Support Team rob spencer Posted June 22, 2001 Support Team Share Posted June 22, 2001 I'm new to 7s and am trying to decide what kit to buy. I'm 6'3" tall so I'm considering a wide SV version with a 1.8K. I've not taken a test drive yet but then I won't have a lot to compare it with when I do. Has anyone got anthing good or bad to say about the SV. I need to decide if the extra £1250 is worth the cost and the del;ay in saving it up. Help, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan T Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Rob This is for a change something I am qualified to speak on. I am 6/4 with size 12 feet and first tried to drive a 7 in 1977, failed to do so, tried again in 1987 and 1997 same result. I may have succeeded after a fashion if I had radically altered the seat and pedal arrangements but after sitting in the SV ( not just wide body by the way )at last year's motor show I decided to buy one on the spot. I picked it up from the factory 2 weeks ago and have already done 1100 miles including the club bash to Le Mans. It's brilliant and many of the larger proportioned club members on the trip who sat in it were impressed with what was on offer. I have a 1.8 VVC with 6 speed box, although I have never driven another 7 so cannot compare mine goes as you might expect it to and it's cornering seems fine to me ie behaves as a 7 shouldwink.gif If you want to have a look at mine and live within shooting distance of SW London let me know. Cheers Jan PS Extra £1250 includes widetrack suspension and watts linkage ( not usually standard ) so you are only looking at an extra £500 in reality, this was noted in a thread or article earlier this year. Edited by - Jan T on 23 Jun 2001 09:41:55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph7355 Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 You should definitely try both variants, but you'll need to find a std. car set up for a big driver. If you're near Dorking then mine would be a good example. Alternatively, if you're near North London it's currently sat at Ratrace so you could try it there (it should be back home at the end of next week). Height isn't necessarily the determining factor, but all dimensions matter (leg length, weight etc etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan T Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Rob I agree with Andy's comments so do try both. Age is also a determinant in my opinion....that's why I went for the more 'comfortable' option! Cheers Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan T Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Andy Check your e mail. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 At the risk of being contoversial, I can see a time when all you will be able to buy will be the SV.I mean,how many short cockpit (std issue once) cars are the factory making now? NIL. I think the SV is a great car; still got the right 'look' and with extra boot space, leg room etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph7355 Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Having just had the pleasure of a couple of hours in Jan's car I can confirm that the SV is a thoroughly well sorted piece of design. Without immediate back to back tests you'd be hard pushed to notice a huge amount of difference between it and a similarly equipped std. car. And wiithout a std. car sat next to it, it really doesn't look out of the ordinary size wise. The VVC option is a good idea with it too. Seems to have a decent amount of torque lower down the range compared to the usual K-series types. To cap it all, metallic purple and silver really is a top colour scheme for it. The one thing I would investigate is the wheel/tyre combo. 16"s are someway from being a dead loss (it IS a 7 after all, and aesthetically they suit the bigger car), but I suspect something with a higher profile tyre (which necessarily means a smaller wheel) might be good to try. Nice car, and with us all getting bigger and wider I think Chris is right. The great thing is that we don't have to worry about it too much as the 7 is still in tact (and even more so for those of us of larger stature smile.gif). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Chris makes a good poimt if the SV proves popular, what will happen to the narrow one ? The other company whose cars begin with a 'W' have made a wide bodied one for some time now, do they still make the older narrow one as well or have they stopped ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Wide-body is now the "standard" offering from our friends in Kingswinford. I think they will produce a "narrow-body" if you ask them nicely, or if you already own one (as I do) and stuff it (not yet!!), necessitating an insurance claim replacement. Having a wide body version too, though, I really can't see the point in having a narrow option. I can jump out of one car, into the other, and they feel exactly the same, save for the extra space in the "wide" one. I'm not going to bore you with a detailed analysis, but rest assured, if Westf1eld can do it, Caterham can too. Chris Clark has sat in my wide one tooblush.gifbiggrin.gif, so he may have an opinion. Chrisquestion.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 I was arm locked into it! I couldn't believe the poor workmanship, dreadful design faults...........Ha Ha; that got ya going!!!tongue.gif No, really I think that for the six foot plus driver (I'm 6' 3" tall) the long bodied (wide?) cars make a whole barrel full of sense. Interesting enough, I didn't find Jan T's car much wider than my own 'std.' long cockpit Caterham. I suspect the seats which have the small side extension/support pieces help to locate you. The extra leg length is the real plus, although strangely enough I kept moving the seat forward & found myself in that typical high knee position to start with!It just felt the 'Caterham' thing to do! Guess you've got to adjust your thinking to all that extra room smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 I couldn't believe the poor workmanship, dreadful design faults........... All religously copied, no doubt................... biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif Edited by - Blatman on 25 Jun 2001 19:42:28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph7355 Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Extra shoulder room was really noticeable to me. A couple of big guys in a std. car and you're overlapping shoulders. Additional leg room in the passenger side was also noticeable, but I've not been passengered many times anyway, and mine has a shortened passenger footwell. The very fact I could get in the passenger side at all with a proper seat indicates there's a ton more room. The seats were really quite comfy, but I think someone of my beer drinking proportions would probably need an XXXL race seat or similar to feel as secured (or cramped depending on your view) as in the std. car. As I noted to Jan, had they made the SV when I bought mine 4.5yrs ago I'd have thought seriously about it. A bit of DVA magic would be interesting smile.gif. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 What WAS the difference between the short cockpit and long cockpit cars? Better to go in a blaze of glory than to fade away teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 About 2 inches extra legroom - before Caterhams started playing around with the chassis - the post '92(?) chassis has even more room lengthwise, but is narrower at the end of the footwell. I think there was another change in '95 or '96 when they produced a "common engine" chassis, and footwell lengths changed again. Dave H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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