quick Westy q...

[Toyless]

Just an idle thought,but do Westfield do an SV alike chassis for the larger gent? And also a lowered floor?

[Sam_68]

The early SE/SEi chassis (now usually referred to as the 'narrow body') was equivalent to the Caterham size. They then did a 'wide body' (many years before Caterham introduced the SV) and later standardised it, so any recent Westfield will be 'SV' equivalent already.

The best advice is try before you buy in all instances, though - often it's the seats, pedal box or relationship of steering wheel and pedals that can cause as much problem in these sorts of cars as the basic cockpit dimensions.

FWIIW, I'm a 6'0" tall fat bd (pushing 16 stone, after Christmas ) and I fit in a standard size 'Seven' just fine. If you put me in a current Westfield with a bench seat, I'd rattle round in it like a pea on a drum.

[Toyless]

Cheers Sam.

I love the set up in an SV , but I ve sat in an SEI with leather seats and it was barely driveable as the steering wheel was on my knees.

Is the latest chassis more of an SV (hewn?

[Sam_68]

Depends how old the SEi was you sat in, but most of SEi's are the wide body version... they've been standard for years.

If it was a factory demonstrator, bear in mind they usually fit adjustable seats with a subframe that raises the seat quite a bit. Seats and how they are mounted will make a big difference.

It's not a big deal to lift the steering column a bit in most kit cars, either, of course.

[J DAVIES]

Hi Sam, when you say you have a standard 7 do you mean a Caterham S3. I am thinking about jumping ship from my Westy to a Caterham. Even though I am a small 5'7 I did think a Cat would be too cramped compared to my Westy. I am not a fan of the SV I think the front looks too wide compared to a wide body Westy. Do you ever feel that you can do with a little extra room in a S3.

Cheers Jeremy

[Sam_68]

J DAVIES said:

Hi Sam, when you say you have a standard 7 do you mean a Caterham S3?

No, sorry - I meant to imply 'generic standard size Seven', though the Seven S3 would fit into that category. They all vary, but you can try to slot 'Seven' types into two basic categories; those that stick to similar (minimum practicable) dimensions to the original (S3, Sylva, Locost & derivatives, Westfield narrow body, etc.), and those that have been deliberately 'super-sized' (SV, Westfield wide body, Dax etc.).

I'm surprised that you think a standard Seven would be too small, though - I'm 3" taller than you and far from slim, and I fit them ok. Have you tried one without bucket seats? Biggest problem I have with Caterhams is their pedal box - I have size 10 feet, so I need to be very careful about what shoes I wear.

[one eyed mick]

Older Robin Hoods are up to 4"wider in the cabin,budget fun ?.Ifind catering vans to narrow if I passenger in a mates Super Sport I have to twist in the seat to give him room to change gear! oem

[Sam_68]

one eyed mick said:

I find catering vans to narrow if I passenger in a mates Super Sport I have to twist in the seat to give him room to change gear!

This is a problem in most 'Sevens', I find.

I did a trip to Scotland with a fairly hefty mate, in my first Westfield (narrow body SE) when I was about 21, and basically couldn't use my left shoulder all week as a result of having to elbow him out of the way for every gearchange!

Amount of time you spend with blokes beside you in the passenger seat makes it a fairly trivial problem, though... a bigger problem for me has been that the offset tunnel on my Sylva means that the passenger side is uncomfortably narrow for most women, with their hips.

[Some Gump]

Sam,

Easy fix that - stop being such a chubby chaser!
Does wonders for power to weight as well =)

[D7PNY]

Hi mate,

I have a westfield SEI Widebody as mentioned above.

I'm 6' 4" and I fit fine.

As others have said, the seating etc is often the problem. I have moved my seat and mounted it lower down and I now have plenty space. In fact, I am away to move the seat forward again slightly as I have to stretch to much to reach the steering wheel.

I have GRP/shell style race seats which help because the padding on standard seats obviously take up a bit of space.

Cheers,

Dave

[Sam_68]

Some Gump said:

Sam,

Easy fix that - stop being such a chubby chaser!
Does wonders for power to weight as well

It ain't their padding, it's their basic structure - women (even skinny ones) have hips wide enough to cause problems with the Sylva's passenger seat.

To be fair, I can't fit in it on the passenger side at all; the engine and transmission tunnel on the Sylva are pretty heavily offset to the left, so the passenger seatwell is very narrow indeed and the situation is made worse by the passenger footwell being shorter than the driver's too.

[J DAVIES]

Hi Sam, yes there probally will be enough room in an S3, but as one eyed mick states its the lack of room when having a passenger. I think I have been spoilt with all the room in a SEIW.

J

[GrumpyBloke]

Hi there. I am in the middle of an SEIW (W = wide body) purchase built by the factory and being delivered April ish. I too am built for comfort and not speed and 6ft 2inch and when we went to the factory for a visit and a test drive the vehicle loaned me had the standard Westie seats fitted. I was not too comfortable with my knee's around the steering wheel, but Simon Westwood had me sit in the FW body version (same chasis) inside on my return to the factory which had the latest Turbo seats fitted and hey presto straight ish legs and it felt right. All floors are now lowered and the turbo seats are a lower profile and are more contoured giving the extra room. Hope this helps.

Edited by GrumpyBloke on Monday 24th January 14:06

Edited by GrumpyBloke on Monday 24th January 14:07

[Toyless]

Cheers Grumpy, thats what I wanted to hear TBH.