Halfords Wheel Alignment Ok?

[Dodgey]

Maybe a silly question but I assume Halfords can handle my SE front end? I read that you need to remove the balljoint to adjust the camber. Havent taken a car for alignment for decades! They are only charging 25 quid

Incidentally this is down to a mate pointing out to me today that i have very noticable toe out. Must have been the massive pot hole i hit a week ago. When you look at it it is really obvious. Also one wheel has obvious neg camber, and the other seemingly none.

Can anyone recommend good default (hard road blat-driving and track days) settings for my front geo? SE narrow, live axle, spax as Im guessing me car wont come up on Halfords computer :-)

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Not saying the suspensions not out, but you can't really check that well by eye either. For a start, the geometry should be set with either the driver, or more normally, the weight of the driver simulated in the driving seat. In a small lightweight sports car like a Westfield, this can make a big difference to how the wheels "point" compared to an empty car just standing there.

It may have already been set with toe out and you've just not noticed before? Some drivers have the car set up like that for sharper, faster turn in. (I'm one! It does make it a little more nervous about the straight ahead, but not too much).

If you're track daying it though, and plan on driving hard, can I respectfully suggest getting a proper geo set up done by a specialist that knows Westfields or at least seven type cars. It will potentially make a big difference.

And if there is a possibility of damage, they'll stand much better chance of finding it.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

If you're track daying it though, and plan on driving hard, can I respectfully suggest getting a proper geo set up done by a specialist that knows Westfields or at least seven type cars. It will potentially make a big difference.

I'll second that, where in the land are you? we may be able to reccomend a suitable specialist close to you that will know Westfield's a bit better than Halfords

[Dodgey]

Im in taunton, somerset.

[robo1968]

Bodmin might not be too far away for you - I would recommend Matt Seabrook at A1 tyres. He helped me alot.

Linky

[Matt Seabrook]

Bodmin might not be too far away for you - I would recommend Matt Seabrook at A1 tyres. He helped me alot.

Linky

[robo1968]

Alright Matt!

Cheers

[s2rrr]

Endorsing the above, Halfords may be ok for your average motorist but these are specialist machines and need someone who knows what they are talking about to set them up properly. I'm sure there are some of the enthusiast Halfords guys who could set it up by my vote is also for someone like Matt who is/was a long term Westfied person and knows his stuff.

Post delay now a bit irrelevant

Bob

[Matt Seabrook]

Alright Matt!

Cheers

Sure am Rob dont get on here as much these days but always nice to hear of happy customers. Glad you happier with you car.

[Dodgey]

Thanks guy , but that's insanely far for me to go :-) I'll work something out.

[Matt Seabrook]

I understand but I have had people travel from further

[Rory's Dad]

Maybe a silly question...

Just remember that there's no such thing as a silly question - only a silly answer.

Rory's Dad

[blankczechbook]

if you stand over the halfords boys then maybe fine if you can watch closely.

doubt they'd think of ballasting and rechecking ride heights firstly unless you'd tell them to.

i used to work in halfords a few years back and there are some proper petrol heads there too,

- mostly they are just normal blokes..the older techs tended to be pretty wise - but these aren't normal cars ;-)

go there and ask them - gotta be worth a few minutes spent asking them questions before giving them the car.

( there are of course muppets working there too - which is why you should ask to watch ;-) )

[Dodgey]

It was just the camber and toe in I was concerned about - a full geo would be another matter altogether. I'm only spanking it on the road with a couple of track days lined up at the moment. I did however go to Wiscombe this weekend, as I have done on and off for years, and I saw a couple of road legal Westies go up and thought "I can go faster than that" - - so I'm sorting out my B non-race license :--)

I took another look at my car, and from the rear everything (the front) looks normal, including camber. From the front it looks like it has massive toe-out. Looks like it's the tapered nose cone that makes the wheels look toed out from the front. I also believe the bike wings not being 100% lined up makes the camber look out from the front. Looks equal from the rear.

I'm new to these 7 type cars so it's all a learning curve. I'm very happy with the handling at present - I have very hard Yokohama A539s on at present. I get zero understeer, though oversteer is quite easy to induce - either through aggressive pendulum effect (i.e. a fast left out of a roundabout after going round very fast), or by applying too much power. Either way, (bearing in mind my oversteer control experience is limited to a TVR 10 years ago, which I spun outside a cop shop!) I find her incredibly controllable with oversteer.

All these years I've heard the experts says you can "steer her with your right foot" - and it it totally true. If I purposefully induce oversteer on a roundabout through too much power (which I do almost all of the time lol!) then I can hold it, easily, then slowly straighten her up on the exit, the transition from sliding to full grip being pretty transparent. On the one occasion I undertook a car on the inside so aggressively on a roundabout that, on the left exit, I had unintentional "pendulum effect" oversteer, at a speed i had not planned to have it at, I felt totally in control again, and reined it in again, with ease.

Does this sound like the handling is as it should be? (bear in mind my tyres are rather hard, and I'm inducing oversteer on purpose most of the time). Or is my car far too tail happy for 165bhp?

I totally love it by the way! When I pop out for whatever, I find myself driving by my front door and carrying on :--) I just can't stop.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Dodgey

[Matt Seabrook]

If you do drive like this on the public highway it is ill advised to post saying that on the internet.

Oh and was one of the cars at Wiscombea white and blue one you thought you could go faster than?