Hello from potential new builder, lots of q's!

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Long time lurker, thought I'd say hello! I'm steve from houston, the cold scottish version not the warm texas one!

Bit of background, I embarked on my second kit build (my previous being a gkd legend) last November using a donor Mx5, sadly due to a number of quality issues that the manufacture couldn't seem to put right, the whole kit went back and I got my money back after a bit of wrangling. Having lost interest I decided to build my new garage as I've been based in a mates unit for the past 2 years, that's now done so my intention is to get sorted on a new kit!

I've settled on building a westie, however the problem is there seems to be lots of choices! Now considering I have a ready stripped, cleaned and overhauled donor kit and lots of shiny bits such as ATB diff, wilwood brakes, oz ultraleggeras and a Dash2, I really should just do the sensible thing and buy a mazda SDV kit. However there are a few things I'm not sure of, I'm going to arrange a visit down to the factory but I'd like a bit more knowledge before I go.

Q1. Is the SDV chassis any less capable of a chassis compared to say a mega s2000 chassis? Or a multi donor chassis?

Q2. I'm really getting the urge for an FW body, is this only only available in the multi donor? Can it not be made to fit the Mazda Sdv?

Q3. I see there's no option for a wide track front on the Mazda sdv, how come? Is it an option worth having?

Q4. Is the Mazda sdv basically an Seiw? So if I buy say a carbon dash for an seiw and it'd fit?

Sorry for all the questions and all info gratefully received!!

Steve

[Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup)]

[Stu Faulkner]

Hi Steve and 

 

I'm not an expert on the Mazda SDV but I'm pretty sure that apart from the bits on the chassis that take the MX5 bits such as uprights and diff ETC the chassis's are pretty much the same so all the bodywork and interior can be swapped from one model to another.

All the chassis's are perfectly capable, the S2000 one has extra bracing around the diff due to the extra power but people have run big power in the standard SEIW chassis with no problem.

 

There are a few Mazda gurus on here to answer you SDV questions, No doubt they will be along shortly.

[Kingster]

If you want a Westfield widetrack kit you will need Westfield uprights. I think the Mazda SDV uses the Mazda uprights and so you'd need to factor that in to any potential upgrade.

As far as I know the Mazda SDV chassis uses the same seiw bodywork as any other modern Westfield and so any after market dash or other add on will be compatible. The differences will be the uprights, diff, steering column and, depending on level of kit, dash and wiring loom.

The main difference between SDV and multi donor is that the multi donor will come with Westfield front & rear uprights, hubs and steering column whereas the SDV will tend to use donor components

[Kingster]

By the way welcome aboard Steve, (spotted you on locostbuilders) you'll find this place is very friendly and Rab is very active in organising run outs over the border.

If you are going to stoneleigh you'll be able to see every type of kit and every option known to man!

Just read my post from last night and it's actually readable, which is amazing considering I typed it after getting in from son's stag night!

[corsechris]

Welcome.

I can't help with the specific questions but will say this. If you do find out that what you really want isn't possible with the Mazda SDV, then don't force yourself down that path simply because you already have the donor parts. Sell them on and build exactly what you want. I've compromised builds before now having made an initial choice that was right at the time, but then sticking with it regardless long after it was no longer a good decision.

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Chris, that is a very good effort after a stag do at 2am! not sure id be able to construct  a post as legible!!

 

corsechris, thanks for the input, that's exactly why i'm taking a step back to assess the options. The more I see of the FW body cars the more its making my mind up that I would like one. If its possible with the mazda SDV then great, if not then i think i will be looking at other options. After some searching last night its seems as though it will require a custom fuel tank, which is no big deal to sort really if that's the only issue.

 

My ideal spec really is for a decent  road  car that wouldn't feel out of place doing 3 or 4 track days a year. I had in my head a figure of 200bhp would be the end target but am very happy to start out with less and upgrade as i go. Obviously this then leads on to the age old question of N/A vs Forced induction, if i stick with the MX5 lump i'm backing myself into the turbo/supercharge corner whereas with say zetec/duratec/f20c the options are a bit wider regards to tuning.

 

With regards to the widetrack front, i'm not hanging up on having one, just curious to see if its a 'must have' or is it dependant on use/driver preference? does it make a significant improvement?

 

Cheers

Steve

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Hi Steve

Q1 the Mazda chassis is almost identical to the SEIW. The exception is the position of the steering rack mounts, the steering column mounts and 2 extra brackets for the air box and carbon canister.

Q2 the Mazda diff is supported by a bolt in cage that mounts to the upper suspension mounts and the Sierra diff mounts. Because of this the fuel tank can't be mounted above the diff where it has to go with the FW rear. You can still fit an FW front though.

Q3 no, nobody has designed one and as yet nobody has felt the need for it.

Q4 yes and you can fit a carbon dash

[dombanks]

Given the nature of a westfield i doubt you would be unhappy with any model on a track. Driver ability is probably a large factor on how fast you are. I guess if you are coming from a high power car then you might notice it on longer straights?

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Cheers for the answers Mark, i'd assumed it was a bespoke rear end for the Mazda diff rather than a cage adapter so to speak. Makes sense now. Although if its just a diff choice that prevents the FW rear tub then i suppose that leaves the door open for a change of diff choice, that is if westfield are open to tweaking the spec.

 

Dom, no not coming from a higher power car, my last kit ended up with an R1 engine at 150bhp and the car weighed just over 500kgs so am looking to replicate similar performance but this time with a car engine. Car ability will definitely outweigh driver ability

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Cheers for the answers Mark, i'd assumed it was a bespoke rear end for the Mazda diff rather than a cage adapter so to speak. Makes sense now. Although if its just a diff choice that prevents the FW rear tub then i suppose that leaves the door open for a change of diff choice, that is if westfield are open to tweaking the spec.

 

Hi Steve, yes all the mounts are there on the chassis already to take the sierra diff, or alternatively you could look at options for a custom fuel tank.

[KugaWestie]

My ideal spec really is for a decent road car that wouldn't feel out of place doing 3 or 4 track days a year. I had in my head a figure of 200bhp would be the end target but am very happy to start out with less and upgrade as i go. Obviously this then leads on to the age old question of N/A vs Forced induction, if i stick with the MX5 lump i'm backing myself into the turbo/supercharge corner whereas with say zetec/duratec/f20c the options are a bit wider regards to tuning.

Welcome along!

To achieve 200bhp with the mx5 engine you are definitely looking at Forced induction.

I took a standard 1.8 from around 120bhp to just over 150bhp at the flywheel keeping it NA. That involved some head work, cams and an aftermarket ECU.

That engine has been removed and sold, and I am now running a fully stripped and rebuilt Mark 2 1.8 engine with a Rotrex C30-74 Supercharger, intercooler etc, and this is putting out around 240bhp at the fly. It is probably borderline on being too powerful for road use (although very easy to drive sensibly), but it is great fun on track.

[Steve (sdh2903)]

I had skim read your rotrex build last night Gary. Very impressive. Shame there's not a kit out there.

Yes I'd accepted long ago that the mx5 lump was going to end up boosted. In fact Id acquired a tdo4 turbo a while ago with a few other bits and pieces in preparation.

I'm going to get in touch with Simon tomorrow to see about a visit. However it may be after stoneleigh as I expect they'll be busy preparing.

[BLiNK Motorsport]

As an alternative,

 

if you like the FW bodywork and want a Mazda SDV with Forced induction then this kit looks really good and I beleive it has more space for a turbo:

 

http://www.roadrunnerracing.net/index.php/the-sr2

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Cheers, but I've seen a fair bit of unfavourable reviews regarding the sr2, I've seen a few really nice ones but heard some really poor stuff too.