Caterham Seven 360R
Discussion
ECG1000 said:
On Facebook? That was someone else picking up a 310 I believe.
Your 620 looks like an animal! Have you driven it much since taking delivery?
Pure coincidence then, must be a popular choice from Bookatrack!Your 620 looks like an animal! Have you driven it much since taking delivery?
Yes done almost 450 miles in my 620R now, loving every minuite!
It's properly mental, but in a really really good way!
nigelpugh7 said:
Pure coincidence then, must be a popular choice from Bookatrack!
Yes done almost 450 miles in my 620R now, loving every minuite!
It's properly mental, but in a really really good way!
Yeah, I very nearly went for a 310 but chose the 360 in the end. Glad I did as there's torque in any gear. I can't imagine what a 620 is like! Yes done almost 450 miles in my 620R now, loving every minuite!
It's properly mental, but in a really really good way!
Well, that was a baptism of fire (ice). By far the coldest I have ever been.
I foolishly thought my legs would be warm wearing jeans due to them being down below the door-line - I was wrong.
On top, I had my ski thermals and a puffer jacket, with a neck snood thing and beanie hat. This kept me warm for all of 10 minutes. My Grandfather's old driving gloves weren't much help either!
After queuing to get onto the M1 in light rain I thought I could get the hammer down and get home quickly. Wrong again.... 60mph traffic most of the way with added sleet.
Because I didn't have any side screens, said sleet was being sucked into the cabin and wetting the inside of the screen. And then there was the wind noise. I've seen people wearing ear plugs in Caterhams before - I had assumed they were all nancys and didn't like the noise of an exhaust. Nope this is a sensible precaution to prevent deafness by wind! My ears are still ringing.
On the plus side, the road remained pretty dry so I'm not too worried about the chassis being splattered in salt. I also had the warming comfort of the exhaust silencer within arm's reach. I could rest my right hand on it when it went numb.
Whinge over, lesson learnt. Weather gear going on ASAP, and a re-think of my cold weather attire.
Despite that, I'm excited to have the car home and very eager to get the 500 run in miles done so I can start learning how to drive it properly.
Couple of snaps of me leaving Donington:
More next time...
I foolishly thought my legs would be warm wearing jeans due to them being down below the door-line - I was wrong.
On top, I had my ski thermals and a puffer jacket, with a neck snood thing and beanie hat. This kept me warm for all of 10 minutes. My Grandfather's old driving gloves weren't much help either!
After queuing to get onto the M1 in light rain I thought I could get the hammer down and get home quickly. Wrong again.... 60mph traffic most of the way with added sleet.
Because I didn't have any side screens, said sleet was being sucked into the cabin and wetting the inside of the screen. And then there was the wind noise. I've seen people wearing ear plugs in Caterhams before - I had assumed they were all nancys and didn't like the noise of an exhaust. Nope this is a sensible precaution to prevent deafness by wind! My ears are still ringing.
On the plus side, the road remained pretty dry so I'm not too worried about the chassis being splattered in salt. I also had the warming comfort of the exhaust silencer within arm's reach. I could rest my right hand on it when it went numb.
Whinge over, lesson learnt. Weather gear going on ASAP, and a re-think of my cold weather attire.
Despite that, I'm excited to have the car home and very eager to get the 500 run in miles done so I can start learning how to drive it properly.
Couple of snaps of me leaving Donington:
More next time...
Excellent stuff, made me smile that. My experience is:
1. Windscreen and no doors is the worst of all worlds - noise, cold, air being sucked onto the screen as you describe etc. Also at very high speeds I found the air going around the screen made it tricky to breathe on occasion. Not fun.
2. Earplugs are a must on long journey (used to drive mine to and from trackdays)
3. Mine both had heaters and as such legs stayed warm. Upper body not so much.
PS - IIRC Henry Catchpole (of EVO fame) used to wear some kind of Henri Lloyd ocean racing gear when driving his Caterham. Looked odd but apparently effective. I just went with base layers and a good waterproof, plus side doors/half hood. And heater. And was still cold.
ETA - http://www.evo.co.uk/caterham/7/9295/caterham-supe... - see here, Henri Lloyd sailing smock.
1. Windscreen and no doors is the worst of all worlds - noise, cold, air being sucked onto the screen as you describe etc. Also at very high speeds I found the air going around the screen made it tricky to breathe on occasion. Not fun.
2. Earplugs are a must on long journey (used to drive mine to and from trackdays)
3. Mine both had heaters and as such legs stayed warm. Upper body not so much.
PS - IIRC Henry Catchpole (of EVO fame) used to wear some kind of Henri Lloyd ocean racing gear when driving his Caterham. Looked odd but apparently effective. I just went with base layers and a good waterproof, plus side doors/half hood. And heater. And was still cold.
ETA - http://www.evo.co.uk/caterham/7/9295/caterham-supe... - see here, Henri Lloyd sailing smock.
Edited by _Neal_ on Wednesday 22 March 11:47
ECG1000 said:
In bits at the moment...
Caterham Seven 360
R Pack
6 speed
13" Apollo Wheels 6" front + 8" rear
Lowered floors
Porsche Riviera Blue
Anyone good with spanners in Yorkshire?
Hey ECG1000,Caterham Seven 360
R Pack
6 speed
13" Apollo Wheels 6" front + 8" rear
Lowered floors
Porsche Riviera Blue
Anyone good with spanners in Yorkshire?
I hope your project works out! Certainly a great investment and pride to be able to build your own kit car. I'm currently working on a university project that has to do with Caterham 7 -style kit cars. Essentially, the tub (developed with Axon Automotive) where you and the passenger sit is made of carbon fibre; while the front and back chassis frame is maintained at the original steel.
I'm conducting a very quick survey to find out kit car owner's perception of the carbon fibre tub (explained further in the survey). I'd really appreciate if you could spare a couple of minutes to answer the survey in the link below. At the end of the day, this carbon fibre tub has its benefits, which is listed in the survey, but additionally we believe that it is a new innovative product to the Caterham 7/Lotus 7 kit cars that have not had much change in the chassis over the past 20 years. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
https://goo.gl/forms/kyjYgLPVGPcp3OaE3
Cheers,
7Fan7
do you have further details on the CF tub?
how are the front and rear structures attached (securely, without themselves weakening the structure)?
how much stiffer would the chassis be than utilising existing stiffening techniques (cage, filleting key areas, ally sheeting, extra bars in chassis etc)
it sounds interesting, i'd love to read more detail
how are the front and rear structures attached (securely, without themselves weakening the structure)?
how much stiffer would the chassis be than utilising existing stiffening techniques (cage, filleting key areas, ally sheeting, extra bars in chassis etc)
it sounds interesting, i'd love to read more detail
_Neal_ said:
Excellent stuff, made me smile that. My experience is:
1. Windscreen and no doors is the worst of all worlds - noise, cold, air being sucked onto the screen as you describe etc. Also at very high speeds I found the air going around the screen made it tricky to breathe on occasion. Not fun.
2. Earplugs are a must on long journey (used to drive mine to and from trackdays)
3. Mine both had heaters and as such legs stayed warm. Upper body not so much.
PS - IIRC Henry Catchpole (of EVO fame) used to wear some kind of Henri Lloyd ocean racing gear when driving his Caterham. Looked odd but apparently effective. I just went with base layers and a good waterproof, plus side doors/half hood. And heater. And was still cold.
ETA - http://www.evo.co.uk/caterham/7/9295/caterham-supe... - see here, Henri Lloyd sailing smock.
I'd imagine everyone else on the M1 was smiling too 1. Windscreen and no doors is the worst of all worlds - noise, cold, air being sucked onto the screen as you describe etc. Also at very high speeds I found the air going around the screen made it tricky to breathe on occasion. Not fun.
2. Earplugs are a must on long journey (used to drive mine to and from trackdays)
3. Mine both had heaters and as such legs stayed warm. Upper body not so much.
PS - IIRC Henry Catchpole (of EVO fame) used to wear some kind of Henri Lloyd ocean racing gear when driving his Caterham. Looked odd but apparently effective. I just went with base layers and a good waterproof, plus side doors/half hood. And heater. And was still cold.
ETA - http://www.evo.co.uk/caterham/7/9295/caterham-supe... - see here, Henri Lloyd sailing smock.
Edited by _Neal_ on Wednesday 22 March 11:47
Yep, definitely going to be using the doors on long journeys from now on - and possibly the hood! I've taken the pedal box cover off to fiddle with pedal positions. I may leave it off for the time being to see if a nice breath of warmth comes through from the engine bay. I've been advised against this due to the cover being part of the fire wall so I'll probably end up chickening out and fixing it back into place!
Did you wear earplugs even with the doors on? What's the longest journey you did in yours?
Thank you for the info on Mr. Catchpole, I'll see if I can find the poncho online.
Greg_D said:
racing onesie and karting wet weather gear to keep the wind out and you'd be sweating...
Really? Have you got a link so something suitable?7Fan7 said:
Hey ECG1000,
I hope your project works out! Certainly a great investment and pride to be able to build your own kit car. I'm currently working on a university project that has to do with Caterham 7 -style kit cars. Essentially, the tub (developed with Axon Automotive) where you and the passenger sit is made of carbon fibre; while the front and back chassis frame is maintained at the original steel.
I'm conducting a very quick survey to find out kit car owner's perception of the carbon fibre tub (explained further in the survey). I'd really appreciate if you could spare a couple of minutes to answer the survey in the link below. At the end of the day, this carbon fibre tub has its benefits, which is listed in the survey, but additionally we believe that it is a new innovative product to the Caterham 7/Lotus 7 kit cars that have not had much change in the chassis over the past 20 years. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
https://goo.gl/forms/kyjYgLPVGPcp3OaE3
Cheers,
7Fan7
Thanks mate. I'll take a look.I hope your project works out! Certainly a great investment and pride to be able to build your own kit car. I'm currently working on a university project that has to do with Caterham 7 -style kit cars. Essentially, the tub (developed with Axon Automotive) where you and the passenger sit is made of carbon fibre; while the front and back chassis frame is maintained at the original steel.
I'm conducting a very quick survey to find out kit car owner's perception of the carbon fibre tub (explained further in the survey). I'd really appreciate if you could spare a couple of minutes to answer the survey in the link below. At the end of the day, this carbon fibre tub has its benefits, which is listed in the survey, but additionally we believe that it is a new innovative product to the Caterham 7/Lotus 7 kit cars that have not had much change in the chassis over the past 20 years. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
https://goo.gl/forms/kyjYgLPVGPcp3OaE3
Cheers,
7Fan7
ECG1000 said:
I'd imagine everyone else on the M1 was smiling too
Yep, definitely going to be using the doors on long journeys from now on - and possibly the hood! I've taken the pedal box cover off to fiddle with pedal positions. I may leave it off for the time being to see if a nice breath of warmth comes through from the engine bay. I've been advised against this due to the cover being part of the fire wall so I'll probably end up chickening out and fixing it back into place!
Did you wear earplugs even with the doors on? What's the longest journey you did in yours?
Thank you for the info on Mr. Catchpole, I'll see if I can find the poncho online.
The hood (even the half hood) did keep quite a bit of heat in, I found. And I did wear earplugs even with the doors on, yes - it's still very noisy, just limits buffeting. I regularly did 2-3 hour journeys (largely motorway) to trackdays in mine. Yep, definitely going to be using the doors on long journeys from now on - and possibly the hood! I've taken the pedal box cover off to fiddle with pedal positions. I may leave it off for the time being to see if a nice breath of warmth comes through from the engine bay. I've been advised against this due to the cover being part of the fire wall so I'll probably end up chickening out and fixing it back into place!
Did you wear earplugs even with the doors on? What's the longest journey you did in yours?
Thank you for the info on Mr. Catchpole, I'll see if I can find the poncho online.
PS - Racing onesie and waterproofs may work, but you'd look something of a (racing) helmet in the pub/services
ECG1000 said:
Greg_D said:
racing onesie and karting wet weather gear to keep the wind out and you'd be sweating...
Really? Have you got a link so something suitable?http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/karting/wet-suits/rs...
in that colour scheme you won't even look too much of a tool (certainly no worse than bikers) and they are 100% wind and waterproof
Greg_D said:
ta da
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/karting/wet-suits/rs...
in that colour scheme you won't even look too much of a tool (certainly no worse than bikers) and they are 100% wind and waterproof
That does look alright actually, and I found RST products to be good, and good value too, when I used them on my motorbike. Thermals/jeans/down jacket underneath, take outer off when you reach your destination, job done. http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/karting/wet-suits/rs...
in that colour scheme you won't even look too much of a tool (certainly no worse than bikers) and they are 100% wind and waterproof
I always use earplugs when I'm out in the Westie, I do wear a crash helmet too as I only have an aero screen. Most of my mates who own Caterhams or westies use ear plugs too.
When I used to ride bikes there was an article in one of the mags testing the noise levels and it made for interesting reading on how it can be.
Your build looked fun and it looks like you enjoyed it. Well done on the IVA pass.
I was working on mine yesterday and got asked if I was going to build another...time will tell
When I used to ride bikes there was an article in one of the mags testing the noise levels and it made for interesting reading on how it can be.
Your build looked fun and it looks like you enjoyed it. Well done on the IVA pass.
I was working on mine yesterday and got asked if I was going to build another...time will tell
Master Bean said:
The whine/noise from your diff is normal. You'll get used to it after a while.
Cheers mate. Getting used to it now thank fully. All part and parcel of Caterham ownership!SteveJL said:
I always use earplugs when I'm out in the Westie, I do wear a crash helmet too as I only have an aero screen. Most of my mates who own Caterhams or westies use ear plugs too.
When I used to ride bikes there was an article in one of the mags testing the noise levels and it made for interesting reading on how it can be.
Your build looked fun and it looks like you enjoyed it. Well done on the IVA pass.
I was working on mine yesterday and got asked if I was going to build another...time will tell
Thank you. I definitely wouldn't turn down the chance to build another!When I used to ride bikes there was an article in one of the mags testing the noise levels and it made for interesting reading on how it can be.
Your build looked fun and it looks like you enjoyed it. Well done on the IVA pass.
I was working on mine yesterday and got asked if I was going to build another...time will tell
I spent Thursday night getting the weather gear fitted to the car. Took longer than expected due to fiddly-ness.
The hood goes on first, followed by the side screens. Fairly simple process, requiring a lot of hole-punching and durable-dotting.
Hood back off, then out for a quick rip to see if the side-side screens make life more comfortable:
With the pedal box lid off and side-screens fitted, the Caterham is semi-cosy. No more deafening wind noise, and a nice warm draft blowing over the exhaust manifolds.
The weather over the weekend was awesome so I spent the majority of it getting the 500 run in miles done. Which meant no going over 4k rpm. Despite this, I still had a ball. I've never driven a car that requires so little braking for corners!
Last night, I reached the 500 mile marker:
I've got some replacement oil and a filter on the way, so there won't be any more driving until then. After that, I'll gradually build up to using all the revs.
I did have a little "try" before putting the car away last night and was fairly speechless. The acceleration is nothing short of savage! God knows how anyone has the balls to fully commit in a 620!
I don't have any snaps of the 360 out an about - was far too busy having fun.
Here's one of the toy box instead:
Arty one I got of my Grand Father's driving gloves:
And of course the obligatory PH sticker:
More next time...
Try with an aeroscreen aswell. The cornering speed of a Seven is pretty astonishing - you do need to be careful at roundabouts as people don't expect you to come around quite so quickly 
I see you have gone for the no number plate look - I tried it a few years ago for a bit but got stopped by the Boys in Blue. I figured if I am going to properly enjoy the car on road, I don't need another reason for them to stop me so put it back on.
I see you have gone for the no number plate look - I tried it a few years ago for a bit but got stopped by the Boys in Blue. I figured if I am going to properly enjoy the car on road, I don't need another reason for them to stop me so put it back on.
Master Bean said:
Things to buy: half hood and a decat pipe - flames
My sidescreens or doors as I call them have an armrest. Not sure if you can add them on but they make cruising really relaxing.
Does a half hood fold up and fit in the boot by any chance? My sidescreens or doors as I call them have an armrest. Not sure if you can add them on but they make cruising really relaxing.
Very tempted for a decat but worry about going over the noise limit on track. My car was originally specced with a rear exit exhaust to quieten it down a bit. Of course I scrubbed that tick out before putting the order in! Will have to see if I get black flagged or not.
My side-screens don't have arm rests but I’ve found (with the lowered floors) I can comfortably rest my arm on the door sill.
jimbobs said:
Fantastic work - the car looks great. Earplugs and side screens are a must for motorways. i once did the Nurburgring to Nottingham in one day in October so long journeys are definitely do-able!
Thank you. Nurburgring to Nottinham is a sterling effort! How long did that take?!SidewaysSi said:
Try with an aeroscreen aswell. The cornering speed of a Seven is pretty astonishing - you do need to be careful at roundabouts as people don't expect you to come around quite so quickly
I see you have gone for the no number plate look - I tried it a few years ago for a bit but got stopped by the Boys in Blue. I figured if I am going to properly enjoy the car on road, I don't need another reason for them to stop me so put it back on.
As much as I'd love an aeroscreen, I don't want to be driving round wearing a full face helmet all the time. I see you have gone for the no number plate look - I tried it a few years ago for a bit but got stopped by the Boys in Blue. I figured if I am going to properly enjoy the car on road, I don't need another reason for them to stop me so put it back on.
Yeah, I need to do something about the front plate, or lack thereof. I just think a full size one spoils the front end a bit. I may look into a getting a shrunken one...
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