Sport 250 Review on Top Gear site

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

16 minutes ago, Terryathome said:

You built the car yourself. If the factory had built it then that would be a totally different matter.

I read this as being Steve had built the car to the factory design with their specified components and hence wasn’t questioning his build quality or capability. Surely for all low volume built kits the factory should been keen to receive builders and owners feedback.

[Kit Car Electronics]

I'm always confused that it seems as if the factory doesn't keep a close eye on this forum - if it did, some of the frequent problems builders run into would surely be fixed. Surely it's not just a 9-5 job for everyone there?

[Terryathome]

Ian, yes I understand Westfield components were used but there are many different components that you can use. Shocks, discs, calipers even seats to steering wheels.

Different configurations for different people who use there cars for road or track use.

Poor advise from Westfield or poor selections of parts could all lead to a poor handling car. Or poor setting up.

I do remember going to Blinks for geo setup and getting the third degree on what I wanted the car for. Blimey Fraiser is good as I got exactly what I wanted. Thank you Blink, will not take the car anywhere else. Thanks Fraiser.

Maybe Westfield should third degree purchasers before selling to them.

My last post not got anything else to say.

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Chassis, wishbones, alloy uprights, all nuts and bolts and mounting hardware supplied by westfield. Protech shocks and springs supplied by procomp built to the same spec and poundage as supplied by the factory and confirmed by Matt at procomp. Setup to factory setup sheet as provided by mark walker, front tweaked a bit away from factory to suit my driving style. Setup and corner weighted by a motorsport specialist. Bolted together by me or a factory technician what's the difference?

Factory car built by "professionals" at the factory.

2 cars same components, 2 different builders, same problem reported

Coincidence?

If I'm spending 20k+ I have every right to question the factory if I believe something ain't right. If you would accept it then then that would be your choice.

I'll leave it there.

[DonPeffers]

22 hours ago, Thrustyjust said:

 a recent long chat with Ollie, when we met, who was a suspension engineer for Lotus, he basically said the same issues I was having with my car . 

As for gear knobs falling off Terry, yes its a kit car, a 35 grand kit car !! and if they cant stop the gear knob falling off , then there's no hope for the rest of it.

As to his review of the car , he said its pointless being untrue with what he writes, there is no benefit in anyone writing like that.

We'll see where the factory make the mods for the car and let Ollie have another go

22 hours ago, Thrustyjust said:

 

Hi Justin.  If I've found the correct result, below is the publicly available Linkedin profile of your friend, but somehow omits the Lotus connection. Any ideas?

Motoring Editor Top Gear----February 2011 – Present (6 years 10 months)

Associate Editor Evo magazine 2008---February 2011 (3 years)

Road Test Editor Auto Express 1998 – 2008 (10 years)

Road Tester Autocar 1996 – 1998 (2 years)

Dogsbody What Car? 1996 – 1996 (less than a year)

Ski bum The Alps 1994 – 1996 (2 years)

Bummed around ski guiding and working nights so I had more time to ski...    --------------------------------------------end of profile traced.

As for loose gear knobs my new Cateringvan one came loose as well, many years ago.

I completely accept that the reviewer wasn't lying regarding suspension issues and possibly heavier models need tweeks as suggested.  IMO the articles failure to differentiate between S3 and much larger SV model (110mm wider, 25kg heavier) does not help the reader. Important to remember (or for the young to find out) that Chapman's 1957 Lotus S3 (on which the current S3 is based) was designed as a race car and was raced in the late Fifties by future double F1 World Champion Graham Hill. The very narrow footwell of the S3 isn't a problem for a racer who might change gear 20 times a lap but requires commitment from a touring owner putting long miles in when there is no left footrest.

Regarding reviewer's attitude I have yet to find a TG review of (say) Audi ending with the tag line  'the clumsy BMW' and omitting any price differential.

As for the Pistonheads review I would have preferred to have avoided the first 3 paragraphs of waffle and read more about the car. When TG do a full review they have sections on Overview,  Driving,  Interior,  Running Costs & MPG, Overall verdict.  

Surely not good for TG to make a comparison without stating which model they mean.

I await the next instalment.

[Thrustyjust]

47 minutes ago, DonPeffers said:

Hi Justin.  If I've found the correct result, below is the publicly available Linkedin profile of your friend, but somehow omits the Lotus connection. Any ideas?

Motoring Editor Top Gear----February 2011 – Present (6 years 10 months)

Associate Editor Evo magazine 2008---February 2011 (3 years)

Road Test Editor Auto Express 1998 – 2008 (10 years)

Road Tester Autocar 1996 – 1998 (2 years)

Dogsbody What Car? 1996 – 1996 (less than a year)

Ski bum The Alps 1994 – 1996 (2 years)

Bummed around ski guiding and working nights so I had more time to ski...    --------------------------------------------end of profile traced.

As for loose gear knobs my new Cateringvan one came loose as well, many years ago.

I completely accept that the reviewer wasn't lying regarding suspension issues and possibly heavier models need tweeks as suggested.  IMO the articles failure to differentiate between S3 and much larger SV model (110mm wider, 25kg heavier) does not help the reader. Important to remember (or for the young to find out) that Chapman's 1957 Lotus S3 (on which the current S3 is based) was designed as a race car and was raced in the late Fifties by future double F1 World Champion Graham Hill. The very narrow footwell of the S3 isn't a problem for a racer who might change gear 20 times a lap but requires commitment from a touring owner putting long miles in when there is no left footrest.

Regarding reviewer's attitude I have yet to find a TG review of (say) Audi ending with the tag line  'the clumsy BMW' and omitting any price differential.

As for the Pistonheads review I would have preferred to have avoided the first 3 paragraphs of waffle and read more about the car. When TG do a full review they have sections on Overview,  Driving,  Interior,  Running Costs & MPG, Overall verdict.  

Surely not good for TG to make a comparison without stating which model they mean.

I await the next instalment.

Nope, not interested to be honest, I have no need to follow his profile. What I do know, is he has driven more cars of every nature than all of us, so has a perception of how a car should work. He said he had been involved in Lotus cars and to be honest, you didnt need to be able to drive a car to find the suspension was rubbish or that a gear knob falls off. I suspect the next installment will be on the shelf in the magazine or on Pistonheads or any other form of media that many thousands read , not 300 guys on a forum. Westfields audience in TG mag doesnt need a 5 page spread on what it does and doesnt. It doesnt have gizmos, emmisions to worry, heated steering wheels, crash testing, traction control and the like. To write 5 pages on a Westfield would make the audience consider sleep and turn over. It deserved the space it was given , for the audience who could show interest to buy. I believe he had the car for abou 3 to 5 ish days to try, which would tell you most of what you need to know.

Also, I dont care about Caterham. They arent what the discussion is about. They can do what they like and what they are doing works and sells well. This thread was about a Westfield Sport 250 and its issues . A gear knob fell off my bullet box in my first Westfield , but I didnt had a journo driving it, who was going to write about a kit car falling apart. let alone have 2 off them.

[DonPeffers]

On 11/11/2017 at 12:13, Thrustyjust said:

Nope, not interested to be honest, I have no need to follow his profile. What I do know, is he has driven more cars of every nature than all of us, so has a perception of how a car should work. He said he had been involved in Lotus cars and to be honest, you didnt need to be able to drive a car to find the suspension was rubbish or that a gear knob falls off. I suspect the next installment will be on the shelf in the magazine or on Pistonheads or any other form of media that many thousands read , not 300 guys on a forum. Westfields audience in TG mag doesnt need a 5 page spread on what it does and doesnt. It doesnt have gizmos, emmisions to worry, heated steering wheels, crash testing, traction control and the like. To write 5 pages on a Westfield would make the audience consider sleep and turn over. It deserved the space it was given , for the audience who could show interest to buy. I believe he had the car for abou 3 to 5 ish days to try, which would tell you most of what you need to know.

Also, I dont care about Caterham. They arent what the discussion is about. They can do what they like and what they are doing works and sells well. This thread was about a Westfield Sport 250 and its issues . A gear knob fell off my bullet box in my first Westfield , but I didnt had a journo driving it, who was going to write about a kit car falling apart. let alone have 2 off them.

Brave lad testing the car over 3-5 days ish when the report states brakes juddering badly.

If space is an issue when writing a report I fail to understand why Pistonheads bored me with 3 paragraphs about driverless pods etc and TG brought up the Lawyers story from decades ago.

Years ago motoring mags printed a lot more data including in various gears acceleration times (say 30 to 70mph) but things have been dumbed-down.

Mags readily tell readers how many seconds an electric hood takes to raise or lower and at what maximum road speed but I guess most road testers can't be bothered with kitcar hoods and usually wait for a dry day so differences between models aren't assessed.

I don't buy Automotive porn like Top Gear mag so look forward to you posting a link when available and is there a link to the Total KItcar review to see if I can detect a bias?