Buying a westfield, first step, choosing the right one

[Rick_Alta]

Hello from the Arctic, I'm Rick and I live in Alta, northern Norway. I've owned quite a few sport cars in the last decade, and I'm thinking to go the next step and get myself a westfield. I currently own a slightly modified Honda S2000, which I love, but I've done everything I wanted with it, from long trips to track days, so I'm considering a westfield and embrace the true driving experience, those few days I get a free pass from family 😁

I'm close to a deal for a 2000 Megabird, with extremely low mileage and clean history.

How rare are the megabirds, and -in boring value terms- are those more or less attractive for the enthusiasts? How many kits were sold/cars were built in this configuration?

Another option I have is a more civilised 2020 with Zetec 2.0. 

The main use will be track days, I own a trailer so long transfer won't be an issue.

Hope I'll join the owners club soon 😃

 

[Andrzej]

I’ve been driving two Westfields with the 2.0 Blacktop Zetec for quite a long time (one of them purely track-focused). This season, however, I started not with a Westfield but with a other Seven-type car — an MNR Vortx with a Honda CBR1000RR bike engine, which is even more extreme, I’d say, compared to a Blackbird.

They are both (CEC and BEC) very different beasts.

There’s a nice piece of material comparing CEC vs BEC here — worth watching calmly, especially the part about weld cracking 🙂 (link below).

It’s not something that happens immediately or all the time, but loosening of supposedly secured nuts — yes, I’ve experienced that myself. In a BEC, the engine is stiff-mounted to the chassis, with all the consequences. What is not mentioned in this material, but what I know from other BEC owners, is that the engine effectively becomes part of the chassis. In the event of a collision, engine damage is quite possible — I personally know a case of a cracked cylinder after a relatively small crash. With a BEC mounted on rubber or poly bushes, this is not an issue.

On the other hand, there is roughly a 100 kg weight saving with a BEC engine–gearbox combo.

The lack of a reverse gear is nothing pleasant in a BEC car. Even on track only — we all have had, or will have, a spin. It’s really worth having a proper reverse. With a BEC it’s basically not possible. Some mention a mechanical reverse gearbox, but others say it takes around 10% of the power, and an electric reverse is of little use. So if you spin, that’s the end of the session. Even in the paddock, you usually need at least one other person to move or prepare the car.

But — you get a sequential gearbox “for free”, and that sound at 13,000 rpm… well, that really gets you hooked.

I still don’t know which of these cars is actually faster. The MNR also has better suspension and chassis, so it’s even harder to compare.

The Westfield has 195 hp but roughly twice the torque, while the MNR has similar peak power, delivered much higher in the rev range, and with almost half the torque.

I don’t know how it is with the Blackbird, but in the CBR1000RR there is a slipper clutch — a great thing !!!  It can save you more than once from a spin when you downshift too early under braking.

Well, best to try both