CATERHAM V'S WESTFIELD

CATERHAM V'S WESTFIELD

Author
Discussion

doclip

349 posts

223 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
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I had two VX powered HPC's [and a BDR HPC ] and found the handling to be just fine -in terms of bang for bhp its hard to beat the VX lump especially as it has a nice wadge of useable torque -and as has already been stated the VX lump is bombproof and easily tuned even on carbs . Considering you can pick up a nice HPC for about 12-13k that might make the decision to buy a Westie rather hard to justify in terms of value .I also had a Westie S8 which sounded great and was very quick in the straights but had a tendency to understeer -even more than my HPC .

e8_pack

1,384 posts

181 months

Saturday 30th May 2015
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Why not buy a westy duratec if you don't like the Honda engine? I'm led to believe it's not the engine but the gearbox that is heavy. Just fit an elite sequential, the guy I bought mine off had it fitted to a Honda engine.

delcbr

84 posts

179 months

Wednesday 19th September 2018
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Never owned one never been in one but look great fun now Iam thinking about it as next step in doing track days. Which is why it bright me here.
What I wanted to find out is how good is the suspension design?
Has it evolved over the years into a double wishbone setup with good camber gain and minimal bump steer? Or has it remain unchanged in that respect

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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Steve-B said:
Dino, seen the XTR/2 or XTR/4 ??

they leave almost anything for dead, kind of not the same looking as a Se7en, but defeats your point mate i'm afraid frown
Not the same looking as a 7? They’re not comparable with a 7, or a Westfield ‘7’ in any way at all!


fergus

6,430 posts

275 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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delcbr said:
Never owned one never been in one but look great fun now Iam thinking about it as next step in doing track days. Which is why it bright me here.
What I wanted to find out is how good is the suspension design?
Has it evolved over the years into a double wishbone setup with good camber gain and minimal bump steer? Or has it remain unchanged in that respect
In essence, the 7 has not evolved from a suspension geometry perspective, but careful shimming of the steering rack height can practically eliminate bump steer.

HustleRussell

24,691 posts

160 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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delcbr said:
Never owned one never been in one but look great fun now Iam thinking about it as next step in doing track days. Which is why it bright me here.
What I wanted to find out is how good is the suspension design?
Has it evolved over the years into a double wishbone setup with good camber gain and minimal bump steer? Or has it remain unchanged in that respect
The Caterham is not at the forefront of suspension or chassis design and technology. That is not what you buy a Caterham for. What you have in the Caterham is one of history’s enduring sports car designs, which can be assembled and driven quickly by anyone, with minimal faff with setup and maintenance and bulletproof residuals.

I have spent a while trying to choose a historic racing car built up to 60 years ago. Many of these cars were the brainchild of one or two men who hadn’t necessarily built a racing car before, and may not have even been from an engineering background. Nonetheless some of these cars feature comparatively advanced suspension systems. Upon closer inspection, however, most of them have some flaw or shortcoming which undermines the gimmick.

The Caterham just works. It is properly sorted. The chassis is as stiff as it needs to be. The suspension is as clever as it needs to be. If you’re buying a Caterham you are going to drive it on trackdays or race it against other similar Caterhams. Many of the alternatives on the market can do the same thing but with some additional faff or some drawback. There is a reason that dosens of competitors have undercut the Caterham on price or overcut it on features over the years and yet the Caterham continues…

DCL

1,216 posts

179 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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The fundamentals of suspension design, geometry, and mathematics don't change over time. Yes, you can focus on areas that make it better for a particular use, but ultimately it is unlikely to manipulate the roll centres and weight transfer any better. The proof is that, after sixty years, the Caterham is up there with the best, and will remain so, as long as the laws of physics don't change.

V7SLR

456 posts

186 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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It really depends whether you want to discuss suspension design down at the pub or whether you want to just get in and drive it ... I tend to fall into the latter group!

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 20th September 2018
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delcbr said:
Never owned one never been in one but look great fun now Iam thinking about it as next step in doing track days. Which is why it bright me here.
What I wanted to find out is how good is the suspension design?
Has it evolved over the years into a double wishbone setup with good camber gain and minimal bump steer? Or has it remain unchanged in that respect
The truth is the suspension was developed as you suggest and more and was used on the CSR.

I think everyone who had/has a CSR thinks they're great but they never sold as well as the traditional S3/S5, so it would appear that the majority preferred the simpler set up.

delcbr

84 posts

179 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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Never owned one never been in one but look great fun now Iam thinking about it as next step in doing track days. Which is why it bright me here.
What I wanted to find out is how good is the suspension design?
Has it evolved over the years into a double wishbone setup with good camber gain and minimal bump steer? Or has it remain unchanged in that respect

delcbr

84 posts

179 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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Thanks for the informative replies makes good reading.

delcbr

84 posts

179 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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Thanks for the informative replies makes good reading.