VX220 Turbo v Elise...
Discussion
wevster said:
I had some fun with a VX220 on a track day a couple of years ago at Croft. The yellow VX in the video had about 350bhp, my S1 at the time was basically standard engine wise (118bhp). It totally monstered me on the straights but i pulled a bit back through the twisties and helped by traffic at times.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uvx5Nb0NbA
Not sure I really like the styling of the VX the front just doesn't do it for me.
Are the prices of VX's firming up, they seem to be more expensive than I remember.
I'm with you on this, I had a run in a friends vx in 2002 and loved it. The prices of the turbo models are very tempting indeed, so, as I was in the market I thought heavily about the two.http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uvx5Nb0NbA
Not sure I really like the styling of the VX the front just doesn't do it for me.
Are the prices of VX's firming up, they seem to be more expensive than I remember.
It basically came down to vanity, and no, it wasn't the Lotus badge, it was the looks, the Lotus looks absolutely stunning from every angle. I cant say the same about the vx, 11 years ago I think it looked excellent, but to me time hasn't been good to it.
Yesterday I took delivery of my 2007 Elise, cost a bit more than I originally wanted to spend but wow, christened it on the track yesterday evening and it's every bit as good as I'd hoped, if a little down on power on the straights it sounds wonderful and I can live with it.
The VX220 is a bit uglier (IMHO), but value for money it is way better than an elise. Also the Vauxhall engines lend themselves to mild tuning quite easily. In the case of the VX220 with 2.2 NA engines you can easily super charge these to 250 BHP, and in the case of the VX220 Turbo they can be tuned to 300 BHP for about £3000 and £4500 respectively.
I went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
I went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:17
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:26
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:59
nevcontractor said:
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Awesome, that's my afternoon reading sorted! Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:17
Recently bought an Elise. Considered the Vauxhall for its cheaper price and superior engine but just didn't look quite as good. Shallow maybe, but I was coming from a Grey M3 which was great but again understated. I wanted something really special that would make my heart skip a beat every time I opened the garage door.
It was undoubtedly the right decision. It's amazing!
It was undoubtedly the right decision. It's amazing!
nevcontractor said:
The VX220 is a bit uglier (IMHO), but value for money it is way better than an elise. Also the Vauxhall engines lend themselves to mild tuning quite easily. In the case of the VX220 with 2.2 NA engines you can easily super charge these to 250 BHP, and in the case of the VX220 Turbo they can be tuned to 300 BHP for about £3000 and £4500 respectively.
I went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Not a fan, but credit where credits due, it looks very good for a VauxhallI went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:17
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:26
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:59
Back in 2004 I drove the VX220 Turbo and 120bhp S2 Elise, the VX was faster point to point and difficult to be critical, brilliant car yes better than the Elise IMHO but still prefer the Lotus which is prettier/mini super car look, felt that bit more nimble and that badge! Bought an S2 Elise, then S2 111s then S1 my97. Why? The VX Turbo looks aside was just a bit to good, still to this day don't think fitting a turbo to an Elise derivative makes it any better. Less is more?
[quote=Rick101]Recently bought an Elise. Considered the Vauxhall for its cheaper price and superior engine but just didn't look quite as good. Shallow maybe, but I was coming from a Grey M3 which was great but again understated. I wanted something really special that would make my heart skip a beat every time I opened the garage door.
[quote]
A fair comment, but surely the way/speed it drives is more important than how it looks at the end of the day. After all you see the car for 15 seconds when you get into it, but drive it for hours.
[quote]
A fair comment, but surely the way/speed it drives is more important than how it looks at the end of the day. After all you see the car for 15 seconds when you get into it, but drive it for hours.
nevcontractor said:
A fair comment, but surely the way/speed it drives is more important than how it looks at the end of the day. After all you see the car for 15 seconds when you get into it, but drive it for hours.
Not true - I love opening the garage and being confronted with the rear of my Elise. I really don't think I'd get the same satisfaction from a VX220 rear, even if the drive is the same.nevcontractor]ick101 said:
A fair comment, but surely the way/speed it drives is more important than how it looks at the end of the day. After all you see the car for 15 seconds when you get into it, but drive it for hours.
It looks great but that doesn't mean it's bad to drive. If we all bought the fastest/best driving car we'd all probably have Mitsubishi Evo's or track cars. Nothing wrong with that but I wanted the whole package.It's exactly what I wanted and has more than enough speed and power for me. I love the fact I have an Elise and love that everyone else seems to love it too as it's a common 'dream car'.
nevcontractor said:
The VX220 is a bit uglier (IMHO), but value for money it is way better than an elise. Also the Vauxhall engines lend themselves to mild tuning quite easily. In the case of the VX220 with 2.2 NA engines you can easily super charge these to 250 BHP, and in the case of the VX220 Turbo they can be tuned to 300 BHP for about £3000 and £4500 respectively.
I went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
That thing looks like the bat mobile, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but got to disagree about the vx being uglier than an elise. Imo the vx looks more aggressive and purposeful, would describe the elise as pretty, horses for courses I guess.I went a bit further with my car, spent about £20k on improvements over 6 years and uncountable hours fiddling about. The car now is modified in almost every way except the chassis, including new bodywork, coilovers, suspension, uprights, geo, wishbones, engine, clutch, fuel system, pipework, charge cooler, much wider wheels, ATB diff etc etc.
I can easily program it with a laptop to develop anything from 320 BHP to 550 BHP and modify the aero and coilovers to suit different tarmac in 2 minutes. It is insanely fast and grippy.
If you are interested I have a full build website here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:17
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:26
Edited by nevcontractor on Friday 26th September 12:59
VX turbo values seem to be getting stronger these , finally getting the recognition they deserve. Far far more exciting than any elise variant just down to the grin it puts on your face when you put your foot down. A simple exhaust and remap gives a whopping 250ft/lb of torque against how much for an elise ? (120-150?) i think if everyone here took there blinkers of the badge and sat in both cars and just floored the throttle pedal , there would be only one choice. I appreciate both cars, but there is only one that is truly exciting and will not get overtaken down the straights by hot hatches on a track day.
jl34 said:
VX turbo values seem to be getting stronger these , finally getting the recognition they deserve. Far far more exciting than any elise variant just down to the grin it puts on your face when you put your foot down. A simple exhaust and remap gives a whopping 250ft/lb of torque against how much for an elise ? (120-150?) i think if everyone here took there blinkers of the badge and sat in both cars and just floored the throttle pedal , there would be only one choice. I appreciate both cars, but there is only one that is truly exciting and will not get overtaken down the straights by hot hatches on a track day.
Standard VX220 turbo is about as quick as a 111R, a bit slower than a k-series Sport 190 and a further chunk slower than a factory supercharged car. Modified, potentially very quick, but an Elise is the last car I'd want a turbocharged engine in, so not my cup of tea. You've got to kidding right?, the mid range torque on the turbo blows them all in to the weeds!
When i owned one a few years back i used to go out with MLOC members on drive outs and no one could keep up with me in a straight line at least in terms of pure acceleration. The supercharged Exiges were closer once you wound them up but they didnt have the grunt at low revs which you use on a country road. On a track i think it would be much closer as you could keep the yota engine reving high in its rev range. I really wanted a 260 Exige S after 5 years of VX ownership but it just felt too slow, so in the end i bought a Noble M12GTO3R
When i owned one a few years back i used to go out with MLOC members on drive outs and no one could keep up with me in a straight line at least in terms of pure acceleration. The supercharged Exiges were closer once you wound them up but they didnt have the grunt at low revs which you use on a country road. On a track i think it would be much closer as you could keep the yota engine reving high in its rev range. I really wanted a 260 Exige S after 5 years of VX ownership but it just felt too slow, so in the end i bought a Noble M12GTO3R
otolith said:
Standard VX220 turbo is about as quick as a 111R, a bit slower than a k-series Sport 190 and a further chunk slower than a factory supercharged car. Modified, potentially very quick, but an Elise is the last car I'd want a turbocharged engine in, so not my cup of tea.
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