scannon Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 A friend stopped by with his new Caterham 120. The car has the Sigma 120 HP engine with a T9 5 speed. He offered to let me drive it and I accepted even though I was concerned my SV sized body would not fit in the driver seat. It was a very tight fit, not comfortable at all. He even had to latch the seat belt for me while I leaned as far out the side of the car as possible. My size 11.5 wide feet even in my Piloti driving shoes had to turn sideways a bit to operate the brake pedal when my left foot was on the clutch. First impressions were, very quiet exhaust, much quicker and easier steering and a much smaller turning circle than my SV. As the engine had only 380 miles on it I kept it under 4k rpm at the owner's suggestion and did not give it full throttle up to the 4k limit. I think he said the redline would be 7k when broken in. The suspension felt softer and giving it small but quick left and right turns going down the road it felt like it was leaning noticeably more than my car. It does react to the steering quicker and easier, partly due to the narrower tires. On the neighborhood informal skid pad it made a much smaller circle than the SV but not nearly as much grip before the tires started to squeal and were about the let go. Other than the tight fit I liked the car a lot. Some pictures are at: http://s1261.photobucket.com/user/scannon929/media/Caterham%20120/DSCN6436_zpsc6d34471.jpg.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taber10 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Skip, Thanks for the review--much better than reading about it on the Caterham website. I "miss" having the spare on the rear, and I didn't want the "Black Pack" as he has, but otherwise seems like a nice looking Cat. A minor point, but somewhere I heard that the "new" square emblem vs the 50 anniv. emblem would be coming on all of the "new" cars. I think the new emblem is much more "modern" looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 I don't like the new square (rectangular) emblem at all. Stands out like a turd in a punch bowl. He is planning on having a spare on the back in the near future. He got a can of (expired) fix a flat with the car and no jack. I gave him a Miata jack to use if necessary. He is still in the process of getting it through the licensing process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 I heard from the owner today. He had just finished a 2,800 mile solo trip in the car. He had days of 800 and 1,100 miles! I asked how he felt after the 1,100 mile day. He said it was more comfortable than a similar drive would have been in his other car. He encountered some heavy rain and only complaint was how hot it got in the car with the top and side curtains on. In good weather he had the side curtains on and a tonneau over the passenger seat. His T-5 transmission is leaking, other than that no mechanical problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBe Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Depending on how "new* the car is, it likely has a Mazda gearbox, not a T-9. All new 5-speeds are a Mazda gearbox going forward. -Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 He told me it was a T-5 and we talked for awhile about where it could be leaking from. When did the change over occur? It didn't feel like a Miata transmission when I drove it last November. The car came from Jon Nelson, no idea how long ago it was ordered. The next time I see the car I will have a closer look at the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBe Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 He told me it was a T-5 and we talked for awhile about where it could be leaking from. When did the change over occur? It didn't feel like a Miata transmission when I drove it last November. The car came from Jon Nelson, no idea how long ago it was ordered. The next time I see the car I will have a closer look at the transmission. The older gearboxes are T-9, not T-5. The new gearboxes are a Mazda gearbox with a custom Caterham front section, to match the T-9 style bell housings, and undoubtedly to match the critical dims required by the clutch stacked height, slave cylinder, etc. -Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 How much does the newer transmission go for and is it a straight swap into T-9 cars? How's the gearing compared to the T-9? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) The older gearboxes are T-9, not T-5. The new gearboxes are a Mazda gearbox with a custom Caterham front section, to match the T-9 style bell housings, and undoubtedly to match the critical dims required by the clutch stacked height, slave cylinder, etc. -Bruce Sorry, typo on my part, I listed it as a T-9 in the original post. Is the Mazda box a 5 or 6 speed? Edited June 29, 2015 by scannon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 I talked to the owner this evening and he said the transmission is a T-9. The chassis is a 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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