Life after Westy's...earning my petrolhead stripes

[Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment]

21 hours ago, XTR2Turbo said:

 

TVRs are now generally over priced and don't handle well other than the latest T350 based cars

 

bit of an exageration there David

[Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment]

1 hour ago, MK11 said:

Having sold my XI in 2014 I bought an Ultima GTR.  Having had it 3 years it is now (hopefully) sold and I am now looking for another toy.  The handling of the XI is what I miss most, it certainly was not the quickest car on track but I had more fun than you can shake a stick at.  Almost 100bhp from a leaky A Series, skinny hard tyres and laughable grip, but the balance was amazing.  I could throw the car into a corner, the front would turn in and the rear could be steered easily with the right foot.  Throw it in a bit harder and it would 4 wheel drift nicely for as long as you wanted to get round the corner.

I want something that will do the same, I could go back to an XI but I fancy a bit more power, so maybe a Caterham (especially if I stay a member of the WSCC as it will cause the heritage beards to implode!)

but bits kept falling off it Matthew

We will still love you if you get a Caterham don't worry - just don't get one quicker than my westy

[XTR2Turbo]

6 minutes ago, Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment said:

bit of an exageration there David

Sorry ... you are right T350s are very under valued compared to Sagaris ;-)

[Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment]

Just now, XTR2Turbo said:

Sorry ... you are right T350s are very under valued compared to Sagaris ;-)

I was on about the handling - I think you must be wearing them rose tinted specs

 

the values are no doubt rocketting

[XTR2Turbo]

It's all relative of course but a griff / chimera / tuscan are not easy cars to pedal along a bumpy country road.  If I get out of the Evora and jump into the Tuscan (which had new dampers and was corner weighted and aligned at NMS) the difference in compliance is pretty stark.  The Tuscan is well known for bump steer and some owners raised the rack mounting point to try and cure.

T350 / Tamora / Sagaris family was the first modern TVR where this was sorted.  I have never driven a cerbera so can't comment on them.

[B.RAD]

This is a really interesting discussion, thanks for the input! Keep it coming please 

[DanDud]

S2000? Good fun, reliable, make a good noise, now appreciating.  Throw a super charger kit on it if you want more oomph!

From what I have read all they need to be track ready is a decent set of brakes, baffle the sump and put an oil cooler & decent radiator on it.

I run one as a daily, and in 6 and a half years and 40k miles im still not bored with it yet.  And actually plan (fingers crossed) to never get rid.

Plus if you stuff it, rob the drive train for a new westie build

[Kit Car Electronics]

Don't forget to consider that there are many more great cars than great car clubs though... That might be important too (it has been for me)

[MK11]

17 hours ago, Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment said:

but bits kept falling off it Matthew

bits may have fallen off, but they would never rust, not with the free anti corrosion coating provided by the A series.  Being a  generous soul, I also coated anyone following me as well!

[Mighty Mart]

Trouble with westfields is it's the package....

great power to weight....

great fun.....

great pose value....whether you like it or not, you get comments every time you go out.....

great club and generally great people who are owners.....

best of all, fantastic fun / bang for your buck.....

 

i chased a ferrari 455 the other week,  blooming lovely car and of course MUCH quicker than me, but he had to be on it at the start lol....got me thinking that I was having as much as a rush as he was was 5% of the cost....

Mart.

[Crash test dummy]

S1 Elise with a well done Honda conversion.

Looks, 200bhp, vtec, 800kg or less, roof, heater, 6 speed.

Oh and the noise!

[Thrustyjust]

3 minutes ago, Crash test dummy said:

S1 Elise with a well done Honda conversion.

Looks, 200bhp, vtec, 800kg or less, roof, heater, 6 speed.

Oh and the noise!

Just a ballache getting over the sill to get in with the roof on !!  I had an S2 111s and wasnt inspired by Lotus to be honest.............

[Crash test dummy]

3 minutes ago, Thrustyjust said:

Just a ballache getting over the sill to get in with the roof on !!  I had an S2 111s and wasnt inspired by Lotus to be honest.............

You need to be supple that's for sure, so not for everyone but I've seen Barney and he'd have no problem.

S2 is a different kettle of fish from the S1 IMHO. S1 wasn't designed to ever have a roof for example which is a good indication of the designer's ethos.

[MarkS2]

Interesting thread this one. My story is various new Elise's then on to a new exige S2 supercharged back in 06 when they came out got it up to 300bhp and loved it, longest I had ever owned a car @6 years, then moved house car sold then bought a westie. Lots of fun and cheap to own etc plus great customising it. 

Then for reasons unknown I sold my M3 daily and Westy and bought a focus RS mk2 and tuned that to 420bhp with lots of other upgrades but...... I still had a massive picture of my Westy on the garage wall and I missed it.

Then my actual old car came up for sale so I bought that back and now run a little Renault sport twingo 133 as my daily, which I got at family rates as my brothers wife had owned it from new.

Moral of the story for me is over the last 15 years I have always had a lightweight in the garage apart from the last two years when I had the focus RS and now I back again so I have concluded I can't live without one and the Westfield is so much fun for little cost.

This time around I have bigger plans as can do all the things I wanted to do first time but didn't get chance due to always spending on my M3.

[DonPeffers]

Is it true that the Elise undertray could turn the car into a boat and aquaplane off the road in standing water?