SteH Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Wow, thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated. If going for a S2000 full kit to start with, what upgrades would people recommend from the off? I had in mind, seats, windscreen, wide wishbones and fw rear. Edited July 27, 2015 by SteH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingster Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Additional ally side panels and powder coating are also options I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wow, thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated. If going for a S2000 full kit to start with, what upgrades would people recommend from the off? I had in mind, seats, windscreen, wide wishbones and fw rear. Ha ha You're thinking of upgrades already. See , you've already upped the price by £2k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 From what I have seen the GBS has really leapt up in terms of finish and quality in recent years. They have many happy customers so must be doing something right, however. If money is not a big issue a Westfield is still a better car all round. It will crucially hold its value better and be easier to sell on in the future. An S2000 will be in a different league to a GBS with a Zetec but as Dave said, you will be surprised how much you will spend building one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy (Sycho) Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 It's a personal thing, but I had on the starter kit FW rear, wide track & I also had the Ali panels powder coated as I have no carpet. You have also got to think about brakes/suspension etc as I'm not sure what's in the kit but I would expect it to be pretty basic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wow, thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated. If going for a S2000 full kit to start with, what upgrades would people recommend from the off? I had in mind, seats, windscreen, wide wishbones and fw rear. All good options. It sort of depends how you plan to use the car though. Are you wanting something mainly road/touring based, a mix of road and track day, or mainly track day but OK for the odd weekend blast round the lanes? If doing anything much on track, then upgrade the roll bar to one with bracing, the "MSA roll bar" is a popular choice, though it does limit the roof options. Tthe big brake upgrade is very popular with S2000 builders too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednop1 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Welcome SteH In my eye's the difference in the finished product and quality difference between Westfield and GBS is still quite significant in my eyes .The quality of the Westfield bodywork far far exceeds any other I have seen in the "kit car" world and the same quality is shown in a lot of the other parts you get in your kit. with regards to getting the car legal on a current plate as long as your paperwork is all in order and your invoices are worded correctly there is no problem just done a mega s2000 myself and was road legal in less than 10 ten days flat after iva was passed The extra's I would go for are and first is most important large brake upgrade all round,Msa bar, Lsd Diff ,digi dash,widetrack,fw body, thing like 8" rear rims are personal choice that do look very nice but you have to work out what your max budgets is then work out what upgrades are top of your list ,but when you pop to the factory i'm sure Simon will talk you through all the upgrades available. but do allow yourself money for new clutch and genuine Honda is the only way to go in my eye's,Genuine parts do cost a little more but worth every penny and the Honda quality speaks for itself if you need any advise do not hesitate to drop me a pm ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory's Dad Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 You should try and get along to a local meet and try and get some passenger rides. I'd be thinking about JK composites seats - a bare fibreglass shell but one that supports my poor old back properly. The FW rear has a fuel filler cap right near the front. Having a hood is fine but not if you have rear facing braces for the bar, Having a Petty Strut provides bracing but maybe not as much as rear facing braces. If I could afford a new kit I'd also have the aluminium panels powder coated, no carpets, an LSD, widetrack front suspension and a windscreen but that's just me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory's Dad Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 ...and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhutch Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I was looking to buy used not build, looked at a few and some of the cars there was a lot of talk about significant issues with the geometry. GBS have done a lot of work on the car and it should be sorted, but a chat to the likes of Matt at ProComp or one of the other places that know their stuff and do kitcar geometry would be a good shout in my book. Saves the surprises once you get it finished and then come to get it geo'd. But as said, I am told they are quite good. Westfields are not perfect. Had a lot of fun with the roof on mine for the first few months, but do now have an 'rac style' braced roll over hoop partly as I use it for autotesting and odd trackdays, partly for my own piece of mind rightly or wrongly. Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarmanUK Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 From the other side, I have a GBS Zero and I am extremely happy with it. When I was looking, I narrowed my search down to a Westfield or the GBS but, at the time, I couldn't afford the first 2 modules of a modular build which I was told was the way they were doing things then. I went with GBS as I could buy a starter kit and buy the rest of the parts as I needed and could afford. Had Westfield offered me the starter kit, I probably would have one now, but that isn't how it panned out. Chassis wise, the cars are very similar, the main difference is a full fibreglass body on the Westfield against aluminium and GF on the GBS. Also, the GBS needs more 'building' which I did enjoy. There is also no build manual but plenty of build blogs to follow. The Zero is constantly being developed and is now at version 5. Mine is Zetec powered and is more than enough for fast road use and touring. There are a couple of Zeros with S2000 engines in, so it has been done. I would suggest a visit to GBS as well, just so you have all the facts to make your choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteH Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Yes, I'm planning a visit to GBS as well, already been actually to their open day and was very impressed. At the time I couldn't get a test drive as I had my 9 year old with me, so I'm going to go hopefully the same day or the day after Westfield so I can really compare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteH Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Hurray! So after probably 3 years of pondering what to do with my Robin Hood that I built in 1999 I've finally made a decision and put it up for sale, oh and I've also ordered a Mega S2000 kit! Had a visit to the factory on Wednesday and test drove the Zetec demo car. Really impressed with the quality of many of the Westfield parts compared to other brands, uprights, windscreen, GRP to name a few. It also helped there being a Mega S2000 for sale in the show room, looks very nice. So after a tour of the factory and the test drive, I sat down with Simon and eventually ordered: Mega S2000 kit - white body work - carbon effect front arches Powder coated panels LSD - this will be a Mazda unit (the first customer build Mazda LSD chassis!) 3.77:1 I'm told. Wide track wishbones Protech shocks "Performance " front & rear callipers in Red - apparently these are now standard in the kit Wheel package - 8" rears 7" fronts, 205 T1R's Digi Dash Windscreen FW Rear MSA half cage Sport turbo seats - white piping Carbon effect stone guards Black rear diffuser Build stands Heater kit Delivery is currently 20ish of October So now to tidy the garage out and find an engine & box. Any tips on sourcing the engine and box appreciated. Ideally I'd like to see it running and would definitely look at getting a full car to break to try and offset the cost. What's the max mileage I should look at? Do I need to compression test it? Anything to look out for if I can see one running? Thanks guys, I look forward to getting to some meets and getting a build thread started. Here's a couple of snaps of the Zetec demo car, S2000 in the show room and my Robin Hood: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 One suggestion: since you're getting a heater I'm pretty sure you don't need a heated screen. I ordered a heater and still got a heated screen which is a bit pointless, and also adds extra wiring, buttons on the dash, more expense replacing it if necessary and mine at least is a bit unsightly with silver foil visible at the edges. There may be a point to having both if you have a hood, or something else I've not considered, but I wouldn't bother if I was doing it again. Maybe you're not meant to get a heated screen if you order a heater but I did so it might be worth checking. Also, number one tip: when you pick up your kit take loads of photos of the showroom car in loads of detail so you can refer back to them. Hopefully the build manuals are better now but this was a great help to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Well done, sounds like a nice spec. i know I'm not exactly on your doorstep but if there's anything I can do, just shout! Interesting to hear about the Mazda diff, I knew it was coming - it's been on the cards for a few years now, didn't realise it was just about "here" though. Honda S2000's seem to take the miles with no great issues - it is a Honda, after all. The proviso being that it's had good maintenance. They can, particularly pre the 2004 face lift, (later cars often known, not really correctly, as AP2 versions) use oil, this isn't a problem, it's not a "bad sign", (some VW engines have the same characteristic too), it just means the level should be kept an eye on. (You know, the way all of us over a certain age used to anyway, and the way the car's manuals always tell you too! ) Around 2006, the cars changed to drive-by-wire; the DBW system, which includes the throttle body and manifold is not suitable for the Mega S2000. Therefore so far, we've all gone for pre 2006 engines, with many opting to go for the 2004 to 2006 window, as this included a few small engine and gearbox upgrades. No problem going for an earlier drive-train though. One development that is due in the next few months might just widen that pool of available engines considerably, is the forthcoming Omex Throttle Body upgrade. This will replace the Honda single throttle body and inlet manifold with a pair of twin throttle bodies; this means that anyone with a 2006 onwards DBW car, can remove all the DBW hardware and replace them with the Omex kit. Or, alternatively, those of us that have already gone for the Omex TB upgrade will have the standard Westfield compatible throttle body and manifold for sale second hand. So once the Omex upgrade is available, we will suddenly have much easier access to another three years worth of S2000 donors! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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