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@IanK (Bagpuss) Ehekarussell hey, you are in trouble 😀 I think Tango man may be off to OMEX? but first he is off out with the lads on his bike, BUT WAIT!, I am confused! which one is he? there are so many Tango Men Aahh, that's better, I can see him now, thanks for pointing him out lads Cripes, I have lost him again, you would think he would stand out in all that orange wouldn't you? Watch it, it's catching this orange stuff, I think I am getting TANGOED!!! What a hilarious day it has been

Agreed. I have a mate who raced in 1000cc Superstock, took him out in my MX-5 (with the windscreen cut off, ha) at Oulton Park and he shat himself. Much shorter braking distances, higher apex speeds, car moving around all over the place - it's just a different thing altogether. I'm still a huge fan of actual road tyres, the whole experience is much more interesting providing the car is set up properly.

Interesting replies from all, and as weird as it would seem, you can have more fun going slower sometimes.... Not for everyone admittedly, but another thread on tyres revealed that much more fun COULD be had on skinnier tyres at lower speeds than sticky tyres? Coupled to the fact that whatever westfield you are in, being sat less than a foot above the road surface exponentially increases the feeling of speed. To give you an idea, I've got an old narrow with 'only' a x-flow engine....albeit a well tuned one at 140 bhp - so I'm very much at the bottom end of ownership valuewise, but not too far behind, if any, performance wise, on the road, in most circumstances. When I first got my westfield, I took out a mate who at the time was driving a 911, and had riden numerous sportsbikes like he'd stolen them..RI, Ducati etc etc, and he said it was the most raw and exciting experience he'd ever had, and the quickest thing he had ever been in.... Of course it wasn't...nowhere near it, but that is the impression that a westfield gives you, and at the end of the day, thats all that counts? Mart.

Thanks all, great insight from everyone. I had the pleasure of taking a 160bhp 1.8 zetec for a spin at the weekend. It was noisy, smelly, and bl**** brilliant! It didn't feel enormously quick, but then I didn't drive it that hard to test it either. What it did feel though was full of character and emotion in a way that nothing else I've driven has done. The power felt exploitable on the road, but perhaps a bit low for the track. It has been set up by Northampton Motorsport and apparently they said with a few tweaks it would be straightforward to get it to 180bhp+ But the owner was looking for reliability and driveability rather than outright power (plus didn't want to upgrade the injectors). So to answer my own question - I reckon as a road car the 160bhp I've driven will provide an enjoyable and exploitable drive. If I go for a car with this power then at some point I'll get an attack of upgraditis, but I'm sure that would happen whatever I went for! Pure speed was not what this car was about, it was about enjoying the drive and the way the car was set up both regarding the engine, suspension, and interior was all part of this.

Interestingly the Westfield XI that I have got which has approx 90 BHP and a 4 speed box is a beautiful handling car that really rewards pushing on as lower speeds and isn't going to lose your licence. And that's from someone who normally drives a race-car with 1140 BHP/ton 🤣🤣

Arggh, my eyes, those hairy legs, I am scarred for life. The Maggies Cyclists were on a 3 day ride from Nottingham to Leeds and back, they were really daft and having a right laugh, with only 25 miles left to go they were in high spirits. We sent them to the cafe on the canal and their response was not unlike the Westfield drivers when you mention the word cafe. Same when we got the camera out, they were straight there larking about in front of the lens. What a coincidence though that you ran for the same charity.

Oops. I've been Tango'd too: I ran for Maggies in the Great Manchester Half earlier this year: When and were did you stumble across the Maggies Cyclists?

I've read the replies with a lot of interest and it's pleasing (and not wholly unsurprising) to see that a lot of owners aren't going down the approach of "big bhp means big gains/speed". One mistake a lot of first time buyers can make (and I include myself in this), is thinking that you need big bhp in a Westy to have fun. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Owning a Westy isn't about how fast you can go but how quickly you get going. These are different things entirely! It's about the fast A/B roads and not about mile munching autobahn speeds .. let's be honest, the Westy wasn't designed in a wind tunnel! I bought mine with a 2.0ltr silvertop on twin 40s with 150bhp and immediately thought that I needed to upgrade but then wise owners advised me to get to know the car as it is and learn to drive all over again. They weren't wrong. After a while though, I wanted a bit more reliability, throttle response and torque and so upgraded to bike throttle bodies and a bit of mild tuning. With 200bhp and improved mid range torque is where I'm happy. This is coupled with improved braking and tweaked suspension and the car now gives me bags of fun in the corners and acceleration .. it's the way to go!

I think it is Ian’s short shorts that turned my stomach. 🤢

in that case I will lock it up in the garage! 😮

I do think too much grip, and power, make you lazy. I took our MX5 out at a track day to see what it was like, the tyres on it are not great, it was an absolute hoot. It actually made me giggle and let me explore handling limits with a much bigger safety / talent deficit margin than the Westfield allows. Next up is to try a Citroen C1 on track.

See you there. Hopefully be dry.

Just a quick appreciation to the Parts team, after my last slight rant about WF. Ordered a part on Sunday night, it arrived and was fitted by midday on Wednesday, and that's with the Bank Holiday. Postage was much more reasonable also, it's a great improvement. Well done Patrick and the team.

Thank you, great photo Anthony

I've always been of the mind that there's not much point in having hp you can't (real-world) use. I'm never going to be Rod Millen or Bruce Anstey (sorry, NZ references) so my cars and bikes have been powered more or less relevant to my ability. Of all 28 bikes I've had from 250cc 18,000rpm screamers to 900cc sport tourers, the bike that I could really chuck about and be B-road quick on (quick, not fast, there's a difference) was a 50hp gen-1 KLE500, partly because I felt confident it was never going to step out on me. I had a mate with a 1975 CB500/4 on chinese tyres who could run rings around modern sportbikes (mind you he had balls from a cannon!) Yeah, I'd love an extra 30hp in my Westfield as overtaking tends to be a military operation as she is, but any upgrades after that I'd spend my money on suspension, tyres and brakes - because £ for £ that'll get you quicker than hp. From what I've gathered, the sweet spot for fast-road Westfields is 160-180hp in a well sorted chassis - yes/no? The speed limit is 60mph, the trick to covering ground quick is to be able to do 60 everywhere! (haha, I talk a good game, truth is I simply can't think/drive as fast as I used to).

You shouldn’t store your doohickeys in such a careless manner.... they are volotile and flammable..... and if you get them wet they make Gremlins look like Pussycats....

b*******..... I knew I should have kept it simple..... I really wanted that doohickey

3 Sisters Sunday 12st Sept 2019 Following the last few really hot weeks the weather was taking a change as we approached the first day of Autumn (1/9/19). As a results the forecast was poor with the chance of rain throughout the day but what do you expect in Lancashire? As the 8 Westfield competitors arrived at the circuit they were greeted by a nice rainbow. Quite soon it was raining as we prepared our cars for the 1000hrs start with a full entry. As predicted the track was very wet but the class G and H guys stayed on slicks as there was not much standing water around. We were doing the 2 lapper and it was quite a challenge in P1 (we only had 1 practice) as most of us slipped and slid around the track looking for any traction. This was the first event for Nick Bailey in Paul Pocklington’s old car so it was a bit of rude awakening to sprinting. The driving for Steve Everall was made a bit harder than usual as he left his Sketchers on instead of his race boots!!! I managed to be quickest with John Hoyle and Matt Turner close behind. Troy from Northhampton Motorsport was there and putting his laptop to good use as he made a few adjustment to the ECU settings etc and Del and Garry were certainly quick of the start line as their launch control helped handle the wet surface. Also visiting and catching up with the paddock gossip were Mark Anson as well as Steve Davies. T1 was held before lunch and the track was only around 95% dry so could catch you out if you did not take care but as it might be the driest run so we had to go for it and get a “banker” in. Matt Turner showed us how to do it and posted a time of 72.42 secs and held 2ndFTD for quite a while. Howard Gaskin was leading his class and Garry was leading Del. Nick Bailey put in his fastest time of 90.59secs on his first run and seemed to be enjoying the competition. John Hoyle also recorded his best time with a great 74.39 secs which was just short of the class F target. As we took lunch I am sure I spotted Matt muttering some words to the God’s as he practiced a rain dance. T2 was looking tricky due to big black clouds approaching from the west and we were all checking our weather apps but none agreed about rain etc. In the click shod classes I was first out and got a good run in with 72.99 secs and as I finished the rain started so the others struggled with their times. As the afternoon went on it was clear that we would only get 1 more run but 10 minutes before we were ready it rained heavily so most people did not even bother going out. A good event was spoilt by the weather. So in the end no records were broken and Matt just beat me again! Best times were as follows: Nick Bailey 90.59 Howard Gaskin 81.18 John Hoyle 74.39 (6thFastest) Matt Turner 72.42 (3rdFastest) Terry Everall 72.99 (4thFastest) Steve Everall 85.47 Garry Bunn 73.91 (5thFastest) Derek Hodder 75.58 As you can see we had 4 Westfields in the top 6 cars so quite a good showing in testing conditions. Let’s hope we have better weather at Knockhill next weekend. Terry Everall Class G competitor

Good turn out today, even if we did have a couple of showers. We began with a breakfast at the Red Kite, not a bad way to start the day, then headed up to the railway where only 1 of us got a free ticket for a ride.

I think putting a figure on power is the wrong way to go. I would just try several different cars as the power figure is just one dimension. For example mine is 225 bhp and it does not feel that quick as it is so easy to drive, I think this is due to good engine mapping. However on track I have only come across one car that can pull a gap down a straight,@Dommo. Driving another friend's car with less power is much more exciting than mine, there was a definite power band that made it feel fast and also far less predictable handling that kept you on your toes. I am in the camp if doing it again I would make my car less capable, especially in the grip department, as having a car more capable than you is not that much fun.

My car is now sub 500kg and 185bhp. Until I get in😫 but my weight saves having to buy fancy electronic launch control 😉As above you don't need massive power in these things and the mad chap behind the wheel can make the difference. I'm not the best driver by any means but on your average track day bar your porkers, prancing horses and the like you will be quicker than most things

Exactly. Slow car fast > fast car slow!

@Westfield Parts Dept

Beginning to sound like Dragon’s Den 🤣