RE: PH Carpool: Vauxhall VX220
Discussion
I've owned a black Opel Speedster Turbo (VX220 turbo) and it was easy 'fast' but I sold it within a month...
Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 importand points from a drivers view/feelings.
Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 importand points from a drivers view/feelings.
GTRene said:
I've owned a black Opel Speedster Turbo (VX220 turbo) and it was easy 'fast' but I sold it within a month...
Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 importand points from a drivers view/feelings.
sorry, it may well be the language barrier but i have no idea what you are talking about.Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 importand points from a drivers view/feelings.
ED209 said:
GTRene said:
I've owned a black Opel Speedster Turbo (VX220 turbo) and it was easy 'fast' but I sold it within a month...
Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 important points from a drivers view/feelings.
sorry, it may well be the language barrier but i have no idea what you are talking about.Yes it was very nice and almost everyone wondered what car that was
When you told them its a Opel they could not believe it...most thought it must be some special sports-car so not a Opel
anyways, I sold it because of the to big turning circle and the strange steering feel from out the middle stand? (or how you say that)
lets say a Lotus Elise S2 steers better, don't know how the 2.2 VX220 steers though, but the Speedster Turbo had a resistance from out the middle-point, not so fine (car was pretty new bought it when 6 month old)
Also a very important point which I hate was the gas-pedal feeling or better say response when back of the throttle...it goes really slow because of emissions? anyway hated that
so I sold it because of those 3 important points from a drivers view/feelings.
I try to explain it a bit better if I can.1= Turning circle...something like 12 meters? anyway bigger then the BMW M coupe and that way much more difficult to park in my garage in the narrow street
2= when you drive straight and so the steer is centered...and then when you turn at lower speeds you had to push it through some barriers so it felt...
where arias the say Elise or Exige did not had that.
3= throttle response, fast when giving it (so good) but when you back of the rpm goes way to slow down every time so also when you shift gears etc very frustrating.
they said that was done for environments stuff...grrr so that was not connected so to speak.
Edited by GTRene on Monday 11th June 22:00
Saw 10 off these at the weekend at my local petrol station. All on German plates, and heading for the Timmelsjoch Pass, over into Italy. I would have loved to have joined them. Had a few laps in a turbo version around Bedford Autodrome way back when. Great fun, and still probably the fastest thing I've ever driven. The turbo delivery did catch me out a couple of times.
GTRene said:
1= Turning circle...something like 12 meters? anyway bigger then the BMW M coupe and that way much more difficult to park in my garage in the narrow street
2= when you drive straight and so the steer is centered...and then when you turn at lower speeds you had to push it through some barriers so it felt...
where arias the say Elise or Exige did not had that.
3= throttle response, fast when giving it (so good) but when you back of the rpm goes way to slow down every time so also when you shift gears etc very frustrating.
I had an NA for 3 years and a tubby for 2 (both blue) and loved both. The NA was perhaps "purer" but the Turbo's ability to overtake was very addictive.2= when you drive straight and so the steer is centered...and then when you turn at lower speeds you had to push it through some barriers so it felt...
where arias the say Elise or Exige did not had that.
3= throttle response, fast when giving it (so good) but when you back of the rpm goes way to slow down every time so also when you shift gears etc very frustrating.
Point 1 I will give you, it has a poor turning circle, but so do lots of sports cars.
I never experienced anything like you mention in point 2 in either car. It felt pretty similar to the Elise to me, but perhaps I am not all that sensitive.
You are right about point 3 - there is a flat spot in power in the standard map on the Turbo. It also hangs onto revs when you lift. This could be cured with a remap from, e.g. Thorney or Courtenay in the UK and it totally resolved this. I was also told it was for some emissions related reason.
I moved from my VX220 Turbo to a Cayman S, then a 997 Carerra C2 and now a 997 Turbo just 4 months ago. I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to go back to a VX220, either type, and this article just reinforced that feeling.
GTRene said:
sorry I try to explain it a bit better if I can.
1= Turning circle...something like 12 meters? anyway bigger then the BMW M coupe and that way much more difficult to park in my garage in the narrow street
2= when you drive straight and so the steer is centered...and then when you turn at lower speeds you had to push it through some barriers so it felt...
where arias the say Elise or Exige did not had that.
3= throttle response, fast when giving it (so good) but when you back of the rpm goes way to slow down every time so also when you shift gears etc very frustrating.
they said that was done for environments stuff...grrr so that was not connected so to speak.
I never noticed the turning circle being that bad; the Elise's is quite reasonable - maybe the VX220 is worse because it shipped with wider tyres as standard, so they had to restrict the steering rack movement to avoid them touching the arches? Having said that, I've never noticed that the Exige has a bad turning circle either, and that's got even wider tyres than the VX220, I think. I thought all cars with the Elise chassis had exactly the same steering rack (except for the RHD/LHD differences, obviously). I try to explain it a bit better if I can.1= Turning circle...something like 12 meters? anyway bigger then the BMW M coupe and that way much more difficult to park in my garage in the narrow street
2= when you drive straight and so the steer is centered...and then when you turn at lower speeds you had to push it through some barriers so it felt...
where arias the say Elise or Exige did not had that.
3= throttle response, fast when giving it (so good) but when you back of the rpm goes way to slow down every time so also when you shift gears etc very frustrating.
they said that was done for environments stuff...grrr so that was not connected so to speak.
I believe the difference in steering is down to the wheel sizes. Put quite simply - Vauxhall put the wrong diameter front wheels on the car (I think they corrected this with the VXR). Obviously this is very simple to rectify after-market, though. The cars are also extraordinarily geometry sensitive.
The turbo lag was what put me off the VXT; well that and the servo-assisted brakes which all VX220s have.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 12th June 08:56
Got the bug in 2008, beware where the bug takes you. Took me to here...
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd407/GarageAw...
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd407/GarageAw...
cliffie said:
Got the bug in 2008, beware where the bug takes you. Took me to here...
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd407/GarageAw...
This does worry me. I have already bought one, put a Lightened Flywheel, Individual Throttle Bbodies, Replacement ECU and Wiring Loom, Nitron NTR Race 3 Way Adjustable Suspension, AP Brakes a diffuser and a splitter on it..... In my mind. http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd407/GarageAw...
I had a VX220 for 18 months and loved it. I have missed it every since I sold it. I bought mine as an ex-demo Vauxhall in Red with 200miles on the clock for what can only be described as a bargain.
Problem was it became known as "the sick car" as my wife is very short. With the low seats and high sills, whenever I went around a roundabout too quickly (all too frequently I might add) she got severe motion sickness resulting in an emergency stop at the nearest opportunity to allow my wife to throw up.
Good times.
Problem was it became known as "the sick car" as my wife is very short. With the low seats and high sills, whenever I went around a roundabout too quickly (all too frequently I might add) she got severe motion sickness resulting in an emergency stop at the nearest opportunity to allow my wife to throw up.
Good times.
Really loved mine and have many fond memories of it, but in the snowy winters it was a joke to have to rely on it, everything non essential felt as if it was just a token jesture -heater, window seals, aero, TC, boot etc. -that although they existed, they didnt really work.
I know I was tiring of it when it got hit, but looking back now I only remember the sunny days of roof off hooning, cars and coffee sundays with PHers, laughing at my friends looking like daddy long legs getting sucked up a hoover trying to get in, not having to do airport runs ever, driving under the barrier in the local park etc. *eyes misting*
I know I was tiring of it when it got hit, but looking back now I only remember the sunny days of roof off hooning, cars and coffee sundays with PHers, laughing at my friends looking like daddy long legs getting sucked up a hoover trying to get in, not having to do airport runs ever, driving under the barrier in the local park etc. *eyes misting*
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