Single seater commuter
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 02:16 PM
In my new job I have to commute 400 miles per week. I get a company car, but it is a Peugeot 107 
I get a salary penalty of £1800pa and obviously have to pay company car tax. The spiteful little thing does do about 55mpg though.
I got to thinking, would a Haynes single seater with, lets say a 1.25 zetec, make a viable commuter vehicle. I would up the gearing to make 5th very
high, but still have useful accelleration in the lower gears (effectively making 1st gear into 2nd, as 1st would be almost redundant)
What mpg would I expect to get?
Any other engine recommendations (not BEC as I don't thing that one would survive 20k miles pa)
Any date on when the book is coming out?
col - 30/10/10 at 03:22 PM
excellent idea, bad weather would be your main issue....an i mean bad weather snow etc.
Engine, anything from 1 litre to 1400cc for super economy.
tegwin - 30/10/10 at 04:13 PM
I had been thinking a very similar thing, but with electric motors instead.... free running!
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 04:15 PM
quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
I had been thinking a very similar thing, but with electric motors instead.... free running!
Now thats a good idea, could I get 80 miles out of one charge?
interestedparty - 30/10/10 at 04:49 PM
What sort of roads are you going to be travelling over? Hills? max speed? Traffic? Is overtaking ability a priority. I think all of these things will
have bearing on the best choice.
I believe the Haynes single seater is being designed for a bike engine, but if you were to choose something like a Blade then you could consider those
more or less disposable anyway.
Hellfire - 30/10/10 at 05:15 PM
IMHO 400 miles per week is way too far to commute in a toy car, especially in the winter months. The novelty would soon wear off and you'll be
wishing for the comfort and warmth of a Peugeot 107..........
Phil
ashg - 30/10/10 at 07:08 PM
book should be out june/july time. chris gibbs has been poorly so its a bit delayed
55mpg!! thats crap. my diesel vauxhall signum estate with every extra on the list does 55-7mpg easily and i have got a led foot.
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 07:14 PM
quote:
Originally posted by interestedparty
What sort of roads are you going to be travelling over? Hills? max speed? Traffic? Is overtaking ability a priority. I think all of these things will
have bearing on the best choice.
I believe the Haynes single seater is being designed for a bike engine, but if you were to choose something like a Blade then you could consider those
more or less disposable anyway.
It will be the A30 in Cornwall, half good wide trunk road, the other half is dual carriageway. It is mainly a procession at 60-70mph.
I think Chris G was planning it for a bike engine or using the Audi transaxle (Scootz knows where he got all the VAG info from!)
If I went ahead it would be with a small revvy petrol engine hooked upto an Audi A4 transaxle with hydbrid driveshafts to Ford hubs
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 07:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ashg
book should be out june/july time. chris gibbs has been poorly so its a bit delayed
55mpg!! thats crap. my diesel vauxhall signum estate with every extra on the list does 55-7mpg easily and i have got a led foot.
To be fair to it, I had it new and its only done 1500 miles so probably still a bit tight, it is also petrol. It has very strange gearing a really
tall 2nd gear (65mph), average 3rd, 4th and 5th
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 07:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
IMHO 400 miles per week is way too far to commute in a toy car, especially in the winter months. The novelty would soon wear off and you'll be
wishing for the comfort and warmth of a Peugeot 107..........
Phil
I would use a bike but I tend to ride everywhere at 90mph. Thats me doing 90mph, the bike doing 90mph, but in slightly different directions which can
be painful.
I really wouldn't get tired of it, I might fit a small heater to keep my feet warm, and have a hinged cockpit surround (a la F1) to keep the
aperture as small as possible and wear a full face helmet. The Pug 107 is like driving a moderately quick wheely bin - not at all nice.
t.j. - 30/10/10 at 07:47 PM
Could you get the money which the company pay for the car and some extra travel-money?
Buy a nice car around 4 years, with 70k miles....
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 08:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by t.j.
Could you get the money which the company pay for the car and some extra travel-money?
Buy a nice car around 4 years, with 70k miles....
I could also buy an anorak, a pompom hat, and get the bus!
I like most people on this site don't mind getting cold and wet in a car, like it if the back end gets out of shape occasionally, worry if the
speed camera did get me of not, want my knuckles to be white on a regular basis - life is too short for Peugeot 107's
saahild - 30/10/10 at 09:06 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I could also buy an anorak, a pompom hat, and get the bus!
I like most people on this site don't mind getting cold and wet in a car, like it if the back end gets out of shape occasionally, worry if the
speed camera did get me of not, want my knuckles to be white on a regular basis - life is too short for Peugeot 107's
You sir, are my hero. Personally I'd be scared that an idiot with a 4x4 or an unalert lorry driver wouldn't even see me.
They can barely see me in my mx5 and that's huge compared to a locost.
l0rd - 30/10/10 at 09:14 PM
i used to drive about 700 miles a week to work and back.
First year was in a 1994 clio 1.9 diesel
second year in a 1995 clio 1.8 petrol
third and fourth was in a 2000 Laguna 1.8 petrol.
Why not a haynes single seater with a diesel engine in it? I believe it would be well worth it.
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 09:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by saahild
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I could also buy an anorak, a pompom hat, and get the bus!
I like most people on this site don't mind getting cold and wet in a car, like it if the back end gets out of shape occasionally, worry if the
speed camera did get me of not, want my knuckles to be white on a regular basis - life is too short for Peugeot 107's
You sir, are my hero. Personally I'd be scared that an idiot with a 4x4 or an unalert lorry driver wouldn't even see me.
They can barely see me in my mx5 and that's huge compared to a locost.
Very light agile cars can get you into trouble very quickly, but they can also get you out of trouble very quickly. I have twice cheated certain death
by being 100 yards away from the scene with a blip of the throttle, gritted teeth and a requirement for new underwear!
Mark Allanson - 30/10/10 at 09:23 PM
quote:
Originally posted by l0rd
i used to drive about 700 miles a week to work and back.
First year was in a 1994 clio 1.9 diesel
second year in a 1995 clio 1.8 petrol
third and fourth was in a 2000 Laguna 1.8 petrol.
Why not a haynes single seater with a diesel engine in it? I believe it would be well worth it.
I had thought about a diesel. In the first week at work they gave me a Ford Ka 1.3 TDCI which returned 49mpg doing the same journey at the same
speeds. The complication of fitting a diesel, the added weight, narrow rev range, increased servicing costs lead me to a small petrol being a better
bet, and better to drive.
matt_gsxr - 30/10/10 at 10:03 PM
Sounds like a great plan to me.
I cycle to work through the year, and although my ride is only 25mins, it isn't that different to what you will face and a fair number of people
cycle for the 40mins that you are planning.
Go for it. Make it reliable, make it visible, keep a blog on it. I for one am very interested to see how this works out.
Matt
Peteff - 30/10/10 at 11:01 PM
You want a scooter commuter 
This one is not
ready yet but it looks like fun. A Yamaha T Max would give you some white knuckle moments and get you through traffic quicker than a car.
rusty nuts - 31/10/10 at 08:44 AM
How about one of the three wheeler things from GBS fitted with a larger bike engine?
Benzine - 31/10/10 at 10:11 AM
my next project is going to be a single seater, diesel ftw. How about a daihatsu 3 cylinder diesel? Often used on diesel bike conversions
Mark Allanson - 31/10/10 at 01:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
my next project is going to be a single seater, diesel ftw. How about a daihatsu 3 cylinder diesel? Often used on diesel bike conversions
We used to use one as a hack at work years ago - what is the last year they used them?
Mark Allanson - 31/10/10 at 02:19 PM
This is how I see my car looking
Silly Idea
Ha ha - perhaps not!
Benzine - 31/10/10 at 02:33 PM
I see that has a single headlight, are you allowed a single headlight if the vehicle is less than a certain width? I like the cyclops look
The daihatsu diesel I'm talking about was last 80's/early 90's I think. When I had a charade I had the sales brochure which covered all
models of charade, it mentioned the diesel getting up to 80mpg. I know a farmer who has put one in a small lamborghini tractor
