Caterham as a 750mc Club Endurance racer?

Caterham as a 750mc Club Endurance racer?

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andy97

Original Poster:

4,691 posts

221 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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Ok, just thinking out loud.

What do people think of using a 7 for the 750mc 2 hour Club Endurannce series? I know a couple of people have done it, and couple have done it in a relay format which is allowed.

I know that the 7s handle the CSCC 40 min Magnificent 7s series really well, but does the extra time in the 750 series put an intolerable strain in them?

I am a little worried about mixing in with "heavy metal" saloons but, as I said, I am just thinking out loud.

I am looking to sell on a couple of cars/ projects but do have a hankering to do a couple of these races a year as well as a couple of Mag 7 races, if I can move something on.

My existing 944 is probably a bit too heavy/ old/ awkward to get spare parts for for these sorts of races so may just stick to a couple of Future Classics races in that.

Tango7

687 posts

225 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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Nice article in Low Flying this month about Caterhams first and only race at the 24hr race at Nelson in America in 1992. They came first out of 52 entries and covered 990 laps or 1980 miles in the 24 hr period! I think you should be fine for your race smile Although this was the bullet proof 2.0 VX engine! Blackbirds have performed well at the Nurburgring endurance races too

JB052

156 posts

221 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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I would have thought it would be partially dependent on what track is used. Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone would be hard work, a shorter twister circuit like Cadwell the Caterham would be a lot more competitive.

coppice

8,562 posts

143 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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Sevens have won or ween well placed in lots of long distance stuff from Nurburgring to Anglesey and just about everywhere in between.

tight fart

2,868 posts

272 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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I used to do the JCC Centurion series, not that long distance, 100 miles.
When I started it was an all comers type of race, big Jags, Cobra's BMWs and a few Caterham's.
Ended up an all Caterham series. But great fun and 100 miles is a fair distance to race if you did it with only one driver.

bcr5784

7,102 posts

144 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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As JB052 says a Caterham will be seriously disadvantaged (relative to other cars of similar power to weight) by its aerodynamics on longer circuits. Given that the circuits are Spa, Donny GP, Silverstone International, Snetterton 300 and Anglesey, and power to weight determines your class, I think you'll struggle to be even vaguely competitive.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,691 posts

221 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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bcr5784 said:
As JB052 says a Caterham will be seriously disadvantaged (relative to other cars of similar power to weight) by its aerodynamics on longer circuits. Given that the circuits are Spa, Donny GP, Silverstone International, Snetterton 300 and Anglesey, and power to weight determines your class, I think you'll struggle to be even vaguely competitive.
Yes, of course that's a consideration but the Caterhams that raced last year seemed to do ok. The biggest barrier to competiveness is my (lack of) talent!!

Of course you want a car that's competitive within its class, all these being equal, but I need to ask myself the following the questions:

Can I afford to buy it

Can I afford to run it

Will it be reliable,

Do I need to strip it down and rebuild it after every race or will a spanner check and service do

Are spare parts and knowledge readily available

Will I need new tyres after every race

Is it easy to drive

There are always compromises and for me it's about enjoying the taking part and having a car that I enjoy driving and can be run relatively easily on a very tight budget. It's also about possibly having a car that is flexible enough to be used across a number of series, whether that's CSCC of 750, or track days etc.

Whether that is a 7, is a moot point but it's a consideration if I get some other things shifted.

ETA, in the 750mc Snetterton 300 race last year, Caterhams came 1st, 4th, 8th and 10th out of 22 finishers. Not sure of the specs, though.

Edited by andy97 on Sunday 22 January 14:39

andy97

Original Poster:

4,691 posts

221 months

Saturday 15th July 2017
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andy97 said:
Of course you want a car that's competitive within its class, all these being equal, but I need to ask myself the following the questions:

Can I afford to buy it

Can I afford to run it

Will it be reliable,

Do I need to strip it down and rebuild it after every race or will a spanner check and service do

Are spare parts and knowledge readily available

Will I need new tyres after every race

Is it easy to drive

There are always compromises and for me it's about enjoying the taking part and having a car that I enjoy driving and can be run relatively easily on a very tight budget. It's also about possibly having a car that is flexible enough to be used across a number of series, whether that's CSCC of 750, or track days etc.
]
Yes I can afford to buy something like a MegaGrad. 1.6 litre, 140 bhp. Wide track.

Yes, I can afford to run one - cheaper to run than my 944 Turbo

Will it be reliable in a 2 hour race series? My opinion is that it should be, based on low weight and low stress on the chassis compared to bigger heavier saloons and sports cars??

Do I need to strip it down and rebuild after every race or will a simple spanner check be enough? Views?

Spare parts should be available but does it make much difference if I bought an imperial chassis (probably in my purchase range)?

Will I need new tyres after every race, or will a set of, say, Yoko A048s last several 2 hour races?

Are they easy to drive?

Any views on any of this?

JUPE777

101 posts

116 months

Sunday 16th July 2017
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We did the Race of Remembrance last year, in fact there were a good dozen or so Caterhams and they were very competitive taking 2nd and 3rd overall. We were doing stints of upto 1hr 15mins on a brimmed tank. The 750MC enduros will be great fun I'm sure.

Edited by JUPE777 on Sunday 16th July 19:34

Carnage

886 posts

231 months

Sunday 16th July 2017
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Hi Andy

If you do decide to sell your 944 Turbo I have a mate looking to buy one. Incidentally, I had a MegaGrad for a year to play with with my dad and it was bullet proof apart from synchros. Very cheap to run and fun to drive too.

Cheers , Paul

andy97

Original Poster:

4,691 posts

221 months

Sunday 16th July 2017
quotequote all
Carnage said:
Hi Andy

If you do decide to sell your 944 Turbo I have a mate looking to buy one. Incidentally, I had a MegaGrad for a year to play with with my dad and it was bullet proof apart from synchros. Very cheap to run and fun to drive too.

Cheers , Paul
Hi Paul, I am not planning on selling the 944T (unless I got a good offer!!! But mine is not road legal and no chassis ID) and just weighing up the man maths, and "cost of the row" if I announce I have bought a 7 as well!!!

I still love the 944T and would still hope to race that 2-3 times a year but I think a MegaGrad would be cheaper and easier to run. The trouble is that CSCC "Magnificent 7s" (my preferred series) appears to have become the preserve of the higher power cars and there doesn't seem to be any/many SuperGrads or MegaGrads racing in that now. I really like the idea of the 750 Club Enduro series but have always been nervous of racing "normal" sports and saloons at the same time as 7s in case there is a coming together.

Carnage

886 posts

231 months

Tuesday 18th July 2017
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I don't think the lack of chassis number would out him off! Do drop a PM if you ever do want to move it on.

I get what you mean about the Mag 7's, does all seem a bit high powered. I wouldn't worry too much about being in with bigger cars. I used mine mainly on track days with my dad and never felt vulnerable. You've raced single seaters, they're much more intimidating.

It literally cost pennies to run; hardly any fuel, no brake wear, tires lasted ages. Even the k series was reliable!