Marto303 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/106436-genuine-westfield-aerorace-shortened-steering-arms/?hl=quick Don't know if filfan had them Ah well spotted mate, this highlights how things go wrong when suppliers don't communicate with their customers. I also spotted these a while back and didn't bother pursuing them as I had already placed & paid for my order with the factory and assumed they would be delivered in a week or so, had I been told the delay was indefinite at the time of order I could have bought those instead, but thanks for spotting them for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTR2Turbo Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 But surely it's the manufacturerer you should be compaining about on here not the retailer ? It's not the retailers fault that they can't get the parts and their supplier is being slack. I suspect that the situation is a bit more complicated than that. I paid and waited 4 months for AP brake kit and they were in stock for some months at AP. I had a few conversations with AP. AP wouldn't supply to me as a Westfield part number and they weren't being shipped to Westfield. AP were very apologetic but made it very clear that the delay was not because of them !! Not criticising the boys in parts as I can imagine they are between a rock and a hard place most of the time and operating with constraints placed on them but if they know, for whatever reason, items will not ship they don't do themselves any favours by going into silence mode or mis-managing expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestfield Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Not to add insult to injury, but I too am still waiting for short steering arms, I have emailed Russ but no reply and may have even PM'd him from here still no reply, If I ran my own business like that I think I'd be in trouble I know many of you here are very friendly with Russ ( normally very helpful ) and the chaps at the factory and it may not necessarly be thier fault, but really come on Wesfield this is not good enough. If you dont have stock and cant get stock just say so, at least then we can start to look elsewhere for parts straight away That's my point exactly, I've dealt with Russ before and he's a nice guy. Plus I know from my own job what a nightmare it is chasing suppliers - sometimes I'm chasing parts from the for a customer's CNC machine we've supplied and they are going crazy when told the part is 4-6 week delivery while they machine is not cutting metal. So I manage the situation and do my upmost to pressure the supplier whilst looking into other options - I don't feel this has been the case at Westfield and sadly it's just been very frustrating as I've phoned that many times and nobody seems to be doing anything about it, plus I never get a call back until this week. If I'd known this a month ago I could have looked at another solution whereas now I am really in a tight spot... I'm not here to stir up trouble, and I don't like to sound like I'm bad mouthing Westfield - I just want to know what's happening. I have the long arms already so if I can't source the shorter ones will try and get a whole rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 They're forged though so I don't know about going down that route - a few people said it could be a bit dodgy... Are you sure they are forged? I thought they were cast steel, which was why I couldn't get them bent when I was looking into the possibility of altering the ackerman angle some time ago. To be clear, the one piece hub carrier with integral steering arm as on earlier cars (which was a Ford part) is forged as far as I know, but the detachable arms, made to fit the Westfield alloy hubs are I believe cast steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I emailed Julian last night and pointed him towards this thread - he replied that they would look into things this morning and get back to all affected customers as a matter of urgency. I hope this will help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Are you sure they are forged? I thought they were cast steel, which was why I couldn't get them bent when I was looking into the possibility of altering the ackerman angle some time ago. To be clear, the one piece hub carrier with integral steering arm as on earlier cars (which was a Ford part) is forged as far as I know, but the detachable arms, made to fit the Westfield alloy hubs are I believe cast steel. If they're from the same manufacturer as the uprights, (the short arms, that is) then most likely they're currently "Manufactured from 6082 T6 Aluminium", 'cause that's what the regular arms are advertised as when bought on their own. Though it is of course possible that Westfield spec their uprights with a different material for the arms to the upright kits that Hi Spec sell directly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marto303 Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I emailed Julian last night and pointed him towards this thread - he replied that they would look into things this morning and get back to all affected customers as a matter of urgency. I hope this will help out. Cheers Scott, I had a call earlier from the factory regarding this issue and have been promised delivery by the end of March which works fine for me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Just billet steel machined from solid plate so there's no problem in making some as far as I can see. Forging is a mass production method not suited to low volume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FILFAN Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 the long arms are 100% ally without a doubt and the short ones are from the same supplier as i spoke to them the past and they confirmed it but said they were a westfield supplied item only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 6082 T6 Aluminium is what the maker quotes for the long ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestfield Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 They phoned me today and gave me a date, hooray!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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