Westfield vs Caterham new kit purchase

[oioi]

scariest thing i ever drove on track was a TR8 ....... just felt very strange ,

having owned and thrashed a tr8 i know what you mean.  its scary but also kind of compelling until the brakes give out

ive also driven a fair few caterhams and westfields, whilst probably not as many as harv i mostly agree with his conclusions.  the one thing i would add is that on a bumby B-road most caterhams do not feel as planted, in fact i find them quite nervy and harder/stressful to drive on the road.  its that pointy darty feeling of the front that doesnt inspire as much confidence.  having said that ive driven an older zetec caterham that felt more planted on the road as opposed to a standard roadsport, so perhaps its the difference between a zetec and k-series?

I was very disapointed by a standard roadsport as it left the factory.  i drove it with only 500 miles on the clock and as well as underpowered the rears locked before the front and the back let go very early and suddenly.  no where near as compliant as a nearly new 1.8 zetec westie that i drove, and the zetec was much pokier than the roadsport.

an R500 is a truly awesome car    

[spence]

PS, any chance of a free holiday        

I think you've just blown it mate    

[Guest]

an R500 is a truly awesome car    

not straight out the factory ....... understeery monster on the first one i drove ......... its about setup and how you drive though.

[alan dixon]

PS, any chance of a free holiday        

I think you've just blown it mate    

Really, I thought I had a good chance        

[adhawkins]

andy you know thats a non issue ........... he also could not place a wanted advert on this site as an owner wanting a car ........

Yes, but at least he can ask for opinions here. And, despite the fact that we're likely to be biased, they won't all be 'Obviously a Westfield it best'.

Andy

[Bean]

also you need to drive both as they handle very differently .

now i can't compare the caterham to a prelit westfield as i have never driven one ,

however i have driven many caterhams and westfields .

from a feel point of view a caterham is far more pointy at the front end and feels like the car pivots around a point by the drivers backside .

A westfield feels like a larger car (as it is) and rotates around a point

Interesting and informative.

Does anybody know how the standard bodied Westfield compares to the current widebody model?  

Assuming the same axle type:

Live vs live and IRS vs IRS assuming standard setup.

Hard one to answer since there isn't such thing as a standard setup  

[Tubs]

Yes, but at least he can ask for opinions here. And, despite the fact that we're likely to be biased, they won't all be 'Obviously a Westfield it best'.

Andy

But it is.

Tubs

[Bananaman]

I suspect that the easier route would be the Cateringvan one BUT if you wanted easy you'd buy a ford?

What Harv said is very true, Cateringvans out of the box tend to be well setup, the difference with a Westfield is that they are not standard out of the box items so can be very good or very bad depending on build quality and setup.

Andy

[chappers]

My twin brother has an 1800 K-series (140bhp - 6 speed box) supersport Caterham now with freestyle inboard dampers/pushrod front suspension, while I drive his old car - an 1800 zetec SEiW on throttle bodies (155 bhp - 5 speed).

Comparing performance (of the above similar spec cars) - straight line speed is similar though the Caterham is probably a tad quicker (maybe due to the gearing). Before the Freestyle motorsport suspension upgrade, the factory set up/built Caterham was very understeery and was slower round the bends than my westfield, but now both cars have had their suspensions set up properly and once the tyres have warmed up both cars handle very similarly, though the Westfield does feel like a bigger car, 'cos it is. The de-dion rear also makes the Caterham a bit more skittish over a bumpy road whereas the westy is a bit more compliant. One of my friends in an 1800 zetec Caterham was very impressed by the westy performance, after following me round some bends, though I must admit his car hadn't yet been set up professionally.

Comparing size - I personally don't like the wider Caterham SV because everything feels bigger, and while I sit snug in the seat of my SEiW Westfield while enjoying some arm room, the seat feels too wide for me in the SV, so I personally feel it is less involving. Also if you get a standard Caterham then race shoes are pretty much a necessity as the pedal box is much narrower, whereas I can wear any shoes in the westy.

Comparing price - For similar spec cars, the Caterham will cost at least £5000 more than a westfield, especially when you bring in costs such as £1000 to paint it, so it depends on what your budget is.

With regard to building a car, then the Caterham will already be half built, but if you want to bult it from scratch then you can with a westfield.

Personally I think you will be happy with either car, but as said it just depends on what factors are most important and what you have to spend. I'd gladly drive either make of car, though for my budget I prefer to have better performance and a more individual car (due to the upgrades I have fitted), rather than drive a standard slower Caterham, which looks just like everyone elses.

If you take cost out of the equation though, then I would probably still buy a westfield as its a bit more comfortable (mostly space wise) than the caterham, though a proper freestyle motorsport standard body caterham would come a very close second. I wouldn't buy a CSR, because I hear there are some problems e.g. (gearbox mating) and Caterham can't even be bothered to change some things such as mould new rear wings, since the cut out for the K-series exhaust and duratec exhaust are on opposite sides - surely for +£30000 for a car they could add the final touches. also the CSR means that would get all that heritage     . -  sorry couldn't resist that old chestnut.

Kev.

[Bananaman]

Just a thought, if your 6'+ then a carteringvan is gonna be a squeeze unless you go for the SV..

[robthehungrymonkey]

I've read a  lot of "Westfield or Caterham" threads, but this one is way more informative and I've learnt stuff i never knew before.    

I always assumed they were so dependant on set up that there weren't that many "general" differences handling wise.

[Guest]

rob , dispite what chappers has said a properly setup caterham and properly setup westfield  will feel nothing like similar .

the track ,wheelbase on a standerd caterham and an seiw westfield are such that its not possible , they will feel similar if you compare tham to a saloon car yes , but again its that subjective viewpoint .

this week i have test driven a 3 series bmw touring , an xtype estate ,and an a4 avant , all similar ,all had sport suspention , all were simlar power ans size ........... however thats about where you have to stop using the word similar , as for actual handling they are all worlds apart in feel ............

its why internet discussions on such topics are always so heated , because we all like different things ............ look at everyones wife / girlfriends ...... i bet there's not a clone amonst them ....... we all like different things ,and some members might go as far as liking men ?? .some of those may not be women ...............

start to get the picture?  

in todays new car market there are very very few bad cars , they all do what the breif was , so what is a good car ?

for that matter whats a bad car?

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

   Damn it sanity's starting to break out, what's wrong with you all.

[Guest]

LOL........... its hard not to give a true (as i see and feel it) viewpoint for once , its not in keeping with a single marque forum i know .and if blatchat read it they'll be equally shocked , however you may notice i have yet to say which is better?

i could say which i prefer , but i could actually in reallity like both for differing reasons.  

[chappers]

rob , dispite what chappers has said a properly setup caterham and properly setup westfield  will feel nothing like similar.

I'm sure Harv has much more driving experience than me, but on the road I find I can hop into my westy or my brother's Caterham and drive them without having to adapt my driving style, so which is why I feel they handle pretty similarly. The Caterham maybe feels a bit more nimble due to its smaller size and lower weight, but the extra power I have in my westy makes up for it. My Northampton Motorsport set up westy (with standard springs and anti-roll bars) feels a tad more oversteery, compared to my brother's Caterham (with avos and now no anti-roll bars, because Freestyle removed the front one and disconnected the rear because they said they weren't realy needed with the current set up), but if you leave braking later and get the weight transferred to the front the Caterham still corners very well. I'm sure with some adjustment of the different settings you could get them to feel pretty similar to a novice like me. On track at the limit, then the differences may well become more aparent, but I've only done 2 airfield days in them so can't really comment.

Back to the main point though, I'd weigh up everything such as looks, cost, ease of import and registration, power etc. and see which ones scores most points. As Bananman said, if your a big lad then an SV might be required if you still like the look of those - I'm 6'1" and 12 stone and I fit in the standard Caterham fine, as long as I take my size 10 shoes off or wear narrow racing shoes.

Just get one - you won't regret it.

Kev.