hahuang65

Yeah, I know I'm gonna miss the Bay Area and I'm sad my kids won't be able to grow up here. But we have family in TX, and we can afford so much more house over there for 3 kids. It's a definite trade off, but yeah, we'll likely never move back.

After close to a year of deciding, I've finally put my deposit down with Rich Kamp for a 420R S3. I initially posted And got some great feedback. I'm unfortunately (maybe fortunately?) leaving the Bay Area for Texas as my family is growing. I won't get to experience the Seven in the Bay Area where I love. My build date is currently August 2024 so I will be pondering options and colors until April 2024... Any advice / suggestions are welcome! Looking forward to joining the club finally!

Oh interesting. How does that work?

Yup, I have checked them and they are. Yes, Rich's personal one. It's a Superlight, about equivalent to what an 420R is. It was a real hoot. Yes, Rich basically does a fixed price. Sometimes he makes more off the sale, sometimes he makes less. With the queue it's too unpredictable. I've talked to Bruce at Beachman as well as Josh over at Rocky Mountain. They quote based on exchange rate, but it's still an estimation. The final payment is due when they're done building and are ready to send out the kit. With the queue times being 1.5 years, the quotes will not be a reliable way to tell how much money you are actually committing to.

@sltousoh yeah, had a great time. Rich is a super nice guy, was very generous with his time and his car for me. I know I'm definitely gonna get one, and get one from him. Just trying to figure out the timing now. Hoping to put the deposit down real soon. Thanks for checking in! I think I've settled on a 420R, with the only modifications being paint. I'm still on the fence on the 4-pot vs 2-pot front brakes. I was going to consider the windshield and leather seats purely for my wife, but while we were out there she seemed okay with the aeroscreen and the composite seats. I'm really just wrestling with whether or not I should spend this money at this moment in time when the economy seems about to shit the bed on a "toy that you'll drive once a month" as my wife pointed out. Considering the fact we MAY want to move in the near future, I might want as much money in the bank as possible for a downpayment, and so I've been looking at loans as well, but rates are high and only getting higher. But DAMMIT I want this car.

@BlakeJany thoughts on pushing it even further? I originally was trying to decide between the 620 and 420... And now I'm deciding between the 360 and the 420... What a rollercoaster.

Would you upgrade further? I've heard of what Josh from Rocky Mountain calls a "440"... Or even more?

@BlakeJ appreciate your input! It's a real dilemma!

You'd recommend the 2 pot brakes, even for on-track usage? Also what really is the difference between the 360R and the 420R? Is it just the cams, dry sump and ECU tune? Everything else is the same (including cosmetically)? I'm trying to figure out if I should just go down to the 360R and see if enough car for me, and upgrade the performance if I really wanted to?

Yeah... but the 15s look SOOOO much easier to clean ROFL. Partially... the manual is another part of that... also... if you get the quick release steering wheel, that's 3 theft deterrents!

I had only chosen the windscreen as I expected I'd only use that because of the wife, and cuz I just don't want to wear a helmet. Would love to be carefree and use the aeroscreen without a helmet all the time, but that's just not a good idea. Fair enough, that's the situation on my STI anyways. They don't come with an oil temp gauge LOL. You're telling me. My STI costs $4k to swap all rotors and pads at the dealer. Close to $2.5k if I do it myself. That's part of why I didn't go with the option for the 4 pots... Curious if you guys think it's nice to have for the track, I'll bet it is. Certainly looks awesome.

Not really a choice/option for the 420R though, as the dry-sump comes standard. Is it a big downside? I'm aspiring to occasionally track.

How do you know which suspension option is which? I'm totally with you here on the aeroscreen. I've optioned the windshield primarily because of the wife. But... if she never rides in it maybe it's not a problem? I would love to get the upgraded front brakes. Was wondering if it was necessary. They're certainly unnecessary on my STI, so I figured that's a pretty easy upgrade in the future if I wanted? For the uprated BMC, that's standard on the 420R. For the 360R route... is the dry sump a must?

@KnifeySpoony point taken on the shift lights, just a cool factor but yeah that can be cut out. I'm only 5'6". I did sit in a SV and even that felt tight so that was a bit odd to me. But I would HIGHLY prefer a smaller chassis. What's the reason for the track day rollbar?

@sltous@KnifeySpoonyhey guys, just wanted to pop back in and say, thanks for the ridealong offers for the 6th, but I won't be able to make it. I will be heading up to Kampena on the 13th to chat with Rich and maybe check out some of his stuff there. Best wishes for your track day and hope you guys set some PRs! For everyone else participating/interested in this thread: I've been speccing a 420R and now I'm even wondering if I should drop down to the 360R. If I did get the 360R, it is probably fairly easy to upgrade to the 420? Also, what are some MUST-HAVE options (in your opinions of course) for the 420R and 360R? I've attached a sheet that I've specced out. I'm torn on carbon parts since I'll likely only do a track day once a year, IF that. I don't think I need to optimize for lightness there. Any thoughts are appreciated! Howard_Caterham.pdf

I feel like I should leap at the opportunity while the GBP is at an all time low... right?

@GalloIgnacioGlad I was able to somewhat help with my post! Congratulations on paying off the motorcycle! Just wanted to point out that while CA is banning ICE in 2035, Rich Kamp from Kampena Motors mentioned to me that the UK (where Caterham are exported from) is banning in 2030, and he wouldn't be surprised if their lineup changed drastically before then. So you might not have until 2035. Also, I think if cost is a concern... the British pound is currently at an all-time low... Might be a great time to buy for value.

Thanks, that's helpful in context. I can see why'd you'd go for a sequential.

I was leaning away from the sequential actually. My first question to Rich Kamp was "Can I get the 620R with the 5-speed?", but everyone seems to really like the sequential, maybe specifically on the 620R. I'm trying to understand why. It now seems to me that the 420 is the way to go, but I'm left wondering, if I did spring for the 620, would it just be a terrible experience compared since I'll be street driving it 90% of the time? Is it going to be a "first gear only" affair, unless I'm on the track/highway? Is it just the nature of the car to be somewhat undrive-able on the street... or would a person driving reservedly be able to have as much fun in a 620 vs a 420 on the street? In short, I'm wondering if the 620 is a "you can't use this much power on the street, but it's still just as fun as a 420 to drive" or "this car is just going to be less fun than a 420 on a street"?

@Vovchandrcan you explain why you'd option the sequential? One of my biggest challenges is deciding between the 5-speed and the sequential. I've never had the opportunity to experience a true sequential, but one of my fears is getting a sequential and missing the 5-speed, even though it sounds like a sequential is just all upside, from a performance standpoint.

This might be possible! When do you need to know?

That sounds awesome, and thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, weekends are a hard no for me. Wife would kill me leaving her with 2 kids just to do car stuff. I was planning to pay Rich Kamp a visit sometime in October on a weekday, will be taking a day off work to do a Napa/Sonoma date trip with the wife and check out some cars while I'm up there! What's uncertain is whether he'll have what I'm looking to compare. Any chance I could pay you a visit in Newark during a workweek?

@JohnCh@Croc you guys bring up good questions I need to ask myself. Most of them I already have comments on, but don't yet know my final decision. For me, this car would be my fun car. Let me explain that a little bit. We have 2 children under 3 right now... my wife has an XC90 that'll be our family car. I have a 2019 STI that I bought new and has served me well as a family/dad car that I daily. I can do most things in it even with 2 kids, and am planning to keep that forever, and have it become a project whenever the engine blows. The Caterham will be my daily with the STI, in the sense that, if I need more capacity, I will take the STI, otherwise, I'll always take the Caterham. I live in San Jose, and so weather isn't much of an issue. Maybe hot days will be unbearable in the Caterham though. I'm not one to shy away from putting miles on a car, and so I'll take the Caterham to do kid pickup (once they're old enough), or groceries, or whatever errands. I live 40 minutes away from Laguna Seca, so I ALSO want it to be my track car. Being a busy father has kept me from taking the STI even once, even though I've been itching to do so since I got the car... so take this statement with a grain of salt. I INTEND to go, might never make it. @JohnChbrings up a good point in asking how visceral I want it. I got the STI over the M3 exactly for this reason. The M3 was too nice. I'm having a hard time deciding between the S vs R MOSTLY for transmission. The sequential sounds like it'll be great, but I do like to row my own gears, so I really don't know where to land on that one. I know that if I get the R, I will most definitely option the windscreen, doors, and roof, vs going that tiny carbon flap thingy (not sure what it's called). But I am also getting up there in age, so I'm not too sure about the light flywheel and the seats in particular. The 420 will undoubtedly be enough car for me and my skills, but given that Caterham likely will be changing their lineup because of the UK ICE sales ban in 2030, and FOMO lol... should I get the 620 for "future-proofing"? It is a dream to get better at driving, and work my way up to a 620... so would I get a 620 now and work my way up, or get a 420 and trade up when I'm ready? Money is always a concern, but it's not a HUGE concern here. I do drive barefoot/slippers a lot, so that statement about the heatsoak burning your feet is a little alarming. I guess the big question is, will the 620 be too boring to drive around town, given how limiting you have to be with it? I'm a pretty reserved driver around town, and usually I don't even really rev out the STI. I get beat by Corollas and minivans ALL the time, so I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of driving more reservedly... but I also don't want a car that'll never leave 1st gear in town.

This is a good point @KnifeySpoony. I've only had "performance" cars with turbos. I Did have a Lexus IS250 that was NA but I hardly did much enthusiastic driving with it. Wife's XC90 is twincharged... So I really have no experience with NA or Supercharged. Now I'm in even more of a dilemma hahaha.

@sltousthat's good to know. I know that the R500 sits somewhere between the 420 and the 620 performance-wise... but I'm unfamiliar with what your car is. Is it aftermarket modded, or did you buy it as a Cosworth Duratec? Did you get it originally thru Rich? I missed Loma Mar Store and I'm not sure what that is, but I would LOVE to talk to you more about your car as well! I'm in the same boat with my current car, I have a 2019 WRX STI, and I really don't even get close to using it at full potential on the street. The 620 and probably even the 420 are going to be much more car than I (or anyone) really needs... but there's just that itch to get the best possible, you know what I mean?