Caterham v Westfield - Whats the difference??
Discussion
juansolo said:
....he asked if I had one as I'd been talking about Caterhams. I answered that I had a Westfield and I got the smirk... It was interesting how in the blink of an eye he went from an equal to smugly superior. 0-c**t in a fraction of a second.
Had you told him you had a Juno in your stable, as well as him probably not knowing what you were talking about, you would be the one smirking me thinks..... 
A large proportion of the Caterham owners really are very closed minded, whereas a lot of the other kit car owners I've met seem far more open to talk about their cars, etc without feeling superior in any way. At the end of the day, most non Caterham kits need more fettling to put together, and their owners often have far more knowledge about the car as a result.
There do seem to be a lot of flying jacket clad, baseball cap wearing, 40-50 something Caterham owners though, whose daily car is a mid range BMW who somehow think they are Senna in the driving department and Brunnel in the engineering department, despite needing to gain the collective "wisdom" on BS (sorry BC) re who the best carbon supplier is....
fergus said:
juansolo said:
....he asked if I had one as I'd been talking about Caterhams. I answered that I had a Westfield and I got the smirk... It was interesting how in the blink of an eye he went from an equal to smugly superior. 0-c**t in a fraction of a second.
Had you told him you had a Juno in your stable, as well as him probably not knowing what you were talking about, you would be the one smirking me thinks..... A large proportion of the Caterham owners really are very closed minded, whereas a lot of the other kit car owners I've met seem far more open to talk about their cars, etc without feeling superior in any way. At the end of the day, most non Caterham kits need more fettling to put together, and their owners often have far more knowledge about the car as a result.
There do seem to be a lot of flying jacket clad, baseball cap wearing, 40-50 something Caterham owners though, whose daily car is a mid range BMW who somehow think they are Senna in the driving department and Brunnel in the engineering department, despite needing to gain the collective "wisdom" on BS (sorry BC) re who the best carbon supplier is....
Oh and I was not far from them in the garage, he just hadn't realised... I'll admit a little bit of inner smugness at that. Childish, but, well, errm, he started it...
Edited by juansolo on Wednesday 6th October 19:36
I can assure you, Caterhams need fettling too. Some of the stuff is shocking!
In fact, today I have been rogering the Watts linkage bellcranks, to get the rod ends to fit. Bloody miles out! I could have made them better myself.
The chassis paneling could be better too. A slight curve in the sidepanels would eleviate the ditortion you see in most of them.
I prefer the look of the Caterham, (This is my second) but it will be the last one I build.
In fact, today I have been rogering the Watts linkage bellcranks, to get the rod ends to fit. Bloody miles out! I could have made them better myself.
The chassis paneling could be better too. A slight curve in the sidepanels would eleviate the ditortion you see in most of them.
I prefer the look of the Caterham, (This is my second) but it will be the last one I build.
te *really* still chundering on? FFS people, put down the keyboards, and step away from the life blackhole.Fergus [said]:-
There do seem to be a lot of flying jacket clad, baseball cap wearing, 40-50 something Caterham owners though, whose daily car is a mid range BMW who somehow think they are Senna in the driving department and Brunnel in the engineering department, despite needing to gain the collective "wisdom" on BS (sorry BC) re who the best carbon supplier is....
Totally agree with the above - through plenty of 'em on BS [oops sorry BC]
also drive the Companies Merx or Howdys, or 4x4's too and discuss them therin :sad:
There do seem to be a lot of flying jacket clad, baseball cap wearing, 40-50 something Caterham owners though, whose daily car is a mid range BMW who somehow think they are Senna in the driving department and Brunnel in the engineering department, despite needing to gain the collective "wisdom" on BS (sorry BC) re who the best carbon supplier is....
Totally agree with the above - through plenty of 'em on BS [oops sorry BC]
also drive the Companies Merx or Howdys, or 4x4's too and discuss them therin :sad:
I've onwed three sevenesque vehicles in my time, from 95BHP (formula junior 'A' series) to (260BHP NA Cosworth) and compared to the average tin top they were all epic fun.
Anyone who owns a sevenesque vehicle of any description is OK by me regardless of marque. To carp on about the various qualities, brand loyalty etc. entirely misses the point.
Time to move on, the trolls are feasting.
Dave
Anyone who owns a sevenesque vehicle of any description is OK by me regardless of marque. To carp on about the various qualities, brand loyalty etc. entirely misses the point.
Time to move on, the trolls are feasting.
Dave
DVandrews said:
I've onwed three sevenesque vehicles in my time, from 95BHP (formula junior 'A' series) to (260BHP NA Cosworth) and compared to the average tin top they were all epic fun.
Anyone who owns a sevenesque vehicle of any description is OK by me regardless of marque. To carp on about the various qualities, brand loyalty etc. entirely misses the point.
Time to move on, the trolls are feasting.
Dave
Very much agree - they all have their good and bad points and its a case of finding the balance that suits the individual - this thread does the owners of any of these cars no favours at allAnyone who owns a sevenesque vehicle of any description is OK by me regardless of marque. To carp on about the various qualities, brand loyalty etc. entirely misses the point.
Time to move on, the trolls are feasting.
Dave
Sam_68 said:
elan_fan said:
...exactly the same pleasure as my Corgi JPS Lotus 72 toy did when I was 5.
I had one of those, too! A combination set of the '72 on a trailer being towed by an Elite, in fact (yeah, right... like you'd trust an Elite to tow your Formula 1 car from Hethel to Monaco without breaking down at least twice). I've been supressing an urge to buy an Elite ever since. Fortunately, objectivity has managed to maintain the upper hand so far.
Jez
Thank the search function for not starting another one with the same title! I'm curious since westfield allow you to buy your kit in components and with caterham you have to buy the roller or the other half-built car. Can I use caterham suspension parts on a westie. Or in general any caterham part on a westie?
maclf01 said:
Thank the search function for not starting another one with the same title! I'm curious since westfield allow you to buy your kit in components and with caterham you have to buy the roller or the other half-built car. Can I use caterham suspension parts on a westie. Or in general any caterham part on a westie?
I don't know where you got your information regarding buying in component form?You can buy a starter kit from Caterham (I did) which is a chassis. Then buy the rest as you require.
You can even buy an unpanelled chassis if you wish.
The parts between Caterham and Westfield are not interchangable. they are different cars.
They're nothing like part compatible. You even have to get the right parts for different "vintages" of Caterham. I would imagine the Westfield is much the same.
I don't believe the cars were ever dimensionally identical, even pre-litigation, and both companies have changed and developed the cars since anyway. They just look broadly similar.
Probably the most significant practical differences are Westfield use GRP bodywork while Caterham use aluminium sheet, beaten over the tubes and riveted in place. Also westield now have double wishbone rear suspension across the range IIRC, while Caterham only use this on the CSR (not generally a self build option) and DeDion on everything else.
Martyn
I don't believe the cars were ever dimensionally identical, even pre-litigation, and both companies have changed and developed the cars since anyway. They just look broadly similar.
Probably the most significant practical differences are Westfield use GRP bodywork while Caterham use aluminium sheet, beaten over the tubes and riveted in place. Also westield now have double wishbone rear suspension across the range IIRC, while Caterham only use this on the CSR (not generally a self build option) and DeDion on everything else.
Martyn
Missed this one.
No argument here. If you have the money them get a caterham. Better build quality, better componenets, better looking, drives better with better turn in and rear traction and feels just more sorted, better residuals and your fellow man will look upon you as a better person
Westy a perfectly decent choice though if you want are on a smaller budget. Similar car, similar sorts of thrills.
No argument here. If you have the money them get a caterham. Better build quality, better componenets, better looking, drives better with better turn in and rear traction and feels just more sorted, better residuals and your fellow man will look upon you as a better person
Westy a perfectly decent choice though if you want are on a smaller budget. Similar car, similar sorts of thrills.
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