Anyone know abou the Vauxhall 2.0 turbo engine?

[Nick_Walczak]

I am thinking about getting a CC Cyclone kitcar. Based on Vauxhall Cavalier (lol) but mid engined and weighs about the same as an elise. It can be fitted with the VX 2.0 turbo engine. Is this easy to tune up to (say) 300bhp. And is it reliable? :)

[dan]

I was gonna buy a calibra turbo before i got the s13.

From what i remember they have bad head gasket problem/leakages and blowing.

plus usual turbo etc.

probably more reliable than the s13 lump!:D

[Jezz_S13]

Porous head that starts to leak oil springs to mind.

[Nick_Walczak]

But not *terrible* right? ;)

Is it the same lump as in the most recent 2.0 turbo Vauxhall cars?

[Dunk]

I had and tuned a Calibra Turbo for 4 years, and I'm generally accepted as a C20LET (GM code for the DOHC 2.0 Turbo) know it all.

Whaddya wanna know?

Un-bloody breakable engines as standard
Not that tuneable on standard Bosch ECU
Very very good power curve characteristics - masses of torque and all in the low and midrange.
Superbly matched to the standard six speed gearbox

Weak points:
High compression - won't take any more than 1.75bar on standard CR
Unhelpful Bosch Motronic 2.7
It has a bloody Air Mass Meter
Small KKK integral Turbo/Manifold
Small Intercooler
Loopy induction path

Good Points:
Unbreakable bottom end
Cheap as chips to service, cos 80% of it is standard 2.0 n/a
Responds well to Cams, Big FMICs, German Chips (don't go Superchips), Aftermarket ECUs
Will Take RS500 twin rail plenum for massive power
Runs happily on 10/40w synthetic
Has its own diagnostic system, virtually eliminating the need to take to a garage


About £1500 will get it safely to 300bhp/320lb-ft. This entails exhaust, Thicker headgasket, EDS Phase III chip, Panel filter.

Another £375 for a pair of cams, and you'll push to 340bhp @ 5000rpm. 350lb-ft @ 2000rpm

[Nick_Walczak]

thanx! That would be f***ing incredible in a 700kg car 8)

I think their demo car had 280bhp - maybe that's the limit of the std. compression ratio?

[Dunk]

Nah - with water injection it'll run (for a while) at 2 bar, which is 320bhp.

The key is in the chip

EDS/Carls Motorsport only (Top quality German kit that makes superchips look like a school science project)

[dave_s13]

So was the porous head thing a myth cos I'd heard about that one as well??

[AshT_200]

I heard it was a batch of 16V (Pre Ecotec) Heads. PaulS13 knows more about this I think.

[Dunk]

There are two types of pre-ecotec 16v GM Heads

Coscast (made by Cosworth)
&
GM

The only difference is on the GM head, one of the oilways that runs past a cylinder head bolt hole very close to the head face is 1mm wider bore than the Coscast. It only takes 5lb-ft too much torque on that bolt to put extra stress on the oilway shell and it begins to break up..... Simple as that, and thats why some go and some don't.

Easy to fix, and I know a man who does it cheap.

[Nick_Walczak]

Here is the beast in question. It only has a 1.8 Vauxhall engine at the moment but that should still be enough for Lotus Elise type performance.

http://www.findit.co.uk/cars/kitcar/cars/280352.jpg

[Vez]

Do something with the headlights too.....make em ROUND!!!

[The Gill]

Nick

Curious as to how much it roughly costs ?

Cheers

[Nick_Walczak]

Originally posted by The Gill
Nick

Curious as to how much it roughly costs ?

Cheers
He is asking 8900 for it. It's been on sale a while so I think he'll take a low offer. Pricing kit cars is notoriously difficult - I know cos I've sold 3 of 'em and always got substantially less than I hoped.

[The Gill]

Sounds like a lot of cash to me - then again I know nothing about kit cars - does look nice in photo but isn't an A reg donkeys years old ?

Friend has just built a Caterham Super 7 - looks great and goes well too - think he paid about 15K for the kit and it didn't take him too long to put together.

Reckon you are right about putting in a low offer - as they are a bit specialised they must be bloody hard to shift - and the bonus that you know it has been on sale for a while. 7 - 7.5K must be a good target price.

[Nick_Walczak]

It will have cost him nearly 10k to build it. The sad thing is that he would easily get 10k+ if it was fitted with a pokier motor. The factory demo car was fitted with the turbo engine so thats everyone expects to get. The chassis can handle it too - it's really quite awesome.

The reg means nothing. Most parts are new. There are a few donor parts but they will have been refurbished. The engine was rebuilt (I was told).

Caterhams are great - especially when it comes to resale but the Cyclone is about 10x more practical and 100x more waterproof :) If I buy this car, it will have to be my daily driver.

[The Gill]

I couldn't image using a car like that as a daily driver ! Are you getting rid of the 200 then ?

My friend said the 7 is bearable up to about 70 and then air starts to get forced up his nostrills ! and luggage space is pretty hopeless.

I admit I wouldn't fancy driving a car like that on the motorway for long daily journeys (I can imagine I'd be kacking it !) or being in a crash in one !! (call me Mr pessimistic I know, but it's worth thinking about)

Let us know how you get on. Imagine it would be worth expressing an interest just for a test drive !

[Nick_Walczak]

I have used a Sylva Fury as a daily driver. It's a little better than a Caterham because it has a curved screen and proper doors. Those piddly little flat screens are worse than useless IMO, you are better off with an aeroscreen. The Fury was OK apart from the leaky hood and poor demisting (and noise). With the hood down, the wind was not too intrusive, once you get about 40mph, it didn't seem to get any worse.

The Cyclone is much more roomy inside, has deeper sides and a lockable targa top. (The doors can be taken off and put in the boot). It also has a rear exit exhaust which is not overly loud and a modern(ish) fuel injected engine. But yes, luggage space and crash protection are not the best. We have another car anyway so it would only be for me to drive to work in and for fun.

And yes - I would sell my 200SX... :o

[Dave_S]

Hmmmm how much would you be looking for, for the 200??

Dave

[Nick_Walczak]

Originally posted by DStretch
Hmmmm how much would you be looking for, for the 200??

Dave
Don't worry, I'll be sure to post an ad for it here. I need to look around a bit more to determine the price. It's a non-touring 1998 R-Reg with 64k miles and full Nissan service history. I am the second owner. I know the first owner too (an old guy who works at the same place as me). :)