My new (second hand ) caterham
Discussion
Well I picked up my Caterham from Caterham South yesterday, took the roof off and had a blast down to Chichester to see my folks. My son and I had a fabulous time with the roof off and the doors off, what a blast!
One thing I have noticed is the throttle is extremely sensitive and sometimes in second gear on roundabouts there was lots of "kangarooing" I think it's me not used to the car rather than the car itself.... Thoughts? If I gently press keep the throttle pressed rather than completely off the throttle then back on seems to improve it.
Must say the handover was less than slick at Caterham South, the salesman wasn't there, they had a guy from the factory going around it rather than him, and he didn't seem to be very familiar with the car. Also I was a little surprised they didn't fill it up for me, it had less than a quarter of a tank in it. Finally there were a few stone chips on the front, I asked for them to be touched in, but they hadn't.
I'm thinking I will get one of those companies that fix minor blemishes to have a look. Has anyone got any covering on the front cowl to protect it?
This morning I managed to get the roof up, it looks as if it has never been used, as was very tight are they all like that? but managed it in the end.
I'm toying with the idea of going out in the rain, to see what it's like :-)
- Pete
One thing I have noticed is the throttle is extremely sensitive and sometimes in second gear on roundabouts there was lots of "kangarooing" I think it's me not used to the car rather than the car itself.... Thoughts? If I gently press keep the throttle pressed rather than completely off the throttle then back on seems to improve it.
Must say the handover was less than slick at Caterham South, the salesman wasn't there, they had a guy from the factory going around it rather than him, and he didn't seem to be very familiar with the car. Also I was a little surprised they didn't fill it up for me, it had less than a quarter of a tank in it. Finally there were a few stone chips on the front, I asked for them to be touched in, but they hadn't.
I'm thinking I will get one of those companies that fix minor blemishes to have a look. Has anyone got any covering on the front cowl to protect it?
This morning I managed to get the roof up, it looks as if it has never been used, as was very tight are they all like that? but managed it in the end.
I'm toying with the idea of going out in the rain, to see what it's like :-)
- Pete
Glad to hear you have enjoyed your first drive and the weather yesterday was excellent too. Good idea to go out in the rain and get used to the car. Take things very smoothly with your pedals and steering. The cars are so light, a little extra power at the wrong time will have the back end sliding and fish tailing very easily. Just drive smoothly and with sufficient care for the conditions and they are fine though.
With regards the hood, did you un-tension the hood sticks? The hoods are tight anyway around the boot panel to side skin and this can be made a lot easier if the hood stick straps are loosened off. Once you have put the hood on and tensioned the straps so they sit in the correct place, simply slide them sideways next time you come to fit the hood to allow the sticks to widen/lower. Then fit the hood, reach in and slide the straps back into position to tension things up. You should fit the front set of poppers first to the screen and then do the set at the back to avoid putting too much pressure on the screen and some large horizontonal cracks appearing.... Another little tip is to warm the hood before fitting to make them more pliable and this can be done by lying it on top of the bonnet if you are out on a run.
Plenty of folks will come along to say get a half hood or go aero-screened to avoid using a full hood but you might as well get use out of the kit you already have.
Cheers
T
BTW with the throttle, try releasing the clutch slightly slower as you apply a little more power and see if that improves the kangerooing.
With regards the hood, did you un-tension the hood sticks? The hoods are tight anyway around the boot panel to side skin and this can be made a lot easier if the hood stick straps are loosened off. Once you have put the hood on and tensioned the straps so they sit in the correct place, simply slide them sideways next time you come to fit the hood to allow the sticks to widen/lower. Then fit the hood, reach in and slide the straps back into position to tension things up. You should fit the front set of poppers first to the screen and then do the set at the back to avoid putting too much pressure on the screen and some large horizontonal cracks appearing.... Another little tip is to warm the hood before fitting to make them more pliable and this can be done by lying it on top of the bonnet if you are out on a run.
Plenty of folks will come along to say get a half hood or go aero-screened to avoid using a full hood but you might as well get use out of the kit you already have.
Cheers
T
BTW with the throttle, try releasing the clutch slightly slower as you apply a little more power and see if that improves the kangerooing.
Thanks for the tips regarding the roof....
With regards to kangarooing it's more when I come off the throttle coming up to a roundabout in second and then re-applying the throttle into the roundabout. That's when it seems to do it... Usually when in second gear, I'm thinking it's either me not giving it enough throttle or the revs are too low and i need to go into 1st ???
- Pete
With regards to kangarooing it's more when I come off the throttle coming up to a roundabout in second and then re-applying the throttle into the roundabout. That's when it seems to do it... Usually when in second gear, I'm thinking it's either me not giving it enough throttle or the revs are too low and i need to go into 1st ???
- Pete
Couple of months ago I hired a 7 from Caterham south and took it to the IOW for long weekend. Yes, I am smitten but did have the same problem with Kangaroo'ing, a different kangaroo to a learner driver starting out and exactly like your experience, my wife experienced it far more than me to the extent of finding it undriveable. However by the end of the weekend I was finding a technique to drive it better, even if it meant dipping the clutch on occasion.
Colin
Colin
My experience of kangarooing be gentle with the clutch and throttle. Possible consider getting the two Stevens to remap the car, plenty of examples on blatchat of them..
Hood, I would store it and get a half hood, couple of suppliers out there.
Enjoy the car.
Rob
Ps don't bother with Caterham south, pointless. Plenty of other dealers that do actually give a s
t about their customers, try them.
Hood, I would store it and get a half hood, couple of suppliers out there.
Enjoy the car.
Rob
Ps don't bother with Caterham south, pointless. Plenty of other dealers that do actually give a s
t about their customers, try them.Peter, follow the great advice from 'Viper' re using specialists to look after your car. I am also in the 'Thames Valley' region and have used 'James Whiting' to service my R400 for the last couple of years. ... He comes HIGHLY recommended.. .. . ! See here - http://www.jameswhiting.com/
Enjoy your new toy!
ETA - re: the 'Kangarooing' - I think it's a case of 'TADTS' .. .. !
Enjoy your new toy!
ETA - re: the 'Kangarooing' - I think it's a case of 'TADTS' .. .. !
Edited by JONSCZ on Sunday 26th July 14:10
The kangarooing seems common but it's not surprising given how sloppily the diffs seem to be set up. I've managed to handle the kangarooing but still get a lot of chatter gently lifting off at 50/60mph. Seems to have been an issue for years.
Interestingly my car was taken into Crawley yesterday am for a gearbox check. The engineering guy wasn't there just a sales guy, my son told me. Who handed your car over?
Interestingly my car was taken into Crawley yesterday am for a gearbox check. The engineering guy wasn't there just a sales guy, my son told me. Who handed your car over?
James whiting has an excellent reputation, a few others out there to.
I have always looked after my csr myself for routine servicing, but the choice is yours. Classics and seven have a good rep also, a few ex Caterham chaps I believe.
I am near Southampton so may catch you out and about sometime.
Rob
Oh, lsd diffs seem to suffer a little more drivetrain shunt if you have one?
I have always looked after my csr myself for routine servicing, but the choice is yours. Classics and seven have a good rep also, a few ex Caterham chaps I believe.
I am near Southampton so may catch you out and about sometime.
Rob
Oh, lsd diffs seem to suffer a little more drivetrain shunt if you have one?
A properly mapped car shouldn't kangaroo, often the throttle is so light that your foot can bounce the pedal a bit which can cause it to kangaroo. Try keeping your right foot up against the side of the foot well and rolling it on to the pedal, this may help to dampen it until you get used to it more.
Hi I have a Caterham 7 with a K-Series engine, it is a 2003 car and has a "roller barrel conversion" (I think that's what is is called). It has been upgraded to 160HP so fairly close to R300 specification.
I wear flat thin boating shoes, I can't wear trainers because of the size of the footwell.
- Pete
I wear flat thin boating shoes, I can't wear trainers because of the size of the footwell.
- Pete
PeterGadsby said:
Hi I have a Caterham 7 with a K-Series engine, it is a 2003 car and has a "roller barrel conversion" (I think that's what is is called). It has been upgraded to 160HP so fairly close to R300 specification.
So probably a very good candidate for better mapping to make it work better I assume its an MBE ECU? I had a lot of kangerooing with my R500 (off-on throttle). I got send a spare ECU and it was perfect. My ECU came back "fixed", but when I fitted it, it was just the same as it had been. So in the end I kept the spare.I very much doubt it was an ecu fault as such, just a different map.
You should have a go at Caterham to see what they will do, but I suspect in the end a mapping session with the Steves will be the answer.
Bert
PS In my view all the work-arounds may alleviate the problem, but will still leave it there. There's no reason for their to be any foibles in a 160bhp k on the caterham roller bodies. Keep going until it's fixed!
Grubbster said:
You could but I'd consider other things first. Maybe get another 7 owner to try it to see if it is normal or not, maybe try a stronger return spring as that was a modification made I believe. Mapping can be a very good thing but it's not cheap, so see how it goes for a while.
+1 for a stronger throttle return spring. This also gives a more definite feel to the throttle pedal. It may also require a remap...
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