CSR on order... any advice?!

[StuC]

Hi Martin

Sage advice indeed - many thanks for your thoughts... for the thoughts of everyone in fact!

Superb stuff.

Taking into account what everyone has said, some items seem to be more-or-less a "no-brainer"... the trackday roll bar, the diff struts, probably the LSD too.

I am goIng to be using the car for track days, and there seems little against the LSD for road use except a bit of extra noise? Not an issue for me, so I'll put it in the spec.

Seeing as the car is a new build, with all the warranty issues, I'm probably going to stay with OEM equipment for the initial spec. Things could get complicated... and more costly(!)... and I'm right up against the limit of my cash reserves to buy the CSR as it is.

I was drawn to the idea of a spare wheel carrier too - my Supersport has one and, as you say, it can be very useful for carrying things other than just a spare wheel!

I've built cars before, and worked on many types over the years, so swapping out gearboxes, diffs , brakes, etc. in future causes me no concern. No easier car to work on than a Seven (although I've not yet laid hands on a CSR).

The big question is the 5-speed versus 6-speed, with the choice of diff ratios to go with that.

Horses for courses, so I'll get thinking about the balance of motorway trundling versus trackday sprightliness.

It seems that the choice comes down to:

6-speed with standard diff ratio

5-speed with standard diff ratio

6-speed with 3.38 (as per Alaskossie's S3)

The latter could be the best compromise, but I'll not dive in without giving it much further thought.

When all's said & done, I could easily do just what Hanns Per did & drive it for a couple of years, and then, if it doesn't quite do what I want, get swapping 'boxes based on personal experience.

It's a great situation to be in, being able to scratch my head about the minutiae of the spec of my very own dream car... all part of the joy of being a Seven owner, eh!!

Dontcha just love it!!

Sincere thanks to everyone.

ATB, Stu

 

 

[sjmmarsh]

stu

 

January will come round soon enough. CC will keep sending reminders for stage payments as the build develops.

 

Some more things to think about that may not be on the options list.

 

1. race exhaust (larger diameter and is quieter, which helps on Trackdays

2. quick steering rack (more responsive steering as less turn of the wheel required)

3. Silver dials rather than black

 

.. And Say hi here

 

Steve

 

Edited by - sjmmarsh on 5 Aug 2012 21:23:45

[paul jacobs]

Sage advice, all of it. As a long time CSR owner, and I seem to be one of the only people allowed to build their own too, probably because it has come on a long line of Sevens I've built, and coming late to this particular party there is very little to add, you will love the car, it really is the best Seven that CC have ever made, as an all round road and part time track car. Unless you like changing gear ALL the time, do not go for the 6 speed, don't even think of going for a standard 5 speed either, but get Briah Hill or Steve Perks to give you a long 1st and 2nd ratios and ask for the 3.38 diff. you could even do as Hanns Per has done and go for the 3.1, the engine will take it. Mine has the 3.38 and pulls 3500 at 80, just perfect. I'm sure 3000 at 80 would also work well too with the longer diff or a longer 5th. I would suggest talking to CC about fitting your own, modified 5 speed, and either giving you a generous credit for the 6 speed or getting them to fit your modified 5 speed and taking the 6 speed and selling it to recoup your cost, [this would be my option] but now is the time to get CC to agree to what you want, before you lay down any money.

 

I'm pleased to see that there is still something I can recommend which hasn't cropped up yet, and that is a set of adjustable pedals, normally used by the racers I believe, not too expensive, but useful if your other half is likely to drive or if you have short legs [they need a spanner to adjust mind.]

 

Do try and get out in one for a bit longer than CCs blast around the block or at least get an owner to take you out for half an hour. They are fast yes, but oh so drivable, the best Seven I've ever owned, which is why after 7 years I still have mine and haven't changed it for something else.

 

Enjoy the whole experience, it won't be perfect but it will be worth it for the 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬

 

Paul.

[andyseven]

Hi Stu, I am new to Caterham, having taken delivery of my CSR in June. Not had much chance to drive due to weather and not all going smoothley either. See my posts on noisy differential and Gearbox change on new CSR. Good luck with yours. Mine was scratched on delivery also. Ref options: I went for lowered seats, as its nice to sit 'in' the car. I have 6 speed box - give you my comments when I get a new one. LSD, leather seats which are very comfy and if it rains wipe off quickly. Power socket to charge a phone or sat nav, which I have found useful. Doors with armrests, otherwise you get sore elbows. Swoopy dash, which I like as it looks lovelly and has stalks rather than buttons on dash, although as others report it does get very hot - not a major problem and probably nice in the winter. Thats about it.

 

Edited by - andyseven on 6 Aug 2012 15:46:26

[rgrigsby]

I don't have a CSR but do have an S3 with a 250bhp 2.3l Duratec so fairly similar. As Paul has said talk to BGH and get one of their uprated 5 speed boxes with a longer first and shorter 5th. The engine will easily pull it and really doesn't need a 6 speed box.

 

I run mine with a 3.92 diff but I sprint/hill climb so the extra acceleration is useful, I would have though a 3.62 would be a nice compromise and the 3.38 good for road use.

 

FWIW my car tops out at 138mph on track and the only place I hit this is Goodwood so you really don't need to gear the car for 150mph 😬

 

It's already been mentioned but you should definetly ask about 13" wheels, I could be wrong but I think they need different calipers to fit, you will want to run 13" wheel's on track so it's worth getting this sorted now.

 

Also as has been said it's definetly worth getting an LSD (maybe a nice new BMW one?) and a track day roll bar.

 

Cheers

Rob

[mav]

It's the 13" rears that's the problem. You need the race uprights and calipers and other bits in order to fit that size wheel, as they do on the race cars...

[Eugene]

Not a CSR, but a 210BHP Zetec.

 

These are the figures for my 5 speed, which I love in preference to the 6 speed, when you have good torque figures...

 

Gear set: Ford Sierra Type 9/N BGH 2.0 Sporting Close 5 Speed

Gear 1 2 3 4 5 Final

Ratios: 2.920 1.860 1.295 1.000 0.850 3.890

 

RPM Limit: 7500

Tyre Size: 185/70 x 13

Tyre Diameter: 23.20 in

Tyre Circumference: 72.88 in

 

 

Gear Mph per 1000 RPM Mph @7500 RPM

----------------------------------------

1 6.08 46

2 9.54 72

3 13.70 103

4 17.74 133

5 20.87 157

 

Mph RPM (in Gears)

-------------------------------------------------

1 2 3 4 5

-------------------------------------------------

5 823 524 365 282 240

10 1646 1048 730 564 479

15 2469 1572 1095 845 719

20 3291 2097 1460 1127 958

25 4114 2621 1825 1409 1198

30 4937 3145 2190 1691 1437

35 5760 3669 2555 1973 1677

40 6583 4193 2919 2254 1916

45 7406 4717 3284 2536 2156

50 5242 3649 2818 2395

55 5766 4014 3100 2635

60 6290 4379 3382 2874

65 6814 4744 3663 3114

70 7338 5109 3945 3353

75 5474 4227 3593

80 5839 4509 3833

85 6204 4791 4072

90 6569 5072 4312

95 6934 5354 4551

100 7299 5636 4791

105 5918 5030

110 6200 5270

115 6481 5509

120 6763 5749

125 7045 5988

130 7327 6228

135 6467

140 6707

145 6946

150 7186

155 7426

 

Gear Change RPM drop (change @7500)

---------------------------------------

1 -> 2 -2723 (to 4777)

2 -> 3 -2278 (to 5222)

3 -> 4 -1708 (to 5792)

4 -> 5 -1125 (to 6375)

[TomB]

Any chance of a link to the gearcalc tool?

 

Cheers

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting Roadsport06: 

This is your spreadsheet here.

Jonathan

[StuC]

Splat...

 

(that was the sound of my bonce exploding due to all the info!)

 

Sorry for the slow reply - was working Sun/Mon.

 

I'll have a good read through everything you have all said (thank you so much, btw!), and a play with GearCalc (fantastic piece of work).

 

I'll also go and say hello on the CSR forum too... thanks for the link.

 

I feel that I am definitely homing in on the final spec, which will be more than a little different (and a touche more expensive) than what I put on the paperwork originally, but no matter. There are fatigue cracks in the bank account, but I think it'll hold.

 

Meanwhile, if anyone wants a nice, well loved, 1996 1600 K-series Supersport.......

 

 

Actually (as an aside) here's another thing...

 

I spoke to the guys who do the (new) Caterham-approved insurance policy (I'm currently with Flux). These new guys tell me that they (currently) require a tracker to be fitted to cars over a certain value, so they couldn't actually insure a CSR without a tracker.

 

See you soon

Stu

 

Edited by - StuC on 7 Aug 2012 20:41:50

[sjmmarsh]

StuC

 

There are insurers who will do it without a tracker as they realise that it is hard to hide one on a 7. Worth ringing around - and letting Caterham know!

 

Steve

[StuC]

Absolutely... and I told the insurance company they ought to think about their policy requirements too. The chap I spoke to (v pleasant, btw) agreed with me, so hopefully they will change their policy, or they won't get many in the way of CSR owners I imagine!

[David aka Blue7]

Stu

 

I tried quite a few and they all required a tracker to be fitted as it seems to now be an insurer (as opposed to broker) standard. There is a place to fit it but for obvious reasons I will not divulge the location on this list. TBH given the attachment we have to our cars I think it is a worthwhile 'extra', I think it is £250 for installation of cheapest version including 1 yrs subscription. IMHO go for it

 

Edited by - Blue7 on 7 Aug 2012 21:38:45

[Slipper man]

For what its worth, I would always go for the 6 speed option, and get the final drive right for the cruising I wanted to do. I have a k series R500 and even with that, when I am not in the mood to really go for it, I use alternate gears - going from 2 to 4 to 6. It has more than enough torque to do that, and can normal start in 2nd gear. The CSR should have much more torque than my car, so I would have no worries about making first too high.

[sjmmarsh]

The problem I have with a tracker is that I need to store the car with the Battery Master switch removed a) as a theft deterrent and b) to save the battery going flat.

 

The Downside of this is no tracker - and presumably no insurance?

 

Steve

[David aka Blue7]

Quoting sjmmarsh: 

The problem I have with a tracker is that I need to store the car with the Battery Master switch removed a) as a theft deterrent and b) to save the battery going flat.

 

The Downside of this is no tracker - and presumably no insurance?

 

Steve

 

Steve, I had the same reservations but there is now a tracker that is powered by it's own battery, specifically for classic cars and motorbikes (and se7ens). The battery lasts for up to 5 years. CC list "Tracker" in the Partner section of their website, this is what I had fitted here

[rgrigsby]

It's not quite a CSR but my car is insured without a tracker but has quite a high value so it is possible, have a chat with MSM.

[David aka Blue7]

Quoting rgrigsby: 

It's not quite a CSR but my car is insured without a tracker but has quite a high value so it is possible, have a chat with MSM.

I changed from MSM to REIS 4 years ago because MSM required a tracker on any car valued £40k+ but now REIS, CC and others all seem to insist on a tracker if the car is £40k+. I didn't try all insurers because I eventually thought it was a reassuring security feature.

[charlie_pank]

I don't think Caterhams are stolen by the opportunist thief. They'd be difficult to sell on, so must either be taken abroad or broken up for parts. Even taken abroad they'd be difficult to sell because they're RHD, so it must be mostly for parts. Given that it's a parts-bin car in the first place, what use is it to someone stealing a car for parts?

 

I think in most cases where they're stolen, it's the trailer that the thieves are after. I guess fitting a tracker might encourage them to leave you the car...

 

How many do we on here know of that have been stolen?

[Jonathan Kay]

I found a stolen one in Garsington once. Did that belong to anyone on BC?

 

Jonathan

[charlie_pank]

What did you do with it?

 

[Jonathan Kay]

Told the police. They told me they were arranging for it to be reunited with its distraught owner.

 

I was before I discovered BC.

 

Jonathan

[charlie_pank]

Had it been driven away, or dumped off the back of a stolen trailer?

[Jonathan Kay]

Looked as if it had been parked neatly on a public road in the village. No obvious damage. I waited 24h then 'phoned the police.

 

Jonathan

[StuC]

I always assumed that one of the bigger problems might be joyriders - pinching the car for a blast, then leaving it in a crumpled heap in a field somewhere.

I've always had removable s/w on my kit cars, and the batt master switch helps too, I'm sure.

Some people will nick anything if it's not tied down. Grrrrr.

:-(

A work colleague told me about an old guy who left an broken fridge outside his house for the council to collect (they have a scheme for disposing of such things, apparently). Anyway, despite a number of phone calls to the the council, no-one came to collect it, and the fridge was still there a couple of days later.

For a bit of a joke, he put a sign on it: "Fridge for sale £10".

Someone nicked it almost immediately.