Westfield MX5 SDV review

[SteveRST]

Reading PistonHeads website and see that they have just reviewed the Mazda MX5 Westfield kit.

check it out  here.

steve

[Asterix]

QUOTE

looking through that heated screen

Never knew that, unless it's poorly written...

Power to weight sounds like the pre-Zetec class A racers.

[SteveRST]

I am surprised by how light it is - 545kg kerb weight for the 1600, and also how cheap it is - £7000 all in including donor vehicle!!

If only I had a garage, I'd be seriously tempted.  

steve

[JAG]

It should be a cracking little car.

I've got a Stuart Taylor Locost car fitted with the MX5 engine and gearbox and I love it. My car weighs 565kg and even with 116bhp it's a lot of fun and 200bhp/ton  

[Martin Keene]

looking through that heated screen

Never knew that, unless it's poorly written...

Power to weight sounds like the pre-Zetec class A racers.

Yep... Recent development. Removes the need for a heater to de-mist for SVA...

[lespaul]

Noticed the 1.6 demo is for sale on the Westfield web site, could be tempted if it had of been Yellow  

Darren

[Keith@FM]

Nice review of a Westfield from the point of view of a normal car driver. It's a good read. There's an EVO review of the MX-5 SDV as well - ignore the bit about the brakes, the car was using the pads from the £90 donor at that point.

There isn't a heater that fits with the new swoopy dash used on the MX-5 model, so the heated screen is the current solution. No heater might work for stalwart Englishmen, but the luxury-loving Americans need one. We'll figure out a way to make it work.

Keith

[Al Yupright]

I am surprised by how light it is - 545kg kerb weight for the 1600, and also how cheap it is - £7000 all in including donor vehicle!!

If only I had a garage, I'd be seriously tempted.  

steve

Trouble with figures like this, is it assumes you reuse all the balljoints, CV joints, brake pads etc from the Mazda and I dont think I'd be able to do that... I'd end up putting new ones on.

...and in the end it wouldnt be much cheaper than a normal Westfield.

[Morbius]

I am surprised by how light it is - 545kg kerb weight for the 1600, and also how cheap it is - £7000 all in including donor vehicle!!

If only I had a garage, I'd be seriously tempted.  

steve

When I took it for SVA, my 1800 Zetec came in at 630Kg fully loaded with me (80Kg+) in it plus at least 10Kg of tools, so that sounds a bit heavy for a car with a supposedly lighter engine.

Or am I ignorant and kerb weight includes the driver?

[Keith@FM]

Trouble with figures like this, is it assumes you reuse all the balljoints, CV joints, brake pads etc from the Mazda and I dont think I'd be able to do that... I'd end up putting new ones on.

...and in the end it wouldnt be much cheaper than a normal Westfield.

It uses new ball joints at the top up front, so you'd only be left with the track rods and the lower ball joints. It would probably be a good idea to replace the former but the latter are a tough piece. The CV joints don't ever seem to fail, wheel bearings are stong and long-lived - Westfield managed to keep the best parts of the MX-5 and most of them are not affected by mileage. I would recommend fitting a new cambelt and refreshing any external seals on the engine though.

Brake pads and tyres - yes, fit new ones to any car you build. So they're a constant.