RE: PH Interview: Westfield Sportscars Boss

[Arthur Jackson]

Busa_Rush said:

Arthur Jackson said:

With the exception of the camber compensator the Dax has never been at the forefront..and that one is hideous.

It looked better in the flesh dark I can assure you

EFA


The 'bike analogy is interesting. I've ridden many bikes over the years and some of my least enjoyable rides have come on very powerful fours. Too much like hard work...
Each, very much, to their own.

[FOURRONE]

Arthur Jackson said:

Busa_Rush said:

Arthur Jackson said:

With the exception of the camber compensator the Dax has never been at the forefront..and that one is hideous.

It looked better in the flesh dark I can assure you

EFA


The 'bike analogy is interesting. I've ridden many bikes over the years and some of my least enjoyable rides have come on very powerful fours. Too much like hard work...
Each, very much, to their own.

Ok Arthur you sound like an experienced biker in which case you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

[Sam_68]

FOURRONE said:

...you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

It does, but I'm with Arthur on this one: I find it both tiring and tiresome to have to be continually modulating the pedal to achieve small throttle openings, because the chassis is only capable of handling a fraction of the available power.

I prefer cars where everything (chassis, engine, brakes) are broadly in balance with each other's capabilities.

Like the man says, though, it's all down to personal preference.

One thing is for certain, though: once you get above a certain power output (as the Levante's lap times demonstrate), you can throw all the power in the world at a 'Seven' and it won't make you significantly quicker, point-to-point, so all you're really achieving is to make the car less efficient, less well balanced, and to empty your wallet faster.

Very light cars struggle to put the power down to the tarmac and there's a limit in terms of current tyre and chassis technology...

[FOURRONE]

Sam_68 said:

FOURRONE said:

...you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

It does, but I'm with Arthur on this one: I find it both tiring and tiresome to have to be continually modulating the pedal to achieve small throttle openings, because the chassis is only capable of handling a fraction of the available power.

I prefer cars where everything (chassis, engine, brakes) are broadly in balance with each other's capabilities.

Like the man says, though, it's all down to personal preference.

One thing is for certain, though: once you get above a certain power output (as the Levante's lap times demonstrate), you can throw all the power in the world at a 'Seven' and it won't make you significantly quicker, point-to-point, so all you're really achieving is to make the car less efficient, less well balanced, and to empty your wallet faster.

Very light cars struggle to put the power down to the tarmac and there's a limit in terms of current tyre and chassis technology...

Point taken but sometimes the challenge of controling a powerful machine be it on two or four wheels can sometimes be part of the thrill as we have all agreed you pay your money and take your choice

[Busa_Rush]

Sam_68 said:

FOURRONE said:

...you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

It does, but I'm with Arthur on this one: I find it both tiring and tiresome to have to be continually modulating the pedal to achieve small throttle openings, because the chassis is only capable of handling a fraction of the available power.

If that's the case then you need better engine management/calibration or better throttle travel or something simple like that, not less power. How do you cope in the wet or when the tyres are cold ?

You're not advocating the "foot to the floor regardless" approach to driving are you Is your other car a diesel Corsa ?

[900T-R]

I've yet to drive a car in which the full power cannot be deployed under any circumstances. That said, I've not driven a TVR Speed 12 yet.

[FOURRONE]

Busa_Rush said:

Sam_68 said:

FOURRONE said:

...you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

It does, but I'm with Arthur on this one: I find it both tiring and tiresome to have to be continually modulating the pedal to achieve small throttle openings, because the chassis is only capable of handling a fraction of the available power.

If that's the case then you need better engine management/calibration or better throttle travel or something simple like that, not less power. How do you cope in the wet or when the tyres are cold ?

You're not advocating the "foot to the floor regardless" approach to driving are you Is your other car a diesel Corsa ?

going back to the bike talk ive just gone from a 600 cc Yamaha R6 up to Kawasaki ZX10r and can honestly say the 1000 is much easier to ride less gear changes less throttle it simply gets on with the job and have always found larger car engines to be much less hardwork .but again different people like different things driving and riding styles do vary

[Sam_68]

Busa_Rush said:

If that's the case then you need better engine management/calibration or better throttle travel or something simple like that, not less power.

The long throttle travel approach, used in latter-day TVR's, certainly helps for general road touring, but then it would be a bit at odds with the razor-sharp-minimal-control-inputs ethos of the Seven to have to twist your foot through 9 inches of movement just to blip the throttle for a H&T downchange...

The other option is simply to get something with no torque, but then BEC's have never really floated my boat, either.

Busa_Rush said:

How do you cope in the wet or when the tyres are cold?

In the wet, I leave the 475bhp/tonne FW400 in the garage and take the 134bhp/tonne Skoda or the 200bhp/tonne Lotus instead.

The tyres are always cold on public roads, though... you can't get enough heat into A048R's with a 400 kilo car unless you're working them pretty hard, and to do so on public roads would be reckless.

Edited by Sam_68 on Wednesday 16th September 18:10

[juansolo]

FOURRONE said:

Busa_Rush said:

Sam_68 said:

FOURRONE said:

...you will be familiar with the saying "The throttle goes both ways" if so would this not also apply to a Dax with a large V8 ?

It does, but I'm with Arthur on this one: I find it both tiring and tiresome to have to be continually modulating the pedal to achieve small throttle openings, because the chassis is only capable of handling a fraction of the available power.

If that's the case then you need better engine management/calibration or better throttle travel or something simple like that, not less power. How do you cope in the wet or when the tyres are cold ?

You're not advocating the "foot to the floor regardless" approach to driving are you Is your other car a diesel Corsa ?

going back to the bike talk ive just gone from a 600 cc Yamaha R6 up to Kawasaki ZX10r and can honestly say the 1000 is much easier to ride less gear changes less throttle it simply gets on with the job and have always found larger car engines to be much less hardwork .but again different people like different things driving and riding styles do vary

Bigger engines are lazier, no doubt. But a big engined Caterfield on the road can just be an exercise in frustration and that's one of the reasons I replaced my Cosworth Westie for a boggo Zetec one. As Sam has said, you cannot get these things anywhere near their limits on a public road without being a danger to yourself and others. Then you have overtaking, which on a nice tall bike is easy as you can sight past cars and hedges easily. In a Caterfield you're sat with your head level to most car's bumpers so you can't see through them. When you do get the opportunity sure, squeeze the throttle and you're past pretty much anything in your way. The problem is that within a very short period of time you're up to the next queue of cars and you begin the cycle again. It's like running a very fast car on a busy track day. If the track was empty or populated by similarly paced cars then it'd be a blast. Otherwise it becomes tiresome fast. The lower powered stuff like the Zetecs, Roadsports, Superlights and R300s allow you to flex what muscles they have much more, ultimately making them more satisfying to drive on the road because of it.

[m60ddy]

So what is the optimal power level / power to weight ratio for a standard set up mainly road car???

Also just to put into the mix GTM have links to Honda and potentally have access to the type R engine. Dose the high revving nature of this engine cater for bike and engine enjoyment alike??