Differences between Caterham and Westfield?

[Paul V]

What are the main differences between the two, having driven a 140 BHP Caterham yesterday I’d really want something with more power, but can’t afford that in a Caterham with the wider body.

How does the Westfield chassis compare to the Caterham? How similar are they to drive (next plan is the go up to Westfield to try one for myself)?

[Paul V]

Mike, I currently have a Griff 500 so used to quite a bit of performance, I tried the Caterham on the road.

Will look at blatchat and wscc.

[Paul V]

Well I think I’ll try a Westfield as well, plus I’ll give the Tiger a go, I also really like the look of the Dax Rush. The 140 BHP car wasn’t slow, just wasn’t that quick, I was holding it in gear but just imagined it would feel quicker being so low and open, of course the thing went round roundabouts very nicely.

[Paul V]

Well the Griff is back with a new engine so I’ll see how it goes through the winter months, then make my decision on weather to keep it or sell to fund a seven of some sort next year.

[Paul V]

I will own a seven of some sort, just when is the question, I’m now hoping that with the recent engine replacement the Griff will run for a while without causing anymore major problems.

Would love to own both but unfortunately that’s not going to happen.

[Paul V]

ehasler said:

Hi Paul, I've owned several Westfields over the last 10 years, and currently race one, however have only limited experience of driving a Caterham, so can't really comment how they compare when pressing on. I can say however that I don't feel like the Westfield wants to bite back at every opportunity, and that's even when driving it at 10/10's in a race. They are very adjustable, so you can easily tweak the car (both Westfield and Caterham) to suit your own driving preferences, so you can change it from a twitchy car prone to oversteer to a more stable car which understeers in just a few minutes. The quality of the Westfield is very good, although a lot comes down to who actually built the car. A well built Westfield will be better than a poorly built Caterham, and vice-versa, so best to judge each car you look at on it's own merits. The other main difference between the two makes is that Westfield have their own independent rear suspension, which is generally thought to be better than Caterham's De-Dion system. I've not compared them though, so can't say which I prefer. If you're still interested in looking at Westfields, I'd recommend Terry Nightingale in Newmarket, who specialises in them. Hope this helps!

Thanks that does help, I spoke to Westfield last week and will arrange go to the factory after Christmas.