Great news from Caterham Cars re Number of Cars Sold in 2016
Discussion
nigelpugh7 said:
Exclent choice sir.,
I assume as a factory built car and not a kit?
Yes, factory built for sure. Hardest choice is going to be colour scheme and whether or not £2,500 spent on a 6 speed box is worth it for the driving we will be doing. The rest of the spec I think I have ironed out.I assume as a factory built car and not a kit?
baypond said:
Yes, factory built for sure. Hardest choice is going to be colour scheme and whether or not £2,500 spent on a 6 speed box is worth it for the driving we will be doing. The rest of the spec I think I have ironed out.
Believe me the six speed box is worth every penny, i love mine, and on a track oriented 420R it's the better choice over the 5 speed.And remember I went back to a six speed box in my R500, after having the Quaife Sequntial box in my previous R500!
Strangely though I have been secretly yearning for another sequential boxed Caterham!
Oh yes and the colour is always the hardest choice, if I was picking a colour for another new Caterham I would be going for orange or perhaps tangerine yellow!
baypond said:
Yes, factory built for sure. Hardest choice is going to be colour scheme and whether or not £2,500 spent on a 6 speed box is worth it for the driving we will be doing. The rest of the spec I think I have ironed out.
Congratulations I just got my new 420R a month ago, factory built dealer ordered car, I couldn't wait a year and I got fed up looking as cars with odd specs or rust.
Most of the cars coming through have the Mazda 5speed as mine does. I have owned an R400d with the 6 speed so I can compare them. My opinion is that the 6 speed is a bit too closely geared for the 210bhp duratec and the 5 speed is maybe a bit too open, the 5 is a nicer change and has better ratio's than the old type 9. Remember the Caterham 6 speed was developed for the K series superlight R.
I would have preferred the 6 speed box as it may be a little more fun to use but there's no way it's worth 2500 and actually the 5 speed is better anyway if the car is just used on the road. I would value the option of the 6 speed at £500. Pluses and minuses for both.
baypond said:
Yes, factory built for sure. Hardest choice is going to be colour scheme and whether or not £2,500 spent on a 6 speed box is worth it for the driving we will be doing. The rest of the spec I think I have ironed out.
Care to share your spec? Always find it interesting what's important and not important to some. Mine would be:
R Pack
Riviera blue
13” Apollo black alloy with Avon ZZS (6” front & 8” rear)
Full Roll Cage (not sue the difference between sport and race)
Decal Pack
Quick Release Steering Wheel
6 Speed
620R Nose Cone Upgrade
Edited by scz4 on Tuesday 31st January 21:47
On an objective level on a 420 the 6 speed is difficult to justify. The ratios are just too close and you will be just as fast (perhaps faster) round the track with a 5 speed. That said many really like the extra interaction the six speed provides. So it comes down to whether you can justify the £2500 cost on your personal subjective preferences.
bcr5784 said:
On an objective level on a 420 the 6 speed is difficult to justify. The ratios are just too close and you will be just as fast (perhaps faster) round the track with a 5 speed. That said many really like the extra interaction the six speed provides. So it comes down to whether you can justify the £2500 cost on your personal subjective preferences.
To compare, does anyone know the difference in the top speeds in each gear with the Mazda 5 vs 6 speed? bcr5784 said:
On an objective level on a 420 the 6 speed is difficult to justify. The ratios are just too close and you will be just as fast (perhaps faster) round the track with a 5 speed. That said many really like the extra interaction the six speed provides. So it comes down to whether you can justify the £2500 cost on your personal subjective preferences.
I agree completely with this.mike150 said:
Note that the 5 speed boxes are quoted with a (Sierra) 3.92 diff whereas the 6 speed is shown with the 3.64 BMW diff, so it's a bit misleading. Perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that cars now come with the 3.64 diff, so the 5 speeders are around 20% higher geared in "top" than the 6 speeder. So you should aim for maximum speed in 4th on a 5 speeder. Also you need to factor tyre size in. The preferred 13" wheels (shown in the calcs with 205/55 tyres) are noticeably smaller than 14s or 15s and affect the calcs significantly. Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 1st February 08:34
mike150 said:
Remember the Caterham 6 speed was developed for the K series superlight R.
I would have preferred the 6 speed box as it may be a little more fun to use but there's no way it's worth 2500 and actually the 5 speed is better anyway if the car is just used on the road. I would value the option of the 6 speed at £500. Pluses and minuses for both.
Pedant alert - the 6 speed was actually developed rather earlier- for the 1,4K SS , whcih struggled with a 5 speed - I had one , and it did. I would have preferred the 6 speed box as it may be a little more fun to use but there's no way it's worth 2500 and actually the 5 speed is better anyway if the car is just used on the road. I would value the option of the 6 speed at £500. Pluses and minuses for both.
I have a R400D now , and have done so for nearly 50k miles.I thought the 6 speed was comically undergeared when I got the car , do entirely road trips now and sometimes very long ones. Would I prefer a 5 speed - yes I would if most of my driving was on motorways and dual carriageways. Some is- and it's a bore running at 70 at nearly 4000rpm . But for the stuff that isn't the 6 speed is just huge fun. I am sure it's no faster in normal use as you spend more time changing gear because you can - and if you heel and toe properly it feels and sounds f***ing brilliant.
The low gearing is only a modern comparator of course- 18mph per1000rpm in top was quiet normal for many family and sports cars in the Sevens's first couple of decades of life . Both the Elan and the Ferrari Dino had similar gearing to a 6 speed Seven. Most moderns are of course grotesquely overgeared, with 30-35 mph /1000 rpm being quiet normal . Restful cruising , great economy and awful pick up except in the more feral diesels.
So is the 6 speed box worth it ? No idea- I cannot value any aspect of a Seven , let alone a part of it. They make me smile and there's no price on that - and as 6 speeds makes the smile broader it's a no brainer for me . They don't depreciate much, so my advice is get the best spec you can afford, whether it's sensible or not and have a bloody blast . I spent an obscene amount on the Roller Barrel upgrade too- is it worth it ? Of course - it makes the wide smile wider still !
Edited by coppice on Wednesday 1st February 09:19
So you can either buy a 420R with 5 speed or 360R 6 speed for the same price then.
Based on the above, I much prefer the idea of a 360R 6 speed then upgrade the engine spec in a few years when bored.
Unless anywhere can offer modified gearing for the Mazda 5 speed...
Based on the above, I much prefer the idea of a 360R 6 speed then upgrade the engine spec in a few years when bored.
Unless anywhere can offer modified gearing for the Mazda 5 speed...
Edited by scz4 on Wednesday 1st February 08:59
jimhcat said:
To answer the question about the roll cages.
I think the race cage is the sloping one with the double D top openings but this can't be used with a screen.
The sport cage has a single diagonal bar over the drivers head and can be use with the windscreen
I don't think you'd want a race cage on a road car - it requires a fair bit of gymnastics getting in an out - Dukes of Hazard springs to mind.I think the race cage is the sloping one with the double D top openings but this can't be used with a screen.
The sport cage has a single diagonal bar over the drivers head and can be use with the windscreen
scz4 said:
baypond said:
Yes, factory built for sure. Hardest choice is going to be colour scheme and whether or not £2,500 spent on a 6 speed box is worth it for the driving we will be doing. The rest of the spec I think I have ironed out.
Care to share your spec? Always find it interesting what's important and not important to some. Mine would be:
R Pack
Riviera blue
13” Apollo black alloy with Avon ZZS (6” front & 8” rear)
Full Roll Cage (not sue the difference between sport and race)
Decal Pack
Quick Release Steering Wheel
6 Speed
620R Nose Cone Upgrade
Edited by scz4 on Tuesday 31st January 21:47
full screen
same apollo wheels/tyres combo
5 speed (testing 6 speed before making final choice)
dark grey with orange stripes
track day roll bar
black leather seats
not sure abut heater ? i don't have one in my Suffolk C type and have large heat soak. Does the Duratec provide the same?
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