Toughie

I've also used the local garage. I've had the tyres delivered to them from Avon, and had them fit them to the wheels. I've not noticed any damage.

I freely confess to being a wimp. I do have a heater, though I can't remember ever using it. Only there for my wife's comfort, you understand. Nowt to do with me. Honest. Anyway, "any mug can rough it". .

I've seen one of your cars, Tazio. The way you had it, you might as well mount a heater on the rear number plate for all the good it would do.

I was a Sigma owner. A Roadsport 140 SV with full weather gear, heater, standard roll bar. I bought it in 2016 for £23,000. 'Course, as I say above, I didn't have the common sense then to join the club first and ask around. Dunno about the price now, but I would have thought that a bit high.

No, no. Not backwards, I said upside down, to suck air out. But I do take your point, and that's a great quote, worth keeping in mind, thank you.

That's a good point, Scott. I wonder, if it were fitted the right way round, but upside down (so it sticks up from the bonnet) might there be a negative pressure in the slipstream, sucking the air out of the engine bay? Though it would probably look fairly ugly.

Welcome, Alan. I wish I'd had the sense to do what you have done, and joined the club to help me hone my choice, before I'd bought my first 7. Had we not been in lockdown, I'm sure a few of the local owners would have been happy to take you for a trial flight, where ever you are. But as Tazio says, they're all great cars.

Indeed. Let's all join together in one.

True enough. Damned frustrating, though. It seems to me that you've probably offered the most detailed explanation thus far, for which I'm grateful, but you'd think that somewhere there would be some sort of research papers on the matter that we could look up.

I don't intend dragging this thread out, but perhaps as a closing comment... In view of ScottR400's perfectly valid point, that no-one appears to have presented any scientific evidence either way regarding the benefit or harm of periodically starting the engine, I had a quick trawl through the inteweb. The same argument appears to raise its head in every motoring quarter, with protagonists on both sides, but no-one providing any evidence. More than one source reports different service centres of the same manufacturer giving conflicting opinions. So I decided to contact (one of?) the world's biggest engine builder, Ford, manufacturer of many, if not most, of the engines in our cars, mine included. And, after some delay, what was their reply? Good afternoon Alan, Thank you for your email dated 01 February 2021, regarding the maintenance of your Caterham vehicles; we appreciate you taking the time to contact us directly with your queries. Whilst the engine in question is manufactured by Ford Motor Company, we would be required to direct you to contact the manufacturer of the vehicle for assistance; as they are best equipped to help answer your queries and how the Ford engine works in conjunction with the vehicle. We hope this information is of assistance, but apologise that we are unable to answer your queries directly on this occasion; should you require support with another matter in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us on either 0203 564 4444 or UKCRC1@FORD.COM. Kind regards, Steven JarradFord Customer Relationship Centre

Look, if it's something I've said, I apologise. I was guilty of being the first one to say I didn't think side stripes enhanced the line, so I apologise if I've dragged it off topic and if it's come over as derogatory. I don't regard being told that bonnet stripes are silly as anything offensive, and neither was my response intended to be serious. Surely we can all enjoy a bit of banter. If we can't all engage in a bit of flippancy, what are we doing owning such ridiculous vehicles?

I had better go and remove my bonnet stripe immediately. Do I get to keep the noseband?

It does, indeed, as there's a big plastic deflector set at about 45 degree incline behind the radiator. I don't know if that was Caterham's attempt to vent the hot air, or part of their attempt to reduce the amount of front end lift. Presumably it's inducting air from under the front of the car. I do wonder if I could get cooler air in, somehow.

Sounds great. Nice colour choices, too. I'm on my second Viper Blue, but that green is also luverly.

#5 Tazio I just think they spoil the line, so got rid of them.

P.S. A warm welcome to the club!

Caterham's salesman once told me that the average buyer will own three Caterhams in their lifetime, so whichever you choose, you'll probably want another.Caterhams then Technical Director, Simon Lambert, told us at a Get To Know You 7 course in 2017 that the "sweet spot" for Caterhams is between 130 bhp to 180 bhp. You can control the car and have fun. Over 180 bhp, the car controls you, and you have to react to it.He also told the bloke that built his own 160 that, with its skinny tyres, he'd made the best choice of car, for the most fun.We're all megalomaniacs. What ever power we have, soon, we usually want more.I had a Roadsport 140 as my first car, though the dyno run said it was actually 156 bhp. I then bought my present car, a CSR 260 with 251 bhp. 'Course, I'm nowhere near good enough to do her justice, but I just love that power.

True, 7WOTW. I concede. That's a great link. Thank you. Linked to tyre size, I have found this calculator for gear ratios interesting, https://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ratio-calculator/

And improves the gearing ratio for acceleration. Also, Caterham's Technical Director told us at a GTKY7 day that 7s handle better and "feel more grounded" on 13".

#22 Bloody good description. Thanks for that. Dunno quite what I can do to make use of it, but very informative.

Yeah, but doesn't it give you a chance to reconnect with it? And a bit of a smile as it fires up.

One current member, a former traffic policeman, has told me that the salt is mixed with molasses to make it stick to the roads for longer, so it might be there for much longer than appearance might suggest. So perhaps a really good downpours help to clear it. Many of us have certainly 'enjoyed' those lately.

Scott My Apologies. I interpreted your comment, "It may not do too much damage starting every month but it’s not doing any good and certainly isn’t necessary, IMO and according to all the research I’ve done." ... in my own words. I'm sorry if I've misrepresented you. I also apologise if I've implied that you were being obtuse. You made it quite clear that you felt the adherents of both approaches tend to be firmly encamped, with little substantiated evidence one way or the other. I'm certainly not offering any evidence either way, just an ignorant soul seeking what guidance I can.

Thanks, Geoff. I'll go for fortnightly, then. If, as Scott says, it makes little difference, then no harm done.

#24 So, Geoff, why the difference in periods between piston & gas turbine? And should I use the aircraft period (2 weeks) as my running interval, rather than 1 month? #25 2 years ago I didn't stop, and it ended up at Arch, then TSK and I rebuilt it!