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Don't think I will show this post to Mrs T!

Come on guys, this is an absolutely immaculate car, the attention to detail is next to none, no expense spared...........

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Hi Geoff, Just to let you know the VULCAN XH558 is due to fly over Scarborough at 13:23, tomorrow. It is en route from Doncaster Airport to Sunderland, Carlisle and Manchester Airport. Look out for it as you eat your fish and chips. If you get really lonely you are very welcome meet us lot at The Strines in the morning. Cheers Julie

David Ill look for you, pretty sure I have a set

The kids would love some exotica, ask them along.

Everything earlier is correct but you did say on the motorway at 70mph. A long shot but if you were on the inside lane the trucks create tramlines which seem well suited to dragging our cars side to side. As for not feeling fast - well its all about torque and they dont rev as standard very high so tend to gather speed deceptively easily rather than lunge ? Its also probably an optimistic seller who claims 270bhp from a 3.5 Rover engine. dont worry on horsepower, enjoy the sound and keep fitting sump gaskets every year to keep your garage floor clean :-) Cheers Jon

Agree with everyone on getting the geo done, when I first bought mine (crossflow back then) it drove exactly as you described and I suffered it for about a year because the seller had recently had corner weighting done by a local company (there was an invoice to prove). I was slightly disappointed by the whole Westy driving experience, as I say it was just as you describe, jittery and felt like it was going to ping me off the road at any slight camber change or uneven surface, until I had the full geo and corner weighting done by a professional, Jon at Lynx AE, who found that the front wheels where pointing in different directions with all sorts of odd alignment going on! Completely changed the car, it is now an absolute beauty on both road and track, completely addictive and I love it. I only have 169bhp at the moment and often have good drives against much bigger machinery, so I'd suggest your V8 beast would be a match for almost anything, just get the geo done!

With a V8 it will be independent rear end with wishbones

Good luck, Clare (to both of you). Kids are great, particularly when they are grandchildren!!

Has it got rear wishbones? Check the rose joints for any movement as you may be getting a bit of rear steering. A bit hard to spot maybe put you thumb/finger over the part and feel for any movement rather than see it. Get a helper to move the wheel side to side and up and down, take your time and dismiss that you have any problems in this area. Lot of people miss this one and suspect all sorts of things. Thats if you got wishbones on the back.

If quite an 'aggressive' set up then they can tramline a little on the roads! I like an aggressive set up on mine as I do track work but it IS a compromise for the road miles. I have a standard rack with the shorter competition steering arms fitted so pretty much acts like a quick rack. If everything else checks out ok, worth checking if you have quick rack and shorter steering arms as that would not be pleasant to drive on the road! First port of call would be geometry though as my money is on that being out. You won't believe how much of a difference it can make! For example, when I got my previous westy and took it out on track I could hardly keep it pointing the right way! Suspension setup correctly and I could hold it sideways for as long as I cared. Dave

Absolutely have the geo set up properly. It will transform the car and should feel solid at any speed. I also find that if suspension is too soft at the rear it causes very alarming squirming under acceleration!

Good luck Clare, I'm sure everything will go well, you can let the extended family know when the mission is accomplished. Take care Bob

Good luck Clare Don't forget......PUSH Oh, and sleep as much as possible now

Congratulations Clare kids are ace

Might be wrong, but I think our cars might "look" like they toe out up front due to the optical illusion of the pointy nose! Only way to know is to measure it I reckon - mine needs a geo so will be off to PlaysKool when I get time.

It shouldn't normally need the wings removing, but it does depend on the gear the company uses; most have targets that can clip on the wheels without interfering with the cycle wings. A lot of front toe out will certainly promote turn in! Is it running a lot of camber too? (Just wondering if the geo has perhaps been set up for R888's or similar in the past, and not backed off a little when the R1R's went on).

Geo set up is such a personal thing! It may well have been set up to the personal tastes of the previous driver who liked something completely different. For example, I've always had toe out on mine since Paul at the original PlaysKool Motorsport did the gel all those years ago. On my new car, I had it on the factory setting of no toe, didn't like it one bit! Soon as I added that little bit of toe out it felt right again. (It doesn't hunt at speed either, it's very stable, but it does make it so much more eager to turn in). Regardless though, you need settings you feel comfortable with. A geo check is a good starting point, after a thorough spanner check and visual check of suspension/chassis. Also make sure there's no worn bushes/joints etc.

I, and a few others, have used Tom New, in Bishops Waltham, to do a flat floor set-up and corner weights. He does get very busy and competes in the British hillclimb championship in a Gould GR55B so you may have to wait. His details can be found here http://www.new-techniques.co.uk/contactus.php

good advice all....

The FIRST things to check are front wheel camber and toe in as these can have a dramatic effect if wrong. I would set the tracking parallel or with slight bit of toe in ( certainly no Toe out). These are easy to check on a flat garage floor with basic tools before you spend money on checking full geo. ride heights and shock settings etc If you need a quick talk through on how to do it call me 07767836234

something don't sound right and best get the suspension checked soon as possible . my v8 and other sprint car are stable at any speed would get the rear suspension checked also check under the rear at the diff to check no cracking in the chassis. might just need the dampers setting down to soft settings and more toe in on the front

Sounds like you need to look at tyre and suspension setup. First simple thing, what Toyo Proxies are they? Are we talking of T1Rs, or R1Rs? Personally, and I know there are plenty on this boardroom who wouldn't agree with me, I would want trackday tyres on a car as light as a Westfield with the amount of torque you have. What tyre pressures are you running? If too high, then you will get the symptoms you describe. 20 psi is ample, and 18psi might be better for grip and comfort. After that, you need to find someone in your area who knows how to set up the suspension on a Westfield, to check the car over. Edited to add: My car hasn't anything like your torque, but it does have as much power, and will be quite a bit lighter. My car is as stable as anything you care to drive, at least up to 130mph (I haven't had it much over that). But then I'm not on Gaz dampers, rather matched Protecs, and I've never had anything other than list 1B trackday tyres on my wheels.

Stu, Geo set up good rubber (tyres) damper settings / corner weighting spring rates Have fun and be safe mate