Went for my first drive

[FE07]

I bought the Superlight R which was for sale in Virginia last week. Thanks to Chip Bond who was holding the car for the owner who is currently in Germany. Chip was extremely helpful and very gracious with his time. We corner weighted it before I put it in my trailer-1388lbs with me in it and a little gas. Chip rounded up some extra wheels for me for the track and gave me the rundown on the car. It looks great and was already registered in MD which made it easier for me to switch the title.

 

Went for my first drive today. First impressions??- OMG whats with the wind?? It's ok up to about 30, tolerable at 40, at 60...... I had so much air blowing up my nose I thought I was gonna hyperventilate. Forget the earplugs, I needed nose plugs. Sure couldn't have sleep apnea in a Caterham!! Didn't have the side curtains on, I'll try that tomorrow.

 

Feels pretty quick. Speedo doesn't work. I've ordered a GPS based speedo from Speedhut. Can't get any real sense of handling until I get it on track. It quickly exceeds any sane speeds through the turns on the road and I'm not gonna push it until I gain a little more familiarity with it.

 

Needed my racing boots and I've got small feet! Don't have the SV chassis so kinda tight down there. Anyone with any suggestions for a dead pedal? Maybe a small strip of aluminum right angle mounted on the floor to put your heel against??

 

I'll try to give an update as I get some more seat time. Saw the discussion about another round at NJMP. If it's gonna happen please let me know and I'll try to make it up there. Would be nice to get together with some other owners and learn a little more about the car. Suggestions for track tires for the 13" wheels?? Thinking Hoosiers but need to make sure they'll fit under the fenders.

 

Thanks to everyone on here for all the posts I've read the past year as I've been looking for a car. Thanks to Mike for his info and thoughts on the Caterham market.

 

Hope to see you at the track,

 

Jim A.

[xcarguy]

Jim,

 

Congradulations on your purchase and your first drive. As for a dead pedal, here are a couple of threads that may be helpful:

 

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?t=9706&highlight=dead+pedal

 

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?t=9014&highlight=dead+pedal

 

As for the NJMP guys, you definitley need to hook up with those fellas; lots of fun to hang out with, both on and off track.

 

:cheers:

[Automoda]

You get used to the wind. At first it makes your left arm hairs tingle for about 10 minutes after a long drive. Your scalp tingles too, even though your hair has stopped flailing around. But I have a solution! It works for me: The bald look. I don't even notice the wind anymore. Try it out!

[randychase]

I found side wind deflectors very useful in stopping the wind up the outside nostril issue.

[rnr]

Helmet FTW

[DaveStruve]

You get used to the wind. At first it makes your left arm hairs tingle for about 10 minutes after a long drive. Your scalp tingles too, even though your hair has stopped flailing around. But I have a solution! It works for me: The bald look. I don't even notice the wind anymore. Try it out!

 

Agreed, even feels nice. Although I seem to burn my head a lot more frequently now.

[Ut7owner]

You get used to the wind. At first it makes your left arm hairs tingle for about 10 minutes after a long drive. Your scalp tingles too, even though your hair has stopped flailing around. But I have a solution! It works for me: The bald look. I don't even notice the wind anymore. Try it out!

 

So, all things are on the table in order to shave a little weight? :hat: At my age the only tingles I get are during and after a quick blat in the seven!

[Croc]

Hi Jim - Its always good to see these first drive postings as new owners do the OMG reaction.

 

OMG whats with the wind?? It's ok up to about 30, tolerable at 40, at 60...... I had so much air blowing up my nose I thought I was gonna hyperventilate. Forget the earplugs, I needed nose plugs. Sure couldn't have sleep apnea in a Caterham!! Didn't have the side curtains on, I'll try that tomorrow.

 

Suggestions for track tires for the 13" wheels?? Thinking Hoosiers but need to make sure they'll fit under the fenders.

 

 

For the wind I see you have 3 options:

1) Put the little perspex side screen wind deflector thingies on. As they come from Caterham they are useless. So boil up some water and dip the lower end in and let them soak in the boiling water until you can carefully bend then further. This bending allows them to sit out from the car side more perpendicular which shields you from more wind. These work for me for casual road drives. Option 2 is what I use for longer trips.

2) Try the vinyl sidescreens. These make touring really comfortable

3) If you feel suitably nuts then go commando - get an aero screen. This seems to me anyway reduce buffetting and make it a constant wind pressure. May not be a good idea on open roads though.

 

Also make sure you get some ear plugs or other hearing protection - the wind buffetting can hurt our hearing over time.

 

A variation of the above is to mix and match with the half hood that is available. This stops the air coming over the top of the windscreen and makes it cooler on summer drives. A combination of the modified perspex side screens with the half hood is my preferred touring format.

 

For track tires, if you do not want to go for pure slicks then maybe try the Avon ZZRs? I have them on both of my Caterhams and think they are better than the Avon CR500 on track and you can still use them in non-wet soaking road environments. Roger Krause on the west coast has them in 13s.

 

For NJMP we will have to see later in the year. I have another 40,000 air miles to complete in the next 4 months which is going to crimp my track opportunities.

 

Cheers

mike

Edited August 14, 2014 by Croc

[xcarguy]

. . . . If you feel suitably nuts then go commando - get an aero screen. This seems to me anyway reduce buffetting and make it a constant wind pressure. May not be a good idea on open roads though . . . .

 

Cheers

mike

 

Just got on the 'build it for me' list with Aerodynamix; opting for one of their Double Buble Aero Screens for the Storker. Now, if I can only locate a cammo driving suit . . . . :jester: