Caterham newbie spec - advice

[HardtopManual]

Having previously been part of the PH 310R build/road test team (read: jammy git who had a trip to the factory to turn a spanner on the car and a weekend to play with it), I've finally decided that it's time to properly scratch the 7 itch. The car will be primarily for road use, with the odd track day (perhaps 3 or 4 per year). My budget isn't unlimited, but neither am I trying to pinch pennies here and there. My experience of the PH 310R told me that:

- track suspension is too firm for road use, for me
- the S3 chassis with lowered floors is fine for me at 6'2 and 80kg
- I was glad of the full windscreen and hood
- the heater is next to useless

Given the above, days spent playing with the online configurator have resulted in:

Models - SEVEN 360 £29,990 (I decided on the Duratec rather than the Sigma as it has more headroom for future upgrades)
Body Colour - Hyper Green £500
Standard Chassis £0
R-Pack £1,000
With Painted '7' Grille £75
Floor - Lowered Floor £495
Seats - heated carbon seats with padding £1,200
Sequential shift lights £300
Nosecone - Carbon fibre £495
Front cycle wings - Carbon fibre £355
Rear wings - Carbon fibre £695
Full windscreen, hood and side screens £1,250
With Hood bag £80
Boot cover – carbon vinyl £95
TOTAL: £36,530.00

Does anyone with experience of running a Caterham with a similar use case, i.e. mainly road with a bit of track use, think I've missed anything that I'll wish I'd added, or something that I'm paying for but don't really need? (yes I know I don't need the carbon fripperies, but mmm carbon). FWIW my current toy is a Ferrari 355, which I'm still very happy with and won't ever sell, but the Caterham was a different sort of exciting.

Thanks all

[HardtopManual]

Oh and I'm not actually sure on the carbon nosecone - bit vulgar? - if I were to forego it, I'll add stripes (not sold on those either, as they seem to be decals rather than paint)



I'll be building it myself, and am toying with the idea of putting the process on YouTube.

[HardtopManual]

Thanks for your thoughts Steve. It would be interesting to see what you've come up with in the configurator.

Steve Evil said:

I'd say smaller wheels are all but essential, especially given they're free to swap out.

Why's that? Lower ride height?

[HardtopManual]

REALIST123 said:

By the way, do I gather you’re not bothering with a heater? I think that’s a mistake.

If they’re properly installed they work well and are extremely worthwhile most of the year.

Yes - I didn't really get on with the heater in the PH loaner 310R, finding it impossible to find a comfortable temperature (it seemed to be either off, or hotter than the sun) and thought heated seats would work better. They're more for the mrs anyway, as she loves the heated seats in our daily.

Having spent another hour on the configurator, I think I've talked myself out of carbon bling and into a 420, as carbon bits are easier to add further down the line than horses are. Then I started researching semi helical gear sets. And a petty bar for the track. And... well, I've had to set myself a budget cap before things get too silly. The PH 310R came in at £38,930 as tested, and given that's the car that gave me the bug, I decided to spend no more than that.

So I'm now at:

SEVEN 420
Body Colour - Hyper Green
Chassis - Standard Chassis
Packs - R-Pack
Floor - Lowered Floor
Wheels - 13" Apollo black alloy with Avon ZZS (6” front and 8” rear)
Brakes - Front - ventilated discs with quad piston calipers
Seats - heated carbon seats with padding
Roll bars/cages - Trackday roll bar
Weather protection - Full windscreen, hood and side screens
Side screen armrests - With Side screen armrests
Hood Bag - With Hood bag

Really appreciate all the advice above, so thanks for that.

Any members of the Lotus 7 club on here? Worth joining?

[HardtopManual]

A.G. said:

as dry sump is standard so no cost on these, my man maths convinced me it made sense to go 420

Exactly the same man-maths I used!

Mossy7 said:

I'd also save some cash for some driver tuition, particularly for any track work; cheapest performance upgrade you can get.

Completely agree and will be investing when I have the car.

jimmy7 said:

Half Hood - I have never used the full hood or found a need for the bag.
Aeroscreen - On track I really found it made the experience.

I don't think I'll have much use for the full hood either (I hated it when I borrowed PH's 310R), but I would like a proper windscreen and "doors", and it seems like buying the full weather package at build time is about the same price as buying a windscreen, wipers and sidescreens separately. I'll speak to the factory to see if swapping out the full hood for a half hood is an option though.

[HardtopManual]

REALIST123 said:

Haha. I very much doubt CC are fitting the DS at no cost!

Well, I wouldn't say they are, as the 420 is 3 grand dearer than the 360, but a quick browse of https://www.caterhamcars.com/en/models/the-iconic-...
will reveal "Dry sump system as standard".

Edited by HardtopManual on Thursday 6th June 13:48