I am joining the mini-supercar league ;-)

[Dakkon]

Well the 3.2 Carrera Sport has gone to her new owner and after a busy week of chasing down five examples I have finally settled on one and on Saturday I put my deposit down on an 18 month old VX220 Turbo, ex-demonstrator so has all the options in star-silver.

Just in time for the run down to Le-Mans.

Couple of questions:

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I am curious as to the opinions of more experienced owners, so with its short wheel base how easy is the car to drift?

Much more importantly though is how good are the stock brakes on a trackday, do I need to look at uprating them straight away if I am thinking of a few trackdays?

[joe-turbo]

First of all Welcome to the VX.

Im affraid I have no idea on drifting allthough the vx does have huge amounts of grip.

As for the brake pads....

for mainly road/bit of track........Mintex 1144's (i have these, im pleased)
for more track .....Mintex 1155's
for heavy track .........padgid RS14

or look here for more detail... www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk%2Fgcs_">www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/gcs_article.php?artid=15&typelink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thorneymotorsport.co.uk%2Fgcs_

these guys are also recomended www.courtenaysport.co.uk

you can find the answer to any thing else vx based on www.vx220.org.uk

Joe

[Dakkon]

Thanks for the reply.

I have been onto VX220.org, but cannot register as a new user, keeps on giving me an error message.

One other question I have is that reading an article about the VX220 NA and the Turbo it said Vauxhall reduced the front wheels slightly to induce slightly more understeer.

Is it worth putting on the wider front tyre to get rid of this understeer or do you just use your right foot to induce oversteer? Obviously it then follows can the wider tyre fit the stock 17 inch rim?

edited for my crap spelling

Edited by Dakkon on Tuesday 6th June 09:45

[johnboyo]

Dakkon you *could* fit a wider wheel on the front but the first thing I'd try is have the Geo setup either by TMS or Plans, that will dial out the understeer and leave the car neutral. I had mine done recently and it feels amazing now.

John

[Dakkon]

I have already spoken to Plans, (really nice chap on the phone) about the LSD they do for about 1200 quid.

After Le Mans I think it will go to them for a few things to be done.

I was just curious as to whether fitting a wider front tyre was worthwhile at all?

[madasahatter]

Dakkon said:

I have already spoken to Plans, (really nice chap on the phone) about the LSD they do for about 1200 quid.

After Le Mans I think it will go to them for a few things to be done.

I was just curious as to whether fitting a wider front tyre was worthwhile at all?

I am not sure that it is. A little known fact is that the rear wheels *just* fit into the front wheels arches, so it is possible to do a swap and run 205's on the front, or something similar. This gives the car a better look, but I am not sure about the handling. I know someone who did it, and he wasn't amazed with what happened, so went for the tried and tested 16" fronts, 17" rears.

After all, changing the width of the tyre changed the contact patch SHAPE, not the area. A wide tyre gives a thin contact patch along the length of the car improving traction (not important on a RWD car, when considering the front wheels), but reduced cornering forces.

The best results seem to be gotten by going for 16" wheels on the front (which gives more tyre brand options anyway), and 17" on the back, with stickier rubber (Yoko A048).

I would definitely consider the geo first. I am also not sure about the LSD on a car with such a light frontend, will it not promote understeer as the LSD locks?

Steve

[Dakkon]

Plans say a properly set up LSD will not induce understeer and is much more effective in improving performance than more engine power as you are able to use more of your existing power.

I get very frustrasted coming off a corner and spinning up the inside wheel (Trackdays I am talking about here)

[joe-turbo]

at the moment I have the standard setup, but am planning on getting a geo done as it is supposed to improve the handling to suit your driving style... be it road or track oriented.

I agree with mads post that the 16/17 combo seems to be the best way to go (judging by many previous threads)
just wanted to clear up the standard tyre sizes (Front 175/55 R17, Back 225/45 R17)

Im pretty sure putting the rears on the front WILL rub. need to search vx.org

I was unaware of any changes between n/a and turbo tyres (only there rating due to higher top speed)

vx.org has just changed server so are having a few minor technical glitchs.

hope that helps a bit

Joe

Edited by joe-turbo on Tuesday 6th June 17:56

[christurbo]

Yes but the rear rims are also much heavier than the fronts!!!!


I have Speedline Corsa 16" front / 17" back [std on VXR] coupled with uprated eibachs, lower ride height, Exige dampers, and a Horizon geo.

I can vouch that wider fronts make a HUGE difference to the VX - but the geo is a necessary when doing this.

Details here:-

www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/index.php?&autocom=registry&cmd=view_item&CID=281

Chris

[thorney]

Dakkon, are you still having problems registering onto the VX site? Let me know and I'll sort it for you.

[340ragtop]

Hi Dakkon - I've just gone 996 Carrera 2 to VX Turbo - be interested to hear your views.

[Dakkon]

Thanks Thorney I shall try again.

As for the move from a 3.2 to the VX220T, its a revelation, 3.2 is a nice GT car, by todays standards its not that quick, but the handling is pretty good and you get a real sense of the car connected to the road, for me the running costs were a killer and one of the reasons why I sold it, even for a standard 12k service I was being given a 4 figure bill.

I have always liked the VX and test drove the VX220T when it was first launched but until recently it has stayed out of my price range. With the Porsche constantly eating money it had to go, but I wanted something that handled well and was pretty rapid.

I toyed with the idea of an S2000 as its a little more pratical, but I was also fairly sure I would get bored of it quickly.

So, I went for the VX220 Turbo, and what a car, the steering is light, the car is sooooo pointy, just turn the steering wheel and round it goes, no hesitation, it just does everything you ask, plus it has a much better power to weight ratio so is significantly quicker tha the 3.2.

I really, really like the VX and im very pleased to have made the change, it has 18 months warrantly left so if anything break Vauxhall can pick up the bill, but even general servicing should be no where near what I was paying.

Only picked it up yesterday, so a bit early for a detailed report, but so far its great, just gave it a really good clean and waxing ready for Le Mans next Thursday

[joe-turbo]

general service will be between 150 and 200. They will rip you off for brake pads, charging around 200 per set.... your really better off getting some mintex.