Megabusa or caterham 240bhp durabang

[STAINLESS STEVE]

Mr Conibear did... 49 seconds round Brands! It's now got all it's suspension, wide track Arb's and brakes strapped to my car and he's put the engine into an R400.  

So watch this space!!

[JeffC]

What about a reliable 240hp Megabusa

I can shed a bit of light on that one, ive had my fastest lap at Croft in my 1550cc busa playing along side fastest lap in Burgervan and i will be honest the results suprised me , the  burgervan is faster not just down the straights but through and out of the corners too.  

[conibear]

My ears are burning

Ludo, I agree with what you wrote.

I apparently had (I thought) a 260bhp Duratec Westy, which around Brands/Lydden was a good match for a race going CSR 260. Jeff, it p****d all over road prep'd CSR260, sorry It was stronger than any R400, C400 and even R500 if I am being honest. However, the engine spec apparently was only realistically kicking out 240bhp. The performance was down to handling.

Steve's car is a worked Busa, but still down on comparable power, but it is out performing R400, C400 and close to R500, once again it's down to handling.

As with mine, Steve's car set up is something we experiment with and are still messing, learning all the time seeking the perfect mix. Jeff, it's not the same as yours, probably because we race on short point/squirt circuits compared to Croft etc..

However, in our type of racing power helps, but performance is 90% down to handling. And I got to say my worked SEIW chassis and Steve Busa chassis seem to have complemented the power/grip delivery successfully.

I now have a burgervan. Whether it handles better than my Westy I don't know yet and probably won't for a while. I have opinions over the two chassis, but they +/- in both directions. One thing I do know is the standard SEIW CEC chassis appears to need additional bracing to cope with 170+lbs of talk

[scott beeland]

No question -  out of the box the Caterham will be much faster on a circuit; it's a far better car IMO.

buy the best Seven - a Caterham.

Nicpro....I still can't work out why you ever owned a Westfield.

You still never have a good thing to say about the car  

[nikpro]

No question -  out of the box the Caterham will be much faster on a circuit; it's a far better car IMO.

buy the best Seven - a Caterham.

Nicpro....I still can't work out why you ever owned a Westfield.

You still never have a good thing to say about the car  

I still do own a Westfield.

What am I supposed to say?

I could tell a lie and say the Westfield is a better car than a Caterham - would that help?

[scott beeland]

Makes no difference to me    ....As always though; you bring a little humour to the proceedings as you invariably come up with reasons to dislike the car (and/ or your car)  

[ludo]

thank for the answesr guys.

for the debate regarding money, I already own the megabusa and for the cat I could spring about 18k (builduing my own from scratch but not all new and shiny bits.

As for the first comment regarding waanabe bikers,it's not only that, there is great fun to be had with the gearbox-high revving engine combo of the megabusa, so I think. Regarding the option of a screamer 9k rev engine, I don't have the money to spec it that way. Vtec, good option but require much more custom job that I don't have the skill for nor the competence around me (I am in france, fabricator for all kind of custom jobs are far and few between and very expensive).

[nikpro]

 ....As always though; you bring a little humour to the proceedings as you invariably come up with reasons to dislike the car (and/ or your car)  

Hate it this week - it's crying out for a gearbox with decent ratios that isn't thirty+ years old. (And cheaper than a Drenth)

Come on Westfield - build a bespoke modern 6 speed that these cars a crying out for rather than a Turbo Euro crap - then i will love them again.

[Bananaman]

 ....As always though; you bring a little humour to the proceedings as you invariably come up with reasons to dislike the car (and/ or your car)  

Hate it this week - it's crying out for a gearbox with decent ratios that isn't thirty+ years old. (And cheaper than a Drenth)

Come on Westfield - build a bespoke modern 6 speed that these cars a crying out for rather than a Turbo Euro crap - then i will love them again.

Think you might need to speak to Quaife

I cannot beleive that you think WF would get into gearbox design/build

I beleive that another kit car manufacturer offer a 6 spped box though  

[JeffC]

QUOTE

I apparently had (I thought) a 260bhp Duratec Westy, which around Brands/Lydden was a good match for a race going CSR 260. Jeff, it p****d all over road prep'd CSR260, sorry

no need for apology Ian I would have no doubt a race prepped westy with similar power would P**s all over a road going Csr  , they are a totaly  different animal,Ive bought mine as a road touring type car which is what they are and it does it very well    Ive never driven my csr on track yet  but it has a totally different feel to my last race burgervan, its bigger and heavier and as we know weight is a killer on track , I still think it will lap around 1 second or so of what my  race car could  though  . not a good comparison though as there is a power difference between the 2 cars.  

I am keen to hear your thoughts once you drive your burgervan on track, if you have the same power in both cars it is the best comparison possible of the 2 chassis  

[nikpro]

Ian, from what I've seen you are a fairly decent driver so comparing how quick you could lap in a Westfield to other people in a Caterham isn't really a fair comparrison.

It needs the same driver in each car?

I am not a good driver and can not take a Westfield or a Caterham any where near it's limits, however I am lucky enough to have good friends who can and do on a regular bassis.

All of these people say the Caterham is the better track car without fail - I trust their judgement.

One of them said he was paying a massive compliment about my car when he drove it on track and said 'It feels just like a Caterham - it's easy to  drive fast; most Westfields aren't and can be a real handful'

If you don't use them on track then the difference between a Westfield and a Caterham is small (The Westie may even be a better road car than the Di-Dion Caterham), similarly if you can spend ages setting up a Westfield it can be like a Caterham.

I love my Westfield but I am not blinkered by brand loyalty and will say what I don't like about it.

[CedricTheBrave]

A well setup and sorted Westy will be better than a bugervan on some circuits and not on others they are quite different and even small differences on such light cars can make a big difference to lap times.

its all down to personal preference and driving style and also finding a well setup and sorted one as the build quality does tend to vary somewhat

[conibear]

Jeff, the road going CSR I refer to is a factory built road going version, which has been prepared to race, thus stripped a bit and uses slicks. It has the same power as race version but is a second slower round a 1 mile lap. Mainly, I believe this is down to grip, the road going version cannot run 13" wheels, that your find out in due course The CSR chassis is clearly stiffer than the S3, thus can corner much faster, that your probably find out as well People in the know reckon the CSR chassis can handle much more power than 260bhp they currently have.

Fraser, your very kind but I don't think I am that good If I am I should in theory win everything I enter and that I am sure is not going to happen

I have no evidence to back up people who say that a 200bhp Caterham is equivalent to a 230bhp Westfield, in my experience I would challenge that. Steve Megabusa weighs 505kg, has 194bhp and a complete loony behind the wheel. This package is beating and competing against Caterhams with more power, so how do you explain that

Facts

1). My S3 chassis is absolutely to the 1mm square and true, this has amazed me as I did not have to do much to achieve that.

2). I could not get my worked SEIW chassis anywhere near true, although I am not convinced on a Seven its the be all and end all!

3). The standard SEIW simply is not stiff stiff enough

4). The standard SEIW chassis engine bay area needs cross bracing, thats why the BEC seem work nicely.

[thos]

Is this really not comparing Apples and Oranges in the extreme, even trying to compare two Westfields is going to be nigh on impossible as the differences in build & spec - wheels/tyres/brakes/dampers/weight etc ...

Through ignorance I think of a CSR as a defined spec, whereas any Westfield is going to be any combination of things!

[Porkie]

No question -  out of the box the Caterham will be much faster on a circuit; it's a far better car IMO.

Now Caterham prices aren't that much more than a comparable Westfield (Bought New), Caterham residuals are far better and they no longer use the K series engines buying a Westfield new makes no sense whatsoever IMO.

All the advantages Westfield once had have long since vanished; buy the best Seven - a Caterham.

Can't argue with that!