Moving over to VXR8

[preciousmetal]

karl_h said:

Had mine 2 months to the day today and I love it. Other than fuel you'll be surprised at the running costs I came from a fairly monstrous Focus ST and there's very little in it. I fact if you've got an M Sport E90 with 19" run flats the tyres are actually cheaper!
I also leave early and have my Wortec set to loud, I get on well with my neighbours and I'm very conscious that it is loud so don't mess about first thing in the morning and I've not had any complaints.

Karl. Glad you are enjoying the VXR8.i told.you it would get under your skin. Was good.to catch up at Luton VX museum visit. JB

[ARAF]

stigmundfreud said:

If you are on anything but flat ground good luck in winter. I couldn't get mine up an untreated but lightly dusted slight gradient.

That's because you were on standard tyres. Winter tyres really do transform a car on snow. pah250 drives his through the winter, and he is in Yorkshire.

[stigmundfreud]

yes I know winter tyres are the bomb (been rewatchin Breaking Bad yo bhes) but I don't have money to spend on a set of additional wheels and tyres for the 3 days of snow we get in the year

[magic77]

The key with winters is not snow. Its just cold and ice. They work better under 7C while summer tyres go hard and actually the wear rate increases in winter. I've been running one set of winters Nov to March for last 3 years. Same set of tyres and in that time I've not also changed by summer tyres.

Winters covered about 5k each winter and still look new.

Its a initial outlay but to be safe and freak people out when they see a BMW not struggle is a big bonus. There is a lot of misconception in uK that winter tyres are for snow only. For me its a must as have had too many scare moments coming down the hill where I live with just ice on the road and even coming up has been scary at times.

[stigmundfreud]

I don't see them as anything than a new marketing ploy, yes I understand normal tyres are perhaps not as good but the outlay to have a spare set of wheels, tyres etc for little use then to store them for a year and repeat, how often should they be changed?

Just adjust driving to the conditions, we've survived this long without them

[stigmundfreud]

not saying they don't have a benefit but I guess you take a risk assessment on local conditions. I live in a major town on the m4 corridor and adopt driving the conditions. Theres the counter argument that some pay put too much trust in the capabilities and drive like 4x4 drivers with impunity

[mik_ok]

I'm not sure they are a marketing ploy - they clearly out-perform summer tyres in cold conditions : whether they are necessary/worth the cost & effort in the UK is a different question.

I had a set of snow socks in our old 944, and again in our RX8, and now in my VXR8. Never had to use any of them, although we did have a couple of nasty winters when an undoubtedly would have.... If I wasn't running a scoob at the time (which made do on summers, by braking was at times "interesting"

[magic77]

stigmundfreud said:

I don't see them as anything than a new marketing ploy, yes I understand normal tyres are perhaps not as good but the outlay to have a spare set of wheels, tyres etc for little use then to store them for a year and repeat, how often should they be changed?

Just adjust driving to the conditions, we've survived this long without them

Sorry but thats the route of the issue. Its not a marketing ploy. If you can get access to a car which is RWD and when temperature is below 7C you will realise it. In some countries its the law. Just here because we have had week winters its a urban legend. Yes when it doesn't show the benefit as muchif it doesn't snow. ( Then its great fun, when you see a focus or a fiesta or a range rover wheel spin to hell and you trundle past them up a hill with no worries) In cold weather only thing I realised how well they worked was by noticing how much less my TC light would come on. (have a heavy foot)

I thought they where pointless until I tried it. Fact is they are IMO a vital tool. I found even in my poxy 320D I can drive easier in winter when temps are low and its crazy wet with them on. As they are better at displacing rain and grip better when temps drop. In effect it reduces the worry that you have to be careful in bad conditions as much as you would on summer tyres.

Its like everything yes you can adjust to the conditions and drive accordingly but if you depend on your car 247 like i do for work I rather spend that then risk it.

I spent about £200 on a set of wheels and then tyre on top on my 320D for winter 4 years ago. Use them 5 months a year and store them at friends house. When I sell the car I'll easily get at least half of that back on the wheels and tyres proabbly as well since they are still in good condition. Over the 5 years of ownership my outlay apart from the wheels has been the same as if I had just summers. Mainly as its allowed my summer tyres to last longer as well. Yes initially bigger outlay but overall pretty the same.

If I go down the vXR and its looking like that will aim for similar best not to risk with 500brake and ice on my local roads


If you happy to adjust and be super careful when temps drop and its slipper than thats good. Personally I rather know I'm prepapred. All it takes is to be on motorway suddenly temp drops to freezing and your brake distance and grip vanishes. While they dont make you invincible I sure rather have to do emergency stop in winters at that point than on summer tyres. Done enough long journeys and seen enough crashes due to this and rather not be in one

But thats my two bits, all I would say is you havent experienced them in the right condition dont know them.


Now to find a out if the two stage exhaust can be retrofitted to a wilkinshaw exhaust or do I need a new full system as I cant see the mrs approving of taking family out with 102db at hte back. Nor my neighbours

[stigmundfreud]

heavy foot = adjust driving

only owned high powered rwd and only once had an issue on an untreated road in freak weather so I turned around and went home = not worth the cost

how did we survive without traction control, stability control, abs, air bags?

[magic77]

stigmundfreud said:

heavy foot = adjust driving

only owned high powered rwd and only once had an issue on an untreated road in freak weather so I turned around and went home = not worth the cost

how did we survive without traction control, stability control, abs, air bags?

Fair point and I do adjust but just like everything else its a security layer.

Same way ABS , airbags they are a tech development. Its surreal how different the tyres are. Just same way I rather have ABS, TC and airbags in my car. I rather have winters. It makes a difference even if small. Same way TC in old days was not there but hey most people dont realise how much it saves them these days


Its also about being able to get home, before I got them twice I got stuck due to bad weather back then snow and another time iced up roads and was not able to get home. Since using them number of times I got home when otherwise I would not be able to i've lost track. Its a personally preference same way other people buy cars and are not fussed about running budget tyres as they are cheap as its just a "brand" thing. Likewise a car that has airbags to one that doesn't in old days.

Good thing is our winters apart from few freak ones do tend to be mild. But other times its not the case, call it a boyscout thing be prepapred in my view. Its a big of hassle and money works out not much over. So why not.

[magic77]

Anyway digressing any ideas if I can find anywhere online a parts list or at least a user handbook

Wanted to see what is available in options from factory so I can look out for spec. ANy ideas if bluetooth came standard and if its hard to retro fit satnav and bluetooth to the blaupunkt

[mik_ok]

Bluetooth is standard.

Nav was the only option (apart from transmission choice)

No idea how easy it is to retro-fit, but you'll struggle to find anyone that recommends doing so : it is not considered a good OEM system.

[magic77]

Cool thanks if it was a cheap then possible for casusl use, I suspect it will be back to a cradle and copilot on my S4.

[stigmundfreud]

yep the only options were sat nav or not

you speced sat nav if you were happy to waste 2k on a utterly terrible system

So that makes buying easy!

[magic77]

Cool well dealer came back with a decent option on my as part X so wheels are in motion.

I still will hunt around though as auto will be a must and also the one at dealer is low mileage 28K but one colour I cant do and manual.

They also have a blank one similar mileage in black and auto. So tempting but you can see they are both been bought on cheap and marked up. I rather look at specialist. I think there is one in Alton in Hampshire unless anyone else can recommend a good place local to the M3 corridor / surrey

[stigmundfreud]

down M3 way you're only decent option specialist wise is Precious metal on here. look for elite cars in alton

[bigunit00]

stigmundfreud said:

down M3 way you're only decent option specialist wise is Precious metal on here. look for elite cars in alton

Yes but watch his neat sales trick of starting the car indoors. It usually means handing over your wallet !!!

[preciousmetal]

bigunit00 said:

stigmundfreud said:

down M3 way you're only decent option specialist wise is Precious metal on here. look for elite cars in alton

Yes but watch his neat sales trick of starting the car indoors. It usually means handing over your wallet !!!

it works most times if its on loud setting

[ARAF]

magic77 said:

So tempting but you can see they are both been bought on cheap and marked up. I rather look at specialist. I think there is one in Alton in Hampshire unless anyone else can recommend a good place local to the M3 corridor / surrey

Well worth seeing Preciousmetal, at Elite. He seems to know his way around these cars, runs a late HSV as his personal car, and has also run supercharged VXR8 and Monaros before that. I know he turns cars away that haven't been kept how he'd like, so well worth a look at his stock.

[preciousmetal]

ARAF said:

magic77 said:

So tempting but you can see they are both been bought on cheap and marked up. I rather look at specialist. I think there is one in Alton in Hampshire unless anyone else can recommend a good place local to the M3 corridor / surrey

Well worth seeing Preciousmetal, at Elite. He seems to know his way around these cars, runs a late HSV as his personal car, and has also run supercharged VXR8 and Monaros before that. I know he turns cars away that haven't been kept how he'd like, so well worth a look at his stock.