hixxj Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Short time reader, first time poster. Anyway, picking up my new 2l VX powered seiw tomorrow, but was wondering whether you have any tips for someone having their first drive in a Westfield, and doing 250 miles in that first drive. (Oh - and thanks to Mr Jackson for his purchase advice) By the way some of you clearly need professional help, bunch of loons by all accounts Quote
Asterix Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 where u travelling to pick up? oh, and "hatstand" Quote
hixxj Posted October 13, 2006 Author Posted October 13, 2006 Leeds gibber gibber (- see, fitting in already) Quote
minisweeper Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 If the car doesnt have all weather gear then be prepared. Very prepared. I did my first drive (~100miles i think) in the hail and it was less fun than it rightly should have been. At the least i'd be taking some decent warm and waterproof clothes. Helmet is handy if you've got one. If it's got all weather gear then you shouldnt need anything as such i dont think? Something to relax the muscles on your cheeks and stop you grinning so much? A bribe for the police officers? I suppose a small toolkit wouldnt go amis. I had to use breakdown cover on mine... Quote
hixxj Posted October 13, 2006 Author Posted October 13, 2006 It has weather kit - but the weather looks OK(ish), which will, of course, mean it will rain halfway down the A1 leaving me to get completely soaked whilst beating the living s**t out of the hardly used weather gear which is bound to have shrunk a little through lack of use. Might just be easier to take my helmet... Sorted the breakdown cover - but good idea about the tools. Are you inferring that I wold ever consider going above the legal spped limit of this great nation - the very thought Quote
peterg Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Best advice I can give you is: please take it easy, the roads are starting to get covered with wet leaves and these cars can be treacherous in inexperienced hands... and even in very experienced hands come to that Don't try and blast out of T junctions and brake early until you know what the front/rear balance is like under braking and they can have a tendency to spin at what appears to be low speed if not setup correctly I'm not trying to scare you but every year we see a spate of people crashing their pride and joy around this time because of the road conditions. Take earplugs as 250 miles is a long way in a Westfield and if possible drive with the hood down but you well wrapped up as they're much noisier to sit in with the hood up. At least the forecast is remaining mild Quote
studbuckle Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Firstly plan your route. Plan it to make regular stops as you'll need to pick the flies out of your teeth from grinning like a loon. Seriously though. Planning to make stops every 40 or 50 miles is your best bet by far. I'd also plan to stay off the motorway as much as you can. The attention levels of driving a westy for the first time are so great you really want o make the journey as easy as possible. Weather's not going to be too bad tomorrow but you do have a fair chance of getting wet. Plan your stops at places to get warm, dry and fuelled up. Oh, and enjoy Quote
hixxj Posted October 13, 2006 Author Posted October 13, 2006 Just got back from the Silverstone Race Intensive Course, from which I learned one great big, massive, huge, humungous lesson... My hand are so inexperienced it actually hurts. Driving quick is an art, and those that can should be respected... That being said though..... Anyone know if there are any good handling courses coming up, want to take the car and the missus on one before winter gets silly. Quote
pistonbroke Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 First of all welcome to the " smile a mile club " Only advice I can give you is take things easy for your first drive , Westies can bite very hard ! so don't be tempted to push things too hard . make sure to be familiar with the controls and remeber there is no power steering , sero assisted brakes or self cancelling indicators . I always check the car over prior to a longish run , make sure the vital fluids are OK , oil , water , etc . get familiar with the controls , oil & water fillers . and check the tyres out before you leave . Take some warm clothes and maybe a hot drink if its cool ish you will soon get cold in an open car which can soondrain your energy . Important to stop for a breather evry 1/2 hour or so and stretch yer legs The rest is common sense , hope you enjoy , Though I'm sure you will Quote
perksy Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Wear warm clothing If your using the Motorway on the way back and are overtaking HGV's, get past them as quick as you can, They Don't see you in their mirrors Enjoy the car Take it easy to start with though... HTH Quote
Phil. S Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Just got back from the Silverstone Race Intensive Course, from which I learned one great big, massive, huge, humungous lesson... Anyone know if there are any good handling courses coming up, want to take the car and the missus on one before winter gets silly. If you've done the Silverstone course, I'd book up a track day and get an instructor to go out with you a couple of times. If you join Lotus on track as I did the instructors are only £10 a session. (Trying to get some more Westys to join so that I'm not always the only one.) I got mine on track as soon as I could, at Cadwell. Not the most sensible track for a first go in a reasonably powerful rear wheel drive car, but excellent fun once I got over my nerves. I chickened out on all the fast bends, but had a terrific time. Use the instructors early, build up speed and confidence slowly, and you'll be fine (apart from being adicted). Have fun!! Quote
a4gom Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 By the way some of you clearly need professional help, bunch of loons by all accounts (Oh - and thanks to Mr Jackson for his purchase advice) He's got some room to talk. Quote
minisweeper Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Yeah, good advice with the blasting out of t-junctions. I was surprised to find myself most often losing the back end (though so far only slightly) at very low speeds. I suppose i was always prepared to avoid it at high speeds so it's yet to happen but when coming out of junctions and accelerating up to road-speed you need to watch your foot untill your front wheels are straight (and even when they are). If you havent driven a car with this much power/weight being thrown at the floor by the back wheels before then you may well be surprised with what you can do with it. Take it easy. Where abouts in leeds are you collecting from/ Quote
hixxj Posted October 13, 2006 Author Posted October 13, 2006 Well, Bradford actually, but being picked up at Leeds choo choo station. Thanks for all the advice peeps... I have some experience with the power/ rwd/ lairiness, but all advice gratefully received, like I said, the more I have learned, the more I have realised that I don't know very much bl**** excited though... Quote
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