Sevenesque vs bodied car - driving differences?
Discussion
How do the two compare?
Are there any fundamental differences between say a Westfield/Caterham and a car with a body, say a Fury or similar?
I mean difference in the driving experiences of the two. Are the Caterfields smaller? Behave differently? Feel different on the road
I'm looking at a Westfield soon, but wanted to also look at the bodied type kits also. I have been in a BEC with a body, and also owned a MAC#1 (bit like a Westfield)
Cheers
Are there any fundamental differences between say a Westfield/Caterham and a car with a body, say a Fury or similar?
I mean difference in the driving experiences of the two. Are the Caterfields smaller? Behave differently? Feel different on the road
I'm looking at a Westfield soon, but wanted to also look at the bodied type kits also. I have been in a BEC with a body, and also owned a MAC#1 (bit like a Westfield)
Cheers
The Caterham and Fury are of a similar size. Both very small. Westfield is a bit bigger as are the Mac#1, MK etc.
My experience is that the full bodied car feels a little safer as the body comes up around your shoulder. The 7 feels like you can drag your fingers along the floor. In fact you could! If the bodied car has a screen then there is less buffeting as the screens are curved and you stay much dryer if it rains or the roads are wet.
The 7 is quite special when you can see the front wheel bobbing up and down and the suspension working.
I have just finished a full bodied car. I chose that as I didn't really want a 7 clone and I loved the styling of the full body. Should be quite a lot more aerodynamic too.
In terms of driving I think they are very similar. So much comes down to build quality, harmony of the parts used and set up that it's difficult to compare. Some are built to be tracked, some more Sunday afternoon blast. They could be as different as chalk and cheese. At the end of the day most won't weigh more than 600kg so modest power with a proper set up will murder anything else on the road for performance and handling.
Thruxton GT. This is the factory demo. Mine is white.
My experience is that the full bodied car feels a little safer as the body comes up around your shoulder. The 7 feels like you can drag your fingers along the floor. In fact you could! If the bodied car has a screen then there is less buffeting as the screens are curved and you stay much dryer if it rains or the roads are wet.
The 7 is quite special when you can see the front wheel bobbing up and down and the suspension working.
I have just finished a full bodied car. I chose that as I didn't really want a 7 clone and I loved the styling of the full body. Should be quite a lot more aerodynamic too.
In terms of driving I think they are very similar. So much comes down to build quality, harmony of the parts used and set up that it's difficult to compare. Some are built to be tracked, some more Sunday afternoon blast. They could be as different as chalk and cheese. At the end of the day most won't weigh more than 600kg so modest power with a proper set up will murder anything else on the road for performance and handling.
Thruxton GT. This is the factory demo. Mine is white.
Edited by rdodger on Thursday 20th June 19:32
The biggest difference is drag.
I was followed by another kitcar driver, and he said the trouble with 7 style kitcars is that when you lift off the accelerator it is like you put the brakes on, but there aren't any brake lights!
If you want a 7 style car, then nothing else is quite the same, but a full bodied car will have more space (width in particular) and better weather protection.
It will also have a higher top speed and a lot less buffeting.
Having driven my Caterham S3 and my brothers Fury, they are both great handling, quick cars and similar sizes.
Have a go at driving a few and see which you prefer
I was followed by another kitcar driver, and he said the trouble with 7 style kitcars is that when you lift off the accelerator it is like you put the brakes on, but there aren't any brake lights!
If you want a 7 style car, then nothing else is quite the same, but a full bodied car will have more space (width in particular) and better weather protection.
It will also have a higher top speed and a lot less buffeting.
Having driven my Caterham S3 and my brothers Fury, they are both great handling, quick cars and similar sizes.
Have a go at driving a few and see which you prefer
downsman said:
The biggest difference is drag.
I was followed by another kitcar driver, and he said the trouble with 7 style kitcars is that when you lift off the accelerator it is like you put the brakes on, but there aren't any brake lights!
If you want a 7 style car, then nothing else is quite the same, but a full bodied car will have more space (width in particular) and better weather protection.
It will also have a higher top speed and a lot less buffeting.
Having driven my Caterham S3 and my brothers Fury, they are both great handling, quick cars and similar sizes.
Have a go at driving a few and see which you prefer
Yeah, you've picked up on something which I didn't quite appreciate when driving my (523Kg) BEC. I put most of the no need for brakes down to 'brake' hp I was followed by another kitcar driver, and he said the trouble with 7 style kitcars is that when you lift off the accelerator it is like you put the brakes on, but there aren't any brake lights!
If you want a 7 style car, then nothing else is quite the same, but a full bodied car will have more space (width in particular) and better weather protection.
It will also have a higher top speed and a lot less buffeting.
Having driven my Caterham S3 and my brothers Fury, they are both great handling, quick cars and similar sizes.
Have a go at driving a few and see which you prefer
rdodger said:
The Caterham and Fury are of a similar size. Both very small. Westfield is a bit bigger as are the Mac#1, MK etc.
My experience is that the full bodied car feels a little safer as the body comes up around your shoulder. The 7 feels like you can drag your fingers along the floor. In fact you could! If the bodied car has a screen then there is less buffeting as the screens are curved and you stay much dryer if it rains or the roads are wet.
The 7 is quite special when you can see the front wheel bobbing up and down and the suspension working.
I have just finished a full bodied car. I chose that as I didn't really want a 7 clone and I loved the styling of the full body. Should be quite a lot more aerodynamic too.
In terms of driving I think they are very similar. So much comes down to build quality, harmony of the parts used and set up that it's difficult to compare. Some are built to be tracked, some more Sunday afternoon blast. They could be as different as chalk and cheese. At the end of the day most won't weigh more than 600kg so modest power with a proper set up will murder anything else on the road for performance and handling.
Thruxton GT. This is the factory demo. Mine is white.
Synergy of parts is something I hear you onMy experience is that the full bodied car feels a little safer as the body comes up around your shoulder. The 7 feels like you can drag your fingers along the floor. In fact you could! If the bodied car has a screen then there is less buffeting as the screens are curved and you stay much dryer if it rains or the roads are wet.
The 7 is quite special when you can see the front wheel bobbing up and down and the suspension working.
I have just finished a full bodied car. I chose that as I didn't really want a 7 clone and I loved the styling of the full body. Should be quite a lot more aerodynamic too.
In terms of driving I think they are very similar. So much comes down to build quality, harmony of the parts used and set up that it's difficult to compare. Some are built to be tracked, some more Sunday afternoon blast. They could be as different as chalk and cheese. At the end of the day most won't weigh more than 600kg so modest power with a proper set up will murder anything else on the road for performance and handling.
Thruxton GT. This is the factory demo. Mine is white.
Edited by rdodger on Thursday 20th June 19:32
A real telling thing was in the 750mc BEC series ( bike engine car class ) Lots of Fury, Westfield, Locoblade, Phoenix to start with in about 2003. By about 2007 most had given up with the "7" shape as they seemed to have about 10mph less top speed than mechanically similar Fury / Phoenix when all running identical Fireblade engines. The sevens struggled to get much over 110mph ( megablade owner told me that ) where as the Fury's would hit nearly 130mph. The 7's got murdered at places like Snetterton. You can redress the balance a little with some careful aero tricks on 7's, and likewise some full bodied cars can act like parachutes if the airflow is not optimised, but you get the idea. For pure road use though, I doubt you would notice so don't be put off.
I've driven both and own a Fury R1. In terms of feel and handling, there is very little in it. You do feel a little closer to the action and more exposed in a Striker but, both are very small cars.
The reason I chose the Fury was because you feel more enclosed and are more protected from the elements. I'm not so keen on seeing the front wheels throwing up stones towards me. It is also bigger inside, with a wider cockpit (BEC version has narrow tunnel) and I wanted a wider race seat.
It's a nicer looking car too ;-)
In a drag race on track with a Striker R1 there wasn't much in it up to 100mph but I've seen 132mph indicated in my Fury bouncing of the rev limiter in 6th. The Striker R1 couldn't get much above 120mph. Both cars had same engine, gearing, wheels and tyres.
The down side, is that you have the complexity and fragility of the bodywork. It's not really been a huge problem for me in the last 6 years but, you can get stone chips from inside the wheels arches. The side pod also limits the size of exhaust silencer you can fit. The bodywork can also make major engineering jobs a bit harder.
The reason I chose the Fury was because you feel more enclosed and are more protected from the elements. I'm not so keen on seeing the front wheels throwing up stones towards me. It is also bigger inside, with a wider cockpit (BEC version has narrow tunnel) and I wanted a wider race seat.
It's a nicer looking car too ;-)
In a drag race on track with a Striker R1 there wasn't much in it up to 100mph but I've seen 132mph indicated in my Fury bouncing of the rev limiter in 6th. The Striker R1 couldn't get much above 120mph. Both cars had same engine, gearing, wheels and tyres.
The down side, is that you have the complexity and fragility of the bodywork. It's not really been a huge problem for me in the last 6 years but, you can get stone chips from inside the wheels arches. The side pod also limits the size of exhaust silencer you can fit. The bodywork can also make major engineering jobs a bit harder.
i like the fury best of all the cars ive owned
1x stuart talor zx9r,2x mnrs,1x caterham s3
its also the lightest of all as its been built for speed.even though its the lightest it easily has the most room due to very narrow tunnel and wide bodywork. the 3.21;1 freelander diff with quaife lsd is also spot on for gearing and cornering!
1x stuart talor zx9r,2x mnrs,1x caterham s3
its also the lightest of all as its been built for speed.even though its the lightest it easily has the most room due to very narrow tunnel and wide bodywork. the 3.21;1 freelander diff with quaife lsd is also spot on for gearing and cornering!
My Phoenix did 148MPH at Goodwood (Lavant Straight) last weekend on the GPS datalogger. Not sure many 7 style cars would get up to that speed (Duncan's Rush being the exception). There is also lots of room in the side pods for 'stuff' which the 7s don't have and I keep my elbows/arms clean and dry.
Each to their own really.
Each to their own really.
JohnCL said:
Dan,
Where did you get the aero screen and rear wheel spats. Fisher? I've emailed them but never seem to get an answer.
John
Fisher Sports cars don't exist anymore. Fury Sports Cars are run by Steve Hughes (who used to work for Mark Fisher). Aeroscreen is easy out of a sheet of Lexan and a Jigsaw. Arch extensions are also easy as Steve has one of mine as a mould and can knock out replacements...you can see them in these pictures.Where did you get the aero screen and rear wheel spats. Fisher? I've emailed them but never seem to get an answer.
John
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