Single Seater vs Wesfield

[Ross_328i_sport]

Hi,

Thinking about racing single seater next year in monoposto if the westfield sells if it doesn't will race the westfield. What are the comparisons on running costs (excl engines so consumable during the season such as brakes, rose joints, etc.) between the two and the raw feel of each? Will the single seater be alot more fun to drive?

Also can single seaters be used on trackdays or is it strictly test days and racing?

Your views and opinions please.

Thanks and Regards

Ross

[sam919]

Ross_328i_sport said:

Hi,

Thinking about racing single seater next year in monoposto if the westfield sells if it doesn't will race the westfield. What are the comparisons on running costs (excl engines so consumable during the season such as brakes, rose joints, etc.) between the two and the raw feel of each? Will the single seater be alot more fun to drive?

Also can single seaters be used on trackdays or is it strictly test days and racing?

Your views and opinions please.

Thanks and Regards

Ross

I have a couple of friends that race monoposto, if you ding the car it can have a tendency to disintegrate. The westy is probably more cost effective if you have the same problem. Have you joined the club, there is a decent forum that you could ask some questions on. I havent seen a lot of single seater on track days but there are plenty of test days that would accomodate

[lanan]

Ross,
I would guess that the costs would be slightly higher in a single seater, but not that big.
They will be night and day to drive. Comparing a dedicated race car with a compromised road car. The single seater, properly set up, is an exhilarating drive.

One draw back with single seater, is as you mention, track days are not available. But if you are racing, you would be better doing proper test days anyway.

Maybe have a day's test with a team to see if it's for you...!!
See my profile..

Graham

.

[RobM77]

I've just switched from racing a Caterham to a single seater ('96 FRenault in 750MC F4 - done 3 tests so far, will be racing in '09). The Renault suits my driving style a lot better - it's not all lary and tail out and you can't get away with driving like a loon. The intimacy and accuracy of the way the single seater drives is just fantastic In short, I much prefer the single seater, although I could understand it if someone preferred the Caterham (clearly many do with budgets of up to £30-50k in the series I was in!!!!). I suppose the best way to picture it is if you imagine the difference between racing a saloon and a Caterham and then imagine that difference again between the Caterham and the single seater, both in feel, response and performance. Oh, and in the sense of compromise you get when you're driving: with the single seater you get a real sense that it was 100% designed for track driving, whereas with a Caterham it feels like a road car modified for track use, as did my Metro racer (moreso).

The other thing is that I drove my Caterham and Metro mainly just for the competition element. Neither really ever felt that fast or put a smile on my face with their performance. The Formula Renault is the first car that I've ever driven where I actually think "this is quite quick!" and it puts a big grin on my face as a result Getting up at 5:30am to drive the Caterham on a test or race was good, but I was looking forward to the competition more than the driving. With the Renault I just absolutely bloody love driving the thing!

[andy97]

sam919 said:

Ross_328i_sport said:

Hi,

Thinking about racing single seater next year in monoposto if the westfield sells if it doesn't will race the westfield. What are the comparisons on running costs (excl engines so consumable during the season such as brakes, rose joints, etc.) between the two and the raw feel of each? Will the single seater be alot more fun to drive?

Also can single seaters be used on trackdays or is it strictly test days and racing?

Your views and opinions please.

Thanks and Regards

Ross

I have a couple of friends that race monoposto, if you ding the car it can have a tendency to disintegrate. The westy is probably more cost effective if you have the same problem. Have you joined the club, there is a decent forum that you could ask some questions on. I havent seen a lot of single seater on track days but there are plenty of test days that would accomodate

I really do disagree with this, strongly. If you ding a Westfield or a Caterham you are probably going to bend the chassis & new ones are not cheap. In contrast, ding a single seater & the bits that are meant the shed, will, reducing the energy of impact & you'll be left with the tub/ chassis which can usually be rebuilt OK. Accidents/ Incidents in Monoposto aren't any more frequent than anywhere else but I don't think I have ever seen a single seater accident that has resulted in a car disintegrating; the chassis are usually very strong. Pound for pound, I bet the single seater for something like Monoposto (particularly a F Ford Zetec or Vauxhall lotus) is safer, cheaper to buy, far quicker and cheaper to run.

Spares for the aforementioned single seaters are in plentiful supply or can be fabricated relatively cheaply by a number of fabricators used to this sort of thing. Tyres can often be had from the major national teams at £10 per tyre and will last 3-4 races. The engines are usually bullet proof.

The peformance per pound of a single seater compared to a Locatefield will probably be far higher, too. They are proper racing cars. I have never raced a Locaterfield by I have raced a Vauxhall Junior in Mono 1800 & a Vauxhall Lotus in Mono 2000 and found it a cost effective and exhilarating way to go racing.

Edited by andy97 on Sunday 1st March 18:24

Edited by andy97 on Monday 2nd March 13:44

[RobM77]

I can't really comment on running costs, as I'm coming from a highly competitive series of maxed out grids (30 to 40 cars all charging round 3 abreast), down to a typical club series, so I don't think it would be fair to compare the two. For testing, arrive and drive costs for single seaters do actually tend to be lower than for Caterhams, though I'm not sure if that's because Caterham racing is so close that the engine rebuilds etc are done more frequently because that last tenth of a second means so much (5 places on the grid!).

Regarding the driving, something I forgot to mention was that if you contact a team that offer arrive and drive they'd probably be more than happy to give you a test to see what you think. When I was looking to change I'd done all the sums etc and I rang up a guy who does arrive and drive for a chat. He suggested that I came for a test and to be honest that told me a lot more than sitting at home with a calculator did! I'd rather be racing something that I love to drive for 5 races a year than something not as good to drive for 7 races a year. It's all relative and personal though - I happen to like driving smoothly, gently and calmly, which is why I love driving the single seater so much. If you're more into flamboyant driving within a larger slip/grip window, then a 7 type car would be more your thing. Try it and see I say

[sam919]

andy97 said:

sam919 said:

Ross_328i_sport said:

Hi,

Thinking about racing single seater next year in monoposto if the westfield sells if it doesn't will race the westfield. What are the comparisons on running costs (excl engines so consumable during the season such as brakes, rose joints, etc.) between the two and the raw feel of each? Will the single seater be alot more fun to drive?

Also can single seaters be used on trackdays or is it strictly test days and racing?

Your views and opinions please.

Thanks and Regards

Ross

I have a couple of friends that race monoposto, if you ding the car it can have a tendency to disintegrate. The westy is probably more cost effective if you have the same problem. Have you joined the club, there is a decent forum that you could ask some questions on. I havent seen a lot of single seater on track days but there are plenty of test days that would accomodate

I really do disagree with this, strongly. If you ding a Westfield or a Caterham you are probably going to bend the chassis & new ones are not cheap. In contrast, ding a single seater & the bits that are meant the shed, will, reducing the energy of impact & you'll be left with the tub/ chassis which can usually be rebuilt OK. Accidents/ Incidents in Monoposto aren't any more frequent than anywhere else but I don't think I have ever seen a single seater accident that has resulted in a car disintegrating; the chassis are usually very strong. I think that you are talking rubbish from a position of very little direct personal knowledge. Pound for pound, I bet the single seater for something like Monoposto (particularly a F Ford Zetec or Vauxhall lotus) is safer, cheaper to buy, far quicker and cheaper to run.

Spares for the aforementioned single seaters are in plentiful supply or can be fabricated relatively cheaply by a number of fabricators used to this sort of thing. Tyres can often be had from the major national teams at £10 per tyre and will last 3-4 races. The engines are usually bullet proof.

The peformance per pound of a single seater compared to a Locatefield will probably be far higher, too. They are proper racing cars. I have never raced a Locaterfield by I have raced a Vauxhall Junior in Mono 1800 & a Vauxhall Lotus in Mono 2000 and found it a cost effective and exhilarating way to go racing.

Edited by andy97 on Sunday 1st March 18:24

I race a caterham, my two freinds race monoposto, they have pranged there cars twice one needing a full rebuild and chassis work, the other came off at anglesey in the wet and in qualifying and lightly hit the barriers the car needed extensive repairs to bodywork wings etc.


Good luck with your monoposto racing as is said your probably better going on the Mono forum for the best advise.

Edited by sam919 on Monday 2nd March 14:14

[custardtart]

I'm racing in the westy series this year and happy to answer any questions.

What spec westy do you have?