Caterham Advice

[VXJON]

After my little experience with Thinforths seven I am hooked on buying one:D My only problem is the fact i dont really know anything about them(only recently learned that westfield and caterham are different ) can some please point me in the direction of a site which could correct this sad and sorry state. Looking for somewhere that can explain the merits of the different kits/engines/chassis and so on, all the basics

[thinfourth]

Maybe you could ask somewhere where lots of caterham and elise drivers talk to each other

if only such a place existed

here maybe

or here

http://scottishsevens.proboards28.com/

Oh you coming to SIDC day?

[renmure]

Or WSCC Boardroom.

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

A search through the FAQ section should answer a lot of questions about Westfields and what they are all about.

[Dominic]

(only recently learned that westfield and caterham are different ):roll:

So did U go out for an elise, and ended up with a VX?

[VXJON]

Maybe you could ask somewhere where lots of caterham and elise drivers talk to each other

if only such a place existed

here maybe

or here

http://scottishsevens.proboards28.com/

Oh you coming to SIDC day?

Posted over at scottishsevens I might make it up for a bit


Your not helping Dom Oh and Kates upset with you for my sudden need for a really stupid car

[gorrie]

When I did my research of kits, it consisted of :-

much reading of Kit-Car magazine and Which Kit (the 1st is the best)
visiting Caterham (Midlands),
visiting Luego Sportscars (another 7-esque marque),
checking out a few private Westy's,
testing a couple of Cobra's (well Pilgrim Sumo's)
and then finally I arrived at the end when I stumbled upon a Fury called Kermit at the Scottish dealer for Fisher Sportcars.

All of this when at the time I was also considering an Elise S1 or a TVR Chim....

Make sure you test a lot... as I was sure before I started that I was getting a Caterham, but it just didn't pan out like that. (still want one mind).

For holding value... a pre-owned Caterham is probably a good bet.

Andy.

[Dominic]

Hambo & I are having similar discussions. Will prob catch up with U over weekend?

[thinfourth]

Okay banana is basically a Roadsport A an ex racer hence the lived in look and full cage

So chassis is a standard chassis with wide track and dion back end the older cars are live axle

Other types are SV a wider one for fat folk and CSR for fat/rich folk

Engine is 1.6k with cams and ECu also known as the supersport engine also dry sumped which means a bit more power as less windage looses and far more suited to track use.

there is loads of other engines out there which are basically old Fords Nosey flame spitting carb things, new fords light efficient, 8V vauxhalls not too powerful and heavy, 16V vauxhalls very powerful and heavy and the bike engined nutter boys

gearbox is caterham 6 spd box

the other is the boggo serria one which is pap but some of the modded ones are good but i prefer the 6spd

Diff is an LSD for easy dounts.

brakes are the small ones with pagid pads


If you want a do everything toy the roadsport A all the way seeing as i have one but so does mac and fergus and a few others on scottish sevens

If it is a track mainly and occasional road use then bike engined is the way to go

[VXJON]

Or WSCC Boardroom.

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

A search through the FAQ section should answer a lot of questions about Westfields and what they are all about.

Nice one Found http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/iko ... 12;t=47969Which gives a good introduction to the basics

[mac]

As Thinforth says - for an all rounder try and get a roadsport A ex racer. They will be a bit scabbier but can be tarted up but more importantly have the toys you are looking for such as :-

k series engine (supersport kicks out 136bhp from a 1600cc engine)
Dry sump (you can get one with a wet sump and change the foam but better to hang off for the dry sump)
6 speed box - to make best use of the engine
Limited Slip Dif
Wide track suspension.

they should also come with the full cage which isn't that important but also the side intrusion bars which is very nice (I'm thinking about getting some for the pax side)

On the down side it won't have a heater but I think you can retro fit.


All depends on your budget - I got mine for a cracking price (although I didn't know this at the time)

you've got my number and there is a huge number of caterham owners on here too.


Mac

[k12chu]

this is the problem if u hang around with thinfourth.
u'll end up wanting a lot of new toys.
my list -
caterham
land rover defender
apple computer (wide screen)
a couple of nice lens for the canon
and of course a telescope (should be able to see saturn)


wonder what he'll introduce me to next?

oh one thing i didnt want was a BIG SHIP!

[Lazydonkey]

I knew the "that's it Im definately keeping the VX" statement wouldnt hold true for long

Not that i'm even thinking about selling of course

[mac]

Of course Jon, you'll be better off with a Westfield.

(after all you do have form for buying cheap copies )

((no offence to the Westie owners - I know there are valid reasons for picking a westie over a cat))



Mac

[ryallm]

Of course Jon, you'll be better off with a Westfield.

(after all you do have form for buying cheap copies )

((no offence to the Westie owners - I know there are valid reasons for picking a westie over a cat))

Mac

Having owned a Westfield for several years I would actually agree that they are cheap copies. Vast majority are built from kits, and building one is much less straightforward than you might think so there are are lot of pretty ropey, poorly set up examples around. Having said that if you just want maximum track perfromance per £, there is nothing to touch a used Megabusa, which will absolutely destroy anything on track this side of a Radical. There was a guy with a Megabusa on slicks at track day I did at Croft last year, and it made every other car look silly - Honda Elises, Porshes, Exiges, you name it, it was way quicker. Although the Westfield put me off Sevenesque cars because of all the practical limitations (trust me, you will end up using it far less than an Elise/Exige), I still have a hankering to own the real thing one day. When used Caterham SVs come down sufficiently in price I could be tempted

Mark

[ryallm]

Talking of Megabusas, how about this for a track weapon. Eat 911GT3s for £16k

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/140269.htm