My boyfriend is looking to change the engine in his Vauxhall Frontera 2.0l sport for more powerful engine. He is using it to tow his race car and finds that the engine just doesnt have the power up steep hills.
He wants to put a Vauxhall V6 engine in it and was wondering whether any of them would match up to the gearbox. He can change the engine mounts if need be.
Any advice or comments welcome. Other than he needs a new car ;)
Donna
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This is by far the easiest and cheapest option.
If he is dead set on an engine swap, a Turbo Diesel would be a better choice than a V6 petrol for what he needs.
The message from "Donna" contains these words:
Sorry, but that's the most obvious! Is the Frontera heavy enough to safely tow another car on a trailer? It must be very close to the weight limit.
Its only towing a 625kg midget on a brian james minno trailer so not as heavy as most cars to tow. Only using it to tow for 9 races this season.
SteveH - He was looking at the diesel version but someone told him it was like driving against a brick wall in one... Whats your say on the diesels versions?
Thanx for answering guys...
Donna
But surely this is just the excuse to get shot of very possibly the worst
4X4 in a sector full of appalling vehicles?
Hmm, it would be more fun to hire a range rover to tow the midget to each event and get a citroen AX diesel as a daily runabout. (c:
Is driving any Frontera not akin to driving against a brick wall anyway? I've never driven any sort of Frontera but as far as I know they don't have a reputation for being the fastest piles of shit on the road.
My father has a turdodiesel Land Rover Discovery. It's desperately slow getting up to speed but actually quite good at holding it. One gets the impression that it wouldn't make all that much difference if you were towing a couple of houses.
So, I reckon for towing, diesel (preferably with a turbo) is what you want. Swapping engines might be fun but I can't help feeling when you look at the end product and think of all the hassle, time and money spent getting it to work one might think "why did I bother?". I also have a feeling, that unfortunately this is the only sort of advice you're going to get on this group, although I would be happy to be proved wrong!
Other thoughts include: Many Vauxhalls have interchangeable bits. However I don't know about the Frontera. Has your chap thought about tuning the engine he's got?
You'd have an awful job swapping a petrol engine for a diesel one, there's probably a lot of different bits involved, not just the engine like fuel tank and associated wiring.
A V6 might munch drivetrain components if its slapped straight in a car which originally had a lower powered engine although a 4x4 will probably have reasonably beefy undergubbins anyway.
Douglas
Hi Donna,
Tell him to buy a diesel instead of spending all that money on changing the engine and having to upgrade suspension and brakes etc. Then there is the extra cost of insurance.
The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:
I was jsut wondering how to phrase that myself!
Thanx all for replying :o)
Donna
Take note about the insurance. Alot fo companies will want you to get the vehicle inspected by an Engineer to ensure the job has been done properly, i.e suspension and brakes uprated too.
OK, will mention it to him. I take it it all should have crossed his mind, but will just remind him just in case.
Donna
afaicr, the frontera hasa kerbweight of around 1700kg so applying the
85% rule you can tow up to 1445kg or thereabouts.sPoNiX
Isn't it what is on the VIN plate that states how much it can tow? My
110 has a kerbweight of around 2050kg but is rated to tow 3500kg.Where does that leave the 85% rule. I take it that the 110 may be the exception to that rule?
I have a mate with one, which he bought new. It's quite possibly the nastiest vehicle I've ever driven - and I quite like Land Rovers in their own habitat.
One of my old lorries was plated for 65 tonnes but the maximum GVW it could be was 38 tonnes.
Why did they bother plating it for 65 tonnes then, is the 38 tonne limit a UK thing?
The 110 VIN says max load of vehicle and trailer is 6550kg. That means it can pull 3500kg and have 1000kg on board as well.
It would be a bit slow loaded like that though!!
Looking at the DVLA site it says that a normal licence holder can drag
100% of the kerb weight of the car behind it, as long as the entire thing doesn't weigh more than 4.5 or 8 tonnes, irrc.--nick.
In news:iriIc.31714$I% snipped-for-privacy@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk, Donna decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
The Vauxhall Frontera is one of the very worst vehicles ever sold in Europe. I've only ever had the misfortune of driving a few of them, and every time I've been exceptionally happy to get back out.
Mate of mine had a brand new one on loan for a weekend from Vauxhall, full on top spec, 2.4? LWB thing it was, black with all the toys and bull bars etc. He popped to my house to show it off, I took it for a spin around the block then offered him a drive in the eight year old Range Rover Vogue SE I had at the time. He's had a Range Rover ever since.
He needs a Range Rover.
They are a different class of vehicle, though. A better comparison from the Land Rover stable would be the Freelander. Same result, however.
In news: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk, Dave Plowman (News) decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
Agreed, but at the time a new Frontera to the spec this one was cost something insane like £28k, the Range Rover was better specced and cost me £8k.
If the OP sold the Frontera, and put the cost of the V6 engine to it, they could buy a *very* nice, Range Rover.
A "H"or "J" plate 3.9 Vogue SE with a good LPG conversion shouldn't cost more than about £4000, would tow better than any Frontera, and likely as hell be a lot more reliable. Far nicer to drive for certain.
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