said:

ghibbett said:

I use these and find them very good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000UJ8RHE?psc=...

Question - do they fit under a helmet easily? I ask because they appear to protrude slightly. Always good to carry some spare ones.

How about excellent earplugs rather than very good

http://www.ultimateear.com/how-it-works.php

http://www.ultimateear.com/motorcyclist.php

http://www.ultimateear.com/music.php

Just don't loose them as it won't only be your ears that hurt

[TheHoof]

Toaster said:

How about excellent earplugs rather than very good

http://www.ultimateear.com/how-it-works.php

http://www.ultimateear.com/motorcyclist.php

http://www.ultimateear.com/music.php

Just don't loose them as it won't only be your ears that hurt

Just to follow up on this... Thanks Toaster! I purchased a pair of Motorsport Monitors from UltimateEar and tried them this weekend - fantastic products, very comfortable and well worth the price.

Having the impressions taken was a very strange sensation!