Thread 28562542

I'm going to be getting one of these soon but I am not a fan of the Duratec option. I spoke to a sales rep that claims he can change the engine option.

Have you driven one of these? Have you driven one WITHOUT a Duratec engine? If so, what was in there and how did you like it?

What engine would you want in this light weight chassis? Looking for performance and reliability as this will be a track day car that I drive to and from the track. And yes, I will be taking it to work.

What's wrong with the Duratec? It's reliable and parts are cheap and easy to get and it has enough power.

>>28562546
Hmmm, I was told the Duatec is not reliable and is sluggish on track. Even though they are still fun to drive, I was told the engines don't last long for regular track use and there are "more fun" engines out there.

I was recommended a K20 with a bit of power built into it. I think a K24 would be ok too if the internals were replaced to handle long term track use. People say the K24 blows prematurely from piston wear.

the duratec is a fine engine for the application. make sure you get the 2 liter if it's an option. if you ever pop it, you can get one from the junkyard for cheap and swap it in a day. there's also a load of parts available over the counter at most parts stores for your everyday consumables and sensors and such. don't overthink it, it's a good engine.

>>28562551
sluggish compared to what??? it has 200hp and is under 2000 lbs, it'll be faster than any miata, faster than 99% of fwd shitboxes, and at least on pace with any 6 cylinder sports cars (BMW's, Nissan Z's, etc.)

>>28562551
Anything that is light, winds up high, and has a peaky powerband is fun in a chassis like these. I've heard the same complaints about the Duratec, but even still, it'll be quicker and way more fun to drive than anything else for the price. I have a buddy who regularly tracks one with a Duratec and, afaik he hasn't had any major issues. I haven't driven his, so I can't remark on how it feels to drive in comparison to other engine optipns. I've driven a K20 Locost and can confirm it was pretty excellent. They are great engines for this type of car.
My Locost has a GSXR-1000 driveline in it, which I definitely would not suggest if reliability and street driveability is your goal. It's way more fun to rip than a car driveline with the sequential and 13k rpm redline, but has its fair share of quirks to deal with and is a pain to drive on the street (and obviously won't be an option through caterham).
What other engine options are available at your dealer?

>>28562542 (OP)
Get it with no engine and find a turbo dorito

>>28562591
lolwut? A PP 13B n/a would be more than plenty for a Seven

>>28562542 (OP)
put a rotary in it:
>lightweight
>revs high
>good horsepower
>loves being abused

>>28562551
when you consider getting a kit car or similar, you have to remember that a good volume of the advice and discussion on them is by and for diehard or lifelong track drivers.
in a lightweight manual car like this, even a very pathetic engine would make it faster than most people would ever drive in their life. and if you jump right into a more "race optimal" car it could get away from you, or teach you wrong.

Frankly the tiebreaker for what engine to use comes down to which one is more available, affordable, repairable and other factors like that. you don't need to bankrupt yourself to get a tenth of a second off your splits

>>28562589
I find these cars overly cute as fuck. But god damn the ass is ugly as hell

>>28562542 (OP)
Think the older ones came with a Cossie Ford Twin Cam BDR? That would be sick.
But seriously, why the Duratec hate? If it's because of reliability, you need to realise a Caterham is a weekend car that gets maybe a few thousand miles a year. It's not going to get bummed out like your Nan's Ford Focus

>>28562542 (OP)
>And yes, I will be taking it to work.
lmao. Retarded faggot. Hope to see you decapitated by a white lady texting in her Escalade on the way to Starbucks.

>>28562551
> not reliable engine
> in a car you'll drive less than 2000 miles a year

put a rotary in it

>>28562542 (OP)
Never had a caterham, much as I love them, but I did have a focus with a duratec. It was the 2.3 (don't know if that's an option for you) but it was an absolute champ. Bought it used with 168k miles on it, and sold it over 100k miles later and never gave the engine anything but fluids, filters, PCVs and a set of spark plugs/wires/coils all as preventative maintenance. Cheap to run (went on average 28 miles on a gallon of regular) nice torque for a 4 pot, revved happily enough. The only time the engine didn't start it was having left the lights on too long in a parking lot and killing the (old and dying) battery.
I say don't overcomplicate it. Unless your gonna run an LS, and I don't know why you aren't, stick with the duratec.

>>28563430
>the jew hates seeing someone driving something that's not a goycart

>>28563491
>>28563429
I won't be using it just for the weekend. I didn't mention, but I plan on documenting several trips as I'll be retiring soon and want to see if I can make money beyond my business income. The goal is to pass my savings onto my kids if the youtube channel becomes successful. Otherwise, they'll have to wait till I die horribly in an epic car crash that will surely go viral during a live stream.

It's not that I personally hate the Duratec, its just that I've heard a lot of hate about it, and having had reliability issues of past cars, it isn't something I want to deal with since I will be both daily driving it, and tracking it.

I was looking at doing a k20a swap. Or something closer to a type R if I can find it. If I get the k20a, I'll have a buddy tune it. If I get a K20a-R, I'll probably leave it factory.

The K series is the only other option I've found other than a rotary. I'm familiar with rotaries, and I'm considering this as well. I've never had reliability issues with a rotary as so many have claimed they have.

>>28563493
Did you track it at all? The negative comments I hear are all from track day enthusiasts. I don't think I've heard complaints about it otherwise.