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Best chassis for track bec
marti - 30/11/16 at 10:28 AM

Hi,
I've been searching the forums for weeks and can't find an answer.
I'm finally able to buy a new bec kit and would like to know what's the best road legal chassis for mostly track days.
I'm between a Megabusa, Indy RR or MNR Vortx, but open to other suggestions.
Thanks in advance

[Edited on 30/11/16 by marti]

nick205 - 30/11/16 at 10:45 AM

To add to your list the Striker and Pro Comp cars are well reviewed and can be road legal.

http://www.striker-cars.co.uk/

http://www.procomp.co.uk/

[Edited on 30/11/16 by nick205]

theduck - 30/11/16 at 10:47 AM

As you are going BEC, I would be looking for the car I can make the absolute lightest.

Matt21 - 30/11/16 at 11:17 AM

Theres the Raptor R and RR too... same chassis as the Indy lineup I believe

I like the mnr, but not keen on the nosecone

theduck - 30/11/16 at 12:44 PM

MNR really should promote their alternative/ traditional nose cone more.

nick205 - 30/11/16 at 12:48 PM

One other element is location - it's often better to pick a manufacturer relatively close to you making it easier to visit them if needed.

adithorp - 30/11/16 at 04:31 PM

If it's sevenesque your wanting then I'd say Striker as well. Where you're going to track it might have some bearing as well. If it's likely to be big circuits like Silverstone then any seven style is going to be limited by it's (lack of) areo' and a Fury or Phoenix might be worth considering.

OliilO - 30/11/16 at 05:59 PM

I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.

mark chandler - 30/11/16 at 06:20 PM

It needs to be small and light, if on a budget I would look at a striker as these whizz around when built right.

My car started as a Chapman locost, even then it was too large IMHO, I have dropped on a fury body to improve the aero.

nickm - 30/11/16 at 06:58 PM

Dont forget the Sylva Riot or J15.

Nick M

ian locostzx9rc2 - 30/11/16 at 07:04 PM

Striker or MNR for me

adithorp - 30/11/16 at 07:28 PM

quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


For some reason the Arion slipped my mind. Only thing against it is there isn't a great deal of previous knowledge to help you along... But starting from scratch thats where I'd be going.

james h - 30/11/16 at 07:55 PM

7esque, and i'd be going down the route of MNR - really friendly, very good customer service. Although I'm an MK customer, so any service is good service! Hopefully that will get better now the Indy has been bought by someone else.

marti - 30/11/16 at 08:02 PM

Thank you all for your help
Of all those cars is the Indy RR or the Vortx the most modern and up to date design?

raptor700 - 1/12/16 at 09:12 AM

I have an indy RR great chasis go for the lighter cage and with a busa, dry sumped and reverse and half a tank mine weighs 495kg.

Mk has just been taken over by Sean so things have already been changed you will get customer service.

Danni got some good results when racing and it was a fast motor. Lightness is key so light wheels and hubs . Make sure you put in a 3.14 , I have a 338 diff and it tops about 125. Great for most circuits where I go.

peter030371 - 1/12/16 at 11:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


They are also working on a '7' body kit for it if that is part of the 'must have' list

CosKev3 - 1/12/16 at 11:17 AM

Before considering a Striker you should check you can fit in one as they are tiny!

The newer Indy R and RR chassis's are very nice tbf,and as above very light even with a full cage.

raptor700 - 1/12/16 at 11:38 AM

I like the mnr , there frame and bodywork is very tidy and neat and fits well , I just don't like the nosecone.

The arion has impressed me and looks really well, if it was just for trackdays arion s2 would be for me.

loggyboy - 1/12/16 at 11:45 AM

quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


The arion is built off the Striker Chassis, (I assume its had some minor mods, im sure Andy would be happy to confirm any major differences)
AB used to be a regional seller for Raw, specialising in BECs

rednop1980 - 1/12/16 at 12:25 PM

i have a brand new westfield mega chassis if you are interested in that

theduck - 1/12/16 at 12:32 PM

Seriously,all the mnr nose haters, they offer a traditional looking nose cone too.

MikeR - 1/12/16 at 02:44 PM

Is Aries / Stuart Taylor still going?

They did a lot of racing early on and did well. Its been a while since i saw anything of them (seem to recall something about moving to Wales).

loggyboy - 1/12/16 at 02:51 PM

Facebook page is still active
https://www.facebook.com/ariesmsport

loggyboy - 1/12/16 at 02:51 PM

Facebook page is still active
https://www.facebook.com/ariesmsport

adithorp - 1/12/16 at 03:15 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


The arion is built off the Striker Chassis, (I assume its had some minor mods, im sure Andy would be happy to confirm any major differences)
AB used to be a regional seller for Raw, specialising in BECs


AFAIK... The first ones were using a modified Striker chassis for development work but the s2 is their own design. Similar in many respects to both Striker and Fury chassis but not the same.

loggyboy - 1/12/16 at 03:45 PM

quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
AFAIK... The first ones were using a modified Striker chassis for development work but the s2 is their own design. Similar in many respects to both Striker and Fury chassis but not the same.


Very good point.
and clearly very different.

Description
Description

[Edited on 1-12-16 by loggyboy]

StevieB - 1/12/16 at 04:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
AFAIK... The first ones were using a modified Striker chassis for development work but the s2 is their own design. Similar in many respects to both Striker and Fury chassis but not the same.


Very good point.
and clearly very different.

Description
Description

[Edited on 1-12-16 by loggyboy]


Is that not the Sabre chassis (mid engine)? It looks like that's now moved across to Aries, with AB developing the front engined Arion.

I'm confused

I'm looking for a state chassis for a track car too - all I want is a simple, lightish chassis in fairly basic form that I can add to, take away from, develop and just generally learn some stuff (and either make a good car or a complete mess, but it's the journey that counts).

What's missing in the market at the moment is a decent basic chassis - everything has gone too complex and prices have gone up in line. I'm almost as tempted to buy an old Westy in need of sprucing up and using that as the basis, or even a Westfield starter kit which are priced about the same as any other these days seemingly.

loggyboy - 1/12/16 at 04:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by StevieB
Is that not the Sabre chassis (mid engine)? It looks like that's now moved across to Aries, with AB developing the front engined Arion.


You could be right, its taken from another post - thats why its different!! lol

[Edited on 1-12-16 by loggyboy]

OliilO - 1/12/16 at 06:06 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


The arion is built off the Striker Chassis, (I assume its had some minor mods, im sure Andy would be happy to confirm any major differences)
AB used to be a regional seller for Raw, specialising in BECs


Yes, but from what I have seen there has been considerable development of the running gear etc which produces a fast and well put together package that has been designed to work together from the off.

marti - 3/12/16 at 09:41 AM

I have narrow it down to MK and Westfield.
Does somebody know if the westfield chassis have evolve over the years?

gaz_gaz - 3/12/16 at 12:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
quote:
Originally posted by OliilO
I'd be buying an AB Performance Arion if I was looking at building a new BEC. I'm pretty sure one has recently passed IVA as well.


The arion is built off the Striker Chassis, (I assume its had some minor mods, im sure Andy would be happy to confirm any major differences)
AB used to be a regional seller for Raw, specialising in BECs


I have 1 of the original Arion S1 Chassis as raced by Stephen Bell with 3 or 4 RGB race wins
I can speak from my experience and observations only..

A type 9 Gearbox does not fit in the tunnel of my chassis but it does fit in the chassis of a Striker so is there a BEC chassis only from RAW?
I feel the chassis is similar (very similar) too look at to a Striker TR chassis but there appears to be a lot of extra bracing around the front suspension pickup points, There's also a couple of additional braces across the front of the car, I also think the pick up positions have been tweaked a little As when i had a knock repaired the bracket positions where not the same as a TR striker.

The S2 chassis is dimensionally different to the chassis i have, The infill panels used on the new chassis where no good to me when I came to fitting my bodywork and they had to be made as 1 offs.
Andy has also modified and lightened most of the wishbones and rockers compared to most of the bits on my car.
this car also has an additional rear ARB as well as some other tweaks mine doesn't have.
Anything else I'm unaware of but I've not looked closely at the S2 chassis

The Arion has been in constant development and all parts found to work by racing have been made available to his day to day customers.

On top of that I feel the service offered by Andy is pretty unbeatable, He's returned calls at silly oclock and made the trip from Suffolk to Sussex to deliver my bodywork when i had no way of getting it home, Any silly email or facebook questions I've had have been answered within hrs with detailed answers way beyond what I'd have expected.

If i where building a BEC no one else would get a look in, He may not be the cheapest but cheapest isn't always best and with a 7 body car about to be released very soon there's not even that excuse anymore.

phelpsa - 3/12/16 at 01:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by marti
I have narrow it down to MK and Westfield.
Does somebody know if the westfield chassis have evolve over the years?


We used to hillclimb an Aries and now have a Westfield Megabusa. We changed as an easy way to get a more modern engine package and to be able to compete in the WSCC speed series.

The advantage of the Westfield comes in the knowledge and parts supply. The quality of the chassis is a bit better, but value for money the Aries is excellent.

Westfield no longer produce the lightweight 'track' chassis, so like for like the Aries could probably end up slightly lighter and the suspension geometry is slightly better with more stable roll centers and better camber characteristics for track work. However the Westfield has an off the shelf FIA approved full cage option which makes for a better competition car.

If I was building from bare chassis for track days I'd definitely be looking at the Aries (again).

Personally I don't like the MK/MNR derived kits as I feel they compromise in the wrong areas for me. However I know people have had a lot of fun in them and they can be peddled pretty quickly (i've never been beaten by one though ).

StevieB - 3/12/16 at 05:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by marti
I have narrow it down to MK and Westfield.
Does somebody know if the westfield chassis have evolve over the years?


I've built and Indy and owned a Westfield as well.

The Westfield quality was far better in almost every way, and the amount of parts and upgrades is endless.

There's probably not much between them on paper, but i reality if I was choosing again (and I kind of am), the Westfield would get my money every time unless the MK was offered at a significant cost advantage.

The Westfield also brings a big advantage in it's resale value as well

[Edited on 3/12/16 by StevieB]

jeffw - 3/12/16 at 06:47 PM

Rob Johnson's Cyana chassis would be my choice...

StevieB - 3/12/16 at 08:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jeffw
Rob Johnson's Cyana chassis would be my choice...


Are Cyana still around?

marti - 5/12/16 at 08:38 PM

The megabusa chassis is the same since the beginning?