Matt Seabrook Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 I bet a 100bhp Caterham isnt 100/180 slower than a 180bhp westfield come on do Westys carry 80% more weight than a Caterham. Like for like I would think about 50-70kg may be. From Blatman How's the beach? Pass too busy blattin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 In any case you can only use 180bhp fully in a straight line but most of the fun roads have corners on them ..... Thats not to say that more power isnt more fun, just that I know a sevener with only a 100bhp crossflow who leaves 140bhp cars (which are also a lot lighter as well) in his wake. Yeah, yeah, yeah.... 100bhp would get boring very quickly. 140bhp too. Personally I prefer a car which still makes me think "b******* me this is quick" whenever I give it some beans !! And of course you can use 180bhp + through corners - it just means the back end might be hanging out at funny angles !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhawkins Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 If you buy a Westfield you'll love it, but you may spend a lot of time wondering if you should have bought a Caterham I have to take issue with that...I bought a Westfield, and at no point since have I thought 'b*******, I wish I had bought a Caterham'. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootleboy Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 No ive never thought either, and im only running a 135bhp xflow Westy Its funny, how you become quite loyal to the brand, and become totally smitten with the whole Westfield thing though. Ive only had my Westy since May-ish, and before i bought it, i looked at many different 7's, and they didnt seem too different to me - apart from the Robin Hoods They were bl**** awful, and that's being kind!! I have a few mates with cateringvans, a striker, and a tiger, and a MKIndy, and they seemed much of a muchness. How things are different now though I know most 7's are probably sound, but i'd rather have a Westfield anyday - i just want a bigger/better/ faster one now IMO at the end of the day, its just a matter of personal preference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilwillis Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 I suppopse if you're coming at this wanting something to play with only to sell it for the deposit on an ancestral pile, then a Cateringvan's OK. If you bought the Westfield, you'd never be able to part with it! Cateringvans may have snob value, but that's where it ends. Can't for the life of me see why you'd want to pay more, for less! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 Following from my post elsewhere on here... I personally think the Caterham has a better feel of quality to it, at least on first inspection. The shape looks "right" and doesn't have any compromises forced upon it by law suits. And the bodywork is also symetrical which you can't say about a Westfield.... And painted aluminium (as opposed to gel-coat on GRP) looks much better too. However, there are compromises all over the car (as there are with a Westfield) and some are more off-putting than others. Seats which just bolt through an aluminium floor panel for example, or the way the brake pipes are fitted to the rear calipers, etc. There's lots of little things which would probably niggle me. Caterhams don't have to have snob value - that's down to some of the owners. What they *do* have is history and higher residuals.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samcooke Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 higher residuals.... In real terms? I'm not sure. A 115bhp caterham kit is £16k, a 130bhp westfield kit is £12.5k. Ok, the caterham will hold more %age wise but in real money I don't think there'd be much in it. Looking at current ads - I would think the westfield would be worth £8-9k in three years time, the caterham £11-12k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timd Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 And painted aluminium (as opposed to gel-coat on GRP) looks much better too. Nothing stopping you from painting the westy though Nick. The factory will (would?) even do this for you if you asked. When I was collecting my kit ages ago there was a nice silver painted one in their build area... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milky2971 Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 If you buy a Westfield you'll love it, but you may spend a lot of time wondering if you should have bought a Caterham Lol I looked at just about all kits (cause I didnt know what I was buying) had a look @ caterhams/Dax etc and discounted the RH straight away for the money I knew immediately that it wasnt going to be the caterham....So I decieded to buy an earlier Westfield (Im not Brand dependant! and spend the extra cash building something I wanted not something Cat wanted me to have I now have a bl**** screaming Blade powered westy for a lot less cash than the 100 bhp lightweight un-mould breaking expensive 'nimble' history laden (bl**** heavy that must be too) caterham....lol oh! that must be one heavy 180 brake Westy look back.....sorry....Never Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 One other thing to consider is space. Although Caterham now have the SV, given your price range you'll be looking at the standard body which is quite a bit smaller inside than an SEiW. Drive (or at least sit in) both and see if this is an issue for you. Also, do NOT plan to sell the se7en when you buy your first house. I just bought mine last week (with a 4 car garage! ) and rather than sell the Westfield, I am selling the M Coupe. In fact the only reason my Westfield will ever leave my possesion is if I replace it with another one. Even my new wife agrees with that plan Cheers, John Seattle, USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilwillis Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 when you buy your first house. I just bought mine last week (with a 4 car garage! ) Cheers, John Seattle, USA Is that 4 American sized cars? That'll be 2 houses then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 Is that 4 American sized cars? That'll be 2 houses then! Almost, it's 19 feet x 36.5 feet, which is over 35% bigger than my current apartment It's kind of an odd setup in that it looks like a 2 car garage from the front, but it extends all the way to the other side of the house, so you park 2 cars nose to tail. Since I will now be down to 3 cars, the plan is to convert the 4th bay into a nice workshop area -- just in time to finish rebuilding the Westy! -John Seattle, USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 Nothing stopping you from painting the westy though Nick. The factory will (would?) even do this for you if you asked. No, granted - just the faffing around factor which has put me off to be honest. And I didn't realise the factory offered this service to be quite honest. In some ways I like the lack of hassle with GRP / gelcoat (easier to repair, fill chips, etc.) but equally I'd like to have a car which is a little different. In light of windy's recent re-painting of his car I might bite the bullet and do it at some stage because that looks like a cracking job. Even my new wife agrees with that plan Oooh, congratulations !! Didn't realise you'd tied the knot ! I know you'd mentioned it in the past but didn't realise it was so imminent - all the best for a long, happy and Westfield filled future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyBoy Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 r.e. Dax and Westy.... They look almost identical save for the roll bar. How can you say that, have you no eye for detail....they are very different thats like saying that a puma and a tigra are almost identical. The Dax seems more of a DIY kit car to me...seems like DAX has left it up to the builders to work out a heck of a lot of stuff for themselves - much of which you would have to question with regard to quality too IMO Look here for a comparison between a Westy build and a Rush build. Also consider crash safety.....I would imagine that a westfield would be the 'better' bet (out of all the sevenesque cars) having heard stories about drivers stuck in folded R500's and having to be removed by cutting the sides out of the chassis. What about insurance premiums too?? A caterham isnt a Kit car, so presumably insurance is much more expensive? even if i had the cash, i think i'd still choose a pimped out westy over a c******m and do it how i want it. my tuppence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_m Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 They look almost identical save for the roll bar. How can you say that, have you no eye for detail....they are very different thats like saying that a puma and a tigra are almost identical. The Dax seems more of a DIY kit car to me...seems like DAX has left it up to the builders to work out a heck of a lot of stuff for themselves - much of which you would have to question with regard to quality too IMO Of course they're different, they're from different manufacturers and the difference is as you say in the detail but compared to, for example, a Tiger B6 which is unmistakably a Tiger B6, the current Dax Rush and the Westfield SEiW look very similar . . . (save for the aforementioned roll bar). Tim's site is excellent and yes, the Dax kit does require you to drill holes and measure things but in some ways this is good and other ways, it's bad. I'd personally prefer a Westfield kit with everything pre-drilled but only Dax do the camber compensation front suspension. Can't see how safety is compromised any more than with a Westfield Saying a Dax is ugly and a Westfield isn't when they both look so similar is an odd observation. There are some pig ugly kit cars around but I don't think Westfields or Dax's or for that matter Cateringvans are in that category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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