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Staffs Deltic Now in an FK8

I've had the VXR for nearly 3 months and put a few miles on it so it's about time I wrote a review of my thoughts on what I've bought.

I sold the FN2 basically because I was bored and wanted a change. I was also getting tired of the every day noise within the car (even with the resonated exhaust). Plain and simply the car was too rough and ready for day to day use (yes I'm getting old), I wanted something more refined. Don't get me wrong the FN2 is a great car however it was modified for track use and as such it kind of spoilt it for the other 360 odd days of the year when it was used on the road!

I have always liked the new Astra GTC VXR but having driven one wasn't so sure. Why? I test drove one thinking about how it would handle on a track and not how it felt as a road car. It wasn't as pin sharp as the Civic and I knew it wouldn't be as good on track.

Having made my mind up to go for a change in car I looked at a number of cars Nissan 370Z (too impractical), BMW Z4 (nice car but unsure about wanting a folding roof), Audi TTS (nice but too common) and a WRX STi.

The WRX STi was a strong contender right up until the test drive. There were a few issues. Around town the ride quality was extremely poor. It was quite obvious the suspension was stiff, very stiff. This would probably go some way to explaining the other issue, talk about rattles on the 8th gen civic? The civic has nothing on this! Rattles from the dash, door card, roof and somewhere in the rear. Add to this the gearbox felt agricultural. All this on a car that had not done 18,000 miles.

The test drive in the Subaru took place at a garage in Leicester. Having come away feeling rather deflated I pondered if I was going to find what I wanted. On the drive back home it suddenly dawned on me that no standard car will fulfil my desires within my financial constraints. It was at this point on the drive home I was passed by a white Astra VXR. I followed it for a while and admired the look of it. Having got home I went for another test drive in a VXR. I realised that it did everything I wanted from a road car. Yes it wouldn't be as good on track as the FN2. It wouldn't be as pin point sharp as the FN2. Then again a standard FN2 would feel 'poor' in comparison to my highly modded FN2. The VXR looked stunning and that was the decision made.

Moving quickly forward to today, nearly 3 months later and having had time to get used to it. The car had 9k on the clock when I bought it and now has 11k on it.

I'll start with the bad points...........
1. It's wider than the FN2, not by much in real terms but feels like a lot bigger car.
2. The door mirrors are small. The wide rear arches fill them and it has taken a while to get adjusted to them.
3. The gear shift has a long throw on it. Far more than I would expect on a performance car.
4. It is too quiet in the cabin (yes I know I wanted a quieter car). Aside start up from cold there is very little or no noise from the exhaust. A bit of a rumble would be nice.

Now for the good points......
1. In VXR mode the car really shifts. Surprisingly so for a heavy car.
2. Handling is good for a heavy car. Not pushed much on the road but it does seem to settle quite well into corners with plenty of grip available.
3. The cabin is a really nice place to be and seems to be well screwed together (although I do seem to have aquired a creak over poor road surfaces on the driver's side 'A' pillar).
4. The seats are firm but really comfortable.
5. The steering wheel is nicely weighted.
6. Run it in the softest settings the ride is quite compliant and makes for relaxed cruising.
7. It's proving to be very economical for a heavy car around town. Better than the FN2 was (yes I know irrelevant in a performance car).
8. It's got loads of toys / gizmo's (which can be a distraction when driving. Have to stop myself messing with some of them whilst driving).
9. The standard brakes are superb.

Overall I'm very happy with the car. Trying to resist the temptation to modify it but that is proving to be very difficult. Temptation is great! Still undecided on whether to take it on track. If I do I will post the vids.

:) :) :) :)
 
Selling the FN2 is the single biggest loss I've had with a car, in terms of what I got from it. To make it worse it was by choice, it would have been better if it had been stolen or written off in my eyes.

I've spent the last two to three years and five cars later trying to replace it. The Subaru and Ford were close.

Sounds promising that you've done a better job than me! :lol:
 
Well I eventually realised I could never 'replace' the FN2 as it was track orientated. The VXR is a nice looking car (main reason for purchase) and reasonable handling but I am only 3 months in John. No telling what next year holds. lol.

Selling the FN2 is the single biggest loss I've had with a car, in terms of what I got from it. To make it worse it was by choice, it would have been better if it had been stolen or written off in my eyes.

I've spent the last two to three years and five cars later trying to replace it. The Subaru and Ford were close.

Sounds promising that you've done a better job than me! :lol:
 
It's been a while since I've been on here and rather than set up a whole new car thread I decided I would just carry on with this one. I've now had the VXR for over 8 months and thought I would give you an update as to what I've done with it etc....

Firstly I had an issue early on with the front bumper near the headlight on the driver's side which developed a crack. I got it repaired and within a couple of days it came back again. I won't go in to detail but sufficient to say I won't use smart repairers again. I ended up taking it to a proper body shop who sorted it out for me.
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It didn't take long before I wanted to start carrying out a few mods. I had a budget in mind when I bought the car and have stuck to it. First thing I bought was an AS air intake.



The intake adds some nice suction noise when on the move and allows some waste gate noise to come through (all silent beforehand).

Next was to decide on a few choice items to upgrade. The throw on the gear stick was longer than I would like so I acquired a short shifter from Mtec.



This helps stiffen up the gear change as well as making the throw shorter. Not a bad mod for the money.

Next up someone was selling some powerflex polybush engine mounts. Knowing how much of a difference they made to the civic I immediately made the purchase.

I then turned my attention to getting the power sorted out. It's amazing how quickly you get bored of the power you have. I did some research looking at who I would trust with mapping my car. Majority of the companies / individuals are large distances away. Not letting just anyone sort it out I opted to travel to Warren at W.G. Motorworks located on the Isle of Sheppey. Quite a run from sunny Stoke. Still if you want it done right then so be it.

Due to the substantial distance involved I wanted to make sure I got the best out of my visit to Warren therefore I opted for a couple of major items to help with the final power output. I purchased an Airtec intercooler, a Nortech down pipe and a silicone AS intake hose.





The car was booked in with Warren along with an overnight stay nearby. It was anticipated that fitting the parts along with the mapping etc would take most of the day. In hindsight I wish I had booked accommodation for the 2nd night as the M25 was a nightmare coming home.

Front end off showing old intercooler.


New intercooler and pipework installed


Current engine bay with silcone hoses for intercooler pipe work and for the air intake.


Next it was off to Warren's new premises for mapping. The map being done remotely by Rabbid.

On the dyno


After a couple of hours on the dyno the following graph says it all. The lower figure is unmapped with all the mods fitted. The higher figure is what it made after mapping.



Nice healthy gains.
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Now the drive home (once I got off the M25) was fun. On the move the acceleration was fantastic. For what has cost probably a 5th of what I spent on the FN2 I have gained in one hit. Very, very happy.
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With the engine mounts fitted as well it was a whole new car!

Moving on a couple of months I had been considering what to do suspension wise. I had considered lowering springs but the front end sits low already and I would without a doubt rub on sleeping policemen. Coilovers were another option, however GM did a superb job on the suspension design and settings. I didn't really want to risk upsetting that. In the end I opted to complement the standard set up with a full set of Powerflex poly bushes. off to see Stevie at Grinspeed (a little closer to home).



Stevie at Grinspeed drilling out an oem bush


Also I opted to uprate the brake lines with some Hel braided lines and RBF 600 fluid.



Brakes feel no different to the oem set up which surprised me. I thought I would art least get a stiffer brake pedal. The suspension upgrade was noticeable straight away. Same as when the FN2 was done everything feels sharper. More of the road is communicated back through the steering wheel.

Moving on I had been looking at getting a track day in with Lazytrev. It was proving difficult to get a date we could both make. We managed on short notice to make a track day at Oulton Park on 24th May. Chance to see how the VXR performs.









The day was quite hot so I had to be a bit careful with water temps. The car needs a bigger alloy radiator for track days (something I may look at in the future). I kept the sessions out on track shorter than I might have done on a cooler day. Running normal road tyres I was able to do reasonable laps. Handling was very good and I was surprised how the standard suspension coped. I don't feel the need for any changes to it.

One area the car did suffer on track was weight. The VXR is a bit lardy. The wide track helps but you can feel the weight getting in the way. The car could do with losing about 3-400kg (owner could lose a few as well) and it could do with proper track tyres. The road tyres were struggling somewhat in the bends.

I managed to rub the writing off the passenger side side wall.
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As can be seen I am still enjoying the car. My intention was to have a road car that I can have some fun with on track rather than having a track car to use on the road. I feel the VXR ticks my needs very well. That's not to say it can't be improved....
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Here are the links to the vids from the day..........

Session 1


Session 2


Session 3


Session 4


Session 5


Session 6


Session 7


Session 8


Session 9


Session 10


Session 11




 
Good build thread, was expecting the fn2 going down the forced induction route.. Not Vxr forced induction suprised...
only thing with NA Money pit to get good gains. Turbo tunning the slightest of mods give huge gains in power.
 
Just had a look at your thread, the FN2 looked very nice and so does the Vixxer!

I went up against a friend of a friend who has one when i had my Z4 35i, was close up to about 90 then I pulled on him but it was close! I think they'd see a fair amount of cars off in stock form, so I can only imagine how well yours goes with almost 350 at the fly. Good work :)

Keep the posts coming!
 
Good build thread, was expecting the fn2 going down the forced induction route.. Not Vxr forced induction suprised...
only thing with NA Money pit to get good gains. Turbo tunning the slightest of mods give huge gains in power.

Thanks. :)

I would have loved to go down the forced induction route with the FN2 however it wasn't to be (if I had my time again that's the route I would take). I'd stuck to the n/a principle as that was what the car was all about. As I'd had the compression increased I couldn't just stick on a charger. I'd need to get the head off and put compression back to standard. I'd spent enough on the car and decided enough was enough. Still miss the FN2 sometimes but I'm very happy with the VXR. It does the important day to day job very well and a reasonable(ish) job on track. :)
 
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Just had a look at your thread, the FN2 looked very nice and so does the Vixxer!

I went up against a friend of a friend who has one when i had my Z4 35i, was close up to about 90 then I pulled on him but it was close! I think they'd see a fair amount of cars off in stock form, so I can only imagine how well yours goes with almost 350 at the fly. Good work :)

Keep the posts coming!

Thanks. :)

My mate has just bought a Z4 28i and that is quick enough. Really nice car. I would imagine the 35i to really shift. The VXR isn't that quick off the line but once moving it does pull quite well. Really needs either a bigger turbo or hybrid turbo to make the most of it.......
 
Back in a Honda by the end of the year lol! Actually quite like the look of these.


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FK8

Been a while since I've been on here to update this. Also been through a few cars.

The GTC VXR went as the gearbox was getting really bad. Was only a matter of time before it needed a replacement.

I had an Audi TT for 12 months that leaked like the titanic.

Just got rid of a Focus ST which had horrendous torque steer (not helped being mapped). Just didn't handle the way I wanted.

Initially, pictures of the rear end of the FK8 put me off. There is a lot going on. However seeing a few in the metal it grew on me. I paid Stewart Graham in Crewe a visit with a friend in September and took a test drive in their demo. Their sales rep Leigh let me play a bit and I fell in love. The car's handling is spot on out of the box. Felt like I was driving my old FN2.

Back at the dealers after the test drive he tells me a polished metal FK8 had just come in. Done just a tad over 5000 miles. Have a look and straight away I know it's the one. Had to wait a couple of days to test drive it. As expected it was faultless.

Pics after test drive

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This is the safest colour for the FK8 , especially if the rear lines put you off (like me). It somehow makes it all blend well and it also appears a lot more expensive looking imo.

Great buy, enjoy the motor :)
 
The more I see if the 8’s the more they grow on me, not enough to part with my 2 though I don’t think. Lush example bud and big fan of the reg!


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