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How does a mac#1 compare with an mk?
withersdelivers - 25/4/13 at 06:50 AM

Hi all , first off I'm not an owner of any 7 yet . I'm realistically looking at buying next summer, and will probably buy built.
The question I have is ....
I'm always drawn to the mk indy at every show and have almost made my mind up that it is what I want ,BUT..... I think the mac#1 is very similar and a beautiful 7 .
I have asked the mk owners why I should buy an mk and thought I would ask you guys the same as they look so similar!!so....


Why should I choose a mac#1 ??

Many thanks . Neil.

40inches - 25/4/13 at 07:17 AM

As far as the cars are concerned? about the same difference as between a VW and an Audi, not a lot.
Customer service? Do some research in the relevant forums.
I should say that I personally have never had a problem with MK, but you wont find a single complaint about Mac#1
on this site.

[Edited on 25-4-13 by 40inches]

rdodger - 25/4/13 at 08:04 AM

The MAC#1 has the same front suspension geometry issues that the MK does.

The above is not what I wrote. I don't know how it's been changed but it has.

My original post was along the lines of the MK having suspect front geometry and that should be taken into account with any potential purchase.

[Edited on 26/4/13 by rdodger]

big_l - 25/4/13 at 08:08 AM

Can I ask why you are not looking at the MNR VORTX ??

In my opinion the MK is a better car than the mac 1 for sure.

But neither car compare to the Mnr vortx quality .

I would be happy to take you out in my MNR anytime
And have found Marc / Chris nothing but helpfull. !

withersdelivers - 25/4/13 at 08:17 AM

quote:
Originally posted by big_l
Can I ask why you are not looking at the MNR VORTX ??

In my opinion the MK is a better car than the mac 1 for sure.

But neither car compare to the Mnr vortx quality .

I would be happy to take you out in my MNR anytime
And have found Marc / Chris nothing but helpfull. !


Funny u should say that as that's the other manufacturer that I'm looking at ! Nothing set in stone til I'm ready to buy
Do NMR use stronger components and materials? Or is the finish just a quality look?
Thanks

rdodger - 25/4/13 at 08:35 AM

I guess the trouble with threads like this is everyone will tell you what they have is the best.

My 2p is

Customer service. Check out whoever you are considering. Do they deliver what they say they will?

Locality. Nearer the better, to get advice, collect parts etc. My supplier is 5hrs away so I didn't take that advice!

Consult the manufacturer to see if they know any good cars for sale.

Quality and ease of build. Built kits vary a lot. Sometimes buying one that came as a full package will lead to easier ownership.

Look at what you are going to use it for. You may want a full cage and a racier setup if you are mainly doing track days. This may not be very good as a road car?

If I wanted track 7 then I would look at MNR, MAC#1 and a Sylva Striker.

For the road all would be ok. I'm not such a fan of MK, but build quality and spec is everything so I wouldn't dismiss anything if it met my requirements.

Pretty much all the 7's in production will go and handle better than anything else you may drive as long as the suspension is setup properly which can be done by many specialists.

withersdelivers - 25/4/13 at 08:53 AM

Sound advice all round so far!
I have noticed people tend to advise you towards what they have.
I have seen a few threads on mk not having the best customer service but have also spoken to a lot of people who can't fault them .i do live about 5 miles from gkd as I believe they are in Maidstone but I just don't find them as sexy for some reason.same with the Striker!
When the time comes I will be after a barebones track car that is road legal possibly even a bec but again not set in stone.(without the usual bec/cec debate please lol).ie full cage , wind deflector rather than windscreen , light as possible basically!

big_l - 25/4/13 at 09:29 AM

my personal view is that MNR have very good engineering fr instance the front upright / wing mount is all custom maid and maid from there own design.

Chasis is all round tube ! I've never been a fan of bent box steel

The best quality grp bodywork out there

Resale value ! 3-4 year old cars still doing 9-10 k

Customer service is mint just read this forum and you will see !

Alfa145 - 25/4/13 at 09:54 AM

What about others like the GBS Zero and the RoadRunner SR2?

Not Anumber - 25/4/13 at 10:28 AM

The MK front caster issue should not be an issue in choosing a car as it is so easilly resolved by replacing the original top wishbones.

MK suggest the self centre issue can be worked around to an extent by altering the toe in. The sure fire way is jut to get hold of a pair of adjustable top wishbones (mine cost £ 80 ) set these up for an extra degree or two of caster and the self centring is spot on.

withersdelivers - 25/4/13 at 10:54 AM

Thanks for that the NMR is sounding good too now!!
As for the gbs zero ,it's not as good looking in my opinion and although I have seen the road runner in the kit car encyclopaedia thingy , I just don't hear anything about them.
I think it will now come down to which of my top three (mac#1 , mk ,mnR )come up at the time ......best spec , best built ,least money!! Lol
Thanks again for all who have given their advice , ears are still open to anymore thoughts on the subject.

[Edited on 25/4/13 by withersdelivers]

silky16v - 25/4/13 at 12:01 PM

Stuart Taylor/Aries Motorsport

Having owned 1 as my 1st ever Seven this was by far the best handling kit i've had (it was factory built) ZX9r powered

my 2nd Seven was a MK Indy, can't fault it did everything i wanted of it but was very basic and had no end of issues trying to contact MK for spares (R1 powered)

my 3rd and current Seven is a MNR Vortx (ST 170 Zetec) and this very good as an all rounder and for going long distances with it having a car engine its not quite a nibble at the limit as Stuart Taylor i had, but it makes up for it in all other areas

if i was to buy another it would be a MNR over anything else i quite fancy a ZX14 power Kit

Slimy38 - 25/4/13 at 12:25 PM

MNR were the best 'performing' at my last Stoneleigh visit, in terms of willingness to help and understand their customers. The guy I spoke to answered all my questions, including many 'noob' questions. He was also the only one to let me sit in one of their cars, and described how their MX5 variant made use of donor materials.

The only thing that put me off was the nosecone, it was too bulbous for my liking. But then someone pointed out that they do an alternative nose which is much better looking in my opinion.

withersdelivers - 25/4/13 at 02:20 PM

Nice to hear from someone who has owned a few different sevens , will defo do some deeper digging about the mnR ! Tonight! Lol. My mechanic friend has said about the st170 power plant being a good way to go!
And on the nose come subject , I was also unsure about it at first and would have gone for the traditional look but the more I look at the 'bulbous' cone , the more I'm liking it! So many choices lol!

daniel mason - 25/4/13 at 04:55 PM

just buy a used caterham. you will not lose a single penny on it i dont think! very nice csars to drive unless your a big guy!

turbo911 - 26/4/13 at 05:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
The MAC#1 has the same front suspension geometry issues that the MK does.


utter rubbish !!!

rdodger - 26/4/13 at 07:09 PM

quote:
Originally posted by turbo911
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
The MAC#1 has the same front suspension geometry issues that the MK does.


utter rubbish !!!


Yes it is! I didn't write that! How the hell did that get changed?

turbo911 - 26/4/13 at 08:09 PM

???????WAC

[Edited on 26/4/13 by turbo911]

Not Anumber - 26/4/13 at 08:31 PM

If I was building from scratch and had the space i'd build a Haynes, only thing i wouldnt be sure of is whether to grasp the nettle and weld my own chassis or buy a ready fabricated chassi from Talon or one of the others.

Though the Haynes is a open source design there is an impressively high level of support from the builder community which IMHO makes it as equally viable to build as the kits.

Tazzzzman1 - 27/4/13 at 07:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by withersdelivers
Thanks for that the NMR is sounding good too now!!
As for the gbs zero ,it's not as good looking in my opinion and although I have seen the road runner in the kit car encyclopaedia thingy , I just don't hear anything about them.

[Edited on 25/4/13 by withersdelivers]


The reason you don't hear much about Roadrunner is that they are fairly new to the kit scene, but quality is superb, as is service from them and in my eye one of the best looking 7's out there (although I'd say that as I own one... ). Total cost of my build was £8K but budget for £10K+
Have a look at the March edition of Complete kit car magazine and you'll see mine and hopefully agree







Hope I've converted you

eddbaz - 27/4/13 at 07:48 PM

I built and still own my mk Indy r, but if I was in the market for a car now the roadrunner sr2 would be my choice.

RK - 27/4/13 at 10:11 PM

What? No "discussion" on how you plan to propel this projectile? You can't talk about chassis' without an argument on the engine! It's not allowed!

40inches - 28/4/13 at 08:17 AM

quote:
Originally posted by RK
What? No "discussion" on how you plan to propel this projectile? You can't talk about chassis' without an argument on the engine! It's not allowed!

That's because there isn't an argument RK. Boat anchor or Bike engine?

withersdelivers - 28/4/13 at 08:39 AM

Haha I love the way cec/bec debate always worms its way into a thread so lets add some fuel to the fire....... St170 or r1?? For track use Mostly.

Oh and in response to tazman , yes the road runner does indeed look very nice but as I said first off , there is a very small chance of me building from scratch.so availability is more the issue.

loggyboy - 28/4/13 at 08:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by withersdelivers
Haha I love the way cec/bec debate always worms its way into a thread so lets add some fuel to the fire....... St170 or r1?? For track use Mostly.


More jammed in than wormed.... lol

Tazzzzman1 - 28/4/13 at 09:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by withersdelivers
Oh and in response to tazman , yes the road runner does indeed look very nice but as I said first off , there is a very small chance of me building from scratch.so availability is more the issue.



Ah didn't see that bit.
Yep you will have to look hard to find many of these on the 2nd user market. Although one did come up in Jan... I think there is approx 25 cars built now, but growing rapidly...
Although as I said, the Sr2 is nice and easy to put together. I did mine in 9 mth's, but appreciate not everyone has time or patience to do one..
If you are after mainstream then you are correct plenty of MK's about. Not so many MAC1's though.

DarrenW - 4/6/13 at 06:23 PM

It is insanely difficult to choose. Loads of pros and cons with all of the kits.

I made a shortlisted. Phoned the factories in advance to arrange a visit. MK didn't get a look in as apart from a half hello when I arrived nobody would talk to me. MNR didn't get the sale as they hadn't got a car through an SVA at that time, but let me tell you they were very close indeed. I never regretted building a Mac1 and Colin and Mark became good friends.

So for me it came down to my gut feel on customer service equally as important as the car itself. Due to my job there proximity to the M1 was another consideration.


All I can really advise is go and see where your cash might be heading and take it from there. Forum searches are interesting background reading but most posts are heavily skewed by something.