V8 or BEC

[Guest]

Edd , actually the engine choice is not quite as clear cut or important as you think , they all have there merits in one way or another be it bec cec or v8 , however its how the car is put together and setup that will likely make the difference between a quick well handelling track car and a nice road car .

If you want both somewhere along the line there will be a compromise .

I have a cec and have been on days with baz and his turbo busa , chris g with his bec , other cec and even the large yellow V8 .

I have a close friend who runs an S2000 engined car also , now we have similar driving levels and if you back to back those 2 cars neither one is quicker on a circuit , he has 240bhp to my 220 bhp i have more torque he has more revs ,over a lap you can't split them , i'm sure the likes of bazzer and chriss will tell you how well sorted those 2 cars are , however neither are plesant on the road .

I have driven many things on track and road and would not say one is better than the other as its more individual , my cars a s**t road car but good track car , we also own an elise which IMHO is good at neither ,compromised road car compromised track car , my diesel road car point to point feels way nicer on the road , in fact in the wet on track its left elises and the like behind , there is no real answer to your question is the honest truth .

Everyones opinion will differ and tbh the best bet is a car that you like that suits your primary need and budget .

if you like revs and a sequential box i'm sure a busa will suit , if you wanna change gear less a torquey V8 , something in the middle a 200+ bhp vx/zetec/dura but get a car thats speced to suit .

brakes for track are important , the handeling setup is crutial , dampers very important , saftey may also be a concern , more and more caged cars around these days . You may have a carbon fetish (  so wish i didn't) but get what floats your boat .

thats before we even go down the road of xtr2/4 which are anothe ball game (can't comment never driven)

or maybe a nice porsche GT3 , now theres a car that good on track whilst being good on a road , but how fast do you wanna go ?

nobody i fear can advise you as to whats best but whatever you get enjoy it , but try all the options you can.

beatifully written

thats something not often heard about my litary skills

[Edd]

Harv - great comments and know exactly what you mean.

Just got to find something i like now

[Guest]

as long as YOU like it it WILL be the fastest thing in your mind.

[Edd]

Well my boss couldn't make this tomorrow www.palmersport.co.uk (i think because i kept telling him not to and i should   ) so get a go in a Caterham    with 1.8 engine

should be a good day  

[Guest]

the caterham won't inspire you half as much as the JP1 or the formula palmar audi ........... and have fun hanging the tail out on the 350z

[Edd]

Well I had a great day  

The two "race" cars were awesome but you definietly need more time out there to get to grips with them and the track.

Managed to get a nice trophy for setting fastest lap in the caterham round the track

Was a lot of fun and reassured me how much i want a westfield now, just gotta decide the engine  

[ChrisG]

I suggest a bike engine  

[Edd]

I'm thinking that way aswell

need to find someone to take me out in one as struggling to find time to go to factory over next few months as moving house in 2 weeks

[Drakuul]

V8!

*is biased*

[Guest]

Edd if you want to track your car mainly i would suggest looking at various track days near you and go out in cars on track , the way a car feels on the road will be vastly different to how it feels on track .

Also try more than one as there is so much that can sway how you think , driver levels are different and that alone can make a bad car seem good and vice versa ,

If you can take some time i would be more than happy to take you out at a track day and go through what you may or maynot find a benifit .

I'm also not biased as i have no preference on what powers a car however being setup to make the best of most situations is very important.

I'll let you know if you mail me when we intend another track day ,but can i also recommend the mallory park track day the wscc are running as a good place to see many cars on track .

[Bazzer]

Harv is right if you want a track car, get along to some trackdays and blag some rides.

I will be at Oulton Park in my Turbo Busa with Bookatrack the middle of next month.

Bazzer

[peterrosey]

Having built a Megabusa and tracked it, plus driven my mates V8 Westie (in original 200bhp+ 3.5-litre form and in its current 308bhp 4.6-litre V8 form), as well as another mates 200bhp VX-engined Westie I reckon I've seen both sides of the fence.

Firstly the (308bhp) V8 is great. Effortlessly quick in all gears and with far more top end than the Busa. Doesn't seem as flickable in the handling, though and doesn't sound like a V8 due to the two side exit exhausts (sounds more like a big VW Beetle engine when you're driving one). On a fast wide circuit it would be awesome and as a road car it's vastly better than a Busa.

The Busa would murder it on most UK tracks I reckon, though, plus it sounds much better IMHO - a wailing banshee racecar soundtrack. Downsides: even with the 3.2 Freelander diff fitted mine was very tiring to drive on a motorway. Even a short motorway / dual carriageway run will drive you nuts. The noise is one thing, but the vibration from the engine (which is virtually solid mounted) gets annoying on a long trip. In stop / start town traffic the clutch is a pain - mine had a race clutch and when warm it was either off or on (ie 6000rpm getaway with wheelspin, or idle speed and pop clutch with a jerk - can't just pull away at 3,000rpm with clutch slip like in a car). Also the stock Westfield reverse gearbox is clonky and horrible - avoid at all costs and get an electric reverse system.

So for a weekend drive the Busa can be a bit tiresome. On a clear day, driving like a loon, it was great though.

On track the Busa was awesome in the dry (did Cadwell and loved it) and easily one of the quickest cars out there. Downside: noise limits difficult to meet. In the wet I found it a different story, entirely. The weight is biased towards the rear and no matter what tyres I used, you could still spin the wheels in 3rd and 4th. Throw in understeer, plus snappy mid-corner oversteer and every lap with the car in the wet was a bit of a battle. The new owner fitted different front suspension, so this may have improved things, but either way the skill level required to drive one in the wet is getting on for professional-driver level and isn't a much fun as you'd think.

Personally as a track car with virtually no road mileage, I'd go for the Busa, but only if you plan to drive it solo - two up, the edge gets taken off the performance quite considerably.

The V8 doesn't really do it for me. It doesn't sound like a TVR V8 when you're driving it and while it's very quick, it doesn't have that manic quality. Plus for a nimble track car, 140 to 160kg of engine (plus the big gearbox and heavy wheels and tyres needed) make it less than nimble. For long distances, though, it would be my top choice.

For my money I'd go for the 250bhp 2.0-litre Duratec option that Westfield are doing. It's got the best of everything - seriously quick on track, sounds evil and will also be great to drive on the road. Having driven my mates 200bhp VX Westie, to my eyes this is the best allrounder - very quick pick up, feels agile and a barking engine note.

[Blatman]

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200bhp VX Westie, to my eyes this is the best allrounder - very quick pick up, feels agile and a barking engine note.

No argument from me

[dern]

The V8 doesn't really do it for me. It doesn't sound like a TVR V8 when you're driving it

You could potentially address that with underslung exhausts so that both sides exit at the back and you could have a balance pipe which may give the noise of a tvr.

[adhawkins]

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200bhp VX Westie, to my eyes this is the best allrounder - very quick pick up, feels agile and a barking engine note.

No argument from me

Nor me

Andy