Must have options on a new R500?

[martin thomas]

I've ordered a new r500 today with a temporary option list. I'm curious to hear from existing owners or caterham experts as to what would be considered must have options both for enjoyment and resale. I've never had a 7 based car before so am completely in the dark. The car will be mainly used for trackdays and the odd sunday morning hoon.

Regards

Martin Thomas

[BYKer Will]

Sequential Sequential and Sequential

Will

[dsl2]

Well what with you coming from a namby pamby supercar back ground, I would firstly suggest a pair of brown trousers!

All joking apart, the number one must have option is the sequential box (I wouldn't bother with the gimmicky launch control, thats what your feet are for) after that if I was ordering it for myself I would spec a race brake master for a lovely solid pedal then change the pads to (Ferodo ds2500 for road tyres or ds3000 for slicks on the front only!) (that master does require a bit more pedal pressure tho) & I would have a quick rack too (not sure if Caterham will fit that for the road though) can be a PITA if your mainly using it on the road but sure helps gathering up the slides on track!

Another thing for me would be a full cage for track use, or as a minimum the track day roll bar rather than the standard fit one.

Now assuming you can drive a bit, you will want to get it set up properly by someone who knows what they are doing, as out of the factory they tend to be set up to be safe (ie understeer quite a bit)

After that you can look at upgrading the suspension to something better, Nitrons are popular & perform well enough, don't be tempted by the Caterham upgraded suspension for road use as the spring rates were on the high side (unless they have reappraised them in the last few years?)

A much better resource for Seven info is www.blatchat.com although you do have be a club member to post!

[mic]

Just order it with the sequential box the rest of the car will be fine as it comes!

[martin thomas]

Do i need to spec the trackday airbox and silencer to be able to do days at combe 99-100db max, Or should i pick it up standard and fit these later if needed?

Martin

[Dave J]

Hello

I'm not realy sure of the spec of the new R500 but having owned a track/race/hillclimb/road caterham for while and with your preference for track work I would ensure you have :
air box
big quiet exhaust - req for combe
full roll cage
aero screen
uprated / race rear brakes
brake proportion valve - I quite like the std master cylinder myself...
footwell heat insulation kit - not sure if this is std?
3" wide harness and crotch strap - again not sure if this is std
quick rack (22%)

possibles:
I would leave the dampers for the time being untill you can outdrive the car
maybe plumbed in extinguisher ?
maybe fuel tank protection kit ?
second set of wheels for the fitment of slicks and then the required de dion ears to suit the camber of the tyres.

or as Mic says - simply drive it and you will still have a ball .....

Dave

[dsl2]

I would say for any track days other than 105db days, you will be requiring the airbox & large silencer for sure.

[thinfourth2]

dsl2 said:

Well what with you coming from a namby pamby supercar back ground, I would firstly suggest a pair of brown trousers!

All joking apart, the number one must have option is the sequential box (I wouldn't bother with the gimmicky launch control, thats what your feet are for) after that if I was ordering it for myself I would spec a race brake master for a lovely solid pedal then change the pads to (Ferodo ds2500 for road tyres or ds3000 for slicks on the front only!) (that master does require a bit more pedal pressure tho) & I would have a quick rack too (not sure if Caterham will fit that for the road though) can be a PITA if your mainly using it on the road but sure helps gathering up the slides on track!

Another thing for me would be a full cage for track use, or as a minimum the track day roll bar rather than the standard fit one.

Now assuming you can drive a bit, you will want to get it set up properly by someone who knows what they are doing, as out of the factory they tend to be set up to be safe (ie understeer quite a bit)

After that you can look at upgrading the suspension to something better, Nitrons are popular & perform well enough, don't be tempted by the Caterham upgraded suspension for road use as the spring rates were on the high side (unless they have reappraised them in the last few years?)

A much better resource for Seven info is www.blatchat.com although you do have be a club member to post!

Oh and you know that stuff like paint and a windscreen are also optional extras

And if this is your first very silly car i would suggest driving lessons as it is quite different from slightly silly cars

[Murph7355]

Dave J said:

air box
big quiet exhaust - req for combe
full roll cage
aero screen
uprated / race rear brakes
footwell heat insulation kit - not sure if this is std?
3" wide harness and crotch strap - again not sure if this is std
quick rack (22%)
maybe plumbed in extinguisher ?
maybe fuel tank protection kit ?

I'd agree with Dave on the above. I'd go with the race master cylinder though.

However, for resale I'm not sure that the cage is the best move and full weather equipment with interchangeable aero is probably sensible. As a minimum you need the FIA roll bar (which is probably standard, though I recall the old R500 had a rubbish little roll bar as standard).

IME cars aren't set up that nicely from the factory. Go to a race shop and get it flat floored asap when you have it (telling them how you prefer your cars to handle - understeer, oversteer etc). Will handle properly after that.

[martin thomas]

thinfourth2 said:

dsl2 said:

Well what with you coming from a namby pamby supercar back ground, I would firstly suggest a pair of brown trousers!

All joking apart, the number one must have option is the sequential box (I wouldn't bother with the gimmicky launch control, thats what your feet are for) after that if I was ordering it for myself I would spec a race brake master for a lovely solid pedal then change the pads to (Ferodo ds2500 for road tyres or ds3000 for slicks on the front only!) (that master does require a bit more pedal pressure tho) & I would have a quick rack too (not sure if Caterham will fit that for the road though) can be a PITA if your mainly using it on the road but sure helps gathering up the slides on track!

Another thing for me would be a full cage for track use, or as a minimum the track day roll bar rather than the standard fit one.

Now assuming you can drive a bit, you will want to get it set up properly by someone who knows what they are doing, as out of the factory they tend to be set up to be safe (ie understeer quite a bit)

After that you can look at upgrading the suspension to something better, Nitrons are popular & perform well enough, don't be tempted by the Caterham upgraded suspension for road use as the spring rates were on the high side (unless they have reappraised them in the last few years?)

A much better resource for Seven info is www.blatchat.com although you do have be a club member to post!

Oh and you know that stuff like paint and a windscreen are also optional extras

And if this is your first very silly car i would suggest driving lessons as it is quite different from slightly silly cars

I'm loving the way people just assume that i will not be able to drive this car!!The gallardo is probably the tamest car i have had for a long time/Hence the reason i sold it after a few months. I'm no colin mcrae but i can peddle a car ok!

Martin

[dsl2]

I actually gave you the benefit of the doubt in my comments.............

You will be fine, they are recoverable from a ridiculous long way sideways!

You could always register for the Seven club sprint & hillclimb championship when you have the hang of it then you can see how you/it compare to the other engine/ driver combo's, the competitions great!!

But I warn you it will become addictive..........

Edited by dsl2 on Sunday 8th February 14:08

[martin thomas]

A friend of mine does a lot of sprints with the bristol motor club in a radical. I told him yesterday what i was getting and he is getting me a membership form to join the club. I can then do some sprints aswell as trackdays.

Martin

[dsl2]

Good man. Start with the sprints then give the hills a go, I bet you don't want to do many sprints after the hills though!!

[thinfourth2]

martin thomas said:

I'm loving the way people just assume that i will not be able to drive this car!!The gallardo is probably the tamest car i have had for a long time/Hence the reason i sold it after a few months. I'm no colin mcrae but i can peddle a car ok!

Martin

As the R500 does tend to attract the more money then talent brigade who tend to buy one and haven't got a clue what they have just bought.

Then quickly sell it after it scares the crap out of them

[martin thomas]

I'm buying this car because i just can't get a kick out of road cars anymore. I had a gen2 gt3 on order that i have cancelled as i've realised it will just be the same old thing. I've had a 997 rs that was nice but still not the adrenalin buzz that i seek. If this car does not provide the buzz i want i will be truly gutted. I'm hoping for yamaha r1/gsxr1000 bike type acceleration but on 4 wheels.


martin

[dsl2]

Sounds like its time to go racing Martin.....

To be honest, I've been lucky enough to do many life affirming / dangerous things (car racing/microlighting/helicopters/aerobatics etc) but never been able to replicate the immense buzz I got from riding a 1000cc superbike like a 2wat on road & track, but have turned my back on that up as I was defiantly going to end up very dead.....

But just about the next best thing is hooning a powerful Caterham sideways with a mate onboard. (on track obviously!)

[taffyracer]

My sentiments exactly, the only buzz that'll come close to what you're looking for on 4 wheels is on a race track, get yourself a GT3 cup car or R400 race car and go and race, nothing else will ever come close including trackdays or sprints

[Vladimir]

I love everyones assumptions that the poster doesn't know what he's in for/cant drive anyway/has more cash than tallent.


Must-have options will depend on who's buying and what use the car will get, speccing a Caterham is a really personal thing and no matter what you have to start with, once you have got a few drives under the belt and have got more familiar with the car and how it reacts to your style, there will always be something you want to change or adjust to make the car better for you.

Sequential
C400 dampers
De-cat pipe
Quiet kit (exhaust+airbox)
Lowered floors
Paint.

Of course you could go for full screen, weather gear and an interchangable aeroscreen.
Whatever spec you get initially you will be able to change/upgrade later anyway, most important bit is to get in it and throw it down the nearest great bit of road and put a huge smile across your face. Job done.

[dino ferrana]

No need to change the dampers, I believe they were valved for the R500 so try them first before speccing race dampers etc.

Sequential is a must for a lot of trackdays, I think it will be a popular option and may help resale (easy to change back to H-pattern if need be anyway, big market for selling the box on).

Airbox and bigger exhaust certainly gives you more options on track day locations etc.

Quickrack is mainly for d"£k measuring competitions with other 7 owners, I think it proves you are a true "dab of oppo" merchant.

[fergus]

dino ferrana said:

Quickrack is mainly for d"£k measuring competitions with other 7 owners, I think it proves you are a true "dab of oppo" merchant.

? It just gives supersharp steering on something that is already very chuckable. Why do karts have such direct steering?

Also, not sure about the advantage a seq may give on a t/day. Having raced a clio cup car, unless you can flatshift, there is little point, IMHO. (can you flat shift on an R500, or do you need to lift?)

At least they force people to H&T properly, as it's harder to block shift with them (i.e. change down more than 1 gear at a time w/o declutching).

Personally, I'd get the damping and geo sorted if you want to go quickly at t/days. It's worth a lot more than a seq. box.