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[Guest]

as a road car you may end up with alot more comfort buy having the ARBs ...... you can run a softer spring and not get the roll ,and springs are cheaper to change then ARBs .........

A limited slip diff will also be nice and the benifit found on the road as well as the track .

The 2.0 litre zetec will feel torquier and nicer as a road drive ,and in the longrun more powerful when upgraded .

The 4 pots can definately wait ........... the cortina calipers are more than up to the job of stopping a westy even in the most arduos track conditions , and weight saving would be a bigger reason to go 4 pots than the stopping power.

And don't dispare at the search , it may be against popular belife but the search function seems a little frustrating .............., quite often you trawl 10 unrelated threads or more before you find a relevant one , so maybe it could be better........ or maybe i don't use it right.

[lukeyboy]

Maybe I should re-phrase the question!!!

Will all the people who have crashed there vehicles whilst driving on the Highway please list their vehicle model and what upgrades they did or didn't have

Thanks for the posts. I can see it's horses for courses and down to peoples preferences. When I had a type r i would not consider most performance upgrades because of the insurance increase.

As you can appreciate I am eager to place my orders and get building my car and all the "extras" just keep bumping up the price. As long as a can spank the ass of any chav mobile (and I don't end up in a ditch through poor handling) I will be quite happy

[adhawkins]

The 2.0 litre zetec will feel torquier and nicer as a road drive ,and in the longrun more powerful when upgraded .

They're not doing the 2 litre Zetec any more are they? Isn't it a Duratec?

Andy

[MAT1800]

Don't think it has anything to do with Black suspension.

But don't listen to me I taught boomy everthing he knows.

[Blatman]

The 2.0 litre zetec will feel torquier and nicer as a road drive ,and in the longrun more powerful when upgraded .

They're not doing the 2 litre Zetec any more are they? Isn't it a Duratec?

Andy

Possibly the dumbest thing you've ever said!

[Guest]

humm ................... you are right ,  i'll have to look at the outputs because i suspect that as torque goes a standard duratec is not as torquey as a standard zetec ............ or rumour has it ,that  when tunning a zetec produces torque easily and you need to engineer the power and the opposite on the dura....... or so an engine builder told me .

[Guest]

The 2.0 litre zetec will feel torquier and nicer as a road drive ,and in the longrun more powerful when upgraded .

They're not doing the 2 litre Zetec any more are they? Isn't it a Duratec?

Andy

Possibly the dumbest thing you've ever said!

i'm not sure which one of us you mean  

[lukeyboy]

This kit car is going to be sharp learning curve in car mechanics. I am lucky that I am quite technical, plus I have a couple of friends who are fitters and an aviation mechanic (so not short on tools and experience).

The project is dual purpose 1.) to provide me with a good sports car for maximum enjoyment in good weather and 2.) to get my fat bum off the sofa / bed on an evening. Normally when I come in from work I veg infront of the TV and the old six pack is turning into a barrel. The choice was either a diet or build a westie!!! mmmm no choice there then

P.S. They are only doing the Duratecs (according to the price mag). I did wonder if anybody had tried to install a honda S2000 engine and back end... any takers?

[adamnreeves]

The 2.0 litre zetec will feel torquier and nicer as a road drive ,and in the longrun more powerful when upgraded .

They're not doing the 2 litre Zetec any more are they? Isn't it a Duratec?

Andy

Possibly the dumbest thing you've ever said!

I think Andy means they no longer do the 2.0 Zetec but do a 2.0 Duratec? I know nothing about this but I think the question can be interpreted in one of two ways.

[Guest]

truthfully andy makes a good point because i belive torque is not as high on the dura ...... *

oh dear a search took me to the GirlsNmotors website , for the girl racer .............. i'll be back later

[Darren B]

Hi Luke,

If I had the chance to go back to re-ordering my kit then I would definately go for:

1.  RAC roll bar from the outset.

2.  Have the chassis without the seatbelt mounting bosses, as I went straight for 4 point harnesses and had to cut the bosses off.

3.  Padded race seats, as they are about the same cost as the sports seats.

4.  Possibly go for alloy dampers rather than the Westfield standard items.

I always planned to take my car to a track day or 2, but will now be sprinting it this year, so have spent a fair sum of money on all the upgrades to get it to the spec I want...and I haven't even looked at the exhaust, ECU and engine mods yet!

My advice would be to glean as much info from searching, about any issues you have and posting questions so that you can ask the factory about all the little options that I didn't know about until it was too late.  Also, cut along to your local area meeting.  That way you can see the cars and speak to the owners in the flesh and find out what they think in person as well as have a look for yourself.

Good luck

Darren  

P.S.  I see from your profile that you're in South Yorks.  They have quite an active area.  Try the 'Local Events' section of the WSCC site for the Area Organiser.  You won't regret it.

[lukeyboy]

I have my spies out and know for a fact that there are least 2 westies close to where I live (ones a v8, not sure on the other).

I am getting worried about all the options available I don't know about. I can see this ending up as a £19k+ build!!

The options (from standard) I had decided on were,

British Racing Green

Chrome package

Carbon effect kit

4 pot upgrade (can never have enough braking power)

4 point harness

Contoured dash upgrade

White instruments upgrade

It now looks like I'm going to have to find the cash for;

Front and rear ARB's

LSD

Please tell me there are no other options or I might start crying!

Dare I ask what people are paying for their insurance? I am 29, it will be a second car. I currently do 8500 miles a year, so I recon I might do about 3000 in the westie and I have full NCD 10+ years. Please tell me that this will be reasonable.

[MAT1800]

Insurance is a subject worth searching...

[Animal]

Limit your milage and youshould get change out of £200

Paul

[KerryS]

Luke

..and a welcome from me too. WF told me in November they cannot get any more what have been called Zetec engines so I presume they are offering the 1.6?? Puma Zetec-S engine and the 2.0 Duratec now but you'll find out when you go to factory.

Their demo cars now seem to be loaded with "extras" to make the purchase even more painful.

I built mine last winter and have enjoyed the help and pi**taking on here. If I knew then what I know now for a road car, I would have had 4-pot calipers as the braking is not confidence-inspiring in my set-up. I know Harv say different, but perhaps it's just my particular setup.

I like the chrome but then I suspect I'm regarded as a "polisher"

I suspect the recommendations for goodies match the owners' capabilities to handle the car, hence my fairly basic spec in that department

Good luck and keep us posted.

Kerry