My VX220 thread...
Discussion
Having previously posted a car history thread when I joined, this is just going to be based on the VX220 and used as a diary of mods to showcase if I ever come to sell.
Brief story - came out of uni with my astra coupe and was instantly looking at vx220s as soon as I got a job. Bought one last year, mechanical fault caused it to be written off in July, bought this one in August.
2.2 N/A in Europa Blue
Mods:-
Thorney Motorsport Stage 2 Remap
Full Milltek Exhaust System
Carbon ITG induction
Front splitters from the turbo model
Lotus windscreen (black surround)
Interior carper on the side ally to warm it up a bit
Home safe and sound...
PistonHead smileys on.
Hardtop bought for the winter with interior lining
Petrol cap matt blacked with a bit of laquer for some protection and a little shine
Wheels done too
Rim tape and blue griffins
TRON!
Fancy petrol cap matching tax holder (and (by chance) a blue tax disc)
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Rear spoiler from the turbo model - painted to match wheels and petrol cap
Service is due soon so I have a fair bit set aside to get the handling up to scratch - fresh tyres and a new geometry to start as the front tyres are terrible things - it does make me tip toe around in these winter conditions though
Car is returning 35-39 mpg depending whether the tank of fuel includes a weekend or not.
And yes - the tron picture has been posted in the badly modified cars thread
Brief story - came out of uni with my astra coupe and was instantly looking at vx220s as soon as I got a job. Bought one last year, mechanical fault caused it to be written off in July, bought this one in August.
2.2 N/A in Europa Blue
Mods:-
Thorney Motorsport Stage 2 Remap
Full Milltek Exhaust System
Carbon ITG induction
Front splitters from the turbo model
Lotus windscreen (black surround)
Interior carper on the side ally to warm it up a bit
Home safe and sound...
PistonHead smileys on.
Hardtop bought for the winter with interior lining
Petrol cap matt blacked with a bit of laquer for some protection and a little shine
Wheels done too
Rim tape and blue griffins
TRON!
Fancy petrol cap matching tax holder (and (by chance) a blue tax disc)
Rear spoiler from the turbo model - painted to match wheels and petrol cap
Service is due soon so I have a fair bit set aside to get the handling up to scratch - fresh tyres and a new geometry to start as the front tyres are terrible things - it does make me tip toe around in these winter conditions though
Car is returning 35-39 mpg depending whether the tank of fuel includes a weekend or not.
And yes - the tron picture has been posted in the badly modified cars thread
Very nice, although maybe a touch too dark overall for my liking (anthracite would have probably been my choice, but thats personal) then again, i have a silver na
Im on the look out for a hard top for mine for next winter (plus a new heater aswell which one of the guys on vx220.org has designed) but im getting through this winter just!
need a new set of rear boots as mine are getting towards marginal and the slick roads make things interesting!
Im on the look out for a hard top for mine for next winter (plus a new heater aswell which one of the guys on vx220.org has designed) but im getting through this winter just!
need a new set of rear boots as mine are getting towards marginal and the slick roads make things interesting!
My Astra was Europa Blue with Anthracite details actually - its a great colour combo.
I've had a few thought of some black viper stripes which would only possibly work in black so did the rest of it to match this.
Yeah I'm following that heater thread pretty closely - although I forgot to add this one has been messed with a little so does warm up pretty well after a while.
Didn't mention any interior above - It has dash plates from a VXR, so Carbon effect but they're not great. Interior has biscuit colour setas atm, found another owner with blue/black combo leather who's looking to refurb them so may have a swap with him to rid of my biscuit seats which I do like - but would prefer the blue black. Theres also a few carbon fibre parts I'd like to smarten up the inside when money allows it.
The service is due in ~500 miles, so I'm going to take it in to PSR in Bishop's Stortford and build up a big list of to do's and just bite the bullet.
I liek the look of yours in your profile andy with that diffuser. My old dead one was a silver n/a with a big mmg diffuser - which is on the to buy list.
I've had a few thought of some black viper stripes which would only possibly work in black so did the rest of it to match this.
Yeah I'm following that heater thread pretty closely - although I forgot to add this one has been messed with a little so does warm up pretty well after a while.
Didn't mention any interior above - It has dash plates from a VXR, so Carbon effect but they're not great. Interior has biscuit colour setas atm, found another owner with blue/black combo leather who's looking to refurb them so may have a swap with him to rid of my biscuit seats which I do like - but would prefer the blue black. Theres also a few carbon fibre parts I'd like to smarten up the inside when money allows it.
The service is due in ~500 miles, so I'm going to take it in to PSR in Bishop's Stortford and build up a big list of to do's and just bite the bullet.
I liek the look of yours in your profile andy with that diffuser. My old dead one was a silver n/a with a big mmg diffuser - which is on the to buy list.
Edited by Boydie88 on Monday 30th January 15:19
Boydie88 said:
My Astra was Europa Blue with Anthracite details actually - its a great colour combo.
I've had a few thought of some black viper stripes which would only possibly work in black so did the rest of it to match this.
Yeah I'm following that heater thread pretty closely - although I forgot to add this one has been messed with a little so does warm up pretty well after a while.
Didn't mention any interior above - It has dash plates from a VXR, so Carbon effect but they're not great. Interior has biscuit colour setas atm, found another owner with blue/black combo leather who's looking to refurb them so may have a swap with him to rid of my biscuit seats which I do like - but would prefer the blue black. Theres also a few carbon fibre parts I'd like to smarten up the inside when money allows it.
The service is due in ~500 miles, so I'm going to take it in to PSR in Bishop's Stortford and build up a big list of to do's and just bite the bullet.
I liek the look of yours in your profile andy with that diffuser. My old dead one was a silver n/a with a big mmg diffuser - which is on the to buy list.
the black vipewr stripes may well work, im not a fan usually, but with some black tubby vents on the sides it could pull it all together rather nicely. I've had a few thought of some black viper stripes which would only possibly work in black so did the rest of it to match this.
Yeah I'm following that heater thread pretty closely - although I forgot to add this one has been messed with a little so does warm up pretty well after a while.
Didn't mention any interior above - It has dash plates from a VXR, so Carbon effect but they're not great. Interior has biscuit colour setas atm, found another owner with blue/black combo leather who's looking to refurb them so may have a swap with him to rid of my biscuit seats which I do like - but would prefer the blue black. Theres also a few carbon fibre parts I'd like to smarten up the inside when money allows it.
The service is due in ~500 miles, so I'm going to take it in to PSR in Bishop's Stortford and build up a big list of to do's and just bite the bullet.
I liek the look of yours in your profile andy with that diffuser. My old dead one was a silver n/a with a big mmg diffuser - which is on the to buy list.
Edited by Boydie88 on Monday 30th January 15:19
My heater hasnt been messed with at all... just freezing cold air comes in, makes long journeys rather fresh a the moment!
Where did you get the lotus winscreen surround from, my silver one is rather grubby and would prefer it black as I am going with a silver and black (matt carbon) theme on the exterior, with orange details.
Interior plans sound good, im still not sure on the biscuit interior, cant make up my mind if I like it or not!
I know Paul @ PRS from the old days when he worked on Fiats Coupes and HGT's, been meaning to get up and see him actually.
Andy_sx said:
the black vipewr stripes may well work, im not a fan usually, but with some black tubby vents on the sides it could pull it all together rather nicely.
My heater hasnt been messed with at all... just freezing cold air comes in, makes long journeys rather fresh a the moment!
Where did you get the lotus winscreen surround from, my silver one is rather grubby and would prefer it black as I am going with a silver and black (matt carbon) theme on the exterior, with orange details.
Interior plans sound good, im still not sure on the biscuit interior, cant make up my mind if I like it or not!
I know Paul @ PRS from the old days when he worked on Fiats Coupes and HGT's, been meaning to get up and see him actually.
My old one was headed towards silver with carbon trim, ghutted because it was a mint example - just sadly suffered a toe link failure on a roundabout and had an unpleasant meeting with a lampost - which I drive past everyday with the silver paint marks reminding me of the incident everytime.My heater hasnt been messed with at all... just freezing cold air comes in, makes long journeys rather fresh a the moment!
Where did you get the lotus winscreen surround from, my silver one is rather grubby and would prefer it black as I am going with a silver and black (matt carbon) theme on the exterior, with orange details.
Interior plans sound good, im still not sure on the biscuit interior, cant make up my mind if I like it or not!
I know Paul @ PRS from the old days when he worked on Fiats Coupes and HGT's, been meaning to get up and see him actually.
The previous owner said his windscreen cracked, payed his window premium and autoglass gave hi mthe choice of black or silver. I guess the black is listed because of the VXR220s?
I've heard nothign but good things about PSR and they seemed excellent when I took the old car in just for them to take a look at a little car park hit and run - thankfully I didn't go through with it as the crash was just a few weeks later.
Boydie88 said:
My old one was headed towards silver with carbon trim, ghutted because it was a mint example - just sadly suffered a toe link failure on a roundabout and had an unpleasant meeting with a lampost - which I drive past everyday with the silver paint marks reminding me of the incident everytime.
The previous owner said his windscreen cracked, payed his window premium and autoglass gave hi mthe choice of black or silver. I guess the black is listed because of the VXR220s?
I've heard nothign but good things about PSR and they seemed excellent when I took the old car in just for them to take a look at a little car park hit and run - thankfully I didn't go through with it as the crash was just a few weeks later.
ah damn thats a shame, will be sorting my toe links in the next month of 2 with a full refresh of the suspension and breaks. I have similar, but its dark blue body work slowly getting higher in the bushes i went through!The previous owner said his windscreen cracked, payed his window premium and autoglass gave hi mthe choice of black or silver. I guess the black is listed because of the VXR220s?
I've heard nothign but good things about PSR and they seemed excellent when I took the old car in just for them to take a look at a little car park hit and run - thankfully I didn't go through with it as the crash was just a few weeks later.
ahhh, will remember that should i need to replace my screen then, handy to know
Paul is a damn good, know him personally to a fashion aswell and he gave me plenty of sound advise last year on what to look for etc when buying mine, and have always known him to do a top job on whatever he has been working on. many of our old friends from the fiat circle still use him now!
DS3R said:
i think it looks ace! love the Tron pic too
Cheers mate, first good response about the wheels from the internet world.Andy_sx said:
ah damn thats a shame, will be sorting my toe links in the next month of 2 with a full refresh of the suspension and breaks. I have similar, but its dark blue body work slowly getting higher in the bushes i went through!
ahhh, will remember that should i need to replace my screen then, handy to know
Paul is a damn good, know him personally to a fashion aswell and he gave me plenty of sound advise last year on what to look for etc when buying mine, and have always known him to do a top job on whatever he has been working on. many of our old friends from the fiat circle still use him now!
Blue body work in a bush?!?!ahhh, will remember that should i need to replace my screen then, handy to know
Paul is a damn good, know him personally to a fashion aswell and he gave me plenty of sound advise last year on what to look for etc when buying mine, and have always known him to do a top job on whatever he has been working on. many of our old friends from the fiat circle still use him now!
Looking forward to it in a way, I don't have anywhere near the confidence in this car compared to the old one (partly due to the crash though), so hoping PSR can restore some of that.
Nice car, enjoy...be careful in the wet!
Sorry, but you've spoilt the car with those wheels but that's just my opinion!
I've just sold my na for £10,000 which is top dollar and £1000 more than I bought it for 2 years ago! Look after it, don't mod it too much and it will make you money.
Sorry, but you've spoilt the car with those wheels but that's just my opinion!
I've just sold my na for £10,000 which is top dollar and £1000 more than I bought it for 2 years ago! Look after it, don't mod it too much and it will make you money.
Lordbenny said:
Nice car, enjoy...be careful in the wet!
Sorry, but you've spoilt the car with those wheels but that's just my opinion!
I've just sold my na for £10,000 which is top dollar and £1000 more than I bought it for 2 years ago! Look after it, don't mod it too much and it will make you money.
£10k for an N/a? Must have been a minter but even still, prices do look to be on the up (and rightfully so!).Sorry, but you've spoilt the car with those wheels but that's just my opinion!
I've just sold my na for £10,000 which is top dollar and £1000 more than I bought it for 2 years ago! Look after it, don't mod it too much and it will make you money.
I'm taking no risks in this weather, thankfully I work in a pretty relaxed design office and if the weather is that bad I can just phone up on the day and take a day holiday - which was done yesterday.
Just looked and the MOT is due at the end of this month so it is going to have a lot thrown at it to make it immaculate.
Refined Detail said:
Very nice! Liking the black details too.
Surprised to hear your comments on the Kumho's though; I thought they were held in quite high regard for the price bracket they fall into tbh!
The rears are great, it's just those fronts with their small profile (even though it says they're a 45?!?!?) - it just doesn't seem to grip at the front like my old one did.Surprised to hear your comments on the Kumho's though; I thought they were held in quite high regard for the price bracket they fall into tbh!
Some pics after a friday wax session...
Boydie88 said:
Blue body work in a bush?!?!
Looking forward to it in a way, I don't have anywhere near the confidence in this car compared to the old one (partly due to the crash though), so hoping PSR can restore some of that.
parts of the front bumper and side skirts that werent cleared up after my crash have been lifted up where the bush ha slowly grown back Looking forward to it in a way, I don't have anywhere near the confidence in this car compared to the old one (partly due to the crash though), so hoping PSR can restore some of that.
Im sure Paul and the guys will do a top job, and she will feel like a new car when you jump in for the first time again.
Refined Detail said:
How does that work when the OP's wheels are very similar to those pictured on yours, just with different rim tape to match the car?!
a) It's how the car came out of the factory just with some rim tape, its a Ltd Edition Lightning Yellow. The anthracite suits the yellow bodywork IMO.b) I wasn't commenting on the rim tape, just the colour change from alloy silver to black. Rim tape can be taken off in 5 minutes!
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