My Astra GTE 16v

[GTE Al]

Hello one and all,

After many, many months of lurking, thought it might be about time I actually posted something on this most excellent site

I first acquired the car in June 2003, in a straight swap for my old Seat Ibiza 1.5GLX (the old, old-shaped one, before the VW design came in in 1993). Back then it had rusty rear arches, a hole in the front drivers-side wing, and at a guess a few less than its original 156bhp left intact.

After getting the bodywork sorted, attention was turned to the engine. Various forays into the dark, mystical world of eBay resulted in the acquisition of a set of Weber Alpha 48mm throttle bodies, plus the loom from an old Ford rallycross car (chap said something about it being from a Warrior engine, which I think is based on the Pinto?). This was paired with an Omex500 ECU and a more suitable loom (with various plugs and sensors lopped off from the old one where needed) to eventually give a not-too-shabby 182bhp @ 6700rpm, with 160lb/ft of torque at a shade over 6000rpm.

A few photos:

[GTE Al]

I do prefer the Borbets to the VX wheels if I'm honest, plus as has already been mentioned I'd have to use a different model's to get above 14" in any case.

What's wrong with having the GPS where it is btw? Main reason I put it there was so that it wouldn't obscure my vision.

[GTE Al]

Aye, it's a one off..... lol

I stuck it on there when the first Astra VXRs were released - little did I know that every bloody model in the range would eventually get one (with hindsight I probably could have guessed though ).

My only worry is that when I pull it off, I'll just be left with a slightly darker VXR-shaped mark on the bootlid where the paint's been shielded from the sun. Better get the T-Cut out I guess.......

[GTE Al]

I do prefer the Borbets to the VX wheels if I'm honest, plus as has already been mentioned I'd have to use a different model's to get above 14" in any case.

What's wrong with having the GPS where it is btw? Main reason I put it there was so that it wouldn't obscure my vision.

[GTE Al]

Red Firecracker said:

GTE Al said:

What's wrong with having the GPS where it is btw? Main reason I put it there was so that it wouldn't obscure my vision.

Depends where you're looking, surely? To me, from the pictures (and that's just the mount?), that appears to be slap bang in the middle of the screen. Not only is it interfering with vision, it would also annoy the hell out of me.

I think it shows (generally) how poor some peoples (not saying yours) vision when driving is in that they don't see a problem with mounting them in full view, some almost slap bang in their eyeline. It's almost as though they're only using a small part of the screen to look out of instead of gaining a full picture of what's going on around them.

How often do you need to look at it, anyway?

I see what you mean, but where it's positioned there is below my line of sight when driving, so in effect the only thing it's obscuring is my view of the bonnet, lol.

As for how often I have to view it, it's purely there so that the g/f thinks I'm using it to get to our destination. As a man, I have a complete and perfect grasp of direction and therefore never really need to refer to it.......apart from when I do.......

[GTE Al]

interloper said:

That's a tidy Astra, very nice. The wheels suit it well IMO.

It might be a good idea to get a harness bar. Ideally the harness should be attached to something at roughly the same height as your shoulders, not travelling down at an angle to the floor pan.

Ah OK, that's something probably worth looking into. I'm aware that rear strut braces don't really do anything for these cars, but would attaching the harnesses to something like that (ie: between the two rear suspension turrets) be suitable? Obviously it'd need to be bolted in pretty tightly......