B5234FT Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 to be honest, I dont think there is a lot between any of them. Most if not all of the problems with the various kits are well documented on line and the westfield design is just as bad as any of the others in real terms. Build quality is indeed what you make it, and Id say more westfield owners make a nice job of finishing the cars as a percentage (largely due to the well developed bolt together kit.) Westfields do on the other hand demand a huge premium, from the kits, right through to the parts, which I struggle to justify! Quote
oioi Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 I have to ask, why not the MNR? im not going to get into it on a public forum. however, if anyone is seriously considering buying an MNR drop me a PM and I will happily discuss in more details. Quote
Dibby Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 I came from a Robin Hood 2B into a Westie. The Robin Hood is heavier, thicker chassis tubes, all based on Sierra parts so it was easier to get hold of parts and felt more sturdy, but a lot heavier. It was great for the road, cheap, great fun, went well, an ideal car to cut our teeth in the kit car world. It gave me the bug and is responsible for me owning a Westie. We only bought the Westie because we knew the bloke selling it only wanted about 1/2 the market value. If it wasn't for that it would be way too expensive for a hobby on top of the existing hobbies. Like someone said up there, build quality is all to do with how the builder put it together. Our Westie was from an ex-McLaren engineer with a bunch of F1 parts bins through the wiring loom, connectors and sensors, the build is absolutely superb, bolts are wire-tied, full corner weight and mapping graphs from when it was set up. Quote
nikpro Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 full corner weight and mapping graphs from when it was set up. Not much use to you though as corner weighting is dependant on the weight of the driver. (You could, of course be the same weight as the person you bought it from, wear the same clothes as him and carry the identical fuel load as he did?) I don't think I would build another Westfield at the moment - there are better more expensive 7 ens and cheaper, better ones as well. Quote
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 for me the main difference is fit and finish of the body work on a westfield is much better than some of the cheaper makes out there - a westfield just looks more of a car rather than a kit having said that there are some nice 7's out there - really like the SR2 which a friend of mine has just purchased, although there are some areas on that I would like to see better finished off other than that it looks like a great bit of kit which has many of the things sorted that perhaps Westfield could have done by now Caterhams are IMO a step above all else however I struggle with the idea of paying 20k plus for something a bit fruity "doing my bit for Captains popcorn sales" Quote
davidgh Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 a sylva phoenix (its a striker, but better looking). Couldn't agree more. Raw purchased the rights to Phoenix about a year ago and IIRC have re-engineered it slightly so that the Striker and Phoenix chassis are identical -- which is a long way of saying that the Phoenix body now fits directly on to the Striker Chassis. I would be very tempted indeed were it not for the enormous 'Busa airbox. Pity to spoil such beautiful lines. Quote
Speed Freak Posted September 9, 2011 Author Posted September 9, 2011 [quote name=Dibby' date='Sep. 09 2011,10<!--emo&] I don't think I would build another Westfield at the moment - there are better more expensive 7 ens and cheaper, better ones as well. Cheaper better ones aswell?? What would you recommend looking at? Quote
nikpro Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 [quote name=Dibby' date='Sep. 09 2011,10<!--emo&] I don't think I would build another Westfield at the moment - there are better more expensive 7 ens and cheaper, better ones as well. Cheaper better ones aswell?? What would you recommend looking at? Caterham for a start Quote
stephenh Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 [quote name=Dibby' date='Sep. 09 2011,10<!--emo&] I don't think I would build another Westfield at the moment - there are better more expensive 7 ens and cheaper, better ones as well. Cheaper better ones aswell?? What would you recommend looking at? Caterham for a start "Better and cheaper" was the question, Fraser. Comparing like with like, and free from prejudice! Quote
nikpro Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 [quote name=Dibby' date='Sep. 09 2011,10<!--emo&] I don't think I would build another Westfield at the moment - there are better more expensive 7 ens and cheaper, better ones as well. Cheaper better ones aswell?? What would you recommend looking at? Caterham for a start "Better and cheaper" was the question, Fraser. Comparing like with like, and free from prejudice! Who, me, prejudice _ don't know what you mean I own and built my Westfield and at the time of Purchase (2005) I felt it was better value than a Caterham with similar performance. Since then westfield have stood still IMO. The Vauxhall Turbo Westfield is a good bit more expensive than a sigma powered Caterham and the Caterham is the far better car at everything - Road/Track IMO. I also think it is better than a standard spec Westfield Duratec - which again costs considerably more than the Caterham. Quote
oioi Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 a sylva phoenix (its a striker, but better looking). Couldn't agree more. Raw purchased the rights to Phoenix about a year ago and IIRC have re-engineered it slightly so that the Striker and Phoenix chassis are identical -- which is a long way of saying that the Phoenix body now fits directly on to the Striker Chassis. I would be very tempted indeed were it not for the enormous 'Busa airbox. Pity to spoil such beautiful lines. only problem is the raw phoenix has the later bonnet. im more of a fan of the early style. Quote
gixermark Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 among other toys.... I've had 2 strikers before this wesfield.. The striker can be made into a cracking car in my opinion, and its physical size is great - again imho however.... the quality of components is average... a bolt together kit they are not.. but like i say, with time, patience & money they can be made absolutely top drawer - been there done that i rate stuart taylor cars.... Steve seems a genuine enthusiast, and the cars/components seem well put together. Westfield have a good product and overall following, quality, spares, support, back up at reasonable cost... unrivalled by most.... and the best owners website by far !! Quote
Dibby Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 To a non kit car owner they all look the same Quote
adamnreeves Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 To a non kit car owner they all look the same and to some kit car owners too Took me ages to tell the difference between a Caterham and a Westy from certain angles at speed Quote
dstorey Posted September 10, 2011 Posted September 10, 2011 Everyone calls my car a Caterham and I just agree with them, far easier than going down the "Its a Westfield" route and then explaining kit cars! Obviously I come clean with people in the know Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.