Caterham as a daily drive - first month's report
Discussion
So, in a kind-of mid-life crisis way, I wanted something "different" and I initially flirted with the idea of a classic "Yuppie Spec" Porsche 911 (Guards Red Carerra 4). However, weighing up the pro's and cons, and baulking at the potential running costs, I eventually settled on the car of my dreams.
The Caterham Seven.
Purchased from a very nice chap in Bristol. Great spec: 1800 K series engine, 6-speed close ratio gearbox, Apollo anti-cavitation tank, Emerald ECU and all the necessary extras.
I have had to completely re-assess my mental perameters. I thought the Rocco was quite nippy and could take corners well, but this this re-writes the rules. I also have to get used to the acceleration and the resultant speed - 60mph no longer feels that fast, because it arrives so quickly.
Things I have learned:
A cheap fleece is a false economy.
Make sure the front wheels are pointing straight ahead before "giving it the beans".
A pebble the size of a small pea will hurt like f
k when it hits your head at 60mph.
Cars in front of you can't accelerate as quickly as you can.
You are very low down and can't see that far ahead - make sure the way is clear before you go for an overtake.
Small-dicked blokes in diesel Astras will try to prove how fast their cars are and won't get out of your way.
All-in-all, it's flippin' brilliant.
The Caterham Seven.
Purchased from a very nice chap in Bristol. Great spec: 1800 K series engine, 6-speed close ratio gearbox, Apollo anti-cavitation tank, Emerald ECU and all the necessary extras.
I have had to completely re-assess my mental perameters. I thought the Rocco was quite nippy and could take corners well, but this this re-writes the rules. I also have to get used to the acceleration and the resultant speed - 60mph no longer feels that fast, because it arrives so quickly.
Things I have learned:
A cheap fleece is a false economy.
Make sure the front wheels are pointing straight ahead before "giving it the beans".
A pebble the size of a small pea will hurt like f
k when it hits your head at 60mph.Cars in front of you can't accelerate as quickly as you can.
You are very low down and can't see that far ahead - make sure the way is clear before you go for an overtake.
Small-dicked blokes in diesel Astras will try to prove how fast their cars are and won't get out of your way.
All-in-all, it's flippin' brilliant.
Dan_1981 said:
Do you have a long commute?
No. About ten minutes. And I'm paranoid about oil temperature and staying under 3000 revs.Dan_1981 said:
Do you have a garage?
No, but it's tucked away behind the flats I live in, with a waterproof cover.snotrag said:
Does it try to take off at Motorway speeds with the swept wings?
No.snotrag said:
Also - do you usually drive with the side/flyscreens fitted? Use the hood('weather gear') much or just stick a tonneau over when its parked?
Usually drive with just the side-screens fitted. Have once driven with the hood fitted, but the weather (so far) has been kind to me.Marty Funkhouser said:
Whats the solution to the potentially catastrophic 'small pebble' problem? I assume that its extremely rare to get caught by one unless you're very tall and your bonce is above the top of the windscreen?
I'm a mere 5' 11" and have learned to scooch down in the seat to avoid any pebble-based interactions.But I've recently found out how to adjust the seat, which gives me a whole 5mm more legroom.
Marty Funkhouser said:
Cock Womble 7 said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
Whats the solution to the potentially catastrophic 'small pebble' problem? I assume that its extremely rare to get caught by one unless you're very tall and your bonce is above the top of the windscreen?
I'm a mere 5' 11" and have learned to scooch down in the seat to avoid any pebble-based interactions.But I've recently found out how to adjust the seat, which gives me a whole 5mm more legroom.
That was a very bracing drive to work.
silverMX said:
CW,
Will you be keeping this thread updated as a sort of Blog so we can all see how Caterham daily driving pans out..? I'd be interested in seeing how it goes when both when the weather is fine and when it turns less friendly. I'm sure others will be too!
Yeah, why not? As long as you lot don't mind me rambling on about my daily adventures.Will you be keeping this thread updated as a sort of Blog so we can all see how Caterham daily driving pans out..? I'd be interested in seeing how it goes when both when the weather is fine and when it turns less friendly. I'm sure others will be too!
tommobot said:
Surely the engine would sort of act as heater colder days?
It certainly does, but there is also an actual heater, with diddy little vents just above the gearknob. Once fully ensconsed, it does get quite toasty in there.Gafferjim said:
but just wait until the crap weather arrives and you're driving it with the full hood on. You need to be a contortionist to get in and out of it, you'll get VERY friendly with your passenger in the bargain.
I've already had the "pleasure" of getting in and out with the hood up. You wouldn't believe how flexible a 42 year-old fat bloke can actually get! Fortunately, I have several BAGA badges and was the Watford & District Freestyle Limbo Champion (1986-1987). 
Gafferjim said:
Visibility is crapper than driving a van with blacked out side windows, it's like driving a tank looking through a letterbox.
I drive lorries for a living, so I'm used to compromised visability. Still can't park the bloody thing, mind.Gafferjim said:
Unless it has a good heater that'll demist the screen, you'll have problems with it misting up.
<cough> Heated screen <cough> 
The Softbits half-hood is already on the inevitable "upgradeitis" shopping list.
A week or so ago, I was forced (by some idiot parking in front of the gates) to hop into the Rocco to go to work, although this did give me the opportunity to fit the new tax disc.
I've had the Rocco for over six years now and always thought it quite tight, stiff and sorted, what with the tweaks I'd done on the suspension and whatnot. But getting into it after two weeks in the Seven it felt like a bus. A big wobbly bus, with no brakes. The steering wheel felt mahoosive, compared to the Momo shirt-button in Katie and the acceleration felt like I had left the handbrake on. Still love it though.
Oh and you can read about me getting told off by the security chaps at work for driving under the barrier on a thread in The Lounge.
Thanks for the kind words chaps/esses.
Edited by Cock Womble 7 on Wednesday 12th May 04:48
Marty Funkhouser said:
Cock Womble 7 said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
CW - whats the insurance like on a car like this?
42 years old, 9 plus years NCB, 6 points (2 x SP10), parked off-street in Northampton town centre (or as near as dammit) = about £300 fully comp from the very nice people at Adrian Flux.Re: the colour, the above photos have been a little HDR'd, but it's still a very nice colour in the flesh (or rather GRP).
Got to work this morning at 0530 and the weather was looking pretty promising, so I didn't bother putting the cover on. Got back to the yard at 1130 and it was pishing down. Luckily, there's not much in the cockpit to get damaged by the rain and a handful of paper towels from the Gent's soon dried things up. Must brief the transport office staff to get the cover out of the "boot" and fit it if it starts raining.
I'm getting "better" at fitting the hood - got it down to, ooooo, five minutes now. Must RTFM again.
It's, er, "cosy" in there with the hood up and getting in and out is a somewhat less than graceful process. Think along the lines of getting into your house through the cat-flap or letterbox and you're there. Quite noisy too, but the iPod and in-ear 'phones do help drown things out.
Reversing off the street and round the back of the flats required the use of The Force and a little voodoo. I wonder if work would miss one of the reversing cameras off a lorry...?
Still, the hood appears to be leak-free and the wiggly lines on the screen clears it in about a minute (but, weirdly, from left to right - not all at once).
Took things very easy on the wet roads - far too much traffic around to start pushing the traction envelope. I've got the "slight wiggle from the back end coming off a roundabout" sussed in the dry now, but I need to enlarge my cojones before attempting it in the wet.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Peace out.
DeadMeat_UK said:
Fleece ? I thought it was obligatory to buy a WWII leather flying jacket with the wool neck lining.
Have you seen the price of those buggers?DeadMeat_UK said:
Imagine how much fun the world would be if everyone commuted in one
In my imaginary Utopia, we all drive Caterhams and have (freely provided) more practical solutions for other stuff, like tip trips and moving house. Oh, and it never rains.
blindswelledrat said:
Excellent thread.
Thank you, that means a lot.blindswelledrat said:
Your car is far better than your tattoo.
Absolutely.blindswelledrat said:
What are the performance figures on that?
We have 139.5 bhp in something that weighs less than my fridge. Performance is, therefore, "brisk".blindswelledrat said:
Is your gut feeling that you will keep it for a while, or do you think the novelty will wear off and be outweighed by its impracticalities?
No, this one's a keeper. To hell with the impracticalities, I am deeply in love with Katie and will be with her forever.GFWilliams said:
You just wait for 'upgradeitus' 
Already hooked. Just spunked £90 on the clear lens set.GFWilliams said:
Are you going to do any trackdays in it?
This is on the cards.Will be attending VW Action at the Pod in August, as usual. Will stick a VW badge to the nose and see how quickly Katie can do the quarter mile.
DeadMeat_UK said:
Cock Womble 7 said:
DeadMeat_UK said:
Just so I can get it out of my mind as an option to have one sitting in the garage, what, for instance, not that I'd ever need one, would that lovely blue or orange example be likely to set me back ?
"Katie" cost me 10,500 of your English pounds. A bloody bargain.During the last Ice-Age, when I was about 18 or 19, I had just started "getting into" cars and buying car magazines. I kept reading about this little fibreglass kit-car that (performance-wise) consistently wiped the floor with other exotics costing several times more. I just loved the whole idea of it.
I became so obsessed that, at the age of 21, dressed in my bestest, shiniest, "trainee Financial Advisor" Burton's suit, I made a pilgrimage to Caterham and, parking my Mk1 Cavalier a safe distance away, mooched around the showroom until one of the friendly sales staff asked "Have you ever been in one?"
Obviously I said "No", and was treated to a bit of a drive out with one of the mechanics. I vividly remember him slowing down to under 30mph, slotting the gear-lever into 5th and flooring it, to demonstrate how flexible the engine was. Bat. Out. Of. Hell.
That was it. Hooked, lined and sinkered.
For my 30th Birthday, my (then) wife arranged for the hire of a Caterham for the day. We picked it up from a Lotus garage in Salisbury, having driven down from Tring in a rented Fiat Cinquecento. It was an HPC model, with the 2-litre "Red Top" engine from the Astra GTE and, by god did it shift. Wifey, it has to be said, was a little on the large side and couldn't actually get into it with the hood up (it was raining when we picked it up) so she followed me in the Fiat. When I say "followed", I mean "right, I'm heading for here on the map and will be driving as quickly as possible - I'll wait there for you to catch up."
It was one of the most memorable and enjoyable days of my life and we ended up in Poole - with people stopping, staring and even taking pictures. I went way over the allocated mileage which cost a few bob more, but when I stopped for fuel, two guys got out of a Fiesta, got down on their knees and did the whole Wayne's World "we're not worthy" thing on the garage forecourt. Priceless.
From then on, I always promised myself that, one day, I'd own a Caterham.
And now I do.
Oh, there's a story I must share.
The other week, (I think it was after the PH meet at Sywell), I went for an extended hoon. Ended up (somehow) approaching Stoke Bruerne on a fairly narrow country lane. Saw two young ladies ahead on horses, so I slowed down and stopped to let them past.
As the horses got nearer, it became clear that even at idle, the noise from the exhaust was spooking them. The girl on the bigger horse dismounted and took the reins to lead her steed and shield the other (smaller) horse from the noisy sports car. I immidiately switched off the ignition and was prepared to wait until the beasts were well out of earshot before starting up again.
As they were passing me, there must have been a horse/human interface scenario, because all I heard (from the seemingly horsey and demure rider) was:
"Ow! You trod on my fking foot, you spastic!"
Well, it made me laugh.
The other week, (I think it was after the PH meet at Sywell), I went for an extended hoon. Ended up (somehow) approaching Stoke Bruerne on a fairly narrow country lane. Saw two young ladies ahead on horses, so I slowed down and stopped to let them past.
As the horses got nearer, it became clear that even at idle, the noise from the exhaust was spooking them. The girl on the bigger horse dismounted and took the reins to lead her steed and shield the other (smaller) horse from the noisy sports car. I immidiately switched off the ignition and was prepared to wait until the beasts were well out of earshot before starting up again.
As they were passing me, there must have been a horse/human interface scenario, because all I heard (from the seemingly horsey and demure rider) was:
"Ow! You trod on my f
king foot, you spastic!"Well, it made me laugh.
B17NNS said:
Can you convert these to the cycle wings relatively easily?
I don't know, to be honest - I'm sure it would be, but I'm not sure I want to. Well, maybe a little bit of me does, but I quite like the look down the bonnet of them as they are.But the carbon fibre cycle wings look well sexy.
See? You've made me want to spend more money. Stop it!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff