R400 - buyer question
Discussion
Hi Chaps
Question for you R400 owners out there: Im thinking of joining the ranks and was wondering if the car requires continous fettling/tuning or whether I could get away with driving to/from trackdays? I'm not really after a car that needs to much spanner time so wanted to check before I make the plunge.
cheers
Question for you R400 owners out there: Im thinking of joining the ranks and was wondering if the car requires continous fettling/tuning or whether I could get away with driving to/from trackdays? I'm not really after a car that needs to much spanner time so wanted to check before I make the plunge.
cheers
As with any Caterham (not just the R400) its no problem to do just basic type maintenance and have a bit of common sense. Check tyre pressures, oil and water levels and do spanner check to ensure everything is suitably tight. Tyre wear on track may be quite high dependant on your driving style and also the temperature/surface of the track so plenty of people have a spare track set of wheels. Bit of a problem if you are driving to a ciruit unless you make arrangements with a friend to transport them for you. Otherwise you can get a tyre rack that fits to the roll bar and means you can carry your own stuff. Plenty of people around with a jack available so no need to carry one of those.
For the K series engine, at 200 BHP it is still in a very useable and reliable state of tune and there should be no issue whatsover in using one in the manner you are thinking of. If you are referrng to the R400C with the Duratec engine then this is in relatively unstressed at 210 BHP so again should prove reliable.
T
For the K series engine, at 200 BHP it is still in a very useable and reliable state of tune and there should be no issue whatsover in using one in the manner you are thinking of. If you are referrng to the R400C with the Duratec engine then this is in relatively unstressed at 210 BHP so again should prove reliable.
T
The K Series R400 is pretty much bulletproof, especially with drysump.
As regards trackdays - best to buy a second set of tyres, fit them with slicks for trackdays. I can fit 4 wheels on my car - strapping 3 to the Superlight Rollcage and with one in the passenger seat (with jack, tools etc).
As regards trackdays - best to buy a second set of tyres, fit them with slicks for trackdays. I can fit 4 wheels on my car - strapping 3 to the Superlight Rollcage and with one in the passenger seat (with jack, tools etc).
I've been running an R400 Duractec for almost a year. Done several track days in it, and numerous short blats around country lanes. It gets driven to and from tracks - no trailer for me! Apart from routine servicing, it has required no more than the odd oil top up, coolent top up - and several washes! It's been very easy to look after and reliable. I'm taking it to Spa and the N'Ring at the end of June - as usual, it will get driven there and back...
subirg said:
I've been running an R400 Duractec for almost a year. Done several track days in it, and numerous short blats around country lanes. It gets driven to and from tracks - no trailer for me! Apart from routine servicing, it has required no more than the odd oil top up, coolent top up - and several washes! It's been very easy to look after and reliable. I'm taking it to Spa and the N'Ring at the end of June - as usual, it will get driven there and back...
That sounds excellent. Music to my ears. Still, driving it to the ring and back 
Do you have some kind of european breakdown cover?Caterhams are generally very reliable indeed. I ran a Roadsport VVC (160bhp) for three years and just had it serviced routinely. I think the only thing that needed doing was a new wheel bearing once. I ran the same tyres and brake pads the whole time with no appreciable wear.
Caterhams are very simple cars, so there's no much to go wrong, and the lack of weight means that they don't tend to wear things out very much.
Caterhams are very simple cars, so there's no much to go wrong, and the lack of weight means that they don't tend to wear things out very much.
ukwill said:
subirg said:
I've been running an R400 Duractec for almost a year. Done several track days in it, and numerous short blats around country lanes. It gets driven to and from tracks - no trailer for me! Apart from routine servicing, it has required no more than the odd oil top up, coolent top up - and several washes! It's been very easy to look after and reliable. I'm taking it to Spa and the N'Ring at the end of June - as usual, it will get driven there and back...
That sounds excellent. Music to my ears. Still, driving it to the ring and back Do you have some kind of european breakdown cover?Fuel consumption can be interesting, but in 6 months she's not used a drop of oil or coolant which is a surprise. No track days yet but I think the R400 is the best all round 7, incredible performance but without the major engine worries of the R500, whilst being modern enough not to require 'renovation' work. I'm very pleased with mine.
JakeR said:
ukwill said:
subirg said:
I've been running an R400 Duractec for almost a year. Done several track days in it, and numerous short blats around country lanes. It gets driven to and from tracks - no trailer for me! Apart from routine servicing, it has required no more than the odd oil top up, coolent top up - and several washes! It's been very easy to look after and reliable. I'm taking it to Spa and the N'Ring at the end of June - as usual, it will get driven there and back...
That sounds excellent. Music to my ears. Still, driving it to the ring and back Do you have some kind of european breakdown cover?
subirg said:
Re Euro breakdown cover - yes, I will be sorting that out. But, to be honest, I am quietly confident the the car is up to the job!
Always a good idea in any car. To put your mind at rest, in the three years I owned my seven I never had a breakdown, and I don't think anyone in our club did either. Caterhams are so simple: no doors, no windows, no complicated electrics etc.I've just bought an R400 Duratec a month ago for the very reason of being able to drive it to and from track days. I was going to get an Ariel Atom 300, but would not enjoy getting soaking wet and would end up trailering it there and back instead.
I raced a C400 all last year and whilst it might not be the most capable car out there, it's a very good compromise, and more than enough to see off most supercars around any circuits in the UK.
A very good choice IMHO.
I raced a C400 all last year and whilst it might not be the most capable car out there, it's a very good compromise, and more than enough to see off most supercars around any circuits in the UK.
A very good choice IMHO.
Rosco said:
I raced a C400 all last year and whilst it might not be the most capable car out there, it's a very good compromise, and more than enough to see off most supercars around any circuits in the UK.
Well, if you check out the times from Autocar a few years back around Silverstone National, even our 115bhp Roadsport As are lapping significantly quicker than a Ferrari 550 Maranello 
An R400 should anihilate a supercar Do the new Duratec R400s have a drive by wire throttle? If so, what's that like?
As far as I know, no they don't, I'm sure it is still cable.
When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
Rosco said:
As far as I know, no they don't, I'm sure it is still cable.
When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
The 550 was the fastest car that Autocar had that day When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
I was very impressed though that my 115bhp Roadsport could lap quicker than any road car they brought along to that day.As for your times vs GT; that's very impressive!!
Thanks for the tip about the cable vs DBW. Even on cars like Porsches where DBW is as good as you're going to get, it's still far from ideal and would stop me buying one. Things have moved on a lot from when it started appearing in road cars in 1999/2000, but still nowhere near good enough for me to want to buy a car that had it (thus my current fleet of carefully chosen cars!). Let's hope that one day it fullfills its potential and is actually a desirable feature.
Rosco said:
As far as I know, no they don't, I'm sure it is still cable.
When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
I'm pretty sure mine is cable - and it's been absolutely fine for me. No lag, and plenty adjustable enough.When I talk about supercars, I mean things that handle too ie GT3RS etc.
When racing, we were often supporting the GT series. Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
As for lap times, it is rare for my R400 to be passed at a track day by anything road worthy and wearing a number plate - except other 'hot' 7s with hotter drivers :-) If you are a half decent driver, you will be able to see off most things with relative ease. I say relative, because you cannot always count on slower drivers with 'supercars' getting out of the way on fast straights. Silverstone, for example, has a habit of attracting those sorts...
Straying off topic for just a moment, I must at this point pause to congratulate the driver of a Carrera GT on slicks at my last visit to Silverstone. Not only did it sound amazing, but it was by far the fastest car out there. It's nice to see a proper Supercar being driven with proper enthusiasm!
RobM77 said:
Rosco said:
Our lap times were generally within a second of theirs. That's how capable the cars are, when you consider around Rockingham they were getting up to near 160, and we were only managing 130 ish. Braking and cornering speeds are so much higher than bigger,heavier cars
As for your times vs GT; that's very impressive!!R400 has a cable operated throttle - I'd love to know where the drive by wire rumour came from, it's not the first time I've heard it.
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