pros & cons of the various 7-type cars?
Discussion
hi all...
Hoping to get either a 7-esque or fury/stylus type kit for a half road half track based toy...
The closed-body ones i think i have sorted, but is there a concensus of opinion about the 7's? Obviously caterham's are arguably the best?, but massively more expensive...
What's the best of the rest? Why? Are some better than others for specific uses etc?
Any links to some comprehensive resources would be great...
Thanks muchly!! :-D
Hoping to get either a 7-esque or fury/stylus type kit for a half road half track based toy...
The closed-body ones i think i have sorted, but is there a concensus of opinion about the 7's? Obviously caterham's are arguably the best?, but massively more expensive...
What's the best of the rest? Why? Are some better than others for specific uses etc?
Any links to some comprehensive resources would be great...
Thanks muchly!! :-D
Pierscoe1 said:
hi all...
Hoping to get either a 7-esque or fury/stylus type kit for a half road half track based toy...
The closed-body ones i think i have sorted, but is there a concensus of opinion about the 7's? Obviously caterham's are arguably the best?, but massively more expensive...
What's the best of the rest? Why? Are some better than others for specific uses etc?
Any links to some comprehensive resources would be great...
Thanks muchly!! :-D
This is going to look harsh, but this topic has been done to death on here, so try this:Hoping to get either a 7-esque or fury/stylus type kit for a half road half track based toy...
The closed-body ones i think i have sorted, but is there a concensus of opinion about the 7's? Obviously caterham's are arguably the best?, but massively more expensive...
What's the best of the rest? Why? Are some better than others for specific uses etc?
Any links to some comprehensive resources would be great...
Thanks muchly!! :-D
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/search.asp?h=0&...
. (When they've finished fiddling with it).By looking back a couple pages of threads you are bound to find a thread precisely like this one
However, to balance my mean streak, Locostbuilders.co.uk is probably your best resource for info on all the non "premium" sevenesque brands. You'll be able to find people near you t o get out in some (If the weather improves lol!) Also get yourself some kit car mags - CKC is my current fave.
Edited by Hobzy on Sunday 1st November 12:16
...based on reviews from well-renowned motoring journalists.
For example Evo consistently review any caterham better than any westfield they've reviewed..
I appreciate there must be many threads out there with pages and pages of debate.. but I was after the concensus of opinion, rather than the debate itself. The equivalent of
"generally speaking, Evos are the more hardcore and better suited to track-work car than the equivalent scooby"
"TVR's are great but you'll spend lots of time fixing them"
"Honda engines are pretty much bullet-proof"
...that sort of thing, but related to the various 7-esque cars.
For example Evo consistently review any caterham better than any westfield they've reviewed..
I appreciate there must be many threads out there with pages and pages of debate.. but I was after the concensus of opinion, rather than the debate itself. The equivalent of
"generally speaking, Evos are the more hardcore and better suited to track-work car than the equivalent scooby"
"TVR's are great but you'll spend lots of time fixing them"
"Honda engines are pretty much bullet-proof"
...that sort of thing, but related to the various 7-esque cars.
You need to make the question more specific, any person who is knows a lot about this subject (like me for instance ) would need a medium size book to provide a useful answer, and even then, anybody else who was also knows a lot about the subject (such as many others here) would find much to disagree with in my answer.
May I suggest something along the lines on "would the MK Indy Type R be a good choice for somebody who wants to build it themselves, use it at weekends and for maybe 3 or 4 trackdays a year, and would the Duratec with a type 9 be a good choice if I want to keep the overall budget to £8000"
) would need a medium size book to provide a useful answer, and even then, anybody else who was also knows a lot about the subject (such as many others here) would find much to disagree with in my answer.May I suggest something along the lines on "would the MK Indy Type R be a good choice for somebody who wants to build it themselves, use it at weekends and for maybe 3 or 4 trackdays a year, and would the Duratec with a type 9 be a good choice if I want to keep the overall budget to £8000"
singlecoil said:
May I suggest something along the lines on "would the MK Indy Type R be a good choice for somebody who wants to build it themselves, use it at weekends and for maybe 3 or 4 trackdays a year, and would the Duratec with a type 9 be a good choice if I want to keep the overall budget to £8000
Fair enough...I'd be looking to buy a second-hand/already built car, or at least this is most likely.
I'd be using it for hopefully a good few trackdays each year, plus a few PH meets and other such sunday blasts..
I'd also like to go to the 'Ring in it, although this is a low priority, as the practicalities required for this sort of trip are obviously going to compromise a car that would be fine for the other uses.
Budget is as low as possible, but I want a good spec
I've been looking at, for example, £6-7k MK Indy R1's...
This one would be perfect:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1269459.htm
...but is too much money, so I'll have to compromise somewhere.. I guess that's part of my question too... what should I compromise on, and what should I definitely NOT compromise on?
Some others I quite like the look of:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1191354.htm
not so sure about the 4-AGE?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1303617.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1305752.htm
looks lovely, but is a BEC the right way to go?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1223282.htm
looks awesome, but no weather gear possibility
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1309577.htm
BEC?
...hope that helps a bit?!!?!?
Pierscoe1 said:
Some others I quite like the look of:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1191354.htm
not so sure about the 4-AGE?
Looks like a good choice to me, and the 4-age engine is well thought of as a smaller, higher revving and reliable engine.http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1191354.htm
not so sure about the 4-AGE?
With the trips to the 'Ring in mind, a windscreen and the other weather gear would be a good idea, though not essential to many (but would be to me). Certainly worth a closer look, I'd say.
If your looking at a Westfield, then pop along to one of the montly meets we have. Im the AO for Derby/Notts north. Or register on the WSCC website and ask questions, most the Westfields for sale are from people on the WSCC forum.
As for BEC, ive had a x-flow for 5 years and wanted more performance. Tried a 2ltr Zetec with similar performance to my x-flow and wasnt impressed considering the money id need to spend to get it quicker. So i went BEC and i love it, never looked back since.
As for weather gear.... i have no doors/heater/carpet/screen. I only go out of its dry and if its chilly, i wrap up warm. So, make the decision if u want a roof and to use it all year round.
MK, Aries, Stuat Taylor etc are all good cars. Its down to preference to style, build quality and extra's.
I bought a Westfield because its all i really knew of, since then ive seen a MK and Aries and been tempted.
As for BEC, ive had a x-flow for 5 years and wanted more performance. Tried a 2ltr Zetec with similar performance to my x-flow and wasnt impressed considering the money id need to spend to get it quicker. So i went BEC and i love it, never looked back since.
As for weather gear.... i have no doors/heater/carpet/screen. I only go out of its dry and if its chilly, i wrap up warm. So, make the decision if u want a roof and to use it all year round.
MK, Aries, Stuat Taylor etc are all good cars. Its down to preference to style, build quality and extra's.
I bought a Westfield because its all i really knew of, since then ive seen a MK and Aries and been tempted.
If you're talking about not wanting a car that will be compromised by practicalities then I think you should be looking at bike engined cars. The only direct experience I can offer is a friend of mine that has an MK Indy with a Blackbird engine, and that is extremely quick round the track. There are lots of choices though so I'm sure others will recommend particular cars for you.
My original brief for the car sounded a little bit like yours. However I have found that I am going to do more than 3 or 4 track days per year, probably 6 or 7. I went for a Cosworth powered Fury, becaus eit was so uncompromising and single minded. Oh and it was chuffing quick too. I had some rides in BECs and whilst they too were hugely quick the cosworth was notably quicker.
Pierscoe1 said:
...based on reviews from well-renowned motoring journalists.
For example Evo consistently review any caterham better than any westfield they've reviewed..
I appreciate there must be many threads out there with pages and pages of debate.. but I was after the concensus of opinion, rather than the debate itself. The equivalent of
"generally speaking, Evos are the more hardcore and better suited to track-work car than the equivalent scooby"
"TVR's are great but you'll spend lots of time fixing them"
"Honda engines are pretty much bullet-proof"
...that sort of thing, but related to the various 7-esque cars.
Can't recall EVO reviewing main cars that are not mainstream. Never been in a Fisher Fury for one.For example Evo consistently review any caterham better than any westfield they've reviewed..
I appreciate there must be many threads out there with pages and pages of debate.. but I was after the concensus of opinion, rather than the debate itself. The equivalent of
"generally speaking, Evos are the more hardcore and better suited to track-work car than the equivalent scooby"
"TVR's are great but you'll spend lots of time fixing them"
"Honda engines are pretty much bullet-proof"
...that sort of thing, but related to the various 7-esque cars.
If you're mechanically competent I'd be tempted to go for a Sylva of some description. I love my Caterham, but it's hard to argue that additional cost of one. They do, however, have a couple of less obvious plus points...
There's no doubt the Caterhams are in the top few, and many would argue at the top. However, for me, the deciding factor wasn't the performance, but the (lack of) depreciation and, more importantly, a huge amount of support. If you're a bit clueless, you can take a Caterham to a specialist, or even a main dealer and get it serviced or upgraded like a normal production car. If you're a bit more hands on but still not that confident (like me), then there's tons of fellow owners ready to lend a hand, which, with the best will in the world you don't always get with rarer brands. Likewise you can phone up and order (I think literally) any part from the factory with dozens of other specialists around. Contrast that to my Sylva Leader where I took ages trying to identify obscure bits of 1970s Fiat and the whole process is much more convenient.
Other than that, it's all pretty obvious. The top speed differences between closed and open wheel cars are every bit as dramatic as people make out. Likewise, many of the other kits do IMHo offer 90% of the Caterham experience for 50% of the price, but you stand to get virtually all the money back on a suitably priced Caterham if you do decide to go that route.
There's no doubt the Caterhams are in the top few, and many would argue at the top. However, for me, the deciding factor wasn't the performance, but the (lack of) depreciation and, more importantly, a huge amount of support. If you're a bit clueless, you can take a Caterham to a specialist, or even a main dealer and get it serviced or upgraded like a normal production car. If you're a bit more hands on but still not that confident (like me), then there's tons of fellow owners ready to lend a hand, which, with the best will in the world you don't always get with rarer brands. Likewise you can phone up and order (I think literally) any part from the factory with dozens of other specialists around. Contrast that to my Sylva Leader where I took ages trying to identify obscure bits of 1970s Fiat and the whole process is much more convenient.
Other than that, it's all pretty obvious. The top speed differences between closed and open wheel cars are every bit as dramatic as people make out. Likewise, many of the other kits do IMHo offer 90% of the Caterham experience for 50% of the price, but you stand to get virtually all the money back on a suitably priced Caterham if you do decide to go that route.
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