Petrol Ped - Westfield

[Flying Carrot Steve]

 

I will never be able to justify the cost for me personally but I hope many do and that they sell loads, even if it's only for the selfish reason of hopefully impacting used Westfield prices in a positive way. My current Westfield looks more and more like a bargain, especially given the fact it has almost exactly the same power to weight as the new Se.NA T version. 

[Kit Car Electronics and Essex AO]

Regarding the price, yes it's high - but if you buy one of these types of cars for 10-20 years ownership fun (or more) is it really that much?

[SteveB21]

Watching the video had an unexpected benefit - I have discovered the 0-60 timer function on my speedometer! 😃

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

6 minutes ago, SteveB21 said:

Watching the video had an unexpected benefit - I have discovered the 0-60 timer function on my speedometer! 😃

Oh dear, I hope we don't see bust transmission /drive train posts shortly...............😂

[Andrzej]

Interesting this "new opening", but I’m not sure what in this car is really NEW? If I understand correctly:

- Rebuilt chassis – but only in the footwell area for more space (on the right side only, I suppose…). Shame they didn’t film the footwell so one could actually see the difference. But if it really is wider than the narrow tunnel Westfield, then that’s something! (though if it is, why not show it with measurements?).

- Higher steering rack position – but this was already present in the late ‘previous’ Westfield chassis, so nothing new here.

- They said “wishbone mounting points remain the same” – which I think is the very basis of the chassis.

 

So what really is new?

 

- Two-piece front brake discs – definitely a proper piece of technology! But are they really needed on a Westfield? I’m not sure, since even solid 247 mm discs work on track. I wonder what the replacement cost of such rotors is.

- Front calipers – maybe I’m wrong, but to me they look like HiSpec. Those lighter ones are not necessarily highly respected here on the forum due to low stiffness, the consequences of that, and the lack of piston seals. Why not go with Wilwood – stiffer, with seals, easier to maintain?

- 15" rims – probably for a wider choice of tyres (and/or to fit 265 mm discs?). Or maybe 13" rims are just not easily available anymore (this is why MK Sportscars had to order their own branded / designed lightweight 13" rims?).

 

I can’t shake the impression that this is mainly about the availability of parts – rims and tyres (and the prices of those, like Compomotive).

 

 

- Nitron shocks – I’m pretty sure a Nitron set dedicated for Westfield has been available for many years, but maybe those were only short ones for the standard track, like mine. In the video, they seem nicely fitted to the wide track – that should really be a good step forward.

- New engine – is it not just a Duratec? With different camshafts / inlet, mapping, etc.?

 

Re-mapping – I wish they had mentioned which ECU this motor runs. They didn’t, but I heard it’s an Ecumaster EMU (not sure if Classic, Black, or Pro – but any of those is a very good choice: great technology and know-how straight from Poland, where Enigma was broken – recommended!).

 

Don’t get me wrong: the car looks great, and the power range is really nice for nowadays. But this is how I see thiv video from the outside, knowing what I know already about Westfields . Also I know few caterham drivers here (They did not touched a bolt in their cars )

 

For me it’s for such customers video.  Approx. 70% marketing, appealing to patriotism (whicsh isn’t a bad thing), but let’s be honest and also mention other essential parts needed for the car to run properly – like the gearbox, differential, or ECU.

 

Anyway, I’m happy I got two 'old' Westfields and that I was lucky enough to have the chance to bolt both together from bare chassis. That way I know what goes where (at least to the best of my knowledge, which is growing mainly thanks to exchanging experiences on the WSCC Forum). A Westfield you just buy isn’t the same. In fact, I would be worried to really push one of those hard."

 

[DIY-Si]

Whilst I agree with some of the nay-saying here, at the same time, how many of us really push our cars or, once built, really care about whats under the bodywork?

 

Yes, there will always be some that need/want to know and love to tinker, but a lot of owners (and presumably potential owners from Westfield's point of view) want a sports car that just works. Will new owners care that the current shocks have been available in the past? I doubt it. Will they care where the base engine is sourced from? Most won't so long as it starts each time the key is turned, and if they want to tune it themselves, they'll be invalidating their warranty.

 

As much as I love the idea of building the next generation of Westfield cars, (and some still may be so be in the future) the factory seem to be aiming at the Caterham-esque market. And that is mostly one where an in-depth knowledge of what size bolts hold the diff in is, frankly, irrelevant. As someone who spends a lot of time fiddlying with the 63 year old engine in my car, i can definitely see the appeal of being able to jump in a car, give it a beating and then just park it up and walk away until next time.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

My understanding, and I’m interested to see if anyone knows different, was that Westfield Nitron dampers of old, were originally valved and set up for the Mega bike engined cars for track use. I only know a few people that tried them on CEC, that I’ve talked to about them, and most seemed to dislike them finding them too harsh on anything but the smoothest tarmac. That’s not a criticism of Nitron, just the previous valving.

 

But to say you shouldn’t use a brand that has lots to offer because it’s been used before in a different format is, well a tad short sighted, if not out right daft.

 

 

[Andrzej]

 

Why not use Nitron or any other brand? But that’s just one component. A single part doesn’t make an old car a new car.
Sorry for my scepticism, but this video looks to me like pure marketing...
As others have said, there’s no comparison with older Westfields, no lap time comparisons, etc.
If they had said – we’ve redesigned the chassis to be less twisty, with reduced dynamic camber change, proper bump steer,  a more stable rear end, etc. – now that would be a new Westfield.

Other nice added tweaks - why not.  Great! 

But this is not a New Westfield if there are no essential changes in chassis.

It is just tuning. Or developement of old car. And there is presented as new better  than old ones. I am sure that on this forum mamy cars (old) are no worse  od not better than this factory one NEW.

And would not be so sure even it is factory build, would not need at least spanner check with the same as older Westfields wishbone brackets. It is not Alpine A110 production car .

[Kit Car Electronics and Essex AO]

Surely a new buyer of a factory built car wouldn't care in the slightest about detailed chassis design comparisons with prior models? It'll come down to how it looks, goes, sounds, rides, stops, fits and whether it's a desirable thing to own. I think they've done a good job there, and not too bothered about how much is really 'new' personally. All of these 7 type cars are just a rearrangement of mostly the same parts at the end of the day?

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

We just need the members of the club to get behind this and support it. We all want members of the future to have the same fun building, driving, modifying, polishing and talking about our toys as we do. Without the factory, the number of Westies will only reduce. 

 

The old factory failed to improve, fix BOM's that were out of date, find new engine suppliers etc.

 

The new owners have had a difficult job recovering the business, no doubt due to suppliers who had their 'fingers burnt' etc and have made some incremental improvements rather than radical changes. They've clearly priced it to cover their costs and aren't being subsidised by government grants for driverless airport transport pods, that the old factory likely were.

[Euan Hoosearmy]

To me the question is one of Unique Selling Point - what makes this stand out from Caterham, GBS and others? The new XV makes more sense as there's nothing else like it. But with a 7 derivative, it's  pretty crowded market with a very strong market leader.

 

AK, Gardner Douglas, Caterham and others all seem to do well with their offerings of "factory built" cars, there's definitely a market out there for the "right" cars. Is the SE.NA range the "right" car? I don't know. Short-term, I hope the publicity serves them well and the car succeeds. However, for a car with a definite USP, if they do the XV well that could open up a LOT more opportunity for them where there isn't such a competitive marketplace. Will be interesting to see where the price-point will be, AK's D-Type is £109k built.

 

 

[Flying Carrot Steve]

13 hours ago, DIY-Si said:

 i can definitely see the appeal of being able to jump in a car, give it a beating and then just park it up and walk away until next time.

 

 

Yep that's the appeal to me too. It's the one thing these days now I'm getting older that I don't like about kits, always having to fiddle with them or be fixing things. Did all that in my 20 and 30s, don't want to be doing it in my 60s, doesn't interest me in the slightest, I just want to drive the blooming thing! 

[Flying Carrot Steve]

 

We all seem to have our views on the new Se.NA Westfield but the proof will be in the pudding I reckon. So, has anyone from WSCC driven one? If not, why not? Why haven't Westfield Chesil offered a key member a test drive, never mind any particular YouTube influencer. The real influence is right here in this club!

 

If someone else doesn't contact WCL and ask for a test drive, I will! We deserve it quite frankly and if I were the CEO I'd be here looking for a suitable WSCC member to test drive the new cars. I'm not suggesting myself, we need someone with more knowledge than me, longer experience of Westfields and someone who perhaps has driven several/many Westfield models over the years?

 

Anyone want to nominate themselves before we see if we can twist their arms to let WSCC drive the new car?

[Kit Car Electronics and Essex AO]

WSC did hold an open evening for WSCC to preview the car, there's a thread on here somewhere,  maybe an article could be written for the next mag on that too? Our Chairman even had a test drive 🙂

[Flying Carrot Steve]

7 minutes ago, Kit Car Electronics and Essex AO said:

WSC did hold an open evening for WSCC to preview the car, there's a thread on here somewhere,  maybe an article could be written for the next mag on that too? Our Chairman even had a test drive 🙂

 

 

Yes I remember, sadly I couldn't make that event. I didn't realise a test drive had been done though!