First (secondhand) caterham.. too many questions!

[upsidedownmark]

So, mostly convinced myself I want / can justify a caterham to myself. Probably at the cheaper end of the scale, probably a later k-series, or maybe an early sigma. I think I'm happy around the 120-140bhp range; coming from bikes even the very high bhp ones haven't really made that much of an impression, it's more about the turning and stopping..

Use will probably be 60:40 road/track.

On to the questions:
Wide vs Narrow track - much difference? Pros and cons?
5 vs 6 - I hear the 6 is closer stacked, maybe better on track, but thinking a taller final gear for road use (and more 5 speeders around)
Metric vs Imperial - does it really make a significant difference?
Cage - nice for track, but a bad idea for road - more from an head vs bars pov than practicality of getting in and out?

Anything I'm missing?
Cheers.

[DCL]

Your choice of spec will probably be defined by what's available and your budget. But don't worry too much about that, just buy a car that you're happy with. Most things can be changed on a Caterham, and most owners go through a stage of 'up-grading'. The main thing is to enjoy the car and not get too hung up about its spec. They are all good in their own way, and I found it much better to find things out for myself as often another persons idea about was is best will not match your own.

[cambuscat]

Wide track vs Narrow track Wide looks better but many racers/hill climbers say it makes little difference to times.
5sp vs 6sp Do a search here and on Blatchat and you will get as many different opinions as posters. 6sp more fun but lower geared. 5sp poor ratios but can be changed, better for motorways but who buys a 7 for that.
Cage is a nuisance for road use and dangerous if not wearing a helmet.
Metric vs Imperial No difference in practice but metric would obviously indicate a newer car.

[stressballsteve]

How wide are you and will you be in the car alone or with passengers? The SV has more room in the pedal box so you can drive in normal shoes rather than race shoes/boots. Also, if you plan on carrying passengers, you may find it a bit cramped in a narrow body car.
With regards to the 5/6 speed question, different engines suit different gearboxes, but the 5 speed is longer geared and better suited for the road, with the 6 speed, you'll constantly be changing gear.
Get out there and drive as many as you can, if you're near a dealership, arrange some test drives there and see what suits you the best.

[shrink1061]

I can only give you the information i gathered when I was looking last year (October time).

I had a fixed budget (which wasn't that fixed as it turned out, and i overspent by £250) so I knew I was dealing with very late K series based cars rather than early sigmas.

I wanted an S3 as I'm only 5ft8 and slim enough to fit comfortably.

My list of must haves were:

-13" wheels
-adjustable platform suspension
-heater
-leather seats
-removable steering wheel

Desirables were:
-LSD
-6 speed
-Apollo tank
-Black Pack

Driving a few, I soon worked out that for me the 5 speed felt fine. I'd driven a 6 speed, and in reality with the lower powered car, the 5 still felt quite adequate. A lovely shift and suited enough to a standard 1.6K to work well.

LSD was most likely never going to happen for my budget nor big power upgrades etc.

I ended up with a 1.6K built in 2006 and it had enough of the spec I wanted to make it the car I knew I could live with:

-Black pack
-apollo tank
-lowered floor
-adjustable platform
-13" 8 spoke alloys
-front and rear ARB
-newer style roll bar (R500 style)
-carbon CSR wings
-heater
-momo removable wheel

The rest Can be worked on. E.g. more power. The important thing is the basic car is a colour, a style and a package that works for me.

For everything else theres mastercard.

i think my point is, don't get too hung up on detail. Just get a basic car you like the look of, hsa nice history, and a decent package of components that you can work with. Theres almost no job so big that you can't just upgrade the car as you see fit.

[Master Bean]

I'd buy this.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/403110953197008/pe...

[upsidedownmark]

Thanks for the replies..

I'm 5'9 and a 32 inch waist - hope I fit in a regular one OK, there aren't many SV's around.. (I'm fairly sure the one I sat in wasn't wide). G/f loves motorbikes, so a decent chance she'll like the cat too.. but she's a fairly waiflike runner type.

Not going to be a motorway car, but I do intend to take it to LeMans and suchlike, hence don't want it to be too ridiculous cruising. Can live with the cage from a convenience point of view, but thanks for confirming my thought that it requires helmets really.

S3 - that's just a 'normal' chassis rather than the wider one right?

Shrink - sounds like you've gone through exactly the same list.. love the colour scheme and a good point about the apollo tank. Rude to ask what you paid?

How to recognise lowered floors, and what difference does it make - sit lower, or just more pedal box room.

Lastly, Master Bean.. dunno if its your car; I'd look but it's a closed facebook group and I'm not joining just to have a squizz

Thanks all.
Mark.

[shrink1061]

I'm 5ft9 and a 34" waist and the standard S3 fits me fine. I actually have my seat all the way forward even on a little S3 and it fits like a glove.

The lowered floor can be identified by looking under the car. If the floor under the seats is below the edge of the aluminium skin, then its a lowered floor. Normal floors are flush with the side of the car.

I paid £14250 for mine after a bit of haggling, and having repaired all the minor niggles and upgraded a few bits, I'd suggest that around £14500-15000 would be about right for a car of that condition / age.

The only things I'd like to change are:

-taller FIA cross braced roll bar. Not vital for me as my head is well below the level of the bar, but as the passenger floor isn't lowered and I have some taller friends, I'm conscious that they sit a little high!
-Tyres. not a fan of the A539's on it and will move to Avons most likely.

The wide track doesnt seem to make a huge difference to how enjoyable the car is. But its a cheap enough mod if you fancy it in the future.

[neil-935ql]

Hi, I have a 1.8k s3. I am 5"10 i fit in no trouble , I did purchase some Puma speedcats as I am sure your aware the pedals are very close , on the gearbox I have a 6 speed box and love it and I don't find i am changing gear all the time , never driven the 5 speed box but well happy with the 6 .perhaps this is due to the 6 speed suiting the k series perfectly , it's quite simply the best gearbox I have ever used , some one on here before likened it to loading a rifle , never loaded a rifle but I think I understand what they meant

[bcr5784]

upsidedownmark said:

Thanks for the replies..

How to recognise lowered floors, and what difference does it make - sit lower, or just more pedal box room.

You sit lower - which is a bonus if you are tall. I think they were originally intended to allow tall drivers to keep their helmets below roll bar height and allow them to race. I very much doubt you need them, and since they reduce ground clearance could be a bit a liability on a road car with 13" wheels.

[Master Bean]

Not my car but it's a 1.6k that looks amazing. I'd buy it if I didn't already own a 7.

[fergus]

bcr5784 said:

You sit lower - which is a bonus if you are tall. I think they were originally intended to allow tall drivers to keep their helmets below roll bar height and allow them to race. I very much doubt you need them, and since they reduce ground clearance could be a bit a liability on a road car with 13" wheels.

I have an SLR with lowered floors. No problem on normal roads. Speedbumps should be taken with care. However, the dry sump currently resides 65mm above the road surface, so my ar5e is a secondary concern....

[bcr5784]

fergus said:

I have an SLR with lowered floors. No problem on normal roads. Speedbumps should be taken with care. However, the dry sump currently resides 65mm above the road surface, so my ar5e is a secondary concern....

What engine do you have? Is a wet sump even lower?

[Steve Campbell]

The 6 speed box works really well with the 1.6ss k (~135hp). I had one for 10 years. It's really engaging to drive & really well matched to the power of the engine IMHO. Ok on long journeys it can be a bit of a drone, but I wear ear protection/have music on anyway. Given my time again I'd definitely look for a 6 speed box with that engine.

At your height / size you won't need lowered floors. S3 is standard size v SV is for those who like pies ;-). S3 will be perfect for your size. Easiest way to spot the difference from a quick look is to count how many poppers sit across the windscreen.

I personally wouldn't bother with a cage unless seriously tracking or racing, just make sure you get an FIA spec roll bar ... you can always add the petty strut but hardly seen anyone use it on track days.

I run a lowered driver side floor on 13" wheels (I'm 6'1" with 36" waist !) with no ground clearance problems. More worried about sump tbh. There is a technique for road humps :-)

Go and see / sit in as many as you can either at dealers or at one of the club regional gatherings as the weather warms up. Where in the UK are you ?

....and enjoy !

Edited by Steve Campbell on Wednesday 15th February 20:30

[CraigyB]

I had a 1.6k supersport, and the best upgrade I did was to install a powerspeed 4-2-1 exhaust. It was already a 6 speed, and the new exhaust made a big difference when overtaking, and not having to grab 3rd quite so much. 2nd best was lowered floors, though I'm 5 foot 10.

[framerateuk]

I'm only 5'8" and I like the lowered floors on my car, the car fits nicely around me and I don't think I'd want to be any higher up.

That said though, I do need a clear aeroscreen rather than a carbon one as I wouldn't be able to see otherwise

[gareth h]

upsidedownmark said:

So, mostly convinced myself I want / can justify a caterham to myself. Probably at the cheaper end of the scale, probably a later k-series, or maybe an early sigma. I think I'm happy around the 120-140bhp range; coming from bikes even the very high bhp ones haven't really made that much of an impression, it's more about the turning and stopping..

Use will probably be 60:40 road/track.

On to the questions:
Wide vs Narrow track - much difference? Pros and cons?
5 vs 6 - I hear the 6 is closer stacked, maybe better on track, but thinking a taller final gear for road use (and more 5 speeders around)
Metric vs Imperial - does it really make a significant difference?
Cage - nice for track, but a bad idea for road - more from an head vs bars pov than practicality of getting in and out?

Anything I'm missing?
Cheers.

What sort of budget?

[bcr5784]

framerateuk said:

I'm only 5'8" and I like the lowered floors on my car, the car fits nicely around me and I don't think I'd want to be any higher up.

That said though, I do need a clear aeroscreen rather than a carbon one as I wouldn't be able to see otherwise

That does suggest that if you aren't that tall you would need to consider whether lowered floors were compatible with your choice of seats (race obviously lower) and windscreen.

[lord summerisle]

upsidedownmark said:

How to recognise lowered floors, and what difference does it make - sit lower, or just more pedal box room.

I've only driven one with lowered floors when i've hired one, and test driven another with the standard floor - basically you just sit a little lower in the car. no extra room in the pedal box.
Main difference i found was you had to steer more with your elbows out in the lowered floor car - if i just held my arms naturally with elbows down, my left elbow would hit the tunnel. Where as I found it more natural and less restrictive in the normal floor level car. (I'm 5'10") Could just be me, so wouldn't discount one with a lowered floor, and i got used to the pose to adopt when driving on the road after a day at the wheel

[SidewaysSi]

If you can get an original Superlight, it would be pretty perfect.

Got all the bits, including the narrow rear tyre and not so fast you can't push hard on road.