Onliest Smeg David Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 My plan would be to sell the 250 and grab a Westie and a just a small run about... As above! Do your homework. Go to meets. And your plan (without catching the virulent bug 'upgradeitis') will very likely find you better off financially too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 The Bird in the Hand, Bath Road, Knowl Hill. RG10 9UP on second Sunday of the month at 12:00 noon so the next Thames Valley meet will be Sunday 9th Sept Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete g Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 just some advice on insurance westfields are cheap to insure compared to normal cars .but they do get loaded up more if it has a bike engine.-turbo-supercharger and cage. other than that just about any other engine is cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 My total Insurance for Zetec Westie and Diesel Octavia VRS is roughly half that of the cheapest quote I had for a Mini Cooper S Works or Honda Civic type R!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgey Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I've had my Westie for a month or so. Most I'd done before is change the brake pads on a scooter. I now have a diff on my garage floor :-) It's really good fun! Just make sure you buy a good socket set (well, when I say good mine is from Lidl) and a rubber mallet! Your car may have no issues at all but when it comes to servicing time it feels too criminal to take it to a garage when everything is so accessible in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcc21racing Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi ASW welcome to the club you definatly will not regrete buying a Westie if you like your track days and motorsport. Cost wise as the others have said insurance is so cheap for what they are and how they drive mine cost me less than £400 fully comp when I was 23. Helmets and clothing cost just depends on how much you want to spend, if you fancy trying some sprint/hillclimbs and need the fire proof MSA aproved stuff your looking at £200ish for a helmet and £300ish for a suit plus gloves for £50ish. Mechanically Westies on the whole are pretty simple cars to work on and great cars for building knowledge of car mechanics, set up and car control. Running costs are pretty cheap even if using for track days ect, just budget tyres as these are one of the most important things to get right to get the most out of the car (beware of old rubber Westies are light so dont generaly get through tyres that quick) Westie ownership only gets expensive when you start up grading!!! I know this first hand as I have spent a fortune on mine over the years to make it as quick and as reliable as possible. If you like track days ect an LSD and getting the car corner weighted is a must IMHO, as the others have stated dont focus on BHP alone its all about the combination and making sure the engine setup works with the diff and gear ratios. But at the end of the day it boils down to what you want to use it for, if its just out on the road make sure it has good body work and is comfety ect but dont get to hung up on the spec and bhp as even a 120bhp westie will feel quick on the roads and easily get you in to trouble in more ways than one,lol otherwise you could look more towards some thing like mine which is more track focused and for sale anyhow good luck hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcc21racing Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 If you want to see some Westies and Caterhams in action there is a Farnborough Auto Solo coming up on the 9th September, great spectator sport Ken Block stylie and free to watch, and only £30 to enter all you need is a car with an MOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stoat Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I have a Megane R26 and a Westfield. I did 2 laps at my last track day in the Megane as a comparison, all I can say is you are in for a surprise when you get a Westfield on track, the Megane felt like a heavily loaded van in comparison. I get 3 track days out of a set of AO48 softs and a few thousand road miles. I measured my pads and discs with callipers before and after a track day and could not measure any wear. As others have said do not get hung up on HP a higher powered one may be faster, but not any more fun and also will eat tyres and fuel faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I was going to buy a newish RS Clio Cup after having an old Clio Cup 172. Went on a couple of Renaultsport organised trackdays and drove the new Clio Cup at Brands hatch and Bedford, it seemed a little too heavy and refined for me even with the Cup chassis. So I thought I would buy something completely different and bought a "7" type car and I'm glad I did, you'll be learning to drive again with a rear wheel drive car, no understeer, no power steering and no servo brakes, open to the elements. Every trackday is now a thrill. As for the mechanical side and fixing things, you'll soon pick it up as there is plenty of help on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenko Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 My car is going up for sale in a few weeks time after my last track day of the year. You are more than welcome to pop down to Winchester to see mine and have a chat (and a drive). it's a track focused car but very useable on the road, No problem if you are not looking to buy, but I can at least show you around the car and go through some ownership pointers. I can send you a phone number if you want..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 How come your selling it jenko That cars mentioned everytime cvh is mentioned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Dear Santa Please see two posts above. I've not been good, but I will be if you bring this to me. Yours, MemSec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 you deserve it Scott - just enlarge your chimney so it fits..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hi there, Welcome to the wscc world. I did 18,000 miles in mine last year and I have full weather kit and 152.5BHP. Plenty fast enough for track days and not had anything touch me on the roads. Running costs are very low... well official ones are, it's carbon this, carbon that and upgradeitis that makes the wife whine. I have carbs jetted for power, but got a set of mid jets for low motorway costs. Do more motorways than track days, so power ones are in a box, in the "boot" and when i track day it I swap the jets over, takes all of 45 seconds! I get Birmingham to Plymouth on about £25... that's 218 miles door to door and i'm not doing 55-60 down the M5! Insurance is lees a year than I paid a month for my S2000! As I have full screen and weather kit, no helmet on. I have a 1800 zetec and no issues at all, if you throw the cash at it you can get 250 BHP from it. I would advise a 2ltr zetec or duratec though, if you want power. It's that good a car that my wife now wants one! currently she's an 1.3 ignis, for cheap running and not matter about parking it. but the westfield is less to run and uses less fuel then the ignis! i would suggest getting on a westfield experience day, you'll find what the limits feel like and how to pull it together when it starts to go wrong in someone else's car! I can't remember your other concerns, but you need to know a bit about engines to run one and keep on top of little things. I'd drop the 250 as soon as you can and get on a westfield. But i'm extremely anti french cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Perfect! http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/96861-ideal-first-westy-1998-sew-20-zetec-flexible-and-reliable/page__fromsearch__1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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