Well its time for an update/which car thread

Just to annoy everyone on here I thought it only fair to keep you up to date with whats happening in the world of Rob(Novaboy)

Well for the first time in as long as i can remember i'm Novaless, the poor shed ended up going to become a track slag for some burberry weaer(poor car) i've managed to scrap another Cavalier (the 1.8 motorsport that was left abandoned at me Mums) and i'm hunting for a new car.

I've became disillusioned with this buy cheap and fix up philosophy i've decided that finance is easier on the back,

But alas my circumstances have changed, No longer is my main concern setting quick lap times on the B876 or how many subs i can squeeze into the boot. Now its fitting 2 kids and a weeks shopping in so the options are as follows

Zafira Gsi- fast bus with enough room for kids shopping and the usual half Ikea showroom, also comes with lots of toys and enough grunt to worry quite a few tasty motors. seems to be a good match with the current cav on performance stakes and thats without any modification, Pros- 350 bhp easy to achieve and debadge just for the evil fun. Cons cant afford a new one would be looking at 2 yr old examples at best

Pug 107- Oh my god its a 600cc group1 insurance horrid little snot box, but i've fallen in love with them it would be a commuting/fun car only with the cav being retained as project/workhorse. Pros- brand new motor for 7 1/2 grand looks funky and i'm sure it will handle which is a plus now my commute is twisties and roundabouts Cons- 0-60 is 14.2 seconds which is an eternity not big enough to be practical

Impreza Turbo- Well it suits practical 4 door saloon (or estate safe fun 4wd well within budget but does not appear at first glance to be very DIY friendly. Pros-Tuneable 4wd and Jap wife wouldnt get insured on it Cons reliability when modified complicated 4wd gubbins to look after

Current Cavvy Sri- practical 4 door saloon quick enough when asked to be its bought and paid for and doesnt come with a finance book. sticking with it would allow wifey to trade up to astra Gsi rather than a sport hatch so would get me in her good books.

Pros 175 bhp non xe'd cav(very rare(ecotec-even rarer) know it like the back of my hand and I do enjoy driving it and embarrasing more expensive modern machinery. Cons its a Cavalier and will need some work done (nothing that cant be DIY'd keeping would result in more um extensive mods and i'm never going to see any of the money back)

thoughts for the cav if kept are to get the interior swopped for some turbo leather stone chips sprayed over some 18" compomotives in Antracite and some nitrous the throttle bodies were considered but i've seen to many boys drop wads of torque to gain in real terms very little BHP

Im quite happy with the current 175 bhp 170 lbs/ft torque not earth shattering but with some well aimed modifications(next step being 100 shot nitrous with progressive controller Lexmaul 4 branch and a rebuild of the bottom end dropping in some Arps along with a set of C20XE pistons and having the whole assembly lightened and balanced. top end getting the same bar the head being breathed on. A V6 throttle body and the current dastek ecu (i cant justify 1400 quid for the fancy irmscher inlet manifold). hopefully the above would see me knocking on the door of 200 bhp off gas which is plenty for a fwd saloon

As always Thoughts please guys. and yes steve i did consider a nice Alfa and its still an option :)

Reply to
Rob
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Someone needs their dyno recalibrating.

Reply to
SteveH

Well tis a guesstimate

ran 150bhp@Dastek before cams, dastek ecu and the box of bits went on

Reply to
Rob

Yeah 170-175 bhp is average for decent cams and a mapped ecu for a c20xe. Although the list he just described all cost a damn sight more than a Cav SRi. I wouldn't buy any of those cars for a family car... I would probably go for a VW Passat or BMW 3 series, maybe one of the new mondeos?

Is it me or is it a stupid idea to heavily modify a car that you will be carrying your kids around in!?

Why don't you just sell that Cav, get a reasonable car and then get a nice solid project car, like a BMW E30 325i, 318iS or something like that? I have been doing allot of research on S13's and you can get a fairly good one for about £500 pre-face lift, infact there is a blue one in Swansea for that price on ebay now that didn't sell last time which is a bit of a long drive for you but its an example of a fast car you can afford as a project to satisfy modding and speed requirements. And i'm sure your kids would love to be driven around in such cars if need be.

I would personally buy a new Ford Mondeo, if I was a family man,and get a cobra kit car with a rover v8 as a weekend/track day weapon to satisfy the urge. But I don't really want to start a family until i'm financially secure and i've had a life myself so I guess that means about 35!? By which time we should hopefully have something like jet packs.... :)

Reply to
REMUS
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Ewww nope mines is a X20XEV thankyou very much

not really heavily modified a few decent engine tweaks and some wipe clean leather along with obligitory change of wheel really

2 insurances (well 3 including the wifes policy ) same with road tax running costs etc etc and my kids wont really bother ones 16 month and the other due any day now :)

well who knows :) or they will invent a few moth stealth taxes which will make driving out of the reach of 99.5 percent of the population

some very fair points and this is what i'm looking for keeping the current car is just an option but unless its something uber econimcal like the 107 its going to be down to 1 car :)

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Reply to
Rob

i suppose i better make a confession Re the Cavvy sri before Alistair shoots me down in flames

it didnt make 150 bhp on dasteks rollers before mods

it was only 149.9 bhp i hang my head in shame for rounding up :)

Reply to
Rob

err... X20XEV engines make 136 bhp... standard, and proberbly 150-160 bhp with cams and ecu? And an xe is a far superior engine...

"Pros- 350 bhp easy to achieve and debadge just for the evil fun. Cons cant afford a new one would be looking at 2 yr old examples at best"

Thats 161 bhp over standard, and hardly an engine 'tweak' really is it?

Take out track day insurance, or transfer policies when you see fit? Of course you would proberbly have to garage it, incase of chav attack.

If it helps make up your mind, I think the Pug 107 is a peice of shit ;)

Reply to
REMUS

CHEEK! I am 45 now, no babies, bird ten years younger and rather fit, and still no reason to get married and breed... When you are 35 you will realise that you know bugger all other than there are so many things you didnt try yet that you only just learned about!

And I am now 24/7 wheelchair user...

Reply to
Burgerman

This is the option I went for. I got the estate which has a huge load carrying capability. Cheap as chips to run and goes like stink. Mine is putting out around STI power so if blows most things off the road. Insurance is a bitch. I pay Aus $1k a year at 31 with a flawless record. It has been reliable with the exception of the front diff which was stuffed when I bought it. All the rest of the 4wd system is simple and the late model ones are fairly bulletproof.

Fraser

Reply to
Fraser Johnston

Pfft the Xe is an overrated piece if shit been there owned several. with a few minor mods the XEV is far better

btw any doubt as to its outbput ask Alistair Murray he was there to witness my unfettled lump(well bar exhaust/induction mods) make its 149.9 bhp

i best not claim 150 or the snipers will get me :) :) :)

Reply to
Rob

I seriously doubt that you are getting 170lbft from a 2.0 lump.

140-145lbft at peak is more likely.

If I wanted a fast family car I'd be looking at a T5 estate - you can get a decent one for under £3k, so a pretty manageable from a finance point of view. They are also quick, practical and reliable, and quite tuneable if you feel the urge.

Reply to
Albert T Cone

What ever rob, the book figure for a standard X20XEV Ecotech is 136 bhp and a complete waste of time...

How you can possibly say a XEV is better than an XE is beyond me... Can anyone else with more sense, care to explain why the XEV is a superior engine!?

Reply to
REMUS

I know the c20xe can manage it, but as for an Ecotech...

Good suggestion, and an estate will give you better insurance to power ratio.

Reply to
REMUS

the XEV ecotech is a far better engine, its not he poor engines fault that its hampered with all this emissions EGR crap that vaux fit as standard, add to that the 7 feet of inlet tract and all the other bad things that vaux did to make it ecologically friendly. if you go past this "crap" remove what is not needed the ecotec is on a level pegging with the XE and theres the small matter of cost and availability. No-one wants an ecotec in vaux tuning circles, which means theres plenty of low mileage examples always available (due to the blinkered owners replacing them with smokey high mileage redtops.

its the usual tuning circle problem, people are sheep.for example on mig theres a squillion people who have modified XE engines but off hand i can think of not even a handful who have modded an XEV. reason pure and simple people say its not as good so it must be true.

Reply to
Rob

Its not a rattly old oil burning heap of shit?

He has dyno proof witnessed by another respected member of the group. Get over it.

Reply to
DanTXD

hmpf, I guess... i've had it drilled into me at MiG that the c20xe is the best thing since sliced bread, i'd still like to see the dyno sheet print out though.

Standard set up at 149.99 at the wheels or fly?

Reply to
REMUS

No it can't. No 2.0 NA lump which doesn't rev to 13krpm is going to make more than 70-75lbft/l

Reply to
Albert T Cone

OMG its like mig on here with all the C20XE is great the XEv is a piece of crap views

as for the 170bhp 170lbs ft its estimated

the cars last dyno before the cams,managment and associated gubbins went on was 149.9 bhp/151 lbs/ft

which is pretty much on par with an XE in stock trim albeit slightly up on torque :)

Reply to
Rob

Darn Nom you know us too well

Rob Mig Regional Co-ordinator :) :)

the C20XE must be the most overhyped engine EVER

Reply to
Rob

How about buy cheap, but buy smart?

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

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