Westfield Miata forum

[mr2medic]

At the moment i'm looking at saving for one of these two kits and probably won't be getting it until after i get back from an upcoming deployment. I really like the seven and was hoping people could chime in on the pros and cons of each of these. I mainly plan on having it for driving around on nice days along with an occasional trip to an autocross or track. I do realize that the Megabusa would be down on torque but other than that are there any serious disadvantages or advantages that come to mind for either one? oh yeah, i also like the XTR-2 but don't see how i could get that approved for street use or i would seriously look at getting it.

[JohnCh]

This is a pretty popular topic on the WSCC forum, so it might be worth your time to do a search there and then sit down with a beer (or two) to read the various threads. The consensus is that car-engined Westfields make much better road cars thanks to better low end torque, less touchy clutch take up, and far more reasonable revs at cruising speeds. However, there is still a sizable group of people who say that those concerns are overblown, and counter that there is simply no substitute for the lighting quick throttle response, sky-high redline, sequential gearbox, and lack of weight over the front end of a bike-engined car.

For how I use my Westfield, I am certain that I fall into the car-engined camp, but if I used it primarily on the track, then I would definitely consider the Megabusa. It really comes down to the experience you are after. As I recall from earlier posts, you are in stationed in Germany, right? If so, make your way to the UK for a long weekend and hook up with some Westfield owners at one of their many local meets. It’s a big club, so it shouldn’t be hard to schedule. You also shouldn’t have any trouble securing rides (and potentially drives) in both car-engined and bike-engined versions to see which Westfield best meets your expectations.

-John

[mr2medic]

Well, actually i've just recently moved back to the states and i'm now at Fort Hood. I'm thinking of calling manik and seeing if they have a demo model of the megabusa i could get a ride in, then i would just need to find a seven club around here and see what the car engined 7 is like. thanks for the tip, i'll have to go find the WSCC forum again and poke around there some more.

[mr2medic]

you weren't joking about grabbing a beer and wading through everything, got 41 pages when i searched the forums for "megabusa" lol

[JohnCh]

I told you it was a popular topic On WSCC this question is often raised under the term "BEC vs CEC" (Bike-Engined Car/ Car-Engined Car), so you should try variations of that as well.

There is someone active on USA7s who owns a Megabusa and lives in Louisiana that you might want to ping. His user name there is Hank.

-John

[keith]

One thing to keep in mind when comparing the two in the US is the source of the components. Many of the Megabusa parts are difficult to find in the US - they use a weird bolt pattern for the wheels, you'd have to go to Westfield for brake components, the diff is from a Sierra, etc. The Miata-based kits take almost all of their mechanical parts from a very common car. Need a set of brake pads? You can pick them up at NAPA or get your choice of dozens of compounds readily available in the US. There are hundreds of wheel choices in a range of weights and costs. And so on.

I'd love to put together a "Miatabusa", using the Miata suspension components and a Hayabusa drivetrain to give a US-based owner a good option. Westfield isn't as keen on the idea, unfortunately, so it's not likely to happen.
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Keith
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FM Westfield
My Seven

[smokey mow]

Being a Brit I'm more of a regular on the WSCC forum than here and John's right that the topic of BEC vs CEC gets duscussed quite regularly. I've never driven a bike engined car but the general opinion from my readings is that a car engine is better for touring with the occasional track day whilst a bike engine would be more suited to the track. From my understanding the bike engines are difficult to drive at low revs around town and the clutch is not very forgiving, on long journey's the scream of the high revving engine can get uncomfortable.

Wheels on the Mega range are all standard ford bolt pattens and the diff from the Landrover Freelander. As for brake components the rears would be Mk4 golf calipers and the fronts are Ford M16.

Hank's definately your man for a Busa in the US and he's a regular poster on the WSCC forum (username HANK) he's also got a website here

I don't know how the legislation for you is different to the UK but there's plenty of people here who have sucessfully registered XTR-2 and XTR-4's for use on the road.

Mark
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www.mx5westfield.co.uk

[keith]

For some reason I had the idea it was a weird Euro-only Ford pattern. Turns out it's a 4x108 - not common, but not unobtainable. It was used on the Focus in the US.

I didn't know it's a Freelander diff, that helps a bit. They're pretty rare around here, but at least they made the trip.

Registration depends from state to state. Most don't mind, some (like California, from what I understand) are not pleased with bike engines.
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Keith
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FM Westfield
My Seven

[mr2medic]

You did bring up some good points i hadn't thought about yet Keith, guess i should do some research into that as well. Seeing as to how i have a little more than 1 year to get this all figured out i hope i can come to a good conclusion. Either way i know that i'll be happy with w/e i end up getting

[mr2medic]

and what exactly is a ford m16?

[turboeric]

The issue of being based on UK Ford bits was always one of the things that put me off of so many of the interesting "cottage industry" cars in the past. Basing cars on UK Ford bits makes a lot of sense in the UK, but on this side of the pond it is a potential source of headaches. Which is what made me so interested in the Miata-based kit.
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Happiness isn't around the corner. Happiness is the corner.

[smokey mow]

[keith]

You'd think so, but just try to convince Westfield of that Let me look into my correspondence, I think they came up with at least one good reason why it wasn't quite as easy as you might think. There are some variations to the BEC chassis, I do know that.

The Miata diff isn't well suited to a bike's gearing, it may be worthwhile sticking with the Land Rover part instead. Or the Cadillac CTS unit, it comes with a very good LSD, is tightly packaged and has a number of bike-compatible rear end ratios available. As a bonus, they're about the same price brand new as a 100,000 mile 1994 Miata Torsen.
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Keith
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FM Westfield
My Seven

[mr2medic]

think I'll try getting aa hold of Hank as someone mentioned earlier and see what he did about the few odds and ends that aren't easily found here. Also does anyone know what the US 7 owners club webste is. I'm hoping i could find someone that would be willing to take me for a ride in one and see just what its like.

[JohnCh]

www.usa7s.com . It's a friendly group.