R400 V R500 dilema

[mark260463]

I have a dilema and would appreciate some input

 

I have just built an R400 due to be SVA when I get back from holiday in a months time. However I have been offered an R500 as a straight swap for mine(I know the car wel and is in A1 conditionl, is 2 years old with 1k miles on it).

 

The extra power really apeals but I am worried about drivability on the roads (will be used ofr fast road and Hill climbs).Of course my car is also new and would I be better upgrading engine in due course instead ?

 

Advise from those experienced with R500 ownership would be appreciated.

 

PS Sorry i originally posted this on the For sale forum in error

[V7 SLR]

I think I'd want to know why he wants to swap, and then if your only objection is whether you could drive it on the road, DRIVE IT ON THE ROAD. You'll never know unless you try.

 

Sorry if this is stating the obvious.

[David Ward]

The consensus after lager and red wine fuelled debate on Le Sept was that the 400 is probably the all round better bet for your type of use. You lose some top end power to the 500 but may gain in tractability. Big gains can be made by optimising the suspension setup and mapping. I'm referring to essentially standard cars here rather than the upgraded/race variety.

 

We need some input from David/A10 ROX as his R400 looked like the real deal on track against the R500's - it has got the right badge on hasn't it David? 😬

 

V7 HPD

 

[mark260463]

Thanks David

 

Just the type of advice I am afer - my real worry is that the 500 would be a "pain" to live with being all power at 8000 revs plus. lets hope the guy you refer to adds some comment

[A10ROX]

After 5 or 6 years of 7's I spec'ed the car of my desire

the first was a big bhp cross flow, 15"prisoners flares etc (not a competition car)

the second was a superlight (brilliant car but lacked sufficient power)

if you are sprinting in a 1600cc class (or under 1700) then this is your starting point

A10ROX is an R500 excluding magensium sump/bellhousing and the engine i.e. it has the carbon/wheels/aero wishbones/triple rad/big ecu fan etc

 

the option of a race R400 engine rather than a R500 was for reliability and power delivery. Many race R400 claim to be as quick as R500 or some tracks (it depends on the circuit)

 

I only do trackdays for fun and no competition

 

On the three tracks on Le Sept A10ROX certain held its own against the standard and modified R500 if ultimately slower

 

As for driving it on the road, below 4500rpm and 40mph it's a complete pain above it's a grin factor

 

What would I choose if building again .... at the moment same again

only issue now is not the power but the handling

 

Hope this helps

 

the not so slow R400 needing a bit of TLC with my polishing cloth

 

Edited by - A10ROX on 22 Jul 2004 21:19:55

 

Edited by - A10ROX on 22 Jul 2004 21:20:30

[RESOLVIWOLF]

" "pain" to live with being all power at 8000 revs plus"

 

R500 is more torquey and pulls better lower down.. no problem there. if you dont want teh power dont use it on the road.

 

 

but thats not the point .... unless you have very very wealthy then reliability has to come into it and 99 times out of a 100 you pick the R400 (caterham so the same, e.g. the nurburg car)

 

if you are competing in the car and driving it properly then ultimately you have to view the engine as a consumable.... but the R500 lump really does represent an exponential cost increase over a boggo vhpd.

 

 

[RESOLVIWOLF]

also there's the small matter of your car being worth well in excess of 30k whereas a 2-yr-old used R500 is mid to high 20's in my book.

 

 

[Asspec]

I don't know were the living with it at 8000rpm comes from (i may learn as the car gets more mileage its an R101) As for ordinary road driving goes my car is as docile if not better than my daily drive( Astra 1.7cdti). If you read what keith jeck's R500 engine cost to rebuild in a recent low flying article after 4000 track miles I would say that for the performance that it was relatively cheap.

 

As I have said before in another thread a new car is only new until you pull it off the forecourt

 

Learning all about my car

[clarkey]

I owned a Superlight R and an R500. The R500 was the better road car by some margin. Don't believe the hype about it being an undriveble animal, it's not true.

 

I agree with previous posts about values though - a 2 year old R500 is worth £25k to £28k depending on condition and extras, your R400 should fetch £28k+ in a private sale.

[Mark Piper]

Keitih Jecks didn't "rebuild" his engine - simply refreshed it. There's a big cost difference between a rebuild and a refresh - even on an SLR engine - trust me on this!

 

Anyway - RESOLVIWOLF - you a mate of Jackal's by any chance?....

 

Clarkey - did you sell the RS in the end?

 

A10ROX - sounds like you need an Emerald if it's a dog below 4500/40 mph. ..and did you really specify an R500 with an R400 engine (I didn't think Caterham allowed this) or is it an R400 with aero wishbones?

[Marius]

Get the R500.

 

Anyone else a dilema ?

 

[clarkey]

Hi Mark

 

I didn't sell the RS in the end, although I think it is about to go back on the market as I never use it and the girlfriend is starting at University in September (anything to avoid marriage and babies for a few more years). Another SLR could be tempting though...