gone over to the dark side
Discussion
Well after years of owning 4 caterhams [a lotus twinkie ,BDR [my favourite ] ,VXE and Xflow] ive now decided to buy a Westie Seight having just sold my M roadster [scary quick ].I actually fancied a Chimera or Griff with an old pushrod V8 but dont like the handling or the eye watering bills [had a 4.6 wedge as well in past] so for me the ideal marraige is V8 lump in a 7esque car -hence the Seight .The idea of having a nice lump of usueable torque to pull low down in 4th and 5th is a nice thought as well as that V8 burble .
BTW does anyone have any unwanted perspex wind deflectors for sale [i liked these in my 7 when angled correctly up to about 60mph ]-and does anyone know if these fit the westie ?
BTW does anyone have any unwanted perspex wind deflectors for sale [i liked these in my 7 when angled correctly up to about 60mph ]-and does anyone know if these fit the westie ?
But there is something old school about a 7esque toy -i always got cheery smiles and waves when i in my 7 -and that made me feel nice inside -nobody ever seemed to be jealous of my 7-not sure it would quite the same ownership in a TVR -and then there are the eye watering bills with TVR -been there done that with my big bad wedge
Also fancy a V8 on old school carbs rather than fuel injection -just sounds so much nicer
Also fancy a V8 on old school carbs rather than fuel injection -just sounds so much nicer
200ftlb is really quite adequate for a car weighing just 600kg -i had 125ftlb in my last xflow which felt ok actually -but im hoping that 200ftlb will make for some nice overtaking in higher gears -ie more rlexing driving -im not going to take the Seight on the track -been there done that in a 240bhp VXE caterham -that would be hard to top .
Why do i like about 7s -they look quirky and old school -I guess I like the raw driving experience without all the driver aids and you feel in touch with the road in a way you dont with bigger roadsters -my ego can cope with people waving and smiling but not with jealousy -ive never once had anyone get wound up about a 7 -in the way that they do with a Beemer ,TVR ,Merc ,Porche etc
OK so its a bit uncomfortable ,noisy ,oil on the garage floor ,sort of experience -but its quite addictive .I thought id finally got the 7 thing out of my system after my 4th caterham and got an M roadster -which beleive me was an incredible car -but somehow it didnt give me that total feeling of contentment that i get from 7 -will i miss the electric hood,the astonishing brakes ,the PAS ,the comfy cabin ,the AC ,reliability , solid feeling ,etc -yes but its just not for me
Why do i like about 7s -they look quirky and old school -I guess I like the raw driving experience without all the driver aids and you feel in touch with the road in a way you dont with bigger roadsters -my ego can cope with people waving and smiling but not with jealousy -ive never once had anyone get wound up about a 7 -in the way that they do with a Beemer ,TVR ,Merc ,Porche etc
OK so its a bit uncomfortable ,noisy ,oil on the garage floor ,sort of experience -but its quite addictive .I thought id finally got the 7 thing out of my system after my 4th caterham and got an M roadster -which beleive me was an incredible car -but somehow it didnt give me that total feeling of contentment that i get from 7 -will i miss the electric hood,the astonishing brakes ,the PAS ,the comfy cabin ,the AC ,reliability , solid feeling ,etc -yes but its just not for me
Edited by doclip on Tuesday 19th May 13:01
It all really depends on how its set up [brakes, dampers, suspension ,geo tyres and pressures and right foot ] and how you drive it -ie any car can feel scary when you push it too hard and dont load it up correctly for corners -there is a definite art to doing that quickly yet safely -ie it's possible to enjoy driving briskly without risking your life or others on a road .
I've never really been happy driving any 7 in the wet-on road or track [the weather gear is rubbish and claustrophobic ] - so usually if it's damp i just dont go there .I'ts about knowing the limits of the driver and the car and keeping within those boundaries .I don't have to have to prove anything when i'm driving my 7 -im quite happy going as quick i feel comfortable and let other young guns go by me at bonkers speeds.
I've never really been happy driving any 7 in the wet-on road or track [the weather gear is rubbish and claustrophobic ] - so usually if it's damp i just dont go there .I'ts about knowing the limits of the driver and the car and keeping within those boundaries .I don't have to have to prove anything when i'm driving my 7 -im quite happy going as quick i feel comfortable and let other young guns go by me at bonkers speeds.
Edited by doclip on Friday 22 May 13:16
Those are fair and valid points you have made there actually -i drove an apparently well sorted Griff 4,6 [rob inglebey's actually] and cacked my pants .
However wrt overtaking in a 7 on the road -i got fed up of having to wind it up >4k rpm when overtaking to get it in the torque band -that gets rather tiresome on a long blat IMHO even with ear plugs .
What i like about the V8 is that you're in the useable torque band most of the time and it'll pull nicely for comfortable overtaking in high gear -so no need to always be changing down .
Ive been in a westie blade and didn't like that all -came away with tinnitus in my ears and headache and it felt v light up front as if ot was overstering
Understeer which is common with Seight is in my opinion moe controllable on the throttle
Also i guess it depends on the spec of the engine -ie a highly tuned 4.6 is going to be more of a handful than say a std tune 3.5 -its then down to what it want it for road v track
I agree that i always would have a 4 cyl Zetec or VX or K powered 7 for the track where agility is more imprtnat than mega torque -perhaps for full on hill climbing a V8 would win the day [ive never done that so cant pass comment ]
However wrt overtaking in a 7 on the road -i got fed up of having to wind it up >4k rpm when overtaking to get it in the torque band -that gets rather tiresome on a long blat IMHO even with ear plugs .
What i like about the V8 is that you're in the useable torque band most of the time and it'll pull nicely for comfortable overtaking in high gear -so no need to always be changing down .
Ive been in a westie blade and didn't like that all -came away with tinnitus in my ears and headache and it felt v light up front as if ot was overstering
Understeer which is common with Seight is in my opinion moe controllable on the throttle
Also i guess it depends on the spec of the engine -ie a highly tuned 4.6 is going to be more of a handful than say a std tune 3.5 -its then down to what it want it for road v track
I agree that i always would have a 4 cyl Zetec or VX or K powered 7 for the track where agility is more imprtnat than mega torque -perhaps for full on hill climbing a V8 would win the day [ive never done that so cant pass comment ]
Actually it would be neat to put say vw 1.9tdi 170bhp flavour into a 7 -all that torque in not to heavy an engine -and quite frugal -wonder why nobody has ever done that
But back to reality guess ill just have to suck and see how the Seight thing goes -actually im v exicted as my car comes up north on a trailor on Tuesday !
Ahem i beleive a deisel engine has won Le Mans so obviously not too shabby in a race car
Ok so it's not maybe for the pureist but the same could be said about bike engines in a 7 as well- which are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum
How much does a 2.0 TDI weigh say cf to a 2.0 VX lump ?
Ok so it's not maybe for the pureist but the same could be said about bike engines in a 7 as well- which are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum
How much does a 2.0 TDI weigh say cf to a 2.0 VX lump ?
here is a review :
http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=111&i=443...
Oh and another thing -at least the V8 wont sound like my wife's sewing machine -aka K series engine
http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=111&i=443...
Oh and another thing -at least the V8 wont sound like my wife's sewing machine -aka K series engine
Edited by doclip on Friday 22 May 22:58
While the K is clearly well suited to a 7 in being nice and light and capable of delivering 200bhp+ it just doesn't do it for me as a power plant -if i had uber money to spend i'd go down the same route as Norman Verona and get a bespoked steel BDR [and preferably presuade Roger King out of his retirement to build it for me ] -it would also have the freestyle push rod suspension and the 6 speed box -to me that would just be the ultimate 7 .Meanwhile i'll have to make do with a Westie -im not complaining though -lucky lad .
Well i now have the Seight and its a real gem -v well sorted car -not as nimble as the caterham -but a lot more relaxed and flexible for road use -and it just makes the a rather satisfying noise cf a k series -perhaps like comparing the sound of mariella frostrup vs davina mccall .
Edited by doclip on Saturday 6th June 00:15
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