Vauxhall Corsa Turbo

[NathanD]

So, hope you all like the title, it is what it is, and no doubt you will all slate me as most s/ chavs and the like rip round in them with big exhausts giving everyone a bad name...

Is started like this, a humble 1.8 SRi


The had some Irmscher goodies fitted:


Colourcoded it, fitted some Speedline Turinis


Fettled with the engine, a 4-2-1 custom exhaust manifold and system, Schrick cams, Pipercross Viper etc.. made a realistic 152bhp and I was delighted!


I then decided I needed more power, so got a deal in a dBilas turbo conversion.. ran 9psi and through various states of tune made about 240bhp.


Invested in a set of Corsa VXR Recaros - love these so much!


Faffed around and fitted a larger intercooler (originally it had an Audi S3 sidemount - you'll note the oil cooler too


Invested in some special brakes:




Had it featured in Total Vauxhall










But ultimately, it never ran than well, as the turbo setup was all running off a mapped standard ecu with no MAP sensor... so..
On a work visit to California, I decided to bring back a Garrett GT2860RS (with pimp polished compressor housing)

Anyway, along with a DTA S40 Pro, new exhaust, custom rods, Honda Wossner pistons, VR6 Throttle body, Custom Supertech valves, a Calibra F28 gearbox, ground crank, crown coolers, 650cc injectors, camshafts, 4 paddle clutch, custom flywheel, new driveshafts, gauges, pro alloy intercooler, aquamist - oh, and 22 months off the road, its ready for mapping this weekend!

[rb5er]

Some good mods there.

Surprisingly interesting considering it's a Corsa and usually they are very lame/tame..

Well done.

[anonymous-user]

so around a tonne and 240 bhp plus, this is fast . Looks good to me, but i have a 200 bhp seat ibiza which is small and fun too..

have you got a lsd?

[andy118run]

Good stuff. Probably not to everyone's taste on here but clearly a real passion of yours and rightly proud of your work.

[anonymous-user]

I like it

[melvster]

Not a Corsa fan but it's refreshing to see one modified to a high standard.

[NathanD]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys, I've had the car for over seven years and yes, there's a fair bit of passion there, very few people modify the Z18XE most people tend to just throw a Z20LET (2.0 turbo) in them!

The Spruce goose said:

so around a tonne and 240 bhp plus, this is fast . Looks good to me, but i have a 200 bhp seat ibiza which is small and fun too..

have you got a lsd?

Yes both gearboxes, the previous five speed, and the new six speed have qualify ATB diffs. With the compression ratio, the engine can take 35 psi of boost, the GT2860RS maxes out at around 28psi, so will be interesting to see what it makes

[GregK2]

I like it, was wary at the start but definitely done to a very high standard, bet it'll go like a stabbed rat

[djgritt]

Top work. Love it.

I was considering going down the Smallblock Turbo route with my old 1.8 converted Corsa B, but bought a Vectra VXR instead.
Would consider doing this sort of thing myself if I ever downsize to another hands-on project again.

[Escort3500]

GregK2 said:

I like it, was wary at the start but definitely done to a very high standard, bet it'll go like a stabbed rat

Good on you. Well thought out mods, nicely executed and fairly subtle. Naff plate though

[LiamM45]

Nice! Bit different to a zlet/leh!

[ScottJB]

Interesting build.

Is that intercooler pipework going to become a restriction? ID looks quite small.

[tbc]

No my thing, it's still a Corsa at the end of the day

I do like how tasteful everything was done

[Finlay007]

Very nice build there and great to see the passion :-))))

[TheHighlander]

As someone else said I'm not a corsa fan either but that's cool and I bet once it grips it will be pretty immense considering the power to weight ratio.

Well done fella.

[C.A.R.]

Love it from a performance perspective, but from a visual perspective it makes me turn the end of my nose up! I think it's because that Irmscher stuff doesn't do it any favours. It was more aesthetically pleasing in the first picture IMO, where you're correct in saying it looked 'humble'. It would have been more desireable left like that so it was more of a 'sleeper'.

Can't deny that performance though, top work.

[GTiRichTea]

Really like what you have done with the car, i bet it must surprise people at the lights haha .

[NathanD]

Thanks again Guys, it's good to get some feedback!

I understand the point about the Irmscher stuff, the lower splitter has been smoothed in to the bumper so it looks less 'stuck om' and the sideskirts aren't higely different to the standard ones, then its been colourcoded. I just wanted it to look a little more agressive... You could say its still a sleeper.

As for weight saving, not really my thing, I have a small sub and amp in the boot, and back seats, which are the same half leather as the VXR Recaros, so its nice and practical. Power to weight will be pretty good though as its around 1100kgs.

Grip is good, it has Yoko AD08 tyres, Quaife ATB diff, eibach camber bolts on the front and shims on the back, Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks, and a rear ARB and strut brace, with a fast road geo setup. In time I would like to invest in H&R Coilovers and make new turrets to run more castor

[NathanD]

djgritt said:

Top work. Love it.

I was considering going down the Smallblock Turbo route with my old 1.8 converted Corsa B, but bought a Vectra VXR instead.
Would consider doing this sort of thing myself if I ever downsize to another hands-on project again.

Thanks ever so much!
In all honesty, you will do better with a C16XE or X16XE from a Corsa B, as the Z18XE is still small block and nothing fits, plus nothing is available off the shelf. I chose this as its the standard engine the car came with, but unsure if i'd do it again - lots and lots of headaches!

[NathanD]

ScottJB said:

Interesting build.

Is that intercooler pipework going to become a restriction? ID looks quite small.

Thanks Scott, nope, intercooler pipework is plenty, turbo>intrercooler is 2" and intercooler>throttle body is 2.5".

If you have seen this - good, if not, watch! This has 2.5" pipework
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UPRjsl-QOI