An Odyssey of Tuning a Big Power VX220

[nevcontractor]

There have been a couple of Time Attack VX220s, one this year and one last year, both of which were supercharged to around 260 to 300 BHP respectively.

[nevcontractor]

The car is performing wonderfully. Went for a lovely 165 mile drive around the Black Mountains last weekend and took some pics. I am currently planning a new ECU for it (with multiple maps and on board laptop) and some new uprights for it to adjust the ride height/centre of roll of the front wishbones.

[Steve Maund]

Thats one of the best modded VX220's I have seen, I owned the blue VXR, but yours looks very special,
Steve

[nevcontractor]

Thanks, there are more pics (and an in depth write up) here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/home

[AC43]

ManOpener said:

That looks a bit like a miniature Gumpert Apollo.

It does, doesn't it. The exterior mods work well.

BTW you don't need to paint the wheels black. Just leave them unwashed and let the brake dust cake up. Same effect.....

[MrFrodo]

What a fantastically mad creation!

What's the driving experience like at 500bhp (aside from bonkers quick)? Is it still fairly drivable?

[Urban Sports]

Any video of this?

[nevcontractor]

MrFrodo said:

What a fantastically mad creation!

What's the driving experience like at 500bhp (aside from bonkers quick)? Is it still fairly drivable?

As the car only weighs 900 Kg, it is quite nippy in a straight line. I've spent quite a bit of effort widening the wheels/tyres/track so it can sustain 1.4g round the corners too. This winter it is getting a new ECU to help make it more drivable, with in gear boost limits, multiple maps, another 1 bar of boost available, all connected to a permanent laptop in the car. Also I have specced up a couple trick running gear parts which are being machined up for me at the moment. Once these are on, the car should be fully ready.

Sorry, no public videos of it

Driving it (for a new person to the car) would be rather tricky, as the power is not linear at all. However with a few months of learning it, I think an adaptive drive could pedal it moderately fast. Ultimately though for that last 5% that you want for the track it would be less easy to control than it should be. However the new ECU will remedy this.

Edited by nevcontractor on Thursday 4th October 12:00

Edited by nevcontractor on Thursday 4th October 12:05

[Chicane-UK]

I was expecting to see something terrible but that does look excellent - agree with the baby Gumpert Apollo comments! Nice work!

[OlberJ]

Considered twin charging at all for a better power spread?

[nevcontractor]

OlberJ said:

Considered twin charging at all for a better power spread?

Yes, I have recently. There is room for a rotrex supercharger near the boot. That would provide the torque it needs before the turbo spools up. I have looked into this in some detail, but a new rotrex, bypass valves, bracket, pulley and pipework would come to around £2000. It would make the car much more 'streetable'. However, if you are in 'race mode' there is good flat torque from 4000 RPM to 8000 RPM, so if you stay in that band the car is epically quick, it's just that if you drop below 4000 RPM you can be caught with your pants down !

[OlberJ]

£2k is less than i thought but if you've already got the standalone etc that's a fair chunk.

I'd be tempted to go for a lower peak HP and a better spread myself. Do you have a dyno graph at all?

[Mr2Mike]

Apart from the hideous rear wing that is one of the nicest VX220's I'ne seen.

[Gilhooligan]

Mr2Mike said:

Apart from the hideous rear wing that is one of the nicest VX220's I'ne seen.

Agreed, although I presume it's necessary!

[nevcontractor]

I'm sure the wing isn't to everyones taste, but unlike most cars it is there for function, not fashion. The OEM car becomes very light at around 140 leptons and this wing is highly effective (in conjuntion with the splitter) to overcome that issue. Basically from 160 leptons the wing could be the difference between life and death as you go round corners quickly. It is connected to the chassis by strong legs and can take the weight of person lieing on it carefully or be used as a towing point.

As for a dyno graph, there is one here, my current map is the pink line.

Edited by nevcontractor on Thursday 4th October 13:37

Edited by nevcontractor on Thursday 4th October 13:49

[stew-S160]

Awesome car. Even for a VX! Not overly keen on the rear body work, something just doesn't look right to me, but otherwise, it's damned epic!

[nevcontractor]

I've just stuck some 4" inlet piping and a massive home made airbox in. Writeup and pics at the bottom of here: https://sites.google.com/site/z20letpower/07---upd...

Edited by nevcontractor on Wednesday 17th October 05:21

[nevcontractor]

Went for a test drive the other day and the new intake has deffo helped with engine pick up and power.

[OlberJ]

Do you have the rear clam off still?

Would you mind measuring what space there is from the front firewall to the front of the subframe?

[nevcontractor]

I just popped out to the garage and measured it for you.

25.5 inches from the bulkhead to the front edge of the rear subframe. May I ask why you want to know - are you considering fitting a different engine into a VX220 ?