Vovchandr Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) Got a few goodies from Westermann For anybody wondering whether the aluminum stays are worth their premium here are the results. 2.15 lbs per OEM CSR stay (4.3 total) Vs 0.7 lbs per aluminum stay (1.4) total. 2.8 pound savings. Pretty considerable overall. Westermann 0.7 lbs OEM 2.15 lbs Edited April 17, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) The top coat on the mirrors is questionable. Not sure if they source them 3rd party or make them themselves. Only price of carbon I have from that that doesn't seem perfect. Also I'm surprised to see the glass to be a magnification glass instead of the regular wide angle. Hard to tell if its wide angle and magnified in right now or just magnified. I was perfectly happy with the glass in the ones I'm replacing and was hoping for these to be the same. Edited April 17, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Send it back or at least send that third photo and complain. The third photo shows imperfect production - the carbon is missing on the edge. Given how much he charges you deserve better than that. The first photo looks like it was dropped or brushed while the clear coat was wet - its got brush marks. The second photo has dimpling that is expected on carbon with one coat of clear coat - the clear coat soaks into the weave and you need multiple coats to fill it in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 3 hours ago, Croc said: Send it back or at least send that third photo and complain. The third photo shows imperfect production - the carbon is missing on the edge. Given how much he charges you deserve better than that. The first photo looks like it was dropped or brushed while the clear coat was wet - its got brush marks. The second photo has dimpling that is expected on carbon with one coat of clear coat - the clear coat soaks into the weave and you need multiple coats to fill it in. Will do. Scheduled a consult next week for a second opinion with a friend of mine who manufactures carbon fiber to see if these are reasonable defects or not. Didn't expect to get feedback here, but you certainly make good points. It didnt seem right and below the bar they set with other products but also didn't want to overreact and be "that guy" Inspected the winglets today too. All look good except for minor blemish in the clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 (edited) Ok rant time I ordered 3 things from Westermann for a considerable cost (just needed the fender stays but then project creep started and while I was making order for one thing... why not get the rest of the things I wanted?) 1) Aluminum stays for CSR wings that fit an S3 offset specifically (only company that offers this as far as I know) 2) Wishbone aero upper and lower 3) Carbon fiber mirrors. It appears I'm 0/3 1) Aluminum stays arent fitting. At the very least the driver side just doesn't fit today. It's too tall to fit between the balljoint upper shelf and the bolt hole in the bottom. Obviously this can be modified but that's not the point for a pretty pricy piece of metal 2) Wishbone aero isn't the same as advertised on the website or what they used to have. They are smaller and more angled instead of being bigger and covering more area. Also a defect on one. On the site How Tom has his (I'm assuming he cut out the hole for the sway bar end?) Mine It seems to "stop short" going into depth. I expected the corner angle to be more of a right angle when viewed from above like in the original pictures. Unless I'm an idiot and it supposed to go this way? (reversing the sides) but this seems backwards. This does resemble the way Tom has it the most ^ @yellowss7 ? 3) Mirrors have defects as described above. Still have to test the passenger stay but so far I'm not optimistic and don't really want to get into it just to have to put everything back together. Edited April 19, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosteri Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 (edited) I have also shelled money on a few parts from Westermann - 1) instrument panel, required significant trimming to fit, it is ok, but the surface finish is not perfect 2) hard half doors, required extreme effort to fit poorly and no instructions how to attach (and my shoulders are too wide anyway, I can’t use them), 3) carbon front indicator brackets, which had the lamp holes drilled totally off on both (got my money back on them and made my own, just binned them the other day). All seems very handmade, which is fine, but if you sell them, then at least make them until you get it right. Edited April 19, 2022 by Rosteri 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 (edited) After a back and forth with Westermann they said that the wing stays just need a little mallet action, the one of the aero pieces is just part of processing (but they could send me one that looks fine) and that the mirrors are inadequate and will be replaced. They advertise them as convex but say that will come "slightly curved". We shall see. Using the suggestion I beat the one wing stays into place. Soft aluminum bent up top and the hub steel stud forced it's way through the bottom hole. Not a very delicate procedure. These CSR fenders are quite more aggressive than I expected. Cut angle was expected but how far forward/low on the tire they go compared to my regular ones that I mounted was a surprise. Mocked up for now Edited May 14, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Vlad, I need to order a new set of wingstays from Westerman, as one of mine is a bit wobbly. I’m also having trouble finding the Michelin slicks I use and may have to find a substitute which may require some adjustment to the wingstays to provide clearance. Based on your experience is it possible to adjust them to get tire clearance? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, yellowss7 said: Vlad, I need to order a new set of wingstays from Westerman, as one of mine is a bit wobbly. I’m also having trouble finding the Michelin slicks I use and may have to find a substitute which may require some adjustment to the wingstays to provide clearance. Based on your experience is it possible to adjust them to get tire clearance? Tom Can you explain how yours got wobbly? Other than bending the straight arm I see no other room for adjustments here without cutting and rewelding the said arm. Are you hitting in height or width? Also while I have your attention, can you take a top down picture of your wish bone aeros? As such Edited May 15, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 Vlad, when I had the car in the shop for its preseason tech the mechanic pointed out that the left stay had a little play in it versus the right one. He suspected that the inner tube may be cracked. I had the car on track last week and kept an eye on it down the straights and didn’t notice any flapping or movement. But I’m thinking that preventative replacement is the way to go. I don’t have any issues with the current tires as to clearance. But if I can’t get the same tires and have to go to another brand I’m concerned That the diameter won’t be the same and could cause an issue. My car is currently in the trailer and at the storage facility so I will have to take a ride to get your pictures. Can it wait until next Saturday? I’m planning on going to the track on Sunday and Monday next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 18 minutes ago, yellowss7 said: Vlad, when I had the car in the shop for its preseason tech the mechanic pointed out that the left stay had a little play in it versus the right one. He suspected that the inner tube may be cracked. I had the car on track last week and kept an eye on it down the straights and didn’t notice any flapping or movement. But I’m thinking that preventative replacement is the way to go. I don’t have any issues with the current tires as to clearance. But if I can’t get the same tires and have to go to another brand I’m concerned That the diameter won’t be the same and could cause an issue. My car is currently in the trailer and at the storage facility so I will have to take a ride to get your pictures. Can it wait until next Saturday? I’m planning on going to the track on Sunday and Monday next week. It can wait indefinitely! I was hoping to compare in person at the 7s NJMP event but unfortunately I won't be able to make this year. I was wondering if Westermann changed the design over the years as mine appear somewhat different shape than yours. Orientation on the lower ones definitely changed from 45 degree to 0 unfortunately. Not too happy about that. Do you know if you or the previous owner cut yours to go around the sway bar socket or did they come like that originally? Trying to figure out the mounting. Double sided tape has held fine for you? Unfortunate about the existing stay. Very curious as to how it would have failed in details. Although aluminum is quite a soft metal to be putting up with a lot of these forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastg Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 I used the new style Caterham fender on my Locost last year. I thought the approved installation was a bit naff. So I made some threaded tubes that I glues in to the fender and then bolted them the the stay. This way that are removable and you can make adjustments for different tires/wheels. I am not sure if the new style fender is more aerodynamic, but it makes a great parts shelf when you working on things. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 Major upgrade plugged the hole by roll bar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 Unfortunate misspelling of my name or foreshadowing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 @Vovchandr Croc tells me that the pics he sent of my front suspension/ carbon are what you needed. Yesterday on track, the front wingstay that my mechanic warned me of, did fail. Luckily I saw it start to wobble on the front strait and backed off and crawled the whole lap babying it back to pit lane and at least didn’t lose the carbon wing. I just sent Westerman a request for new wingstays. I assume you could use the ones you got from him. Correct? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 (edited) 20 minutes ago, yellowss7 said: @Vovchandr Croc tells me that the pics he sent of my front suspension/ carbon are what you needed. Yesterday on track, the front wingstay that my mechanic warned me of, did fail. Luckily I saw it start to wobble on the front strait and backed off and crawled the whole lap babying it back to pit lane and at least didn’t lose the carbon wing. I just sent Westerman a request for new wingstays. I assume you could use the ones you got from him. Correct? Tom Sorry to hear about the failure. Been there with witnessing wobbling fenders on the last few track days. The pictures I got showed that yours was riveted on at the front mount. Clever. I was going to glue it on front and back but will consider the same mount style now on front. Westermann advice was essentially "it should fit, if it doesn't it should fit with a little bit of mallet persuasion" so I did, then it did. Haven't mounted them yet, but might in the neat future. Yours look to sit higher than mine when mocked up but we shall see how it looks like in practice. I do not like the low mount (height of the front of fender from the ground) look and since this is purely aesthetic for me, I'll mess with it to get it right. Edited May 24, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 (edited) Small updates. In the search for unobtanium center caps for SLR wheels I had a friend 3D print a test Came out pretty good but it's not perfect yet. Also mocked up lower wishbone aero and it's hitting the shock... So that's another dilemma. Edited June 25, 2022 by Vovchandr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 9 hours ago, Vovchandr said: Small updates. In the search for unobtanium center caps for SLR wheels I had a friend 3D print a test Came out pretty good but it's not perfect yet. The cap looks good. A few years back I designed and 3D printed some air filter covers for my 64 MGB. This was back in 2013 and the finish wasn't that great as printed, so I sanded, primed, and sprayed it with Eastwood's AlumaBlast paint. I thought it came out really well and the new owner said he thought it looked great. Not a great photo but it's the only one I still have. Just something to consider. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 The prints look great. You guys also have the option of sand casting. Small parts don't need a commercial foundry and generally don't need machining. Probably have some hobbyists in your area who would do it for fun and a trade. Old bent alloy rims make fine ingots. Lost foam process is even better for detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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