Mr. Westfield Moves Out

My younger son, Alex, flew in from Montreal to help get the car to the track and do the dynamic testing!

Someone is ready for the track

I had previously set up the geo(short for suspension geometry - basically ensuring everything is pointing vaguely in the right direction) myself using a homemade camber gauge (the results were consistent with the results from an iPhone app) and the "string box" method of setting the toe-in. I rechecked everything now to ensure everything was OK, as I had had to make some adjustments to the front after the quick-release hub was fitted to the column as the wheels were not pointing straight ahead. I stiffened up the dampers (to maximum clicks at the front and 2 less at the back) as with two-up, the mounting plates of the side-impact bars were grounding (grinding?) out. I don't particularly want to increase the ride height, so we will see what that does. Everything has been set up assuming there will be just a driver (me) in the car.

Once I have everything shaken down at the track, I plan to get the geo done properly, along with proper corner-weighting. 

Time for a quick spin:

Time for some sticky-backed plastic

I had to take the car back to Signature Graphics to have the nosecone attended to (there was a slight ripple in the wrap around the nose), so while we were there, I had 3M protective film applied to the rear wings and the side of the body where they attach. The film is really tough and practically invisible, so we will see how it holds up. It's worth having the professionals apply this stuff!

So, with the Mini support vehicle loaded up with tools and every spare part we could lay our hands on, along with several jerry cans of race fuel, we set off for the track, which is about 250 miles away - not a bad distance for the first long drive. The car was impeccable, cruising comfortably at 85 (Officer, I had to go faster because there was a vibration in the cycle wing at 80!). My only gripe being a numb bum after 90 minutes or so and an ache in my left leg due to the fact there is no room for a footrest in an LHD car. Both were sorted with a pitstop required because of the tiny fuel tank (must be why they designed it that way). Was getting over 30 mpg (that's a US gallon), so not that bad at all. I drove with a helmet on the highway - quite glad I did as I got pinged with a few small rocks along the way. There were a lot of stares from the other vehicles on the road. Surprisingly, I didn't get pulled over. When we stopped for gas, I was immediately surrounded by a small crowd (mostly of older ladies) who wanted to know what it was.

The track in question is Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, Arizona, a private member facility, which is probably one of the finest in the country. We were fortunate to have the track completely to ourselves on Wednesday and Thursday, which was ideal for setting up and testing the limits of the car. A number of other members were down on Friday, so that gave us the chance to see how the Westfield stacked up.

Ready for action

That car is made for the track - the engine has a significant amount of grunt at higher revs and that combined with the light weight of the car meant that my Lotus Elise couldn't keep up with it on the straightaway (or pulling out of fast corners), however, the Elise was initially quicker around the track, due to superior aerodynamics, better tyres, and the ability to brake harder, (more about that later), but nowhere near the grin-factor of the Westfield. Apart from anything else, you just feel you are going way faster in the Westfield.

Westfields seem to feed on large bugs!

The Westfield takes some getting used to though - and it was not helped by the fact we were only running with street tyres - a good set of track tyres will help immensely. Because of the light weight, you have to be very careful to match the revs when changing down, or you will spin! Initially, we had a big problem with the rears locking up under heavy braking, remembering there is no ABS (which is why I felt I couldn't brake as hard as in the Elise). Plus you have to remember to get on the gas gradually, or you will end up going sideways quickly! I spun off in places I didn't know existed.

We spent some time moving the brake bias towards the front (a bias bar is essential for a track car), and we got it to the point where the front was locking up just before the rear, then dialed it back a bit (you do not want the fronts locking up first on track), so the rears would grab a fraction early. We also softened up the suspension slightly (8 clicks on the front and 5 on the rear) which seemed to help. It only bottomed out with two us in the car. With driver only it was fine.

The changes to the brakes and dampers made a huge difference to the handling, which meant the other adjustments to make were to driving style (more smoothness on brakes and throttle input coming out of corners. After three days we both had more confidence in taking the car near (or past its limits) and could keep pace with the Elise (which was running on slicks, and we have been driving for 10 years so we know what its limits are). In fact, I believe the Westfield was marginally faster, even on street tyres, as we caught the Elise easily on the straight. 

The only problems we had during three hard days on the track was the gear knob came loose (fixed with some lock-tite on the grub screws) and, annoyingly, the bolt attaching the upper steering column to the middle section at the U-joint kept coming loose slightly, which resulted in a small amount of for-aft play in the wheel, but not enough to be dangerous. I am not sure to address this, as it seems the groove in the column is bigger than the diameter of the bolt - I will see if a larger bolt fits the UJ. After a hard session I did notice the oil pressure was low. I don't have a baffle fitted in the sump yet (being rectified this week), but I think an oil cooler and/or dry sump may be in the offing. When the car was low on gas it did lean out and splutter a couple of times, so it looks like I will have to fit the swirl pot after all. Oh, and Alex hit the ignition toggle once and shut everything off as he changed down from 4th to 3rd, which was quite amusing. I did notice one of the cycle wings was rubbing on the tyre slightly, so I will have to keep an eye on that.

The baffling sump issue

The factory-supplied baffle isn't a great fit, but it should do the job. I presume it just needs tacking in place - no need to weld all the way round, I suppose?

If going sideways is your idea of fun (it is mine), the car is unbelievable, if you have the LSD fitted. It is very chuckable, and steers easily on the throttle - a drifter's dream. That is the main reason I kept the street tyres on!

The head instructor at the track took the Westfield out and came back with a huge grin on his face - he said he wouldn't change a thing - mind you, he did need his legs shortening a bit, with the seat as far back as I could get it, his left knee was close to the wheel 

(The seat fouls on the rear seatbelt mount, so stops about 2" short of the full travel - it's fine for me, so that's all that really matters).