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Slow XEs

4K views 110 replies 23 participants last post by  saabturbonova 
#1 ·
I have seen/been in a few coras and novas of late fitted with XE engines.
Most of which were no where near as fast as they ought to be,and I think a lot of the time ,lads come on mig asking about performance mods ect..havent even got standard power to start with.

I think this is an age issue as a lot of conversions are mix and match parts,maybe motronic 2.5/2.8 sensors mixed up...?Smokey engines destroying the lamda?

Anyway what I want to say is before any mods the engine should be tip top ie,new lamda,AFM,lifters....This will give more power than expensive cams on a high mileage engine..I know the more technical guys know this but I keep seeing cars being built with people missing this point.

I had a few of GTE 16Vs when they were a lot newer and they were razor sharp,I recall sitting on the boot of standard 3 door cozzys and scoobs,the cars ive been in recently arnet much faster than a corsa GSI!
 
#2 ·
excellent advice. i too have been in xe corsas that are slow. i remember a nova xe racing a skyline and winning. so is it that xe are past their best unless they're rebuilt to new spec? if thats true surely the xe has had its day? time for a new contender. any ideas?
 
#3 ·
just found this ......

Before commencing any engine modifications, it is advisable to ensure that all of the basic components are working well. This will save time and money. The engine itself should be in sound condition with no unusual knocking noises and no smoke. Theres no point spending money on an engine that is going to fail. Also check that the ignition system is in good working order. If in doubt use new plugs, leads and distributor cap, nothing fancy, as long as they work, there fine.

This guide is based at getting power on a strict budget. Even this will cost money, so if your only driving this particular car for a short while until you can afford something faster, dont bother, save your money. If however you see it as a project to get a quick little engine car and have fun, then these tips should be helpful. The only way you can really save money on any modification, is to do it yourself. If you are paying someone else, then change your pay details so that the money goes direct to the garage!

One last thing, if you have limited power, dont fit big body kits and wheels, I guarantee they will slow you down. I lied, another note, lose weight, drop the huge stereo system, and if you can bear it, strip some interior, it will make more difference than spending ?500!
 
#5 ·
one of the biggest things i've noticed, is that a lot of people tend to re-use the original "piddyblock" exhaust systems, since an xe conversion is the 'cheap' way to get a corsa/nova/astra/tigra to be quick, many people's budgets don't get as far as an appropriate exhaust system.
Also cone filters breathing in hot air, instant power loss :rolleyes:
oh, and 'fully race tuned with a chip engines', 'big bhp' injectors that overfuel and lose power :doh:, ported heads that lose torque and dont have the rest of the components to match :doh:
 
#6 ·
I agree big wheels slow you down and i agree there is no point tuning the engine and then filling the boot with a ton of stereo.

BUT...this is going to cause some opinions,I think stripping cars out is a load of sh/*.
The back seat and carpet weighs nothing compared to a passenger and a passenger doesn't make much difference.All it does is make the car a rattly old piece of s**t that feels and sounds fast,it de values it and makes it un pleasent to travel in.

Many good cars have been ruined by the strip it out brigade and their wont be many future concours nova sports ect..when they have all lost their interiors.

I can understand it in a competition/track car or a project buit from a shell but not on the road,how many times have you seen "unfinished track project" on ebay- usually a calibra with the interior missing (ruined) ,the owner has never been on a track and never will and doesn't have a clue what is involved with building a car to last a track session. Frankly if they left the interior in it would make no difference.
 
#22 ·
I was in my mates XE'd Corsa recently and although it was a laugh, it wasn't fast, but as has been said they're getting on a fair bit now though in a Cavalier GSI years ago it was fast as ****!
It's like Pinto's IMO, once 90BHP was enough and made everything go fast. Now a 1.2 Zetec can make about 90BHP! Back in the late 80's 156BHP was madness in a little hatchback! Now where does 156BHP get you?



:nod::nod::nod::nod:

I took the back seats/trim out of my Vectra for a track day, it wasn't really any faster, only louder and upset the handling (ask Keithcdb lmao). I'd never really think about it on a car that would be used on the road unless it was caged.
 
#8 ·
lmaoOh yes,the famous "its bin chipped mate"lmao Thats as good as-"yeah it runs bad cos its got cams"lmao Yeah powerflow said to use halfords flexi pipe, I wish some of thease people had been in a car with a good standard set up.

Im glad astrasaloon is here cos he's got one of those slow corsa XEs on his drive!lmao
 
#9 ·
well i don't have corsa or a light car but its a calibra with an xe
my car i would think use to be alrite power wise then once the bottem end started knocking and i stripped it
the shop found out it had 3 bent valves!! their was also lots of det marks on pistons and combustion chamber, all valve guides were cracked aswell

now once this rebuilt engine is back on the road it will be the best way to experiance true xe powaaaaa
its been bored out to 86.5mm with new rings and pistons aswell as new stuff but all std parts
i also have cleaned out the injectors as they were filthy
but the car always ran fine, except for sometimes
can't wait now
 
#11 ·
Joe Joe@

That is exacly what i am talking about,a lot of people have an engine like that and try to mod it,I bet when your calibra is done it will outrun a few of the lighter cars!

The sluggish cars are giving the XE a bad name,as people dont realise the potential of a standard engine.
 
#12 ·
true but age isnt on their side. as i said in my first post, when is the scene gonna move on? when bare xe heads are fetching 700? its time now. the xe needs to be put to rest. the let aswell. i know alot of people dont wanna hear that but, the ford scene had to do the same. 10 years ago if you put an xe in a escy2 the ford hardcore would lynch you and steal ya wife. now theyre all busy stuffing random engines in. what bout a zvh corsa? or a s2000 manta? nova with a 1.9 cdti lump. the future starts here. we all build it!
 
#13 ·
iv also thought this before, out of the 5 engine converted cars i have worked on/owned i have always stripped to a bare block and rebuilt using new gaskets, seals, rings, bearing shells etc. i know why my Xe'd is down on power and that because it was built on the cheap for a lad who couldnt afford it in the end so i bought it off him, mine still has the standard diesel exhaust system just with the Cat chopped out. when i can afford to i will be getting the exhaust before i start on and bodywork colour coding tidying etc
 
#14 ·
very true, but i think alot of people are missing the bigger picture. the engine in question was designed back in 86. its 22 years old. true it offers excellent power for the cash, but there are other, as good options out there. the xe is at the end of its life. a well convwerted x20xev corsa or nova will keep up with a crap xe with ease. hell my friends c18xe ( astra gsi 1.8 ecotec) engined corsa saw 153bhp on the rollers. all that had was a de cat and a bmc filter. it had a head gasket before it went in and a cambelt kit. the xev is an excellent other option, and in zlet guise is better than a let.
 
#15 ·
Agreed,my mate had an ecotek calibra-it was unbelievable we all thought it was a tuned XE untill he opend the bonnet!!

As for alternative engines,there is only the saab. The ford scene has big budget cars,the only reason we do XE corsas/novas ect..is because its so cheap and the vauxhall scene is cheap(excluding the LET) which means an alternative engine would have to be very cheap. if people are going to wak out big money they may as well buy another car.There is no point in spending 3k up modding a vaux when an m3 evo or a 944turbo can be bought on that budget.
Ford use the duretec or zvh,vw use the 20v t,ect...because they are the more modern variation -vauxhall scene doesn't often use the modern variation because theyre not as good and when the zlet and ecopop are as old as XEs and LETs they will be even worse as they are made of cheaper materials.

I think the key is to spend a budget on a propper rebuild with an older engine,its a legend.:beer:
 
#16 ·
tbh i looked at the 20vt vw lump, as the mounts are in very similar places to the astra 4. then its just shafts, but if golf bearings fit corsa hubs, surely the centres would fit too? the wiring isn't very complex, as the dub boys stuff em into mk2 golfs, not the most advanced shoe box about..... and on the subject of legends, george best was a legend, and he killed himself...
 
#17 ·
I agree entirely. :D

A while back me and my mum had identical cars (Astra mk3 1.4 SPI), and mine went like **** off a shovel compared with hers. The difference was that I serviced mine every time I got bored and thrashed it to Stafford and back every day. Hers is serviced every couple of years and does less than a mile a day. :yuck:
 
#19 ·
george best was a legend, and he killed himself...lmao

I have done a few 20v/mk2 golf conversions,it would go in but there are many 4 pot turbo fwd engines to consider first as the 20v isnt cheap to buy unless its a 150 engine and its not that cheap to tune. Another engine type will only catch on if its an easy conversion.

How hard do you think the vw engine would be to fit? I think the gearbox mounts/shafts/linkage would be the main problem.The saab engine has the upper hand as you dont have to do any of this and its cheaper to buy.What about a volvo t4 engine?
 
#20 ·
hmm t4 sounds good, i agree the saab is the way forward, but there are other options. i remember a guy round here who put a let in a nova in 1994 ish. he used escort td shafts and made the mounts himself. took him a year. he put the cally car loom in too, cos he was told it was the only way to get it running! the point ois, the first ones will be hard, the more are done the easier it gets. id love a civic type r 2.0 in an agila.................
 
#21 ·
@ANDY L,

Originally Posted by m9opel

I had a few of GTE 16Vs when they were a lot newer and they were razor sharp,I recall sitting on the boot of standard 3 door cozzys and scoobs,the cars ive been in recently arnet much faster than a corsa GSI!


In a std GTE you won't be IMO. How modified was yours

This was allways going to cause debate!
The astra wont beat either of thease cars off the mark with crappy front drive,nor will it have a better V max speed.
But the mentioned cars as standard only have 204bhp standard and are much hevier & one has 4X4 loss (as with an escort cos which I also had a good fight with)Standard cozzys and early scoobs realy arnet as fast as people think.

The astra mentioned was a 91 with only a exhaust & manifold & decat with a panel filter & drilled box,it may have had a superchip as it had the badge on the dash-that is all,the car would not have been more than 170bhp max

A rollling start of 30ish mph and a strong low mileage valver WILL keep in the boot of the cars mentioned,often hitting 120-130mph between some roundabouts in Milton Keynes,there are people on here who can vouch for this.
 
#105 · (Edited)
@ANDY L,

Originally Posted by m9opel

I had a few of GTE 16Vs when they were a lot newer and they were razor sharp,I recall sitting on the boot of standard 3 door cozzys and scoobs,the cars ive been in recently arnet much faster than a corsa GSI!

In a std GTE you won't be IMO. How modified was yours

This was allways going to cause debate!
The astra wont beat either of thease cars off the mark with crappy front drive,nor will it have a better V max speed.
But the mentioned cars as standard only have 204bhp standard and are much hevier & one has 4X4 loss (as with an escort cos which I also had a good fight with)Standard cozzys and early scoobs realy arnet as fast as people think.

The astra mentioned was a 91 with only a exhaust & manifold & decat with a panel filter & drilled box,it may have had a superchip as it had the badge on the dash-that is all,the car would not have been more than 170bhp max

A rollling start of 30ish mph and a strong low mileage valver WILL keep in the boot of the cars mentioned,often hitting 120-130mph between some roundabouts in Milton Keynes,there are people on here who can vouch for this.


that would be me then :beer:lmao:)
 
#28 ·
That is the case for sure,but many people take the risk and hope they have a good XE,When you buy them off ebay they are all low mileage,1 owner,never thrashed,clocks now lost ect...
The saab will catch on big time, and mine shouldn't be long (being made redundant and being let down on the sale of my XE hasn't helped.) but im being one of those tits and putting the engine straight in without a re-build or chain and then im going to cain it with 250-300hp.

it will be:)and then:Dand then probobly:confused:followed by:eek:ending with:doh:and:mad:

You lot will saylmao:p
 
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