Lotus 7 replicas, which manufacturer?
Discussion
How many people do these kits?!?!
Obviously you have Caterham
and Westfield 
but what about the others in comparison?
Robin hood?
Tiger?
Locost?
Stuart Taylor?
Any i dont know about?
I'm looking to do the usual hill climbs and sprints as well as track days plus a little weekend fun on local welsh roads
Help appreciated
Mike
Obviously you have Caterham
and Westfield but what about the others in comparison? Robin hood?
Tiger?
Locost?
Stuart Taylor?
Any i dont know about?
I'm looking to do the usual hill climbs and sprints as well as track days plus a little weekend fun on local welsh roads
Help appreciated
Mike
I'm going to get a lot of stick for this, I know, but IMHO, you're better off sticking with only a handful of manufacturers if you want a competitive trackday/competition weapon as well as just a pleasant weekend toy.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Martin_S said:
I'm going to get a lot of stick for this, I know, but IMHO, you're better off sticking with only a handful of manufacturers if you want a competitive trackday/competition weapon as well as just a pleasant weekend toy.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Errr, you forgot Tiger,
, makers of the fastest accelerating sports car in the world!!!
0-60 in 2.8 seconds, with over fifteen years design development behind it......Regarding the Dax Rush being a bit big, it's only really big compared to a Cateringvan or a locost type book chassis. I found that I couldn't fit in a Caterham so the Dax was a pleasant surprise.
I think the Tiger B6 and R6 are similar to a Dax although it was sometime ago that I drove one so memory could be fading !
The Luego is the biggest 7 type I've seen, almost big enough for four seats !
I think the Tiger B6 and R6 are similar to a Dax although it was sometime ago that I drove one so memory could be fading !
The Luego is the biggest 7 type I've seen, almost big enough for four seats !
Dax do a mental 777bhp per tonne BEC.
They also have a trick front suspension set up which is the dogs danglies.
Tiger are well known for their BEC developments but the cockpit is a bit small for me.
Birkin is an excellent quality product but fairly new here. It is a South African company.
IMHO, Caterham and Westfield, while fine motors suffer from being too expensive and lacking in development that the other companies have been putting in.
But I am biased as I get my Rush chassis next month!
They also have a trick front suspension set up which is the dogs danglies.
Tiger are well known for their BEC developments but the cockpit is a bit small for me.
Birkin is an excellent quality product but fairly new here. It is a South African company.
IMHO, Caterham and Westfield, while fine motors suffer from being too expensive and lacking in development that the other companies have been putting in.
But I am biased as I get my Rush chassis next month!
Robin Hood is cheap, but big and heavy and although it looks like one, is not really a Seven.
The best at the cheaper end (Locost) of the market are Stuart Taylor and MK Engineering. Stuart Taylor also own the rights to the Phoenix now too.
Stuart Taylor probably have more experience than anyone of fitting bike engines to Sevens.
The best at the cheaper end (Locost) of the market are Stuart Taylor and MK Engineering. Stuart Taylor also own the rights to the Phoenix now too.
Stuart Taylor probably have more experience than anyone of fitting bike engines to Sevens.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone's got any opinions of the Quantum Cyclone.
I saw the cut-away one at Stafford and it certainly caught my eye. Monocoque chassis, inboard front suspension (a la Sylva/Raw Striker)...
Personally if I were going for a kit for BEC motorsport use, I'd take a good long look at the Fisher Fury. Doesn't look like a se7en, but take a look at the 750MC RGB championship results for the past few seasons...
I saw the cut-away one at Stafford and it certainly caught my eye. Monocoque chassis, inboard front suspension (a la Sylva/Raw Striker)...
Personally if I were going for a kit for BEC motorsport use, I'd take a good long look at the Fisher Fury. Doesn't look like a se7en, but take a look at the 750MC RGB championship results for the past few seasons...
Wacky Racer said:
I'm going to get a lot of stick for this, I know, but IMHO, you're better off sticking with only a handful of manufacturers if you want a competitive trackday/competition weapon as well as just a pleasant weekend toy.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Errr, you forgot Tiger,
I thought that was a Z-cars special built on a Westfield chassis. He then engineered changes for the Tiger and sold on the design!! 
Wacky Racer said:
I'm going to get a lot of stick for this, I know, but IMHO, you're better off sticking with only a handful of manufacturers if you want a competitive trackday/competition weapon as well as just a pleasant weekend toy.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Errr, you forgot Tiger,
No, I didn't forget them - I was merely trying to be polite by not naming specific manufacturers. The twin engined Z-cars Tiger is neither representative of the breed, or a well handling car, from what I've heard. Sure, it's fast in a straight line, but then so is anything weighing less than a ton if you bolt a couple of 150bhp bike engines into it and gear it low enough. Chris Allanson's background is grass-trackers, and it shows. His grasp of suspension and handling is rudimentary to say the least - anyone see his trailing arm BEC conversion of the Smart on display at this years Autosports show?
And the Smart is a car that needs a computer to stop it falling over even with a properly designed suspension set-up... 'Normal' Tigers are rather heavily built, have design shortcomings which are glaringly obvious even from cursory inspection, and have a notable lack of competition success compared to Sylva and Westfield. They are fine, robust roadgoing sports cars, but I wouldn't recommend one for competition use.
Martin_S said:
Martin_S said:
I'm going to get a lot of stick for this, I know, but IMHO, you're better off sticking with only a handful of manufacturers if you want a competitive trackday/competition weapon as well as just a pleasant weekend toy.
Caterham and Westfield you have already identified. Sylva and Sylva derivatives are extremely competitive and very good value for money. Dax is well designed and fairly well developed, if a little on the big side.
All the rest are either second-rate in design terms, or too low-volume to have proven themselves one way or the other.
Errr, you forgot Tiger,
No, I didn't forget them - I was merely trying to be polite by not naming specific manufacturers. The twin engined Z-cars Tiger is neither representative of the breed, or a well handling car, from what I've heard. Sure, it's fast in a straight line, but then so is anything weighing less than a ton if you bolt a couple of 150bhp bike engines into it and gear it low enough. Chris Allanson's background is grass-trackers, and it shows. His grasp of suspension and handling is rudimentary to say the least - anyone see his trailing arm BEC conversion of the Smart on display at this years Autosports show?
'Normal' Tigers are rather heavily built, have design shortcomings which are glaringly obvious even from cursory inspection, and have a notable lack of competition success compared to Sylva and Westfield. They are fine, robust roadgoing sports cars, but I wouldn't recommend one for competition use.
Hmmm, I was only using the "Z" cars version as an extreme example, obviously this car is virtually a one off but shows what can be done, however I have owned and built both Westfields AND Tigers in the past and would say as regards handling there is very little to choose between them.
I concede that a Westfield will probably hold it's value a bit better than a Tiger...
Whilst Sylva have a very good reputation on the track granted, I personally feel their
looks let them down, but obviously this is only imho.
However, look before you leap as they say, and try as many makes as possible, before a final decision is arrived at......
I'd agree will all above, best to stick to the proven, larger volume manufacturers, like Sylva, Westfield, Tiger, Dax, Caterham, Stuart Taylor. Didn't notice F27 mentioned, though, and think they should be considered alongside these as a slightly cheaper option (don't go as cheap as the Robin Hood for competition though). Within this group it comes down to personal choice more than anything, but don't underestimate how useful it is to be living near to the location of the manufacturers - which is something which made the deciding difference when I chose my 7.
Well, ive since discovered the MK Indy. saw the chassis at Stoneleigh and they had a BEC on there stand aswell, was very impressed with the chassis and had none of this fancy inboard stuff etc was a very good price too
Just need to change my road car for something a bit bigger to tow and cheaper to run
Just need to change my road car for something a bit bigger to tow and cheaper to run
I don't agree with Martin's comment about there only being a select few manufacturers to choose from if you want a competetive track car, there's nothing wrong with a well set up Locost derivative (MK / Stuart Taylor etc) cos they are every bit as quick as an equivalent Westie / Sylva etc round a circuit. Admittedly you get what you pay for with regards to quality of GRP etc, but mechanically / dynamically they are hard to seperate.
Chris
>> Edited by Locoblade on Monday 10th May 18:54
Chris
>> Edited by Locoblade on Monday 10th May 18:54
Gassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff